Grand Dining Room

We wrapped up our first trip to Jeckyl Island with the Sunday brunch at this beautiful hotel in the historic district. The food was really just OK; typical hotel buffet fare for a few more dollars than necessary, but to, was worth it to feel like you were transported back in time to the grand old days of this place.

My personal opinion is, there is a substantial lack of good restaurants in Jekyll Island. Now, as far as Grand Dining Room goes…
IS IT GRAND? Kinda. Its a very stunning place actually to come for dinner. The ambiance alone may be worth it. Situated in the old Jekyll Island Club Hotel (which is also said to be haunted), this place has mystery and charm to it like no other restaurant I’ve ever been to.
EXCELLENT WINE SELECTION. Now, maybe it’s a matter of taste, but they had some of my favorite wines on the menu.
WHERE DOES IT FALL SHORT? The food. Had the seafood mixed grill and food was very over salted. When I say very, I mean it. Aside from that, uneventful selection that did not impress. The scallops were served barely warm (scallops should be brought out hot), shrimp didn’t taste that great either. Anywho, the wine made up for the disappointing food selection!

Are here for my birthday. The buffet is great. Robin was a wonderful hostess. You will not be disappointed.

Having had an abysmal dining experience over at Latitude 31, we were skeptical of any of the recommended dining choices on Jekyll Island, but we decided to give the Grand Dining Room a try, mostly because we wanted to experience this historic Club for ourselves. We were completely wowed by the experience!
Grand dining at the Club is like being transported to another place and time. There is a strict dress code, but the formality does not extend to the staff attitude: every person who works here is companionable without being overbearing. Our waiter treated us like old friends, and steered us toward the perfect meals. You can’t go wrong with any of the Grand’s offerings. We only wish we had discovered this culinary gem earlier in the week.

My family took part in the Sunday Brunch at the Grand Dining Room. It was a great experience and if given the chance, would go again. It is buffet styled, so the food is all unlimited, but I believe with the champagne, only one glass is complimentary. The prime rib was delicious, as well as the crab and shrimp (cold), which has to be peeled and cracked at your own discretion. There were some very unique meats, cheeses, and desserts that I got to try which was exciting. There is also an omelette station, but I was too full to try it, but there were many different ingredients to choose from. Overall, I cannot wait to get the opportunity to come back!

If you’re looking for a morning or mid-​day meal, it turns out that your options can be a little limited, especially at some of the hotels at the northern end of Jekyll Island. After doing some research though, we found the Grand Dining Room as a late breakfast option, piled in the car and headed towards that end of the island.
Located in the Jekyll Island Cub Hotel in the Historic District, you’re immediately bombarded with beautiful old buildings and well kept flora when you arrive on the grounds. The Grand Dining Room is located just off the lobby, and is itself a sight to behold –plentiful ionic columns are strewn throughout the large room, with other accoutrements of the oldest of schools (at least in North America) of class.
Being that it was breakfast time, their dress code was not in force (bring your sports jacket at dinner, gentlemen!). We weren’t fancily dressed, but we were certainly at a more respectable level than the guy in his trunks and muscle shirt, giving us an air of superiority that seemed fitting to have in a place like that.
Our hostess got us seated and poured us some of the stanky Jekyll Island water and coffee for those who chose to get caffeinated. Luckily the orange juice I ordered tasted to be of the Tropicana variety and not mixed with the local «water». We thought the breakfast buffet was going to end in 15 minutes at 10am, as per what their website said, so we stuck with the menu items, which looked very enticing. The Huevos Jekyll called to me, with a short rib hash, two eggs and toast, but items like the croissant breakfast sandwich and others also sounded great. I ordered my eggs sunnyside up for maximum runny yolk potential and rye bread for a different twist on my toast and since this was my first time in the south, I opted for a cup of their stone milled grits as well.
It wasn’t too long before we got our food, which of course came out on trays with warming covers, which were placed on a nearby cart before having the covers removed and having our food served to us. Our table was soon covered in the plates of our mains, sides toast and condiments. I also appreciated the tiny individual-​sized bottles of jam (no packets of Kraft here!) and the pads of butter shaped like roses. My looked great, with a fresh salsa on top of the bright eggs, and tasted just as good. The beef was moist and flavourful, and the salsa had a nice citrusy zing to it that helped cut through the richness of the rest of the dish. The eggs were cooked perfectly, with the yolks making for a great sauce for the hash below.
The rye bread was an interesting first for me, as I’ve never had it on its own, just in the likes of Reubens or other deli meat sandwiches that have a lot of other big flavours going on. It had a unique bite to it that was certainly more than that of any sourdough I’ve had before, and was nice when dipped into my hot mess of hash.
Despite how good my hash was, the cup of simple stone milled grits might have been the star of the show. They were a vibrant yellow, and quite smooth as well with just a little bit of texture from the bits of… grits that didn’t get ground down as much as the rest. They were very, very rich and buttery and although I’d hate to think of how much butter went into them, they were still worth it.
Service was very friendly and professional, just as you would expect in a place like the Grand Dining Room. «Grand» is in its name for heaven’s sake, the standard is set high right out of the gate.
Although it looked like the buffet stayed open until 11am and not the advertised 10am, we were all more than happy with what we had to eat, and it was fitting we had our best meal on Jekyll Island at this Grand location.

The Grand Dining Room was great. There was a pianist playing classical and modern songs in the background, a lovely display of columns and a warm fire place. The food was excellent. The bread comes with homemade butter.
We ordered the Braised Smoked Bacon for an appetizer and it was cooked/​smoked perfectly. It was about three inches thick too. For my main course I ordered the Rabbit Confit with Sweet Potato Gnocchi.
Wow was it good.
Our waiter, Jed, was attentive and made the dining experience very enjoyable. Out wine glasses were never empty.
I highly recommend to anyone vacationing at Jekyll Island. We’ll be going back for dessert tonight!

The service was top notch. They gave us complimentary champagne for our anniversary and a complimentary treat from the chef. My husband had the escargot, local greens salad, and veal cheeks. He loved every bit. I had the pumpkin crepes (I couldn’t detect pumpkin), mushroom bisque (very tasty but very rich) and «Award Winning» shrimp and grits (nice flavor but far too much rich sauce and my grits were mushy which I’m not accustomed to). I would definitely come back to try another meal but I would try to order a salad and the bison or veal.

Four of us for lunch last week. Although the service was excellent (a 4 or 4.5 or so), the food was disappointing. The cobb salad was small and uninspired. The shrimp po’ boy was served on nasty white bread and was small. It was also uninteresting and without a lot of taste. However, the onion rings were fine.
All-​in-​all — If one wants a nice atmosphere and good service but does NOT care about food quality or creativity — this is your place. If one LIKES paying a pricey sum for very little this is REALLY your place! As for us? We see no reason to go back — and won’t.