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The throws of Yellow Fever in the 19th century and the COVID-19 pandemic this past year, both of which shuttered doors across the city. When guests savor the cuisine, they take part in the continuing story of Southern food that fills this landmark with legacy. The Olde Pink House transports modern patrons back through centuries of memories made within those walls. If only the walls could speak of Habersham's grand parties, the Clays' lively gatherings, or the bustle of Victorian bank tellers - all long gone but not forgotten. During this period, the mansion was less a family home or even hotel—it now bustled daily with patrons conducting business transactions and employees obediently working in their offices. The mansion's parlors and bedrooms now served as guest lodging, losing the elegance of their previous incarnations.
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The food draws from regional tradition, but underneath the surface of fried green tomatoes and shrimp and grits lies a storied landmark that has watched over Savannah from Reynolds Square for nearly 250 years. Just as in 1771, the Olde Pink House remains a destination for those who seek to experience Georgian Savannah's splendor. Pasadena’s Rose Tree Cottage serves one of the kitschiest and most charming teas in town. Cucumber sandwiches, scones with Devonshire clotted cream, and sticky toffee pudding are all meticulously served by a suited butler.
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Footsteps, voices, and moving objects remind visitors that while the Olde Pink House offers a glimpse into the past, some aspects of its bygone eras may continue to inhabit the present day. As one tours the storied halls of the Olde Pink House today, it becomes easy to imagine the mansion as it was during Savannah's earlier days. Patrons dine immersed in the architecture and atmosphere of 18th century Savannah brought to life by one of its earliest leading citizens. The legacy of James Habersham is still honored through the surviving Habersham house, now the Olde Pink House restaurant. When completed, the Habersham house stood among the grandest residences in Savannah. The ornate brick and pink stucco edifice with its symmetrical layout exemplified the Georgian style then fashionable throughout the colonies.
The Cat & Fiddle Pub & Restaurant

Pasadena’s understated Callisto Tea House serves two options for afternoon tea service on Saturdays and Sundays from 10 a.m. The standard menu is priced at $27.50 and includes three savory vegan toasts, a scone with cream and jam, a cupcake, and a pot of tea. For parties of two, Callisto prepares a $65 menu with gong fu service. It includes everything on the regular afternoon tea menu plus traditional Chinese tea service where tea is brewed twice at the table in a small clay pot.
IN THE EARLY 1800S, THE MANSION WAS HOME TO SAVANNAH MAYOR JOSEPH CLAY
The 15 Best Restaurants In Savannah, Georgia - Savannah - The Infatuation
The 15 Best Restaurants In Savannah, Georgia - Savannah.
Posted: Tue, 10 Oct 2023 07:00:00 GMT [source]
“They don’t build them like they used to,” jokes Craig Jeffress, general manager of The Olde Pink House. “This home has incredible bones.” Throughout the course of its 250-year history, The Olde Pink House has changed hands many times. Through painstaking technique and time-honored family wisdom, the Olde Pink House kitchen channels history onto every plate.
Yet some claim even more tangible remnants of the mansion's history remain. Between the food, decor, and architecture, the senses pick up on the echoes of Georgian and antebellum life that still linger within the Olde Pink House. Its brick walls, burled wood accents, and dim atmosphere evoke 19th century revelry, likely not so different from when city leaders and planners would discuss business over cards and whiskey. The basement Planters Tavern transports guests back to 1855, when it first opened as an underground bar and billiards hall frequented by Savannah's gentlemen. Though the interior layout has evolved through various uses, the exterior and many original design elements still transport visitors back to the Georgian era when one of Savannah's forefathers first envisioned this elegant property.
Joseph's wife Mary was known as a consummate hostess who masterfully planned lavish dinners, musical evenings, and holiday balls in the mansion's spaces. Guests delighted in dancing the evening away in the grand first floor ballroom or discussing politics and business in the dining room over sumptuous meals. For over two centuries, the mansion has welcomed Savannah's elite through its doors, from the lavish parties of Habersham's era to the distinguished gentlemen's club operated out of the house in the 19th century. Through meticulous restoration and devotion to regional cuisine, the restaurant has revived this aristocratic dwelling, allowing modern diners and history aficionados alike to step inside Savannah’s gilded past. Entering this expansive home is like walking through a multi-colored fever dream. It’s a nostalgic, cheeky vintage wonderland with exteriors boasting heart, flamingo, and phallus-shaped topiary hedges, a classic symmetrical pool with hot tub, and a pink outdoor clawfoot tub.

The striking pink facade also rendered the mansion instantly recognizable in the local landscape, with the color chosen as a proud nod to Habersham's English heritage. Among the city’s most iconic historical treasures is the Olde Pink House restaurant, which has borne witness to Savannah society since 1771 within the elegant confines of an 18th century mansion. Mr. Stewart, a principal of the design firm Stewart Mohr Designs, has been in business since 1985. In addition to the Old Las Palmas residence, he said he has worked on other Palm Springs projects as well as on homes in Palm Beach, Malibu Canyon, in Los Angeles, and the Florida Gulf Coast. The 1964 city landmarked house on North Camino Centro, designed by architects Albert Frey and Robson Chambers, is in the celebrity-studded neighborhood of Old Las Palmas, which harks back to the Golden Age of Hollywood. Mr. Stewart bought the house for $1.7 million in 2016, according to property records, and it was listed on Jan. 10 by Chris Menrad of TTK Represents/Compass.
Over 250 years later, the mansion remains one of the premier illustrations of Georgian architecture in Savannah. In exploring the history of the Olde Pink House, we peel back the layers of this Southern icon to reveal its origins, illustrious inhabitants, and evolving identity across centuries at the heart of Savannah. The room we were seated in was so dark we couldn’t read our menu without our flashlights on our phones. It’s a beautiful house, but inside, nothing is period to the ...
One 2014 Triumph Bonneville and one 1977 Harley Ironhead Chopper. It’s hard to resist Koreatown’s hyper-femme Rose & Blanc Tea Room. Gather a gaggle of girlfriends and settle in for cucumber and dill tea sandwiches, macaroons, scones, and more. Tea service starts at $29 per person and is served on Saturday and Sunday starting at noon. If any appliances or fixtures come with the sale of the home, those will also be noted.
And Margaret Haymond, according to the 2017 application for landmark status, which noted that Haymond was a radio station executive. He didn’t make significant modifications to the interior, focusing on the landscape instead. Mr. Stewart’s seven-month renovation of the estate, which he estimated cost $600,000 to $700,000, was documented in a 2017 article in Palm Springs Life.
The property, which is on a corner lot that covers a little more than one-third of an acre, also has a two-car garage, a lanai and a heated swimming pool. Next came freeways, automotive culture, and suburbia so that by the 1950s, the appeal of living downtown was siphoned off. By the late 1960, all the Victorian homes on Bunker Hill were moved or razed. Exceptional local flavors thus converge within the historic rooms where Georgia's leaders once dined centuries ago. Today diners bask in that historic ambiance carefully recaptured by the Strongs. When renovations were complete, the Habersham-Clay house had emerged as the Olde Pink House restaurant.
Their tenure left an indelible mark during an important transitional period as Savannah evolved from provincial colony to refined American city. During Clay's tenure as mayor of Savannah from 1805 to 1806, he and his family took up residence in the mansion. As Savannah progressed into the 19th century, the stately Habersham house passed into the hands of prominent political leader Joseph Clay.
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