When Tom and I spent the day in Savannah with Caitlyn, we ate at the Pirates House Restaurant. It was as far east as we were walking in the historic downtown area. So we walked all the way east, ate lunch, and then made our way back west.
The Pirates House Restaurant includes the oldest house in Savannah. Inside the restaurant you find the tiny Herb House, which housed the gardener of the Trustees Garden. The house was built in 1734 and was on the outskirts of Savannah at the time. Over the years, the Herb House was renovated and expanded into a 19th century inn. Abandoned before 1940, The Savannah Gas Company bought it. The wife of the President of Savannah Gas, Mary Hillyer, dedicated herself to restoring it.
During a 1960’s renovation of the property, a toilet fell into a tunnel underneath the building. The tunnel led to the river and was probably used for smuggling during different eras of the Herb House and Inn. Today the restaurant is a rambling collection of rooms with regular “pirate” tours given of the different parts.
When we first got to the Pirates House, we were told there was an 90 minute wait for a table. That seemed a little long, but they took my cell phone number and said they would send us a text when the table was ready. Because of that, we were able to walk along the riverfront and explore the shops there until the time came. Turns out the wait was only 60 minutes, by which time we were hungry!
We sat in the Jolly Roger room and enjoyed a delicious lunch. Burgers are the specialty of the Pirates House and we all ordered burgers. They were wonderful – dripping with fat and juices and with the cheese melted into the burger. Everyone gets a basket of biscuits and cornbread with a side of homemade marmalade. By the time we ate everything we were plenty full.
Upstairs there was a fun gift shop with lots of piratey things and a large collection of t-shirts. My favorite was pirate robot Arrrrr2D2. I got a book on historic Savannah that helped with our afternoon part of the walking tour.
If you have a chance to eat at the Pirates House, I recommend it. The food is delicious and not too expensive and it is a fun place to go. The children’s menu came complete with a pirate hat and mustache. I saw Tom glance covetously at them, but he restrained himself.