Sassafras Southern Bistro Claim this business

About

Finding it is half the fun. This one doesn't front onto Main Street the way the address suggests; it sits tucked inside One City Plaza, around the courtyard past the neighboring storefronts, which is why first-timers sometimes circle the block before they spot the door. Inside is aged exposed brick, work by a local artist on the walls, and a kitchen that has been cooking nostalgic Southern food downtown since 1999. The menu reads American with a deep Southern accent: fresh seafood, steaks, big salads, and a full bar pouring local beers on tap alongside a wine list that runs long by the glass or the bottle. Regulars tend to open with the blue crab and pepper-jack nachos or the fried green tomatoes, then move to plates like shrimp and grits, pecan trout, or a filet finished with house-made pimento cheese. Vegetarian and gluten-free swaps are there if you ask. Across more than twenty-five years it has become one of downtown's steady rooms for anniversaries and unhurried date nights, and the reviews keep returning to two things: the cooking and a service team that regulars name by first name. The chef's specials rotate often enough that the regulars have learned to ask what's on the board before ordering. One practical note: the Richardson Street garage a few steps away parks free on weekends.