The Grey is a restaurant in a 1938 art deco Greyhound Bus Terminal.  It was painstakingly restored to its original luster before opening in 2014 in historic downtown Savannah by Partner John Morisano.  He recruited Chef and Partner Mashama Bailey who was named the 2019 James Beard Foundation’s best chef in the southeast, to join him.  As you enter there is a small bar with a different menu and then you pass the kitchen, located in the old ticket booth, before you find the dining room. Within this room, filled with booths and tables is a large C-shaped bar.  Numbers on the wall represent former boarding gates, with #3 leading to outdoor tents set up during Covid.  In the dining room you’ll find a high ceiling, bench seating around the walls, small tables with white tablecloths, music in the background, lowered lights  with a neon display at the top of the ceiling and the echo-y feel of a bus station. The menu is a 3 course dinner which you pick from 4 choices in each category.  Some raw oysters and a few snacks, as well as dessert, are available if you want more.  It’s great – check it out.

Facility

Food

Beets were plated with whipped feta, mixed greens and pecans.  The feta was quite creamy and the beets perfectly cooked with lots of great flavor.  The pecans were nicely toasted to bring out their flavor.  It was a good serving size and very tasty.

 

Ham hock terrine was an aspic with fermented collard and dilly bean.  It came with a couple slices of buttered bread. The ham was truly the dominant flavor and lovely with the bits of jelly and tasty mustard seeds. The bread pieces seemed a bit stale but I preferred to eat it alone without being on bread.  This was very tasty but didn’t cross into excellent territory.

 

Grouper was topped with crispy breadcrumbs on a beurre blanc alongside potato pave and some Romanesco. The buttery rich sauce was great with the perfectly cooked fish and the potatoes.  The crispy topping on the fish was a nice contrast in texture.  The Romanesco was browned and on the al dente side.  This was a delicious plate of food easily in excellent territory.

 

Sweetbreads were plated with country ham gravy, braised greens and mashed potatoes.  The sweetbreads were perfectly cooked and had a nice crispy exterior that didn’t overwhelm them.  The gravy was very flavorful as were the rich mashed potatoes.  Everything on this plate blended so well and re-affirmed my love of fried foods.

 

Chicken was in a roulade with cabbage, rutabaga and daikon.  Some Brussel sprouts were hidden under the moist chicken.  It had a lovely crisp edge to the roulade and went well with the other ingredients.  This was a great dish.

 

Lamb was presented with farro piccolo and fennel pickled mustard seed.  It had been smoked for 12 hours and topped with thin radish slices that added a nice crunch to the dish.  This was a deeply flavored dish filled with tender meat and lovely accompaniments.  It was great.

 

Chocolate Torte was paired with burnt orange ice cream and candied kumquat.  It was like a flourless chocolate cake – very fudgey and rich.  The orange was a mild flavor in the ice cream that blended well with the very chocolaty dish.

 

Apple Crisp was made with toasted chestnut flour and topped with candied ginger ice cream dusted with black pepper.   This was another great dessert.  Hot from the oven the crisp topping melted into the apples below and melded with the ginger ice cream.  It was divine.