Circa 1875

We made a reservation for 6:00pm and arrived 10 minutes early. We entered the bar side and the person said "they are very strict about seating at assigned times." He was a bit pretentious when he directed us to the bar to wait for our table. We each ordered a cocktail and 59 minutes later we were seated! I should say that we finished our cocktails and cashed out, asked about our tables, 15 minutes after sitting at the bar. We noticed the dining room was 3/4 empty and asked several times when we would be seated. There was one friendly bartender, and one sleeve tattooed bartender who was rude in his reply: "finish your drink, cash out, and we will get you seated." He never did. We asked a different bartender who eventually retrieved the hostess who collected us and we went to. the dining room. The dining room was still 3/4 empty the entire time and fully staffed. We also noticed that guests who arrived at the dining room door were seated immediately! We couldn't help but think that the restaurant was looking for a way to fill it's bar with people before filling its dining room. We saw one couple leave and then the sleeve tattooed guy making jokes about the fact that he was about to seat them in 30 seconds. So, the food was ok... I felt a little overpriced, but fine. Our server was jovial and attentive, so the lack of stars above wasn't for him, it was for the unfriendly bartender/greeter.

When we lived in Savannah this was our favorite restaurant and we used to go there very often to enjoy the nice confit and the delicious Lyonnaise salad (frisee, poached egg and lardon), however this restaurant is not the same, last time we visited Savannah (02-2024) the salad just changed to a very ordinary one (exactly the pre-made ones that we buy in Publix with a boiled egg! , and very bad and expensive) no mention to the confit that was no longer crisp, but soggy. Definitely something happened at Circa 1875, so we will never return there.

Wonderful experience for our last night of a great week. Food is top notch from bread to dessert. Keegan, our server, was outstanding and elevated a great night to a memorable one.

Sat at the bar for our first visit here. Bar tender and staff were awesome and our good was fantastic

10/10 experience on Bastille Day! We had dinner reservations at 6. We arrived early and started with a drink at their bar. Fantastic selection, especially if you're a whiskey drinker! We were promptly seated at our reservation time at a cozy table in the wine cellar. The ambiance was fantastic! We came prepared, we had checked out their special Bastille menu before coming. Our server, Emily, let us know about their other daily specials, too. Let me say, Emily was GREAT! One major thing that made a big difference to me: they offer complimentary shawls for if you are cold. It may have been 100° outside, but it definitely wasn't downstairs. Huge perks there! Back to the food. We tried so much. My friends had been there previously but we went for everything new, except the Escargot, because they insisted I had to try it. THEY WERE RIGHT! I never thought I'd eat snails, boy was I wrong. It was served piping hot, literally bubbling, with garlic and butter and just heaven. My appetizer was their Bastille dessert special, Banana Beignets. Just wow. Vanilla ice cream, chocolate sauce, bananas, and just scrumptiousness. We also had their Oysters Rockefeller (all the yes!), Lobster Crepes (1.5 lbs of Maine lobster! ), and the Ribeye (the potatoes that came with it, no words to describe their amazingness)--all from their Bastille menu. We had the jumbo crab cakes, French onion soup, and chocolate mousse from their daily menu. And a delicious snapper from their dinner specials. When I say this was one of my favorite dining experiences, I mean it. I've worked 1 block away for YEARS and I've never made it in. I'm counting down the days until we go back! Again, shout out to Emily for being a terrific host for the night! Thank you!

Emily was great.

Atmosphere was awesome! Service was bad. We waited 20min for water. Waited another 20min to order. Then waited about an hour for food to come. In all the waiting, we were barely checked on. I had an espresso martini that was ok. When the food did come our appetizers showed up at the same time as our entrees which is insane since we had been sitting there waiting for an hour. They were busy for sure but damn it was bad. Then the most disappointing part is the food wasn’t even good after the wait. Steak tartare had no flavor. We also had steak frites. Steak lacked flavor. Fries were over cooked. We ordered fries to be truffle fries and they did not even come out as truffle fries. French onion soup was good.

We were recommended to Circa 1857 by our hotel's valet. There is a dining room and on the other side a bar. We sat on the bar side to grab a drink and some appetizers prior to our ghost tour. The bar was very cool as it is one of the oldest ones in Savannah. The scallops and escargot were EXCELLENT but what really made me want to leave a 5 star review was the service. The entire staff was attentive and informative. We will definitely be coming here for our next trip again.