This place has been one of my favorites for lunch, brunch and holiday treats for several years. This culinary gem, Savanna Restaurant, had a rough start post-Covid and became a local favorite. The previous original restaurant here at the zoo Safari Club closed and chef, John Davis, from the retired and closed iconic restaurant, Sunset Cork Room, brought some excellent culinary experiences here. Unfortunately, they just closed their doors and the future of this unique venue is uncertain. They posted a heartfelt thank you to patrons and I'm gonna be on the lookout for the chefs and if they will pop up somewhere in the future, they did a great job and thank you all for sharing your expertise and great food! read more

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A friends & neighbors favorite since opening. They've come here multiple times since then. This is only my 2nd time since ownership changed hands to chef/owner John Davis. I love their menu varieties featuring lunch favorites & classic dinner fanfare featuring soups, salads, pasta & other entrée app offerings. There's a wonderful variety pertaining to their wine & beer lists with specials available at certain times. Last visit was excellent. I brought other family members who joined me from Pittsburgh and were also satisfied with their complete dining experience from service to entrees. They've kept Safai Club's original decor, retaining that theme and giving Savannah their namesake theme. Be sure to check their wonderful selections before reading further. Menu: https://savannatherestaurant.com/menu Their hospitality is impeccable, ensuring our group's needs were met and remaining attentive towards us with a friendly demeanor. Remaining prompt with food & drink orders. Their chefs continue towards remaining flawless in preparing their entrees, which always come served full of flavors. My group's favorite this day was their French onion soup, as 8 other people with us all ordered that & discussed it, recommending it to myself & others within my group. My order was their burger & fries. Their burgers are served flaming hot with char-grilled flavor, juicy, having a moist bun seasoned with perfection & featuring fries prepared hot, crisp, & moist. My group is consistent regulars & will continue coming here on select Fridays or at certain times without us celebrating special occasions or date nights. Be Sure to Like Them on FB & Tell a Friend https://www.facebook.com/SavannaTheRestaurant/ Website : https://savannatherestaurant.com/ read more

Savanna - Seafood Near Me - Gulf Shores, Alabama

Walked in. No one greeted us. Waited a few minutes, found another place to eat and started to leave. Once headed to the door a hostess greeted us. The place was empty. Why are the reviews high here? Even the locals don't seem to like it. read more

Savanna - Empty - Seafood Near Me - Gulf Shores, Alabama

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Savanna is at the zoo. We enjoyed our evening here. Good service, tasty food and reasonable prices. They host events here, there was a wine tasting taking place. It is a smaller space but plenty of seating. read more

Savanna - Seafood Near Me - Gulf Shores, Alabama

Not impressed. French dip roast beef cut too thick and appeared to be deli roast beef. Potato salad had too much Mayo and very little flavor. Bread pudding sauce was a bit unusual. Service was good and the decor is unchanged from the Safari Club. Not sure if I'll give it a second chance. If you're looking for a place to hang out and have a few drinks, this could be your place. read more

Food was really good and the waiter and cook were both super nice, but sadly service was kinda slow which I don't blame them for because they had a lot of tables and it was just them 2, I think if there was another server it would've been a bit better of a experience read more

Savanna - Shrimp, fries, ceased salad - Seafood Near Me - Gulf Shores, Alabama

I don't know; not sure if this restaurant is going to make it. I'm giving it five stars in hopes that it can make it but also maybe the owners to read the review and consider some changes. Our community so badly need this restaurant too thrive. There is no themed restaurant in this market that I know of.... They have such a good opportunity. But I just think the operators are lost; please stop selling an old-fashioned with burnt marshmallows what the heck is that??? Go to New Orleans or even Destin to learn about making craft cocktails. The espresso martini was gross. Go visit Louis, Luis, in Destin. Anyhow... The arrival to the restaurant is so odd.... The entrance to the park is not lit up so you think the place is closed; the building is not lit up and it still has the name of the old restaurant. Very dimly lit. The food was not great .... Well below average for the price point. But I think their current offering is all wrong for the opportunity they have. The restaurant is offering traditional coastal food that you can find anywhere. This place is very unique! It's located at a zoo! Make it thematic and fun. Start by embracing the previous name safari club .... It's in a zoo Dim the lights, stop playing Frank Sinatra music, and start playing some type of subtle African safari music. Go to Orlando and visit the animal, kingdom Lodge food offering. See the environment hear the music; experience the spices and flavors. Use this theme to build your menu ..... Our local market Gulf Shores, Foley is lacking any type of international cuisine no Curry no Thai to speak of ...... Introduce spice to the market and you have such a great environment ... You could still offer the same steak and seafood, but just dress it up with some unique spices Just my thought read more

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Food- delicious Service- fantastic Ambience--beautiful Got the Appetizer-Red Pepper Dip & Flat Bread Filet with Corn Grits and baby Zucchini Highly recommend--- everything was absolutely delicious read more

Savanna - Red Pepper Dip - Seafood Near Me - Gulf Shores, Alabama

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The restaurant is great. We had several of their specialty cocktails including the espresso martini, the perfect storm and old fashioned. The meat and cheese board was simple and good. The steaks were all cooked perfectly and the sides were a great compliment. We also had the bread pudding dessert. The bacon was a little salty but all around the dessert was good. The brown butter cake was a hit too. Needless to say the plates were empty and the drinks were all finished. Will definitely be back soon. Our server was very friendly and the restaurant was quiet so we enjoyed some great conversation. It's off the main road but worth the diversion. read more

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Great service , food delicious....great atmosphere inside and out. Entertainment in the evening hours

We sat at the bar before being seated and had an old fashioned and chocolate martini, both made expertly and to perfection The flatbread with red pepper sauce Was delicious and so was the onion soup and grilled grouper. Wait staff, hostess and bartender all gracious and timing in all segments of the meal was excellent. read more

The server Stephanie was friendly. Everything else was awful. Food was cold (besides fries). Quiet and empty. We were the only ones here and its Friday. We ordered several different meals (french dip, burger, and chicken salad). read more

I love how they have rebranded this restaurant. The atmosphere fits perfectly. I had the shrimp and grits, though which were wonderful and sampled the apple pancakes. Just love the hint of bourbon in the apple glaze on the pancakes. Service was great, will definitely come back for brunch again. read more

Not a great first impression. We have lived here at the beach for 20 years and have our favorite places so it takes us some time to get around to "new" places. Savanna was one of them. We figured we would go today and take my MIL out to lunch rather than fussing with the crowds and set menus for Mother's Day tomorrow. We got there at 2 (happy hour) and it took about 5 minutes for us to be greeted by anyone. When we did get someone to come to the hostess stand we asked to be seated outside but were told there were hornets. So we sat inside. About 5 minutes later our waitress came up and asked for our drink order but we hadn't seen a drink menu and didn't know what was on happy hour. She didn't know it WAS happy hour but did bring a menu of sorts for us to look at. We selected our drinks and when she came back with a water for my MIL and a lemonade for my son she too our food orders. About 20 minutes later the table next to us waved the waitress down for an extra glass of wine and it was only when they got their refills that we got our drinks. The food arrived and the portion sizes of the French dip and Reuban were both generous. The sandwiches came with chips (or potato salad or pasta salad). They were crispy and good. I ordered the grouper which came grilled with fries and a Caesar salad. My son had the kids pizza. The pizza was so hot that we were about 1/2 way done with our meal before it cooled down enough for him to not burn his mouth. My grouper was not good. It was over cooked, under seasoned but over salted and tasted fishy like frozen fish filets taste. The Caesar salad was the best thing on the plate as the fries were mildly warm and a little soggy. We ate. We paid. We left. read more

So at first I was confused because on the map it appears to be in the zoo. So I called and they explained they are indeed at the zoo but have their own entrance and zoo admission is not required. We chose this spot because we dont all love seafood and every place on the beach is very seafood heavy. Savanna was decorated like glamping! Very cool interior! We had charcuterie, rib eye steaks, and all was very good! I thought the prices were fair for the portions, and the steak had very little gristle as ribeye often do. The service was very attentive as the restaurant was very quiet. read more

first visit was fantastic food. second visit the fish was dry/overcooked. sitting is bench dining on wood which the 4 of us found it hard on our bottoms. the have bar sitting plus long table with chairs sitting for groups. waitress was good. checked twice. parking lot is for the zoo. lightening needs improvement since it appears everything is closed. read more

We came for brunch on a Sunday and sat at the bar. The bartender was knowledgeable about the menu and specials. The frittatas were huge and the breakfast Philly was good as well. We got a bottle of champagne for mimosas and they provided 5 different juices. Spicy Bloody Mary was delicious too! We enjoyed live music while we waited and food came quickly. Would visit again. read more

Savanna - Spicy Bloody Mary - Seafood Near Me - Gulf Shores, Alabama

We found this place last minute due to poor planning on our part on a busy Friday night. We were a bit worried when we pulled in the parking lot of a Zoo! We walked inside and were instantly impressed. It is a small restaurant with a total of four staff members that we counted. Two in the kitchen and two tending to the restaurant. Service was excellent from everyone. We ordered a bit of everything. Lamb lollipops, bang bang shrimp, pimento board and bread for starters. All were great. We ordered Filet, Ahi, three pasta dishes and Swordfish. All were delicious. Filet was top three steaks that I've had in the US. This is an extremely hidden gem that has been opened around a year and is just renting space from the zoo. read more

Amazing food and friendly service. Best brunch menu around town for a fact!!!! The lunch menu is unique and definitely worth a try anytime you are in the area!!! read more

Good food and a great atmosphere! We will go back at some point. Not sure when but we will go back.

Excellent food and atmosphere! Frank was fabulous and so friendly. Live music, brunch mimosas for a great price, and really elevated dishes. The frittata is awesome! Can't wait to come back. read more

I came into savanna Friday night with my wife and we did not have a reservation. The manager Michael was very accommodating and sat us in a booth. The ambiance was phenomenal with live music and we both ordered the cheeseboard and a bottle of roll Merlot. Our server was very well versed in wine and recommend we pair our meal with the pork loin. Thank you Julia! read more

We went to Savanna's for their Valentine special. Dinner for two $100. We started with soup salad that was ok. Next course, crab cakes..2. Ok nothing special. Main course porterhouse steak, potatoes au gratin, asparagus. Steak was about 1 inch thick and tough, potatoes, ok, asparagus..2 stalks each. Then dessert, tiramisu to split. Ok, nothing special. If a restaurant is offering a special, make it special! We were not impressed with the food. We had dinner here when it was the previous owners and it was fantastic! We won't be back. Too bad... read more

Went for lunch today! Great meal, great service and great ambiance! Very enjoyable experience.

The food was good but the staff was better. Really had a nice time here. I was not impressed with the wine selection (Chardonnay). Would definitely try again. read more

The lamb lollipops were delightful, as were the fried green tomato caprese appetizer and desserts (we tried all 4)! So nice to have Chef John back and shining in the kitchen! You were missed. read more

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Came here for an early dinner with the family on Saturday of Memorial day weekend. The food was great. Even my sons well done cheeseburger. Dessert first class. The service was great. Our waitress was very nice. We sat outside and enjoyed some of the zoo noises - in a good way :). Couldn't fault it. read more

Amazing food! Consider it a restaurant located at the Zoo and not a Zoo restaurant. The service, ambiance and decor are great!

I came in with my two kids for brunch and sat on the patio. I ordered a monte cristo and my kids had chicken tenders, Frank was an amazing server and made my kids feel important. The food was excellent and I will definitely be coming back ! Thanks Frank for everything! read more

Food was great. Service was ok,servers were busy and seemed stressed. It was Happy hour and the Music was kinda loud. I will probably go back,but at a different time. read more

A little off the beaten path. But we'll work it! Ambiance was outstanding. Service was excellent. The food was awesome! I got the grill grouper with steamed vegetables. My wife ordered grouper and grits. First time I tried this. I highly recommend trying it! read more

Had a wonderful experience. French onion soup was excellent and the red pepper dip is a must have.

We had dinner here last night, it's unusual as it actually at the zoo. We had no wait to be seated. There was a guy singing . We started with the cheese board and house flat bread. The cheese board was nice and decent portion. The flat bread was very good with olive oil mixture to dip bread in. We chose the Chicken Marsala and the Grouper. The sides were broccoli with the fish and green beans with the chicken- they had substituted Mac & cheese as a sub for potatoes- it was not good- dry and arrived barely lukewarm. We ordered a side of the stone ground grits which were very good . The fish (for my husband) was excellent and cooked perfect with a lemon beurre blanc sauce that was great. The chicken Marsala was great with a rich sauce and very tender. Kylee was our server and she was great. They had a very large group they were serving at the same time but we never felt slighted with service. read more

The atmosphere was good service as well! The food however has much room for improvement. Started with a cheese board nothing special. Entress 2 grilled grouper dinners that almost tasted frozen. A special of the night which was Chicken. It was tough and chewy. Maybe an off night might try again. read more

Only open a week and still have a few things to work out but people are loving the food. read more

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Savanna Restaurant is convenient while visiting the zoo but worth the trip even if not attending the zoo. Brunch was especially delicious! I loved the sweetness and fluffiness of the Banana Foster Pancakes. The sausage was also very flavorful. These are definite have-agains. The price point makes it one of the more affordable brunch options in the area. read more

Delicious!!! My mom had the crab stuffed Mahi and I had the petite steak!! We finished off with the carrot cake.

Went to dinner here to find they were having a wine tasting. Truly enjoyed myself. The food was average. Portion size was fine. Service was not the best but I believe it was due to the wine tasting. I really enjoyed the decor of the restaurant. I will give them another try read more

The brunch menu is amazing! We really enjoyed the Bananas Foster Pancakes and Sourdough French Toast. The food is so flavorful and the jazz music really set the mood. We will definitely be back to try the rest of the menu and experience the live music. read more

Our food choices were excellent although overpriced, but then everything is these days. Our server was very dry and could not crack a smile. We were the only table early in the evening so couldn't be stress. A happy server can make a huge difference in the dining experience. read more