Reservations Not Required: Arches Bar (Savannah, GA)
An argument for The Olde Pink House's basement.
Anyone who’s been to Savannah has at least heard of The Olde Pink House; however, if they dined there depends on their foresight into making reservations at the bright pink mansion. Reservations are made weeks and even months in advance as patrons fight to get into the dining room of a building that is older than this country. At capacity every night, The Olde Pink House is Savannah’s most popular eatery, without a doubt.
Of course, my friend Alexa and I didn’t know that until we were already in Savannah. Everyone told us that we had to have dinner at The Olde Pink House, despite the fact that we had no reservations. We tried calling to see if anyone had made any cancellations and if, by some miracle, a spot for two opened up. We were out of luck, but the staffer on the phone told me: “We do have first-come, first-serve seating at our bar. We serve our full menu there. It opens at 4:45pm.”
So, we had our mission. All dressed up with only one place to go, we headed out in the pouring rain at 4:35pm in hopes of being the first at the bar.
What we were expecting: two seats at the literal bar of The Olde Pink House, in the dining room with guests who were smart enough to make reservations a month ago at tables.
So, when the hostess walked us down a back set of stairs, out of the charming, elegant dining room and into the dark, moody basement, we had no idea what we had gotten ourselves into. This section of the restaurant is called Arches Bar, and while, yes, there is a bar, there are also table tops, cozy couches, and even a piano. We were seated at a proper table, surrounded by brick and bric-a-brac.
Now here is where the real experience is, I thought. Pile the schmucks who didn’t think to snag a reservation into the basement, but we were the ones experiencing the gritty, haunting ambiance that felt far less stuffy than upstairs.
Ah yes, haunting. I should mention that The Olde Pink House is haunted. There are plenty of stories of apparitions, unseen women crying, and menus mysteriously knocking over. The single stall in the women’s bathroom in the basement has a funny way of getting stuck, almost as if someone were holding down the lock…
We heard this story on our ghost tour the night before (side note: the only frightening thing about that tour was that it was frightfully boring, I’m afraid). Alexa braved going to the bathroom first, but promptly came out, refusing to use it. The atmosphere of the room alone was enough to scare her off. Alright then, I was up next.
I wasn’t scared, until I got up to leave the bathroom stall and the lock caught for just a moment–just enough to make my heart pound before it gave way and I bolted. Still, I lived to tell the tale.
The food downstairs is the same as upstairs. Our waitress started us off with mind-numbingly good house biscuits, which left us in a flakey, buttery trance. As of June 16, 2022–those are the best biscuits and butter I’ve ever had in my life. One day, when I’m rich, I’ll be flying those biscuits to my door in their own first class seat.
For dinner, we had Pecan Crusted Chicken Breast and Caramelized Vidalia Onion & Sweet Potato Ravioli. Our waitress was kind enough to suggest wine pairings. When the main course arrived, Alex and I ate ourselves into a wonderful stupor. It was worth every bite.
So, if you ever go to Savannah, you can certainly try to get a reservation at The Olde Pink House. But maybe live on the edge instead and hope for the best seats in the house downstairs. The basement Arches Bar is for the riff raff: the reservationless and the ghosts. But the food is just as good and the wine pours just as easily.
For more of my Savannah shenanigans and suggestions, be sure to check out @catdoesitall on Instagram.