Toni Steakhouse

Toni’s Steakhouse is one of those unsung gems of serious dining not usually expected on the Southside. The owner, Stephan, and his family have been part of the Savannah restaurant scene for several years, previously off of Diamond Causeway with the still-missed Adriatic. With Toni’s, they have perfected their style, to the enjoyment of all diners.

The building itself is a modest brick structure next to the Holiday Inn. Inside is a tasteful understated décor of brick, black, and white, with abstract paintings. We are often greeted by Stephan or his family, who hail from Croatia, and swiftly seated. Toni’s small size lends itself to personal attention by the wait staff; the place is intimate without being cramped.

Service is professional, the waiters will often recognize a returning guest and remember what they like, make suggestions. During quiet periods Stephan or his sons may come out to converse with guests, which is often my favorite part of the meal.

The food, which is the essential part, does not disappoint. The meal always opens with the welcome sight of bread baked that morning. Stephan keeps his menu limited in the right way, concentrating on what he does best: tender, Grade-AA steaks and sirloins cooked to order, local shrimp grilled or fried with flair, to generous dishes of pasta with sauces created right on the premises. One of our favorites is wiener schnitzel with its tender breading, the dish that initially hooked us on this place. If you ask, especially at lunch, Stephan or Toni is not above creating a dish inspired by the old Adriatic, often I get a shrimp & spinach crepe. Often swordfish, grouper, or mussels are on special, but only briefly, Toni’s is very firm about only serving the freshest of seafoods. Even the vegetables are perfect al dente in texture and taste, and the mashed potatoes are real, never powered.

Dessert is also created on site. We’ve tried them all, but keep coming back to the crème brûlée. Coffee is never far away. Besides a well-stocked bar, complete with a TV silently tuned to news or soccer, there is an extensive wine list, but my favorite is the house wine, a good basic red or white created out in California’s wine country just for Toni’s.

Besides the food, Toni’s has one thing I consider essential for the full dining experience: good music! No noisy Top 40 hits blaring out here, no recycled muzak, just the calm beauty of a piano or guitar playing Mozart, Beethoven, Rodriguez, or a cool jazz combo playing with the favorites, all of it at a volume you can have a conversation over. Next to the food, the soundtrack is what makes or breaks a restaurant for this diner.

Located on the Southside, Toni’s has for too long been a candle under a bushel . For those who think all the good food is exclusively downtown, I suggest you look again, this is worth the trip.

I visited this restaurant on a fri night for the first time. i took my best friend for her birthday. She and I consider ourselves 'connoisseur " when it comes to great steaks. We love Ruth's, Longhorn and even some outbacks. This restaurant leaves much to be desired. the setting is very appealing. They have great seating, lighting and classical music playing. However the food was unsatisfactory. There were 3 people in our party each ordering a different cut of steak each prepared differently... from med rare to well. It took 45 minutes to get our entrees and each one was well done... and cold! For me if the steak is over cooked it's ruined so I sent mine back and because it took soo long to get it the first time, declined their offer to recook. I would think that if any patron iis displeased and refuses the entire meal that management would offer at the very least an apology... not this place!! There are much better places in the area that offer a more flavorful, hot, and adequately prepared steak than here for the same... if not better price. Also, If you're one who enjoys your food seasoned this definitely is Not the place for you.

This is the worst experience in dining ever. I ordered a rare steak and had to send it back twice. It was ice cold, and frankly, it seemed like flank steak rather than the filet mignon I had ordered. The chef came out of the kitchen and threw an emotional scene on how wrong we were for sending food back. His "40 years of experience" that he kept clinging to in his rants are laughable. I'm going to assume that his poor cooking skills, cheap quality of food, and hysterical reactions to feedback are why we were the only 2 people in the restaurant on a Saturday night. Never eat here. They'll probably go out of business soon anyway.

Great place to eat. Nice quiet dinner and service was very attentive. Very extensive menu and everything is cooked to order. I ordered a Filet with mash pot. and wilted spinach and my wife had catch of the day. Grouper with broc. and asp. My filet melted in my mouth and you can tell mash pot. were home made. Her grouper was sushi grade and EVEN better then my filet. ALL and ALL great experience! Thanks Toni Steakhouse

When you walk in the place, you are overwhelmed by the modern style of the place. The staff are really nice and are eager to please you. There is a great variety of choices on both the lunch and dinner menu's not to mention the great specials they have as well. If you are a steak fan like me, you will not be dissapointed. All steaks are prepared from scratch. In other words they do not have pre-seasoned meals delivered to them like most chains. This is a family owned and operated place with customer service priority one. Also, if you like "vienna shnitzel", this is the place

This was the worst place I've eaten in years. The mashed potatoes tasted like they came out of a box (either that or they went to KFC and bought some before the dinner shift) and the vegetables were not fresh at all. They probably came out of a bag or something. The steak was horrible; the food was substandard. Needless to say, I will not be going back. I complained to the manager and when offered a free meal I turned it down if that gives you any idea of how the food taste.

4-19-09 This was my family first time going here and it was not a good experience, First our steaks were not cooked the way we asked then my husband asked for a loaded baked potato and I only wanted butter when they came out all I got was sour cream and he got only butter. This was a very bad dining experience not just because of messing up our food but the server did not address the issues when they were expressed to her all she could say was im sorry and not even try to fix the problem. I guess as they first impressions are the best and this one was not a great one! I would not recommend this resturant to any of my friend or other family members.