More than likely, among those guests will be dozens of local folks who come for the comfort Pearl’s Saltwater Grille offers. A snob would call the fresh seafood predictable. Pearl’s regulars call it dependable. That confidence is not wasted on its chef and managers.

Chef David Weikert and managers Luc Ebner and Justin Krantz nod in agreement that Savannahians are their core business — and the menu respects the loyalty the restaurant has earned after more than 15 years.

“We want the food to speak for itself,” Weikert explained. “We don’t want to complicate things.”

Despite the various sauces, crusts and batters, Weikert achieves that goal with each and every menu item. You taste the oysters under the layer of baked Parmesan cheese and bacon; and the grouper shines through the cream sauce. Even the fiery Tabasco shrimp give up the sweet, organic flavor you expect from shrimp.

The hush puppies are legendary, a preamble to every meal that come stacked high in a basket and served with sweet butter. Purists would take the morsels to task for lacking the savory character of a traditional hush puppy. It seems a love-hate relationship. “Hate these hush puppies?” Weikert exclaimed. “I’ve never heard anyone say they hated these hush puppies.”

That’s brand loyalty — and it’s a two-way street at Saltwater Grille.

Weikert joined the restaurant in November 2005 and soon after began introducing more elegant appetizers, pasta dishes and fish that, gasp, never come close to a deep fryer. But he respects the legions of diners who want fried seafood, who expect fried seafood. Those items from the restaurant’s past remain core items on the menu.

But that doesn’t mean he doesn’t show off the chops he earned after graduating from Johnson and Wales University. Stints at restaurants in North Carolina and the Florida Keys landed him a gig with Legal Sea Foods, a large chain of restaurants. His last stop with Legal, in Washington, D.C., soon sent him and his wife hunting for a new kitchen — one that was in the South and in a community where they felt they could raise a couple of kids. A headhunter matched Weikert with Saltwater Grille. It looks like a good fit all around.

The restaurant, at least in my opinion, is the flagship of a group of eateries that includes The Oyster Bar, One-Eyed Lizzy’s, Bell’s Landing, The Exchange and now The Pirates’ House and 45 South.

From its perch between LaRoche Avenue and a meandering creek, the restaurant’s large windows open onto a stunning panorama of changing tides, waving marsh grasses and awe-inspiring waterfowl. The view of the sky is big and reveals a natural canvas that can be stormy or bright. The night we had dinner, its vivid blue gave way to a dusty, rose-colored horizon that ultimately yielded to a deep violet before transitioning into night.

Chef David assembled an appetizer sampler that included oysters on the half shell baked on a bed of salt and topped with Parmesan and bacon cracklings, shrimp fried in a Tabasco sauce-laced tempura batter, and mussels sautéed in a wonderfully savory and spicy broth of cilantro, lime juice, coconut milk and garlic. Each was as delicious as the other. Creamy cucumber-ranch dressing tempered the heat of the shrimp — and reminded me that Ebner had made a point of telling me that the restaurant makes all of its dressings and sauces from scratch.

We were most impressed by the lump crab cake. Instead of combing the crab with the other ingredients that usually bind the cake together, Weikert took a horseradish-flavored filler and used it as the core of his crab cake. What you see on the plate are huge, gently browned pieces of crab shaped around a plump spicy cake of seasoned dough that is reminiscent of cornbread dressing.

Of course, we ate about half of the basket of hush puppies, dredging each through sweet butter and promising not to fill up too fast.

I passed on Weikert’s more complex dishes and the fried fish to follow a simpler path. For my entrée, I chose grilled rainbow trout — no sauce — with steamed veggies and rice pilaf. The flavors were clean, straightforward attacks on the palate; the grilled fish beautifully presented grill marks up — tender and flaky.

Miss T.J. loves grouper and angel hair pasta. Problem: The pasta comes under Tilapia Imperial; the grouper comes over red-skinned potatoes. Our server Alexis said, “No problem,” when we asked if we could swap them.

The pan-seared grouper was moist and perfectly seasoned with Parmesan cheese. The topping of lump crabmeat added richness and a pleasing complementary flavor. The cream sauce on the pasta was slightly sweet and not the least bit overpowering. The accompanying asparagus was crisp and fresh.

At the time of our visit, the dessert menu carried a combination of homemade and store-bought selections. Among the house-made choices, we each selected cobbler — one each of apple and peach.

The portions were huge — and each was accented by a big scoop of vanilla ice cream. Each was an example of pure Southern decadence — sweet, syrupy and filled with fruit.

Known more frequently simply as “Pearl’s,” the restaurant is legendary for its portions. Some planned changes will include different plating of some dishes, but Ebner assured me that portions will retain historical proportions.

Remodeling over the past few years has added a larger bar area and a new wine storage “vault.” Over the next few months, expect to see more greenery, art on the walls, new carpet and new table coverings to replace the ill-fitting and weary vinyl covers now in use.

Don’t expect fundamental changes to the restaurant’s philosophy of fresh, made-to-order meals, hearty portions and devotion to menu favorites. The ability of Pearl’s to fill its more than 200 seats (160 in the main dining rooms, nearly 30 at the bar and 35 in a private banquet room) more than once a night hinges on a legacy created by catering to its customers’ favorites. Sure, Weikert will continue to throw in specials and some real treats on a nightly basis, but he assured me that the menu will retain its core of seafood classics.

Beer and wine lists are more impressive than you would typically expect from such a large-scale, casual dining experience.

And, the restaurant now takes reservations — which will help ease what is typically a half-hour to 45-minute wait, particularly on weekends.

With its location, its chef and its popularity, Pearl’s could go more upscale. I applaud its management’s dedication to retaining its roots, its casual atmosphere and devotion to the diners who guarantee its ongoing success.

And, you gotta love the hush puppies.

Pearl’s Saltwater Grille
ADDRESS: 7000 LaRoche Ave
PHONE: 352-8221
HOURS: Mon-Thurs 5-10 p.m.; Fri and Sat 5-10:30 p.m.; Sun 5-9:30 p.m.
RESERVATIONS: Yes
CREDIT CARDS: Yes
BAR: Full bar
HANDICAP ACCESS: Yes

Meet The Chef: Chef David Weikert

Q: What is your specialty or favorite food you cook when not at work?
I love to grill. I usually don’t do fish ’cause I do so much here. I especially like to grill pork, and I love the entertaining aspect of grilling. The neighbors love it when they see me roll the grill out of the garage.

Q: When you eat out, where do you go?
I don’t much; on nights off I like to stay at home. I guess the last place we went out to was a place in Pooler — Yummy House.

Q: What was your worst experience in the kitchen?
At a restaurant in North Carolina, a fire ant hill clogged our water pump, and we didn’t have water. The owner wouldn’t shut down — and we had no water. We bought 300 feet of garden hose, enough to reach to an employee’s house, so we could get water to fill the dishwasher tanks.