Live Oak Tavern — Restaurant in Georgia

This establishment is top notch, from the employees, to the food, to the ownership, they totally knock it out of the park. My experience started with their bartender John, we arrived by boat after a long brutal day traveling from the Carolina's en route to Florida, we walk up the dock and notice the only restaurant at the marina is under renovation. And we are starving! Just then, we notice John walking down the stairs and asked him about a place we could get some food, he quickly replied, "I'll drive you over to the place I bartend at". A short drive later and we arrived at Live Oak, and could smell how good it was before we even sat down. John introduced us to the owner Mike, who was energetic and extremely welcoming, taking his time to ensure each guest at his mostly full bar was receiving the highest level of service. We ordered the onion rings, which were some of the best I have had anywhere, and I'm an O-ring snob! We asked for his recommendation for chicken wing flavor, and without hesitation he said "Mikes way!" About 5 mins after we finished our appetizers, the wings showed up at the perfect time, and let me tell you, these wings were legit. The first bite gave me a flashback to my childhood, eating juicy, perfectly cooked BBQ wings off the grill, after a long day of playing at the beach, the only difference was I washed these wings down with a beer instead of a soda! Pure nostalgia in every bite. Then the burgers came out after the wings were finished, and they burgers were also very good. After a while of chatting and hanging out, we determined that we most certainly needed a dozen more wings to go for our journey from St Simon's down to Jacksonville by sea the following day, and these wings didn't last 5 mins the next day, eating them ice cold right out of the cooler. Still incredible! But to round off the "you're family when you're at my bar" vibe, we were talking about calling an uber to return to the boat, and the owner Mike shouted to the kitchen "Yo Mikey! Wana give these two a ride home?" Mikey kindly obliged and took us back in a beyond cool antique BMW convertible, it was like being in Europe again! Great food, Great atmosphere, Great people. If we lived closer this would be our weekly watering hole. But 4 hours on i -95 won't deter us, we will certainly be back to St Simon's to enjoy the area more, and we're strongly (though indirectly) persuaded to do so by our experience at Live Oak...

Live Oak Tavern is by far the worst spot on the island — and that’s saying something. The service was horrendous, thanks largely to a red-bearded server who was not only completely unprofessional, but also unbelievably rude. His attitude was so out of line, he actually made a young girl in our group cry. That should tell you everything you need to know.

The atmosphere is as cold as the service, and it’s clear the staff have no training, no courtesy, and certainly no business being in hospitality. It’s hard to imagine this place staying open much longer if this is how they treat customers. The ownership should be absolutely ashamed. Maybe they should take a stroll to other restaurants in the area and see how real service is done.

Do yourself a favor — don’t waste your time, money, or energy here. There are plenty of better places on the island that actually value their guests. To follow up on my previous review — I’ve lived in the Saint Simons area for 16 years and know many of the locals personally. After sharing my experience, I’ve heard similar stories from others who’ve also had terrible service at Live Oak Tavern, especially involving the same red-bearded server. This isn’t just a one-off — it’s a pattern.

I’ve truly never stepped foot in such a sorry excuse for an establishment. The lack of professionalism and basic hospitality is astounding. I would genuinely welcome the chance to speak directly with the owner — they need to hear just how poorly this place is being run.

Rest assured, I’ll be spreading the word in the community to avoid this place at all costs. Saint Simons...

The Live Oak Tavern has been on my radar as a new spot on the island as we’re always looking for good food in the neighborhood. Popped in, later one evening after work and was pleasantly surprised at how great the atmosphere and food was. I was tempted by a burger after the owner explained that they were all fresh angus burgers but I opted for the tacos instead. Before ordering I asked if the fish and shrimp were local and was told exactly where it came from on the island so I went for a fried fish, a fried shrimp, and splurged my waistline and added a steak taco. The fish and shrimp were cooked perfectly with excellent seasoning and the taco add ons made them definitely one of the best/if not the best fish and shrimp tacos on the island and in the area.

All of the staff was very friendly and I can’t wait to come back to test out the new patio and garage doors that will open out to the patio. You can tell a lot of work went in to renovating it from the old restaurant they took over. Nice large clean booths to bring the family for a nice dinner out.

The rest of the menu looked great and I can’t wait to come back with the wife and kiddo to try out more of the items...