Jekyll Island Club Hotel Grand Dining Room

Jekyll Island Club Hotel Grand Dining Room Restaurant Review:

Straight out of America's Gilded Age, Jekyll Island Club Hotel preserves period charm. The dining room evokes an era of long gone luxury, with gleaming white fluted columns and trims, shutters and fireplaces against dark patterned carpeting, creating one of the most romantic dining rooms in the state. Former chef Dale Ford has left the restaurant, and chef Jeff Russell has taken over. Local and regional sources, ingredients and traditions remain important, however. Produce for salads comes from nearby farms; Georgia cheeses and cured meats compose an appetizer; and local shrimp are featured in starters and the famous shrimp and grits. Desserts don’t excite as much: the quite ordinary Key lime pie is probably the best among them although the Jekyll sea turtle (chocolate mousse mounded in a chocolate molded shell) is dramatic and popular. The overhauled wine list offers well-priced selections from American regions, Italy and France chiefly, with a scattering of labels from other wine-producing areas. Selected sparkling wines are listed in 375 ml. sizes, perfect for couples as an apéritif. And with dessert, or after dinner, an array of sweet and fortified wines tempts.