A letter from Historic Downtown
The Grey
Mashama Bailey's Port City Southern table inside a restored 1938 Greyhound terminal
A 1938 Greyhound terminal
In 2014, chef Mashama Bailey and managing partner Johno Morisano opened The Grey inside a 1938 Art Deco Greyhound bus terminal on MLK Boulevard — a building that had once operated as a Jim Crow-era segregated station.
Morisano had heard about Bailey through chef Gabrielle Hamilton of Prune in New York, and their partnership was formed around a shared conviction that the room's difficult history deserved a new kind of table. They restored the terminal to its original luster while refusing to erase what it had been.
Port City Southern
Bailey calls her cooking Port City Southern — a menu that draws on regional produce, Atlantic seafood, and the layered flavors that arrived in Savannah through European wines and the trade routes of the Atlantic. She has said she is a firm believer that you learn something new every day, and the menu shifts to reflect it.
The Grey earned Eater's Restaurant of the Year in 2017, and Bailey the James Beard Best Chef Southeast award in 2019.
MLK Boulevard
The Grey sits at the western edge of Savannah's Historic District, near Yamacraw Village and a short walk from the Savannah River.
The dining room's chrome banquettes and terrazzo floors still read as a bus terminal, and the corner has become a landmark for out-of-town food pilgrims and locals ducking in for a martini at the bar downstairs.
With gratitude,
Mashama Bailey & Johno Morisano
Executive Chef & Managing Partner, The Grey
Order this
The dishes that made The Grey
Foie & Grits
Seared foie gras over stone-ground grits with country ham broth — Bailey's signature marriage of coastal Georgia larder and French technique.
Country Captain
A Georgia low-country curry stew reimagined with local chicken, tomato, currants, and toasted almonds.
Whole Roasted Fish
Line-caught Atlantic snapper or grouper served family-style, dressed with brown butter and preserved lemon.
Good to know
The Grey, answered
How far in advance should I book?
At least three weeks for the dining room. The counter and Diner Bar accept walk-ins earlier in the evening.
Anything about the building I should know?
Ask for the terminal history tour on your way to the restroom — the segregated waiting rooms and lunch counter have been preserved intentionally.
What's the wine list like?
European and coastal, but the sherry program alone is worth a slow first pour.