Monday, May 29, 2006

Savannah: Gottlieb's Restaurant & Dessert Bar

Gottlieb's Restaurant & Dessert Bar
1 West Broughton Street
Savannah, GA 31412
912-234-7447



When we are on vacation we always look for one upscale eatery. After reading a few reviews and then taking a peek at their menu, I knew Gottlieb's was going to be it. The restaurant is housed in an old department store on the corner of Broughton and Bull streets. The inside of Gottlieb's is brighter and airier than expected. The walls are a light mocha color and the ceiling has been painted a dark brown, which adds even more height to the already tall dining room. The design is very Manhattan-like. I should have taken more photos, but I was too excited to eat :)

Here is the lobby which looks right into the kitchen...


Gottlieb's was recently named a AAA Four Diamond Restaurant - and I couldn't agree more. The chef's amuse bouche, a tiny gift to kick off the meal, came about 15 minutes into the wait.... a miniature biscuit round topped with a bite of crispy fried chicken and country gravy. Just a bite or two, but it certainly got the taste buds working. (before I knew it I was sopping up the last bit of gravy with a piece of bread and hadn't taken a photo)


Oh, speaking of bread. Gottlieb's was originally a bakery and they still are today, even with the addition of the restaurant. To showcase their talents each diner is given a sampler of their breads... rye, two types of pumpernickel, a miniature popover, and an onion roll. I admit it, I ate every bite of them all... damn you delicious carbs.

But I digress - back to the food...

The appetizers on this menu are so hard to choose from because looking over the menu they all sounded so good.

Appetizers

Fritto Misto with calamari, lemons, vinegar peppers, proscuitto & provolone
(hands down the best calamari I have ever had)



Carpaccio of seared prime beef tenderloin, tomato, cheddar cheese, red onion, cornichons, baby arugula, & horseradish cream


Entrees

I ordered a second appetizer as my entree since it sounded just too good... Pecan pesto gnocchi with sauteed savannah sweet shrimp (the photo doesn't do it justice - so good)


Brunswick stew with braised rabbit and wild mushrooms (Pat, do you take orders? how about some small-small game!?)


Dessert

Thanks to the awesome waffle maker we got from AR/UR, we will definitely be trying to recreate this at home... Georgia butter pecan icecream on a belgian waffle with caramel sauce


Chocolate chip cookie sandwich with cream cheese cookie dough ice cream


I can't sing the praises of Gottlieb's loud enough. It is the type of restaurant that once you sample the menu items, there is little doubt you will return.

Overall
- This is certainly the case of "you get what you pay for"
- The service was ok. We were aquainted with our server before we got there (long story), so we may have gotten some special attention. We saw a few tables waiting a while for their drinks/food and they seemed annoyed. I think you need to realize this is not an in-and-out restaurant. You are there for an amazing culinary experience, not a slab of grub from outback-chili-burger-grill.
- The presentations are just mouthwatering and the food is even better

Hmmm, do you think I liked it :)

8 comments:

Anonymous said...

Sorry that they had to close but I guess what goes around comes around. The good people at Gottleib's recently took advantage of some kids who came to eat with their dates before prom. The resturant faxed a price list at the time the reservation was made but bumped the prices up tremendously for the evening (not to mention adding an additional 20% gratuity) guess they should have treated the good people of Savannah a little better.

Jenn S. said...

** I WAS GOING TO DELETE THIS ANONYMOUS COMMENT... but then changed my mind.

I am currently verifying whether they have actually closed their doors. I can't imagine this could be true.

I wanted to respond to the writers pricing comments...

Gottlieb's is a seasonal restaurant and their menu is continually changing - ergo their prices are continually changing.

As far as gratuity, many restaurants have an automatic 20% gratuity if you are a party of 6 or more.

If you were one of the "kids" you mentioned in your comment, I'm sorry you were embarrassed in front of your date. We thoroughly enjoyed our meal and I'm keeping my fingers crossed that the restaurant has not closed.

Jenn S. said...

UPDATE:

According to a Savannah Business News article:

Gottlieb's has had building maintenance issues since opening at 1W. Broughton St. in 2004. They found out they would have to dig up the sewage lines in the basement to fix the problem. It was an undertaking they could not afford, so they decided to shut the doors for good.

"We're going to try and straighten out these issues and build a new one," Michael Gottlieb said.

Anonymous said...

My wife and I have had nothing but memorable times at Gottlieb's, we are so sorry they have closed their doors. Does anybody know how to get in touch with the Gottlieb brothers?

Jenn S. said...

No, I don't, sorry.

Anonymous said...

They have a new place. It's more casual than the one before. It's on the corner of Whitaker and Broughton. It's pretty good. You should go.

Anonymous said...

The new restaurant is called "gravy".

Anonymous said...

I work with Michael Gottlieb in new Orleans !!