Marbled & Fin sets new standard for luxury steakhouses in Savannah

By Vanessa Lantos Daly (Spicy Melon)

At the quiet, peaceful intersection of Oglethorpe and Houston Street sits a new luxury steakhouse. Marbled & Fin, located at 520 East Oglethorpe St., opened this past April 8 and has brought Savannah to another level of elevated dining experiences.

Not the first one of its kind, the original Marbled & Fin lives nearby in Charleston. Like Husk in Savannah, just down the street, the very first Husk also lives in Charleston. And what do all these concepts have in common? They all belong to The Neighborhood Dining Group.

The common thread among their concepts is minimalist, beautiful spaces, one-of-a-kind rare spirits, inspired hospitality experiences, and a willingness to spare no expense when it comes to fresh ingredients and cooking equipment in order to achieve stellar preparations. These are just my superficial observations, but I’m very curious to peek behind the scenes. Is it worth the hype?

Also… no white tablecloths. But are they needed? Wooden tables with beautiful finishes adorn the dining rooms. The decor and staff attire blend contemporary modern details with classic fine dining service traits. The stars of the show are the food and drinks presented artfully, with very friendly and flawless service quietly humming in the background.

I sat for a friendly chat with their general manager, Donald Krell, and executive chef, Jesse Kloskey.

Marbled & Fin in Charleston opened in June 2024. The name evokes their steak and seafood offerings. Mr. Donald shares, “We worked at Marbled & Fin in Charleston for a month last year in order to bring everything that’s working really well over there to Savannah. We started building this one as soon as the one in Charleston opened.”

This surprised me. They already anticipated their success and the demand for this type of concept in Savannah years ago.

I swear I’ve seen this city grow exponentially over the past 20 years, but in the last five years it feels like the growth has become explosive…

I also discovered that both the chef and the GM are fairly new to the company. Chef Jesse shares, “I’ve been with the company since November. I spent two months at Marbled & Fin in Charleston to learn the company culture and operations there, plus revamping the beef program in preparation for this opening.”

Revamping? My interest instantly perks up… what do you mean?

He continues, “We like to focus on the char, to properly cook the steaks in our Montague broilers.”

My eyes widen. Not only do they offer a curated selection of specialty steak cuts, like Australian Wagyu ribeye and Japanese Wagyu filet, they also have some of the very best broilers you can get — the industry standard for luxury steakhouses — allowing the chefs to consistently deliver a high-quality product.

What’s so special about these broilers?

They are famous for their powerful overfired infrared burners that can reach internal temperatures of up to 1800°F. Chef Jesse shares, “We are very blessed to have those at both locations. It definitely makes a big difference in terms of the quality that we are able to put out.”

Tell me you are luxury without telling me…

They also offer Linz steaks, which are considered some of the best in the world because they control the entire process — from the cattle’s genetics all the way to the plate, including their signature dry-aging and wet-aging techniques.

So… “best in the world” standard equipment and steaks… anything else I should know?

Chef Jesse shares a short bio with me.

“I’ve been in the industry for over 25 years. I started cooking in high school at a small farm-to-table restaurant in Wisconsin. Then I worked in the Madison area for a number of years before moving to San Francisco and working in several Michelin-star restaurants in the Bay Area. Eventually, I got into larger-scale food service operations working at the cafés at Google, where the menu changed every day and we were still using many of the same farmers and suppliers that I used at the Michelin-star restaurants where I worked. Extremely high-quality programs, but I went from serving no more than 100 guests a night to 1,200 for breakfast and lunch.”

My jaw drops. I momentarily forget all the other questions I was going to ask. A Michelin-star-level chef? Also… Google employs Michelin-star-level chefs? Savannah is attracting Michelin-star-level talent? I knew the perks of working at Google were good, just not this good…

Chef Jesse is down to earth and super approachable. He loves being able to personalize the steak experience individually for every guest.

“We really focus on establishing an ideal steakhouse preparation, where we have that hard sear, heavy char, or light char depending on how the guest likes it,” he shares. “I put just as much attention to detail into the simple art of cooking a steak here as we would in a three-star Michelin restaurant preparing proteins. There are just as many details and steps you need to pay attention to in order to execute at that level.”

Mr. Donald, who has already made Savannah his own, shares a bit of his background.

“I spent most of my career working in the Philadelphia area. I was running a farm-to-table restaurant in New Jersey when COVID happened and we got shut down. Since then, I’ve been coming to Savannah. My family has a vacation property an hour away, so my fiancée and I would come here often to escape, and we loved it so much that we decided to move here.”

Classic Savannah love story.

Mr. Donald also shares, “In 2021 we moved to Savannah and I was brought on to open Vic’s River Grill on River Street. I was running VRG for about four years, and then the opportunity to join The Neighborhood Dining Group presented itself.”

So, how much is a steak at Marbled & Fin? $300? $500?

Their most specialized cut is the Miyazaki A5 Wagyu Japanese 5 oz filet, priced at $145. A generous 36 oz dry-aged Linz bone-in tomahawk is $180, which I would very happily share with a date or a good friend. Their Linz wet-aged 8 oz filet is $63, which is on par with getting a filet at many other fine dining establishments in Savannah… except these other restaurants are not serving you Linz steaks.

God knows I love a perfect filet mignon… Nothing says “treat yourself” like a high-end steak dinner. I glance at the menu, and suddenly those prices seem perfectly reasonable if you are looking for that level of experience.

Prices here are extremely comparable to other fine dining establishments in the city — many without the level of pedigree presented here, simply capitalizing on high-traffic downtown locations without the same transparency about the products being offered.

I’m not trying to downplay the rest of fine dining in Savannah, but I am highly impressed here in different ways. Most importantly, you can curate the level of luxury you want your experience to be. There is something here for everyone.

Without any previous information or background stories, a luxury steakhouse can seem excessive… but with all this information, is the experience worth it?

Very much yes.

Experiences live in the pockets of the soul, weigh more than tangible possessions, and brighten both future and past memories.

These experiences feed your mind and curiosity first, and then every bite feels different. Like you are experiencing the end product and culmination of something bigger…

Ok, I’m done daydreaming about all the ways I would happily come here and spend all the moneys I’ve ever had… let’s get to brass tacks.

Marbled & Fin is the kind of place where you can spend $100 or $1,000 and the quality and flawless execution will still shine through. Whether you are having a glass of wine and light bites at the bar or trying to impress a business partner or a date.

I can tell you this from my experience working in fine dining restaurants all over this city for the past 15 years, serving hundreds of guests entrées ranging from $50 to $160 and often wondering… would I dine here? Is it worth it?

And often not feeling like it was.

I ask both of them what guest favorites have emerged in the past few weeks since opening.

Chef Jesse shares, “One of the favorites — and a personal favorite — is the tuna steak. Very much a modern take on the classic steakhouse tuna entrées you normally encounter, with fusion in the sauce. One of the flavor combinations I’ve always enjoyed throughout my career has been soy sauce and black truffle. For this tuna steak, we’ve taken it a bit further and incorporated foie gras into the sauce. It works really well.”

Upon one bite, this tuna is seared to perfection and the flavors are perfectly cohesive, with bursts of flavor and balanced salinity. The foie gras, soy, and black truffle flavors shine through like nothing I’ve ever tasted.

Seared Tuna with black truffle, foie gras and soy

Another highly rated specialty is their creatively dressed oysters.

Chef Jesse shares, “We make a very clean and simple yuzu sauce and top each oyster with a ponzu meringue. So, a little crispy bite of flavor with each oyster, and we treat the rest of the dish simply with a little bit of chive oil. It creates a fun presentation for our guests and allows the oysters to really shine through.”

These oysters are little clouds of fresh perfection. Beautifully presented, with bright acidity balancing the umami and creaminess in each bite. The ponzu meringue is such a unique touch…

Let’s talk a little more about the amazing food and drinks at Marbled & Fin. I attended this experience with Mr. Eric Curl, and all he could say about the food was “Wow,” “Delicious,” and “Yummy.” That’s his contribution, let’s just say… he was mostly speechless and left no crumbs.

He was also highly annoyed at me for taking too long to photograph the artful presentation of every dish… Umm excuse me sir, do you think we are here merely for pleasure? This experience is being documented for all of Savannah to come and taste it.

Glancing at the first page of the menu, there is a focalized teaser… luxury bites. These look like generous amuse-bouches, beautifully presented and substantial enough to be shared. Each of these small plates is layered with rich ingredients and balanced complexity.

The King Crab crispy rice is crafted with yuzu, kosho, brown butter, and serrano pepper for a touch of heat. The buttery sweetness of the crab complements the citrus and crunch spectacularly.

Then there’s the A5 Wagyu Tartare: This bite is crafted with Japanese A5 Wagyu, their most expensive cut by the ounce. The A5 tartare sits atop a potato pavé, comparable to a scalloped potato cake, and is finished with shaved black truffle and a touch of manchego. A textbook luxury bite in every component.

There is a prime beef tartare and a tuna tartare option in the raw bar section as well, but these luxury bites are especially thoughtful and perfectly executed. As I said before, the menu is very intentional in giving guests options for a personalized experience, which I love.

In the mood for bread? You can order Mae’s Milk Bread. A generous loaf with perfectly fluffy, airy pillows of milk bread — good enough to share between two to four guests. Eric and I took a bite and we were in awe, daydreaming about bed pillows made of milk bread.

I don’t know who Mae is. But I’m so in love….

I feel like milk bread is brioche’s less sweet cousin, perfect for all the food offered here. Baking milk bread to order at a restaurant is ambitious. This one is visually striking and generous.

Upon further observation, everything here feels luxurious but also generous.

The Hamachi Crudo is so light and yet… so satisfying. Crafted with gazpacho consommé, shiso, and crispy shallots, it delivers a burst of bliss after every bite. The acidity is delicate and allows the freshness of the Hamachi to shine through.

When ordering entrées or one of those incredible steaks, note that the sides are family-style and fantastic for sharing. I highly recommend the triple-cooked steak fries and the creamed corn, which is baked cornbread topped with creamed corn and mozzarella. Sweet and, once again, generous. You will not leave hungry, I guarantee it.

Triple Cooked Steak Fries and Creamed Corn

How about some sips? Dare to indulge in their ReCola Cooler, inspired by the experience of having a mojito in the Alps. Crafted with rum and tequila, cherry, vanilla, coconut, and fig leaf.

In addition, they also have a very unique take on an Old Fashioned. Their “Don’t Just Talk About It” cocktail is crafted with beeswax fat-washed bourbon. Honey notes shine through, alongside almond bitters, demerara syrup, and a touch of gold leaf.

Their cocktails are presented in simple minimalist glasses to showcase the unique ingredients layered within.

Room for sweets? Their offerings include a stunning and sinful-looking Baked Alaska, a steakhouse classic originally created in 1867 in New York City.

I always wondered why they called it Baked Alaska. A liquor is poured on top and it is set on fire, so shouldn’t it be… Flamed Alaska?

This dessert features toasted meringue, flamed tableside with Boomsma and set dramatically ablaze. Boomsma is the bartender’s choice for a Chartreuse substitute and a slow-burning spirit that gives the meringue the perfect char. Inside, layers of key lime and raspberry ice cream sit atop a flawless graham crust.

Their crème brûlée is presented on a unique elongated plate. Beneath the toasted Demerara and custard is a surprise layer of strawberry jam. Different and so delicious.

Baked Alaska, The M&F Espresso Martini, and their Creme Brûlée

The espresso martini here is a showstopper. Unlike any other I’ve seen, those martini glasses sit tall, looming over everything else on the table. The dalgona foam sets it apart from most espresso martinis.

Very uniquely, the cocktail is crafted with Ketel One, Mr. Black Cold Brew, St. George NOLA Coffee Liqueur, Blended Family espresso liqueur, and a touch of Licor 43. So definitely very non-traditional.

Our server was enchanting and provided very friendly, flawless service. I often love including our server or bartender’s input, but she respectfully wished to remain anonymous. I have to say though, I felt warmth from everyone who touched our table — from her, to those delivering our food, to the managers checking on us with warm smiles.

I ask curiously about other menu items that have made an obvious splash in these first few weeks since opening. Mr. Donald shares, “We offer a cold seafood tower and a hot seafood tower. People are pretty familiar with a cold tower, but interest has been high for the hot tower because of the novelty of it. It is delicious and people have loved it so far — even replacing their appetizer or salad course and simply sharing a seafood tower to start.”

I don’t know about you, but I’m at the very least intrigued.

Everything we have seen and tasted has been incredible so far — visually, texturally, and in flavor.

I finally ask Mr. Donald, what is something you can get here and nowhere else?

“Chartreuse,” he smiles.

Both he and the chef glance at each other and laugh.

Ok… I wasn’t expecting that. Is Marbled & Fin the reason why Chartreuse is such a scarce item in high demand? Are they hiding all of it here?

Mr. Donald shares, “We probably have more Chartreuse in this building than exists in all of Savannah.”

“…Why?” I ask incredulously.

“We love Chartreuse. We have great partnerships with our distributors and they were able to source some for us,” he says nonchalantly.

Chartreuse became something of a luxury spirit during the pandemic when the Carthusian monks decided to limit production in order to focus on monastery life rather than cater to the ever-increasing demand. The monks first began producing the herbal liqueur in the French Alps in 1737.

So, if you are in the mood to sip this iconic digestif, you know where to find some.

There’s more. Mr. Donald shares, “We pour Krug Grande Cuvée by the glass, which is unique to very few restaurants in the city. It is an expensive pour, but I think it sets the tone for the luxury you are going to experience here from that moment on.”

Is it worth it?

Yes.

I feel like this is a place for a special celebration, or for those moments when you feel like you deserve little bits of luxury in your life and want to see it all shine. There are a hundred other bars and dining rooms in Savannah where I could sit and sip a $15 glass of wine, but here, the details shine through like glimmers of gold.

Find me here once in a while, wearing a little black dress and treating myself to some of the most luxurious bites I’ve experienced in this city so far.

If you are in the mood for a small or a large feast of decadence, come experience Marbled & Fin gleaming on the calmer side of Oglethorpe Street.

Love always,

Vanessa

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