Alligator Soul

It was dumb blind luck that we stumbled on to this place. As we were headed to another Savannah restaurant, our Über driver chastised us for not trying Alligator Soul. Good thing we listened to his advice — as it was an amazing dining experience. The menu is an inspired hybrid of Cajun, Southern cuisine and modern soul food. From alligator fritters to fried green tomatoes, the appetizer selection will whet your appetite. (We bucked the system and got a half order of shrimp and grits as a starter. Incredibly delicious.) The entrees are a carnivore’s paradise. Alas, don’t worry vegetarians. Even though there’s no veggie menu offerings — there’s a standing offer from the chef to make an inspired farm-​to-​table, locally sourced vegetarian dish just for you. I still regret turning down dessert. Next time I’m in town — I’m starting there and working my way back. Plus — cheers to the staff — and our server Luke — for being so accommodating. We walked in around 9:40pm — about 20 minutes before close on a Saturday night — and no one batted an eye. Keep in mind — we still had to wait to be seated. Yep, it’s that popular. Make a reservation for sure!

AS has a lot of hype of being the best restaurant in town. It was good and the menu interesting but don’t think it lives up to its reputation. The restaurant itself is super cool, service was awesome. We started with oysters which were good but overly bready. For entrees we had the lamb osso busso (two thumbs up) and the little hilbo (HUGE). We thought it was great but no need to go back…

This was our favorite meal in Savannah. Drinks, service, ambiance and food were all outstanding. I highly recommend the shrimp and grits, as well as the banana beignets. The wife also enjoyed her lamb. Highly recommended.

Best meal I’ve had in a long time. A very long time.
–Rashad was our server and he was 5 star! So knowledgable with wine and food. He went above and beyond and is truly an asset to the company! The rest of the staff we encountered were wonderful as well.
Okay so let’s get to the good stuff:
–Food and wine was AMAZING!
–There’s a large variety of wines to choose from.
–We had the charcuterie board as an appetizer with alligator fritters. Delish!
–My sister and her boyfriend both ordered The Little Hilbo steak! Cooked perfectly and so flavorful. And being from Texas, I know a good steak when I taste one.
–I ordered a side of the shrimp and grits. Grits were so creamy! Yum. And the wild boar osso buco! This was fan-​frickentastic!
Ohh and dessert… Please save room. We ordered the banana stuffed beignets. Everything about it was perfect. The beignets are served hot on a bed of vanilla ice cream topped with cinnamon chips… this dessert was so HEAVENLY!
I wish my stomach was bigger so that I could have eaten more.
Can’t wait to go back!

Based on the reviews, my wife and I had high expectations.
One reviewer wrote that the selling up was too much. We can definitely see that.
Despite an OK service, the food was rather bland considering the make believe and price.
The kicker was this: another waiter took the $ 100 bill we sent back with the check.
When our waiter came back and saw the tip, he laughed out loud enough that all the other guests lokked up. He didn’t realise that we had paid already.
Apart from the embarrasment, we are wondering how badly a restaurant can handle the payment process.
Never again.

High expectations but quite the letdown. Cool downstairs vibe. We were seated at 7:15pm. We didn’t order appetizers and waited nearly an hour for our main course. When it arrived, my medium-​rare order of the rib eye was blue inside nearly raw. I sent it back to be brought up to temperature and that took another 30 minutes. My boyfriend had completely finished his plate, I couldn’t make him eat cold food because mine took so long. The duck fat fries were okay, probably better before the reheat. The broccolini was nothing special. I didn’t end up eating more than a few bites of my entrée because we were told we had to leave the table by 9pm for the next reservation. That shows you how slow the service was. The good news is we ordered the banana beignets for dessert which were phenomenal. The bad news is we had to wolf them down. Nothing special enough to bring me back or recommend…

LOVED this place! Make sure you make a reservation! My boyfriend and I got lucky to find a place at the bar the second night thay we tried just walking in. Anyway it is worth the way! Amazing food, service and atmostphere! Had the shrimp and grits — sooo good!

You can use OpenTable app to make reservations for this place and I would recommend doing so because it can fill up pretty quickly. I came here for Restaurant Week, the food was good but the service was really slow. A three course meal took us 3 hours because the waiter took so long to get everything.
To start with, I got the Andygator ($ 5), which was great. You can’t tell it has 8% alcohol. They gave us a sample of chips topped with black bean hummus but it wasn’t the best one I have had. We also got freshly baked bread and corn bread with homemade butter, which had herbs in it. It was delicious.
For appetizer, I got the Alligator fritters and my friend got the Pork Belly ($ 12). The fritters were better than Pork Belly. They were really soft and had a lot of meat in it. I got the Gumbos back baby for my entrée. It was really flavorful and the frog legs were cooked to perfection. If you have never had frog legs, they taste exactly like chicken. I tried the Guinea Hen from my friend and the Potato Gratin that comes with it is delicious. My other friend got the mussels and said it was delicious. She order half size ($ 15) and it was a lot of mussels. If you order a full plate, you can easily share it between two people. For dessert, I got the Alligator Soul banana beignets, it was delicious. It comes with organic vanilla ice cream, which makes it even better. My friend got the Flourless chocolate torte, it was great but the hazelnut butter garnish in it wasn’t the best. Their carrot cake is delicious as well.
Overall it’s a great place but the service isn’t the best. I might return to try different entrée in future.

Such a great spot in the old Savannah, the food & drinks were awesome :) I had Short ribs & my bf went to a wild side for the elk We also got drunken mussels for appetizer & burbon crème brûlée for dessert. All were good & their daily fresh bake cornbread muffin were sooo surprisingly delicious We followed other Unilocal & tried to made a reservation in advance for Saturday night but they were all booked up, so we made for Sunday but it was a good experience :)

This restaurant was within walking distance from the Hamilton Turner Inn. We walked down a staircase to find this lovely southern restaurant. We sat at the bar and had a cocktail before dinner. We noticed that these drinks were a bit over–
priced compared to other fine restaurants in Savannah. Once we were seated at our dining table for two, we ordered a dozen oysters to start and two entrees. We also ordered another cocktail and a glass of wine. Our drinks came and within minutes our entrees showed up before our oysters! They apologized for the mix up and we said we would have the oysters after our dinner. In hindsight we shouldn’t have done this because the whole dinner felt rushed and mixed up. The restaurant and service was over priced for this kind of mix up. They should have at least given us a free dessert for the confusion.

This place is incredible! Came here for a visit and a local mentioned that this was a Savannah gem. This place is underground, so don’t be alarmed when the building looks dark. It also opens at 5:30pm, so dinner is the only option. The décor is great – romantic lighting and very cozy. The hostess was very sweet and friendly. We had a few drinks from the bar while we were waiting for our table – they have a cute and comfortable sitting area.
The service is probably some of the best I’ve ever had. The waitress was very knowledgable and energetic. Her service was effortless. They specifically ask the table if there are any food allergies. I’m gluten free, so this was great to hear! They have a lot of gluten free options and I was told the entire staff is educated on food allergies.
The food is to die for. Everything looked incredible and the options were endless. I had the bacon wrapped fillet and it was incredible.
This place is pricey, but for the service and food, it is worth it and a must try!

After a string of underwhelming dining experiences during a visit to Savannah, this place proved there were indeed top notch establishments in town.
Firstly, the décor and ambience are very nice — original but unpretentious. It’s actually a pretty casual vibe, with the real focus being on the quality of the food and service. Works for me.
The service was, without exaggeration, among the best I’ve experienced. Our waiter Rashad met all the usual criteria, but was also transparently passionate about the food on offer. I won’t trust any food advice from someone who isn’t obsessed with eating. I ended up ordering exactly as he recommended, in addition to the Shrimp and Grits sampler that I had wanted to begin with.
So, the really important part: the food. I had wanted the alligator fritters but they were out. Too bad, but I understand the value of selling fresh instead of keeping a stockpile of frozen meats. On Rashad’s suggestion I went with the ‘baby back’ grilled gator with sausage. Sublime. I also had an appetizer sized sample of shrimp and grits. I found this to be only OK — rather uninteresting, but maybe the dish itself (which I’d never had) is one dimensional?
The main event was the ‘little’ hilbo ribeye with duck fat fries. How on earth they managed to cook such a large cut of grass fed beef without drying it out is beyond me. But they did, and the quality of the meat and type of seasoning made this one of the best steaks I’ve ever had, if not the best.
Dessert was supposed to be banana beignets, but they were out of ice cream as their freezer had broken down. I said I’d be happy to have it without ice cream but the chef refused (!), saying it would completely ruin the flavor profile. I actually respected this and went with the chocolate torte instead. Pretty decent, but I was already sold on Alligator Soul by then.

This is a great place for special occasions — kind of fancy and steep prices. The menu is seasonal and offers many outside-​the-​box options, especially for those who have an open mind to try new things. We had a great server who was super helpful on explaining all dishes and on making recommendations.

Amazing! My husband and I went to Savannah for our honeymoon. Needless to say, we had high expectations for culinary getaway we planned months in advance. Alligator Soul did not disappoint.
We ordered the cheese board, the Lamb Oso Bucco and the Ribeye after seeing it at another table. It was the best meal we have ever had! Our server was very friendly and attentive also.

What an introduction to Savannah– delectable southern food, outstanding service all in a cozy hideaway below street level.
I ate here on Friday night before the marathon and could not be more excited to try out Savannah cuisine. I had flown into Savannah from NYC early that morning on two hours of sleep, wandered about town, and checked into my hotel. I managed to squeeze in a nap and a shower, then off to dinner. I was dining solo, yet my server, Ryan, offered to be my stand-​in date (what a southern gentleman). The service was always there, but never overbearing, the food was rich, but not overwhelming and the ambiance was a perfect Friday night crowd.
Drinks: Justin Cabernet Sauvignon 375mL because you can’t go wrong with this bottle and it’s an ode to the Central Coast.
Food: I went with half of Ryan’s suggestions– a half dozen of the Oysters a la Soul and the Local Day Boat Fish (red fish over beans) because I couldn’t tackle a whole steak, oysters and a half bottle the night before a race.
Dessert: Banana Beignets (truth be told, the second beignets of the day) — lots of fried banana and crispy strips of crispy wonton and a delicious mix of vanilla ice cream and pecan in the middle.
Hello Savannah, I love you– so full, so happy, and what a way to kick off a solo trip.
Also, I managed to finish the race.

Hubby and I were very excited to try Alligator Soul after reading so many great reviews. We opted to share our entire meal so we could get the chance to sample many of their dishes. I’m so happy we did it this way — they have a really nice selection of small plates and I wanted to eat every single one of them.
OYSTERS A LA SOUL — Oh my gosh, these were good! Probably the best baked oysters I’ve ever had. They had a seafood flavor as they were topped with a crawfish mix. Divine! The habanero hot sauce added the perfect kick. Surprisingly not as hot as the word «habanero» would lend, thankfully. It just gave extra flavor points. We both loved this one.
CRISPY SEARED PORK BELLY — Served with a hoecake and sweet pepper jelly, this was a very flavorful bite. The Pork Belly itself was a nice cut — not too fatty as I’ve seen in other pork bellies — which is my preference. We could’ve just gotten a really good piece, I don’t know. But regardless, it was excellent.
ARTICHOKE & GOAT CHEESE FRITTER — If we had to pick an unfavorite, this one would be it. It was similar to a mozzarella cheese stick except instead of marinara it had a red pepper coulis. Still good but we did not eat all of this one, as the rest of our meal took top priority.
ALLIGATOR BOUDIN — This was one of the specials of the night. It was alligator, sausage and rice mix served like a link of sausage. It had good flavor, but I’m not a huge sausage fan. Hubby liked it very much though and ate the majority of it.
SHRIMP & GRITS — I had never had shrimp and grits before, and knew if I was going to try it my best bet would be in Georgia or South Carolina. This version had shrimp sautéed in butter and creole spices. Grits were blended with cheddar and topped with a bourbon and coke Tasso ham gravy. What in the heck is Tasso gravy? Just a creation sent down from Heaven, I’m pretty sure. Ugh. So good. My first foray into shrimp and grits was definitely a winner.
Dessert was good as well. Hubby always gets whatever the chocolate thing is, so he had the Chocolate Torte. I opted for the Lemon Ginger crème brulee. The sugar crust on the brulee was a little thick, but the rest tasted very good.
Excellent meal at Alligator Soul. We left satisfied and very happy. Highly recommended!

My family and I stumbled onto Alligator Soul during our vacation and boy are we glad that we did. It was the very best meal we had in Savannah. The food is outstanding!!! Don’t be scared away by the location, which is located down a flight of stairs in a basement setting. The inside is beautifully decorated, dimly lit, and has an old world southern charm to it. And yes, there’s a cool painting of a «soulful» alligator on the wall.
Our meal started with a complimentary amuse-​bouche of papadum, black eyed pea hummus, smoked tomato, and chive. It was a tiny little burst of flavor that we all loved! We were then given a basket of fresh bread that was so good, we couldn’t stop ourselves from eating it. But we knew we had an amazing meal coming, so we restrained ourselves from devouring only bread for our dinner.
I’ll digress for a moment and get to the service. Our waiter Rashad was perhaps the best waiter I’ve ever had at any restaurant anywhere in the world and that’s saying a lot. We liked Rashad because he was not only the pro-​typical southern gentlemen, but he was also funny and knew the menu inside and out. We told him we were visiting from New York and asked for recommendations of things to do and see in Savannah. He came back a short while later with a list of some of his favorite haunts written down. That’s going above and beyond the call of duty!
Back to the food! Rashad made some recommendations on the menu and we took them. We ordered the crispy pork belly, but since Rashad saw that our party of five was sharing all the appetizers, he brought out an extra one on the house so that we could all enjoy it. Once again, above and beyond the call of duty and very much appreciated! Needless to say, the crispy pork belly was divine and only got us more excited for what was yet to come. We also added the artichoke and goat cheese fritters and baked oysters to round out our appetizers. All were excellent!
For our main courses, my family ordered the hilbo steak, lamb chops, and shrimp and grits. My fiancée, who is a vegetarian, ordered the vegetarian special, which we learned was code name for a specially made assortment of vegetarian yumminess that she loved! All of our entrees were absolutely delicious though the hilbo steak took the gold medal as the best entrée of the night. For dessert, we were encouraged by our wonderful waiter to try both the banana beignets and the chocolatier special. We were very glad that we got both since they were the perfect way to end our extraordinary meal.
If you only have time for one restaurant in Savannah head straight to Alligator Soul and ask for Rashad. You’ll be in excellent hands and will enjoy a wonderful southern meal!

I love the South. I love it. Everything about it. ESPECIALLY the food.
Alligator Soul is located in a little underground nook which I immediately thought was cool. I’ve had a lot of friends recommend this place, so I definitely needed to try it.
Starting off, we had the fried green tomatoes which were phenomenal. Also we had the goat cheese and artichoke fritters and sweet Jesus I could eat those everyday!
For appetizers, my friends and I split a few things– we had mussels with peppadews and cornbread which honestly was my least favorite. We didn’t finish half of them. they just could have been much more flavorful. We tried the snapper special which was in a broth of ramps, leeks, tasso ham, pinto beans and greens– cooked to perfection and such a party in my mouth!
Shrimp and grits were also ordered, and since I have an allergy I can’t tell you how it was but I could tell by the pleased, content faces that this did not disappoint.
So all in all, it was very good. I was expecting a little more (maybe my expectations were too high) but it definitely was a great experience.

One of the more anticipated reservations during our weekend in Savannah, Alligator Soul hit more than few culinary highlights and struggled, mysteriously, with one very important dinner element.
Service maintained an observant, cordial and responsive demeanor throughout our meal. Thomas was there when we needed him, had menu answers at the ready, and displayed a great deal of pride to be representing Alligator Soul. Good show!
Following a playful, umami rich amuse bouche, we destroyed the creative bread basket and salivated over a dozen Oyster a la Soul ($ 29): a regional spin on O-​Rock, stuffing the bivalve’s with local bacon, kinda local crawfish, mire poix and green onion, topping them with a parmesan-​flaked roux and panko, and baked til bubbling. Very rich, balanced and surprisingly not overpowered by the house habanero hot sauce.
My main was the elk special ($ 39), because when you have one night in a restaurant that boasts a mastery of gamier plates, you go for what they know. And did they! A beautiful medium-​rare, presented a bit less gloriously over buttery polenta and roasted cipollini onions. A pinch of the house Hilbo seasoning — also found on the signature Little Hilbo — and the savory mostarda brought a welcomed edge to the plate. I was scraping the flatware for every last bite.
And now the down note: the cocktail program. Loads of promise, abysmal execution. The Hilbo Bloody Mary ($ 13) is served up in a stainless martini «glass,» is more than flecked with ice chips, and is laughable in the pour. Take a look at the pic below — that’s unsipped. Asked Thomas is it was standard, He said yes, «the bar manager himself made it.» According to other photos (like this:
), that’s simply not the case. This was an excellent opportunity to right a wrong by adding more mix — it’s a bloody, after all, not a meticulous craft cocktail. But alas, they stood by it. At $ 13, it’s a wimpy bust. Same could be said for the Gin Gin Mule — flat and watery, even with a house-​made ginger syrup and wisps of mint. Stick with wine or a local beer.
We wrapped up our meal with Banana Beignets ($ 11), a simple, delectable preparation of tempura fried fruits, dressed up with caramel, cinnamon wonton strips and candied nuts, served a la mode. It was fine.
Overall, a 3.5 rounded up to 4, yet this is one of those important times when you’ve just got to break it down:
— Service: 4
— Food: 4.5
— Drinks: 2

My favorite restaurant in Savannah.
Located in a basement, the décor is warm and cozy. Love the exposed brick and fireplace.
Our waitress was very sweet and knowledgeable about the items on the menu.
Etta James cocktail was delicious, gin, cucumber and berry. Light and refreshing.
Having read about this restaurant online, I was very excited to try the exotic menu. Luckily for me that meant New Zealand Red Deer. The meat was very red (new meaning to red meat), tender and not too gamy. Perfect. It was served with gruyère au gratin potatoes and green beans. There was plenty of food, I ate all of it and felt completely satisfied.
My table mates had the flounder with mushroom risotto, awesome. The french fries were also well done and delicious (but aren’t french fries sort of always delicious?)
Didn’t try dessert, but they were very tempting.
Pricey, but a better bang for your buck compared to Olde Pink House.