09/03/2026
𝟏. 𝐇𝐚𝐫𝐫𝐲’𝐬 𝐡𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐨𝐫𝐲 𝐠𝐨𝐞𝐬 𝐛𝐚𝐜𝐤 𝐟𝐮𝐫𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐧 𝐇𝐚𝐫𝐫𝐲’𝐬 𝐢𝐭𝐬𝐞𝐥𝐟.
Harry’s Savoy Grill was founded in 1988, but the Naamans Road property follows a line of restaurants that had been gathering places in the Brandywine Hundred community since the 1940s. That gives the location more than 80 years of North Wilmington dining history.
𝟐. 𝐓𝐡𝐞 “𝐒𝐚𝐯𝐨𝐲” 𝐧𝐚𝐦𝐞 𝐡𝐚𝐬 𝐚 𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐧𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐭𝐨 𝐋𝐨𝐧𝐝𝐨𝐧.
There’s a great story behind the name: Xavier Teixido explained on 𝑊𝐻𝑌𝑌’𝑠 𝐶ℎ𝑒𝑐𝑘, 𝑃𝑙𝑒𝑎𝑠𝑒! 𝑃ℎ𝑖𝑙𝑙𝑦 that when the restaurant was being created, they wanted a place that celebrated the classics. The inspiration for “Savoy” came from London’s famous Savoy Grill, historically known for prime rib - making the name especially fitting for what would become one of Harry’s signature dishes.
𝟑. 𝐇𝐚𝐫𝐫𝐲’𝐬 𝐰𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐟𝐫𝐨𝐦 𝐚 𝐃𝐞𝐥𝐚𝐰𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐟𝐚𝐯𝐨𝐫𝐢𝐭𝐞 𝐭𝐨 𝐧𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐚𝐥 𝐫𝐞𝐜𝐨𝐠𝐧𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧. In 2024, 𝑈𝑆𝐴 𝑇𝑜𝑑𝑎𝑦 named Harry’s Savoy Grill one of its 𝐑𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐮𝐫𝐚𝐧𝐭𝐬 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐘𝐞𝐚𝐫, putting the Wilmington steakhouse on a national list of just 47 restaurants. It has also been featured by 𝑆𝑜𝑢𝑡ℎ𝑒𝑟𝑛 𝐿𝑖𝑣𝑖𝑛𝑔 among legendary restaurants.
𝟒. 𝐏𝐫𝐢𝐦𝐞 𝐫𝐢𝐛 𝐡𝐚𝐬 𝐛𝐞𝐞𝐧 𝐩𝐚𝐫𝐭 𝐨𝐟 𝐇𝐚𝐫𝐫𝐲’𝐬 𝐢𝐝𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐢𝐭𝐲 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐝𝐞𝐜𝐚𝐝𝐞𝐬
Long before today’s steakhouse boom, Harry’s was building its reputation around beef. A 2022 𝑂𝑢𝑡 & 𝐴𝑏𝑜𝑢𝑡 𝑀𝑎𝑔𝑎𝑧𝑖𝑛𝑒 retrospective noted that when Harry’s opened, 𝑇ℎ𝑒 𝑁𝑒𝑤𝑠 𝐽𝑜𝑢𝑟𝑛𝑎𝑙 was already talking about its meat-focused menu. Today, its Prime Rib remains a signature, and regional coverage continues to single it out as one of the restaurant’s defining dishes.
𝟓. 𝐇𝐚𝐫𝐫𝐲’𝐬 𝐢𝐬 𝐜𝐨𝐥𝐥𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐚𝐰𝐚𝐫𝐝𝐬 𝐧𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐥𝐲 𝐟𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐝𝐞𝐜𝐚𝐝𝐞𝐬 𝐚𝐟𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐨𝐩𝐞𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠. For 2026, Harry’s earned 𝐷𝑒𝑙𝑎𝑤𝑎𝑟𝑒 𝑇𝑜𝑑𝑎𝑦 recognition for 𝐁𝐞𝐬𝐭 𝐅𝐢𝐧𝐞 𝐃𝐢𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠, 𝐁𝐞𝐬𝐭 𝐃𝐚𝐭𝐞 𝐍𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭 𝐑𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐮𝐫𝐚𝐧𝐭 and 𝐁𝐞𝐬𝐭 𝐒𝐩𝐞𝐜𝐢𝐚𝐥 𝐎𝐜𝐜𝐚𝐬𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐑𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐮𝐫𝐚𝐧𝐭 – Upstate. Its wine program also received a 𝟐𝟎𝟐𝟔 𝐖𝐢𝐧𝐞 𝐒𝐩𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐚𝐭𝐨𝐫 𝐀𝐰𝐚𝐫𝐝 𝐨𝐟 𝐄𝐱𝐜𝐞𝐥𝐥𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐞, showing that a restaurant founded almost 40 years ago continues to evolve while maintaining its classic identity.
