For the last few years, Savannahians and those who visit the Hostess City have been spoiled for choice whenever they have sought out a meal with a view.
Since The Alida opened back in October of 2018 and presaged the mammoth revitalization of River Street’s west end, The Lost Square had been serving signature cocktails concocted at its own becoming bar and bites elevatored up from the kitchens of Rhett, items from a pared-down main menu of the hotel’s rez-de-chaussée restaurant.
“For five years, we’d been pretty much making food downstairs,” said Bruno Sanchez, the chic hotel’s director of food and beverage.
Say ‘goodbye’ to those up-and-down trips and say ‘hello’ to The Lost Square 2.0, if you will, as a year-long project to reimagine, reconfigure, and retool the rooftop bar has recently wrapped.
“We’ve been keeping it a secret,” Sanchez coyly shared with a laugh.
The most notable change: the Lost Square now has its own discrete and dedicated kitchen from which a carte of scratch-made Mediterranean fare flows.
“It’s been great to work with the team and see everyone’s efforts,” he happily added. “We are so ready.”
SAME SPACE, DIFFERENT PLACE
With the Southern coastal concept and seafood-forward nighttime slant thriving at Rhett, Sanchez and Co. sought a different direction for The Alida’s rooftop.
“I think we have a privileged view in a beautiful space that is well-designed, but we thought that it was missing a component,” he explained. “We wanted to create a personality for The Lost Square and not just serve food that was an extension of Rhett.”
“We understand that the market in Savannah is changing and there’s more and more options for guests and for locals,” Sanchez continued. “Obviously, we wanted to be ahead of the game and do the best we can with the resources that we have.”
Throughout the winter months, without ever shutting down its daily service topside, the Lost Square was undergoing its transformation by way of a revamped dining space and a brand-new “fully operational kitchen” build-out behind the beautiful bar.
This is far more than just a few new tables, though those are also part of the makeover. Late in 2023, all of the furniture was changed out and seating capacity “pretty much doubled,” per Sanchez.
Bistro-distanced four-tops share a long and shapely banquette facing the lava rock fire pit. Toward the open west end are a new high-top for eight and a cozy table tucked into the brickwork. A dozen stools face the bar with that many more along the rail looking eastward downriver.
All told, the space can now welcome more than seventy guests and has taken on a definite dine-in sit-and-sip setting in both appearance and feel.
“It’s still a bar,” Sanchez said. “We’re not pretending to be a restaurant, although you can have a full meal of shareable bites and finger foods while you are drinking cocktails.”
There was a brief span when TLS had its own small grill but nothing substantial enough to supply a separate slate of dishes.
Following the December departure of executive chef Alex Bollinger, all hands have been on the top deck readying this venture for its maiden voyage for which sous chef Alejandro Espinosa has taken the lead, though Sanchez credited all of the property’s sous chefs for their participation in “putting together this menu.”
He specially praised his right-hand man Connor Gillette, The Alida’s assistant director of F&B, for “developing all of the cocktails that are the highlights of The Lost Square and pairing them with the food.”
WEST END MED
Sanchez encapsulated the concept as “food and drinks inspired by the sun of the Mediterranean, all the way from Portugal to Lebanon.”
Suffused with herbs and aromatics to create a “very spicy and citrusy profile,” the menu of a dozen dishes is intended to be shared, to “bring people together” for casual meetings or with friends or on date nights.
“That’s who we are,” he proudly said.
For starters, a medley of Mediterranean dips are served with house-made pita, served separately or as a quartet platter ($32). The hummus ($11) topped with jalapeño cilantro chutney and crispy chickpeas is thick and familiar, and the babaganoush ($12) with roasted and diced red peppers and toasted pine nuts is much like the one I make at home.
The Paul and John of this Food Fab Four are the labneh ($11), smooth and not a bit sour, drizzled with honey and olive oil and sprinkled with benne seeds and za’atar, and the marvelous muhammara ($13) dressed with pomegranate arils, diced walnuts, and ras el hanout.
On the ‘Snacks’ end of the approachable offerings, the falafel bites ($14) are the star, each fritter crowned with a pickled Fresno chili sliver and served with a tzatziki that is thick and creamy and not a bit runny.
Perhaps the most shareable plate due to its generous portion, the blistered cabbage wedge ($15) is cooked sous vide until tender and is then pan-roasted and glazed with elderflower honey. Be careful: the Espelette pepper that packs a kick.
On the milder side are the urfa-peppered cauliflower with medjool dates and pistachio gremolata ($16) and the hamachi crudo ($19).
“To bring the fish into the equation,” said Sanchez of the latter, a citrus-centric preparation that fuses orange, fennel pollen, fried capers, and buttery Castelvetrano olives.
Also from the surf, local Georgia shrimp are skewered and glazed with harissa and honey before grilling, served with a charred lemon half ($19).
Just in case Side A of the menu was not filling enough, a trio of Larger Plates present three Mediterranean-themed entrées.
Springer Mountain Farms chicken thighs are served with Carolina Gold rice, almonds, honey and preserved lemon.
“That’s kind of a Lebanese style,” Sanchez said of the main course that is “meant for the table.”
Two can easily share the DIY pork shawarma that comes with both butter leaf lettuce and pita, a finely diced cucumber-tomato salad, tzatziki, and green olive tapenade, all separated on the platter for build-your-own bites.
“It’s our Middle East version of fajitas,” he said with a smile.
The head, the tail, and everything in between comes with the whole branzino for two, pan-roasted and served on an eponymous plate with pickled Fresno chiles and a side of papas bravas plus some romesco sauce to dip both into.
“It could be for four, depending on how hungry you are,” Sanchez said.
On my next visit, I might simply skip the starters and shareables and hog a baklava sundae, comprising all the usual sweet suspects: phyllo, honey, and vanilla ice cream topped with caramel and chopped pistachios.
If you are on the eastern end of the riverfront and want Mediterranean light bites with a view, head to Bar Julian atop Thompson Savannah. If you are closer to the bridge, you can now tuck into similarly styled cuisine against nearly as nice a panorama at The Alida.
At both, enjoy the sunset. Eat the falafel.
The Lost Square (413 Williamson Street in The Alida) is open Monday through Thursday (4 p.m. to 11 p.m.), Friday and Saturday (2 p.m. to 1 a.m.), and Sunday (2 p.m. to 11 p.m.).
