When the announcement was made a few years back that Richard Kessler was going to create a waterfront hotel wonderland on the West end of River Street, there was great excitement in the air. That end of River street never really enjoyed as much fanfare or foot traffic as the Eastern end. For obvious reasons, of course. MLK at the River was largely undeveloped. Dare we say a bit scary after dark?
Anyone paying attention knew the area was going to change. The part of the revitalization that didn’t get as many headlines was the fact that a 2nd boutique hotel was going up almost at the same time. Right across the street. The Alida Hotel was also a brand new project on that end of River Street. It is much smaller, so it opened far ahead of the massive Kessler/JW Marriott project.
The Alida is beautiful. It is set up beautifully with tons of meeting space and a rooftop bar with-hands down-the best view of the Savannah River. Rhett, their signature restaurant downstairs is similarly beautiful. Absolutely a show piece.
It’s not exactly fair to say that The Alida had trouble getting Rhett off of the ground when they opened just about a year ago, but construction in the area and a big flashing “River Street Closed” sign on approach at MLK did nothing but deter any casual visitors to this restaurant tucked away in a dusty corner of West River Street.
Then their chef left. Returned to Philadelphia. It was back to square one.
During the Summer, we told you about their new chef. Jason Starnes had spent the last 15 years in the Atlanta market. It was believed a restaurant named “Rhett” should have a heavier Southern influence. It now does. All the way down to his Southern drawl.
Rhett has officially rolled out Chef Jason’s new menu and I can tell you it should be a hit. This is well-made Southern comfort food.
We were invited for a tasting from a limited menu this week. The fish dish, a beautiful Corvina served with Sapelo Clams, fingerling potato, charred onion and celery salad was enjoyable. As was the Coffee Rubbed (with cinnamon and cocoa) NY Strip. The latter of which at $32 might be one of the best deals in the city.
The star of the show at our table, however, was a fantastic Artichoke Risotto. Carolina gold rice and topped with local roasted mushrooms and aged parmesan. Top that with a beautiful piece of fish and I could eat that every day.
“We’ve been working on the menu for about 2 months” Chef tells me. “We’ve tweaked a few things here and there and still may do some more tweaking, but we finally like where we are.”
It’s a perfect fit for that property and that space.
It stands to reason that a restaurant in a hotel will have to deliver on Southern classics. After all, a visitor jumping on a Jet Blue flight in Boston to visit this city is expecting a taste of the South when they roll up. Understandable. The better restaurants in Savannah offer beautiful enhancements or versions of these Southern dishes. Particularly when they use local ingredients.
It’s who we are in what I still refer to as our culinary infancy.
Chef Jason and his staff have carved out a beautiful slice of the South down there at Rhett. Well worth a visit. Especially when you consider 2 hours free valet park when you pull up at The Alida for dinner.
“This is what Rhett was supposed to be.” one staffer told me as we left following an overall excellent meal.
A peek outside the windows on to River Street right now will show you all you need to know about this little corner of Savannah. With a parking garage under construction one block to the West, it is only a matter of time before this area is bustling with foot traffic and Rhett fits in perfectly with everything going on down here. The new menu already does. You can see it here.
But there is no need to wait. Rhett is open for Breakfast, Brunch and Dinner. Take a walk down there and check it out. I think we’ve got a winner.
# # #
