The Howlin Hound

WOW
I was not expecting the food to be this good.
The maine lobster roll and mahi mahi was delicious.
I’ll definitely be returning

It states on the Unilocal reviewer platform to not review a place if you get a freebie or if you are in any way connected to the owner or the employees. Well, Savannah’s strength (and probably its weakness too) is its interconnectedness. We don’t play Six Degrees of Separation here. More like .5 Degrees. Maybe a ¾th of a degree of separation. So I guess «connected to the owner or the employees» is a matter of definition. Full disclosure, not that it matters in the slightest, but Kirk Blaine, the chef here, was hired to cater our daughter’s wedding a year ago, when he was still the chef at Cohen’s Retreat and before the Howlin Hound. So, ya’ll will probably never see this review because maybe Unilocal will determine that we are CONNECTED to Mr. Blaine.
Anyhow, we showed up Saturday night about 6:30 and for a large part of our meal, we were the only customers. This denotes nothing to me, except exceptional timing on our part.
My wife ordered the Grassfed Bethesda Burger. She immediately jettisoned about 80% of how its described on the menu. Perfect medium? Nope, wanted it well-​done. No caramelized onions. No onions at all. No Thousand Island dressing. She was happy. That matters.
I ordered Joey’s Cheesesteak. I don’t know who Joey is. That tool from Friends comes to mind but I can’t see him knowing Manchego cheese sauce from Manchester United. I liked this sandwich. It was big and juicy. I probably committed heresy by eating about half of it with a fork until I could manage it – but – there was no one there to see me.
The only issue we had were the fries were thick, wedge-​cut fries and when they are thick, its tricky to cook them all the way through. The bigger pieces weren’t cooked all the way through.
I liked the Howlin Hound. I hope it hangs in there because I don’t think serving one dinner a night is going to work out for them.

Service was awesome, thanks Lindsy. Food might seem a little pricey but its worth it. You get what you pay for. We will be back!

Fabulous in all respects. The chef is well seasoned (forgive the pun) and quite creative. We’ve eaten here a number of times and the food preparation and quality is exceptional and consistent. Watch for the Bethesda beef. This is local food with amazing flavor! Be sure and check the daily specials. You won’t be disappointed unless you don’t dine at this outstanding local restaurant.

Everybody in our party enjoyed their meal. Décor was simple and clean. Bathrooms were clean and nicer than most. I had the rib tip sandwich special. Highly recommended!

Stopped in with some customers today for lunch and we all had the Mahi Mahi lunch special. It was excellent! Not a scrap was left on anyone’s plate. The fish was perfectly cooked and wasn’t over seasoned, the crab meat on top was delicious and if the risotto cakes on the bottom were sold as side items I would have placed an order of those to go! I saw some comments about the prices but in my opinion what we ordered was very fairly priced. Our over all experience left us wanting more and I can’t wait to go back and try some of the other menu items.
PS — the staff were very friendly as well.

I’ve been to this spot 5 – 6 times and haven’t had a bad bite of food. This most recent time, was for breakfast and it did not disappoint! Our large party ordered just about one of everything on the menu and not a single bite went to waste! From the buttery delicious fluffy french toast to the buttermilk fried chicken on a biscuit… from the hash to the short rib & eggs SO good! Sure you pay a little more but everything is cooked to order with fresh local ingredients and it tastes like it!
We’ve also been for lunch & dinner and love that it’s such high quality food and without the hassle of going downtown. We can always be assured the food will be delicious and served with a smile! Great place!

We had a breakfast coupon (sent in the mail to promote the restaurant) and tried this place at 8 am on a Friday. We were the only ones in the entire place. After much confabulation and confusion the coupon was not honored, and we were charged for a free coffee. The breakfast was ok, but not great… especially at the relatively high prices. If you want to try this place, do it soon. I predict it will be out of business in an eyeblink.

Went with friends for #restaurantweeksavannah and the food and service was fantastic! The quality and portions were great, the flavor wonderful! The interior is more like a café and even offers a drive through window and breakfast hours. Wow, unexpected. We will be back often for a glass of beer and wine and check out all your special dishes!

Been in Savannah 16 years and, frankly, the worst lunch I’ve ever had. Freedom dip sandwich was like dog food mush with melted cheese rather than sliced roast beef with separate cheese. Gyro pita was overheated, hard and fell apart upon picking up. Prices high for order at counter and getting drinks/​setups yourself. Atmosphere ok but service perfunctory with no enthusiasm.

Disappointing for sure
Stopped in for lunch on Monday 01-​04-​2016 on a whim.
Had the Fried Chicken Sandwich and Onion Rings and a Tea
$ 14 bucks !!!
Not at all worth it even for dinner
Sandwich was vey bland with a huge chicken breast fried «lightly» with some kind of sauce with let, Tom and onion
The breast was way too thick to be on a sandwich, probably need to pound it flat before cooking.
The Onion Rings taste just like the ones you get in the frozen section at Kroger.
The sweet tea is not bad but a strange brand and tastes suspiciously like the type made from a syrup
I certainly hope they get their head out of the clouds and get their pricing in line or they too shall disappear just like every other business did in this location I don’t care if the owner is a Chef or not it ain’t worth the price !

Good is good but don’t like the flimsy paper cups for drinks especially for the price.

I work at a nearby hospital and was pleased when they agreed to deliver our food. We had a large order for 8 people. Food came quickly how ever we were not informed of the delivery fee. $ 25 delivery fee/​catering charge was added to our bill. Food was fair but certainly over priced. May be OK if dining in?

The Howlin Hound was recommended to me by a coworker. I had the cheese-​steak which was delicious! I’m going to try the french dip next time for sure. My husband had the Big Greek Gyro, he said it was delicious and would definitely come back. Had the steak fries and onion rings, all delicious. The staff were very helpful and made the ordering experience very enjoyable. We will be back again and hopefully I’ll get to try breakfast. The prices are higher than fast food but competitive priced to other establishments in the area. The product is delicious and well worth the cost.

I stopped by to check out Chef Kirk Blaine’s new endeavor, an energetic breakfast and lunch restaurant that boasts an array of delicious sandwiches and, salads and sweets which any foodie would drool over. When I walked in I was cordially greeted by the chef and a friendly young woman behind their counter, where you can view the well maintained kitchen through a large glass window. My wife and I placed our order and took a seat, waiting to see what the chef, a graduate of the Culinary Institute of America, was going to send out to us.
The restaurant was was busy for 2pm on a Thursday, with about 8 tables occupied and a few more waiting to order and it took less than ten minutes to receive our meal. I’m not one who usually takes pictures of their food but I had to snap a photo of my muffuletta when it hit the table. I recently took a trip to New Orleans and this sandwich put the best I had there to shame. It was amazing!
The décor of the restaurant is pretty rustic, which I like (If you are too flashy you are trying to compensate for something) and while the prices may appear in the higher range for lunch, you get you pay for. As a career chef, I know what I am eating and they don’t cut corners or sacrifice quality.
In conclusion, I would recommend the Howlin Hound to anyone looking for the best sandwich in Savannah.

PROS: My spouse and I both had the Gyro. It was really good! Better than anywhere else I have tasted in town, as far as authenticity.
CONS: No sides or drinks come with wraps or sandwiches, and prices are not cheap. For 2 gyros, a side of chips, and a side of macaroni, it was about $ 23. (We drank water.) I ordered the bacon macaroni and ended up getting plain cheese macaroni, which was basically just cold and had no flavor.
All in all, I will be back for the gyro, but will skip the sides. We didn’t feel that they were worth the extra money and the gyros were pretty filling by themselves for a lunch!

So, it has been hit or miss with this place. I’ve had their french dip. It was good but not a traditional french dip. It is just the Philly cheese steak without peppers and served with au jus. The Bethesda burger is o.k. (I wish the t.v. show hadn’t compared it to In and out. Not even close to the same) It was WAY over cooked. The short ribs on potatoes with eggs was OUTSTANDING! I just tried the salmon BLT. Way over priced. The salmon in it was a very small portion. For 12 dollars I’ll go to SOHO café and get theirs which is bigger, more flavor AND comes with a side. They really need to recheck k their price point. I don’t care if the beef comes from a cow that lives up the road.

Our food came out super fast. I got the ahi tuna wrap and while the ingredients were super fresh, the sauce tasted very bland, which made the whole wrap pretty average. I tried a friend’s truffle Mac and cheese, which was super tasty but no mushrooms as described in the menu. She also got the black and blue salad, and again, the salad ingredients are super fresh, but the diced chicken was dry and rubbery with a few very fatty pieces. I will come back again to try new items for sure, but not what we got today. The menu font is also super hard to read, and I’m 22 years old with ²⁰⁄₂₀ vision. Overall, the kitchen looks super clean, the ingredients are very very fresh, the interior décor is pretty cute, the employees are great. The prices and ordering experience is on par with Panera Bread, with much more unique choices and better food. So when decided on a lunch spot give this place a try.

The food we had was good but definitely over priced and they have some real issues to work out as a result the low rating is more so due to issues we encountered having breakfast and the cost relative to the experience. The coffee is near terrible to the point that we ended up driving somewhere else to get coffee after our meal at the Hound. The place is set up so that you bus your own table, which is fine but the price point is more geared toward sit down full menu restaurant pricing. My wife was grossed out by the fact that she grabbed a spoon from the silverware rack for her coffee until she realized that the rack that would normally be used for customers to get clean silverware was in fact set up for customers to place their dirty silverware when self-​busing the table. One of the final blows for us came after we began discussing the fact that our breakfast for 4 was nearly $ 50.00, which based on the menu seemed incorrect so after adding up the cost of our items (no itemized bill) and considering tax the billed amount was over the total we reached. My wife asked the cashier about this, so she added everything back up and then informed us that at present they are charging $ 1.00 per cup for water because they ordered the wrong cups, therefore until they get the right water cups they are charging for water. I then posted a comment to their Facebook page, which they immediately removed without comment. It was their right to do so, but getting your friends to post positive comments on Facebook and to not even thank a customer or acknowledge their concern is just poor and short-​sighted.
We really wanted to support a new locally owned business but given that no one even thanked us for our business, asked how the food was and totally missed the point about charging for water and the awful coffee we will not be returning anytime soon. The chef clearly has a solid following and the post on their Facebook page seem to be his friends but in business you have to rely on pleasing «all» of your customers, especially if you are bold enough to charge $ 11.00 for a basic bacon and egg breakfast plate — your universe of buyers is going to be small because people can get the same type of eats at lots of other places for half the price.

Oh wow! Found this place from a segment on «Eat it and like it». Does not disappoint. We both had the double Bethesda burgers, hubs got the onion rings and I the potato croquettes. The burger alone is worth many repeat visit. The décor is a trendy take on the diner theme even with the cute silver trays your food is served on. You order at the counter and hope there is a vacant table on a Sunday afternoon. I really can’t believe this lil gem didn’t have a Unilocal review sooner. I’m just sorry I didn’t get a shot of the interior or my insanely delicious burger.