The Ordinary Pub — Restaurant in Savannah

We visited TOP last Saturday for dinner while visiting Savannah for a bachelorette party.

We didn't have any trouble finding this place. Major speakeasy feels -- enter from downtown to descend a staircase and enter this attractive and comfortable restaurant. The MOH made reservations for us in advance and I remember her being stressed and saying they split our table of 9 into two tables because they don't accommodate tables of more than 8, but it wound up not mattering because our 9th couldn't make it because she had a migraine. We were all able to be seated together, so that was nice.

Our waitress was nice and working hard. She did seem a little confused/unfamiliar with the drink menu -- someone asked her what the seasonals were in one of the gin drinks and she said something along the lines of "I think it's just made with gin." Which...we knew, lol. But it was not a big deal. As other reviews have noted, they are very serious about carding here, so don't forget! I appreciate the extra caution.

I'm not a huge alcohol person, so I tried to order a sweet tea to drink. They apparently don't serve that here, which seems wild to me given that we're in southern Georgia...but okay. Bummer. I just had water to drink.

Almost everyone else had an alcoholic beverage of some sort. The best one was something that sounded like it would be spicy. I tried to look up the name of it but didn't see anything sounding familiar on the online menus, so idk. The running theme for almost everyone's drinks was that they were on the sweet side, especially the espresso martini. But overall everyone seemed happy enough.

For appetizers, the table split the fried green tomato caprese and the olives and cheese. Both were okay. The breading on the FGT was kind of loose instead of crispy, which I'm guessing was due to how thickly cut the tomatoes were. I'm not a huge olive person so I didn't try those, but the bread served with the cheese and olives was delicious.

We got a variety of plates for dinner and I didn't hear everyone's comments on everything, so I can't speak on everything we ordered, but here's what I remember:

The person who ordered the grits and greens seemed to be the happiest. That's good, because she was the bride, lol.

One of my friends who ordered the gumbo and grits remarked that she doesn't like tomato-based gumbo, which apparently that was...but there was no way to know based on the menu. She ate about half of it. The other person who got the gumbo and grits liked it more.

Three of us got burgers, two bacon pesto and one Savannah. I was the one with the Savannah burger. Honestly, I wasn't a huge fan. All of us struggled mightily to eat it; these burgers are huge and even smushing them down, they're unmanageable to try to cram in your mouth. I wound up cutting mine with a knife and fork and doing the best I could. It was slightly spicy, so I'm glad it lived up to that. I could've used more pimento cheese, but I love that stuff. The bacon was cooked well. Unfortunately, the bun didn't hold up well to all the toppings/meat and disintegrated. And the patty itself was just...idk. Not for me. It tasted more like bougie meatloaf than a hamburger, which isn't bad but not really what I was hoping for. Idk if that's the duck butter talking, or what. I saw a couple of reviews say it's a blend of beef and pork, so maybe that's it? But you'd think that would be indicated on the menu if that was the case, so I truly don't know. Regardless, I'd order something different if I returned here. I will say the thick-cut fries were enjoyable.

All in all, I wasn't as wowed by the food as I'd hoped I would be, but the experience overall was pleasant and efficient and the bride seemed happy, which is what matters most. Thanks for...

Wish we would have taken pictures. All of the food was great. I’ve eaten at a lot of more hyped restaurants in/around the area, and I found myself enjoying this more than any of them.

We went twice in two days (it wasn’t the plan, but the experience was so great that we found ourselves double dipping).

Great service. We booked a table online just to be safe. That went perfectly and we were seated as soon as we arrived. Our waiters were each really nice— willing to offer suggestions and consistently attentive.

For the food, we got four entrees in our two visits: the shrimp and grits, the low country Mac and Cheese, the Steak, Egg, and Grits, then finally the chicken and waffle gyro. Here’s how I’d rank them:

1. Shrimp and Grits- big shrimp and chorizo on top of the great Gouda cheese grits. The separator is the bbq guajilo sauce. It’s smoky and tangy. Not much heat, but a bit of spice— if that makes sense. Try this.

2. Steak, egg, and grits. I got my steak medium rare, and loved this dish. Chimichurri sauce with the egg yolk smothering the steak, then getting a smidge of the grits was everything you hope it would be. I’m sad that it’s over, but I’m glad that it happened.

3. Low Country Mac. There’s a big jump from the top 2 down to this one. This isn’t bad by any means— just a bit one note. It does that note really well. Big shrimp, chunks of sausage, and a bunch of creamy Mac and cheese. It’s really good. Just about what I expected, and the above two dishes went above and beyond.

4. Chicken and Waffle Gyro. Again, still really good. Any of these dishes are worth getting and I would get them again. The waffle gyro was really interesting, and the chicken was great. A little sweet for my tastes, but sweetness is expected with this dish.

Bonus review in case you made it through my long winded opinion: the pork and donut sliders were great. I thought they’d be gimmicky and too sweet. Our waiter (the GOAT) suggested that we tack on the side of Gouda cheese sauce, and it wasn’t merely an upsell. The Gouda sauce is the perfect compliment to this dish.

Bonus bonus review in case you made it through the bonus review following my long winded opinion: great cocktails. They all taste great, and pack a punch. Everything felt well blended and intentional as opposed to the maligned concoction of sugar juice and a shot of vodka that one tends to receive in other nearby establishments.

Try it if...

My friend suggested this restaurant. I'm a Foodie so I'm always down to add another place to eat some good food. She ordered the Gumbo & Grits. She said she enjoyed it, but would rather style rice instead of grits. She also pointed out that the amounts of b seafood in the dish vs the price was very good. They did not skimp on the seafood. I ordered the Pork Belly Donut Slides with side of gouda cheese sauce and the Sweet Potato Short Ribs. I'm not a huge lover of fatty foods, but the sliders were fairly good. The pork belly was cooked to perfection. I was a bit peeved to realize that I was never given my side of cheese sauce that in paid for (I didn't realize it until I was looking through my receipts after I went back to my room 🙄). I'm not a coffee lover and the menu clearly states that the short ribs were cooked in a coffee red wine reduction. I've had coffee rubbed steaks before and like them so I thought I would be okay with it. And I love sweet potatoes. When my entree was brought out I wasn't pleased by the look, but I was optimistic. I didn't like it. I felt like my veggies were submerged in a pot of dark coffee. Plus for this dish to be billed as Sweet Potato Short Ribs, there weren't many sweet potatoes. There was more arugula than anything. Our server asks if everything was to our liking and instead of just eating what I really didn't enjoy, I told her I didn't like it. She asked if I'd like anything else. There really wasn't anything else on the menu that interested. I hate sending my food back. So, I asked her if I could swap out the sweet potatoes and arugula for some smashed potatoes and she happily obliged. This made the short ribs more enjoyable. If you are a coffee lover, then you'd love the meal. I didn't order a drink but there are a few that caught my eye. If I come back for a visits, then I'll definitely try a drink and the appetizers...