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Elizabeth Terry
James Beard Award winner
- Discipline
- Other
i. Biography
Savannah, Georgia, sets the working conditions for Elizabeth on 37th: coastal proximity, Southern service codes, and a regional pantry treated as the basis of the restaurant rather than decoration. Founded by Elizabeth Terry in 1981, the restaurant established refined coastal cuisine around locally sourced food, measured plating, careful service, and a dining room where formal standards were carried with warmth. Fine coastal cooking at Elizabeth on 37th held delicacy and regional memory on the same plate. Shad and roe, pecan and almond, each kept a clear sense of origin while moving through a polished restaurant format. The house identity came from that balance: coastal ingredients, Southern manners, and enough restraint in the dining room to let local flavor remain legible.
Coming Up
Restaurant hospitality asks for more than cooking; it depends on reading guests, pacing rooms, and making service feel considered from arrival through the last course. Born circa 1943 in Salem, Ohio, Elizabeth Terry studied at Lake Erie College for Women and earned a degree in psychology in 1966, a background that sits alongside her later work in Savannah, where service, welcome, and the human texture of Southern hospitality were part of the restaurant’s craft. A fine coastal cuisine format took shape in 1981, when Elizabeth Terry founded Elizabeth on 37th (Savannah, Georgia). The restaurant’s character was built on locally sourced food and a composed regional style, set inside a city where history, architecture, and coastal rhythms affect the dining experience as much as the market does. Shad Stuffed with Shad Roe places fish and roe at the center of the plate, giving the preparation a specific coastal weight. In this register, ingredients are not markers added for regional effect; they carry the flavor and identity of place. Terry’s handling kept those elements recognizable while presenting them with care, precision, and elegance.
Where They Are Now
Traditional and innovative dishes continue at Elizabeth on 37th in a fine coastal cuisine format. The restaurant’s ongoing work keeps the original balance in service: coastal ingredients, local sourcing, formal care, and Southern-rooted hospitality, all grounded in the foundation Elizabeth Terry established in 1981. Savannah, Georgia, remains part of the restaurant’s method as well as its address. The nearby coast, the importance of regional ingredients, and the ceremonial ease of Southern welcome continue to shape Elizabeth on 37th, where traditional and innovative dishes keep the house balance active.
Signature
Signature dishes at Elizabeth on 37th include Shad Stuffed with Shad Roe and Elizabeth’s wonderful pecan almond tart. The first is grounded in coastal specificity; the second works through nuts, sweetness, and a generous Southern-inflected finish. Together, they show the range of Terry’s table without leaving the restaurant’s regional frame.
Honors
Recognition for this work includes James Beard Foundation Award for Best Chef Southeast (1995) and Barbara Tropp President's Award. These honors attach to a career defined by refined coastal cuisine, locally sourced food, and a hospitality model in which cooking, service, and place function as one discipline.
Profile updated July 2026
FAQ
Asked of Elizabeth
What recognition has Elizabeth Terry received?
James Beard Foundation Award for Best Chef Southeast (1995).
What is Elizabeth Terry known for?
Locally sourced food, beautifully prepared and elegantly served.
