1540 Room

The story

Crafted with passion, served with love

A Port City's Table, Reimagined

Housed on the first floor of The DeSoto Savannah Hotel on East Liberty Street, 1540 Room is built around a compelling idea: Savannah has always been a port city, a destination for travelers and sailors from around the world for hundreds of years. Chef Collin Clemons took that history as his starting point, exploring the spice trade as a lens through which global flavors and local Georgia ingredients could meet naturally on the same plate.

Less than a year after opening, Clemons — an Ohio native who cooked his way through kitchens in Minneapolis, New Orleans, and Austin before arriving in Savannah — was named the city's Best Chef. That recognition, alongside the restaurant's Wine Spectator Award of Excellence, reflects a kitchen and a cellar operating at a consistent level of ambition.

The Cooking

The menu moves from a Lowcountry-elevated breakfast with international inflections to dinners where coastal seafood is touched with spices that gesture toward farther shores. The seasonal approach is grounded in a network of named, local farm partners: 920 Cattle Company in Millen raises Brangus, Hereford, and heritage pork; Bootleg Farm in Springfield supplies artisan goat cheese and eggs; Vertu Farm grows produce on two urban acres in Savannah's Avondale neighborhood using no-till, sustainable methods; Billy's Botanicals in Richmond Hill brings fresh fish, clams, herbs, and vegetables from a state-licensed seafood facility. Gannon Organics, Southern Brothers Farm, Schmoe Farm, and COR Compost complete a supply chain that is traceable, local, and genuinely committed to soil health and regenerative practice.

The result is a seasonal menu that changes with what these partners can offer — rich coastal seafood one week, gourmet mushrooms from Brunswick the next.

Wine and Events

The wine list earned its Wine Spectator Award of Excellence through deliberate curation: labels sourced globally, each chosen to complement the flavors on the plate rather than simply to impress on paper. Regular wine dinners — four-course evenings paired with focused selections — give guests a more structured way into the cellar. The adjacent bar, Proof & Provision, handles craft cocktails and shareable bites before or after dinner.

The space also accommodates private events, intimate gatherings, and larger celebrations, with a team focused on making each occasion feel considered rather than generic.