Zachry's Riverhouse (No Reservations) — Restaurant in Jekyll Island

What I do like about Zachry’s is that they let you bring your dog, which is a big deal for me. They’ve got a patio on the water side, so you get a nice view, and your dog can hang out with you. Everyone’s really friendly about it — the staff, other customers — I’ve never had a bad experience with how people treat you there. They’re always kind, and that goes a long way.

Now the food… honestly, it’s just mediocre. I hear from locals that they love it — this is one of those spots that gets recommended to me a lot when I’m in South Georgia, especially around Jekyll Island, Brunswick, and St. Simons. People seem to really like it, so I’ve given it a few tries. And every time I leave feeling the same way: I don’t get the hype.

This time I ordered the shrimp. The waitress was super kind and let me split it up — I did half fried and half grilled. I appreciated that. But the grilled shrimp were rubbery and didn’t have much flavor. Definitely overcooked. I thought they were going to be bigger, but she said they’re Georgia wild shrimp — which I’m not super familiar with — but I am familiar with overcooked shrimp, and that’s what they were. The fried ones were better — still slightly overcooked, but the batter was light, so they were more enjoyable.

As for the sides… I wouldn’t go for them again. I’ve tried them all at this point, and none of them hit the mark for me. One of the coleslaws — I think it’s the Asian slaw — just has a really strange flavor. It’s not balanced at all. Like, whatever they’re going for with that sweet and tangy thing, it just misses. The flavor is off, and it leaves kind of an odd aftertaste — definitely not something I’d order again.

The regular coleslaw doesn’t do it for me either. It’s missing that creamy, tangy-sweet blend that good coleslaw is supposed to have. There’s no real crunch, no acid to cut through, and no balance. It’s either too sharp or too bland depending on the bite. Just not enjoyable.

The fries are battered fries — and I’m not big on those to begin with — but even so, these are hit or miss. Half the time they come out lukewarm, and the batter’s thick and just kind of... soggy. A bad battered fry has too much coating, not enough actual potato, and it ends up tasting like old grease. That’s what these remind me of.

And then there’s the redskin potatoes. The texture’s just off. You can tell they weren’t made fresh. Potatoes change when they’ve been cooked and then stored in the fridge overnight — they get this weird, almost gummy or waxy texture, and that’s exactly what happened here. They just didn’t taste fresh at all, and the texture kind of ruins it, no matter how much seasoning or stuff they throw on top.

The green beans? I don’t mind bacon in my green beans — if it’s done right. But the bacon they use isn’t crispy at all, it’s more like soft, fatty strips that just sit there. Kinda slimy, honestly. And then you mix that with overcooked, mushy green beans and it just ends up tasting like grease. The beans soak up all that greasy flavor, and it’s just not appetizing. Southern food can be done well, but this just misses the mark.

That said, the atmosphere is great, I love that I can bring my dog, and the people are kind. So if you’re going more for the experience than the food, you’ll probably enjoy it. But if you're going for the food, just know it’s hit or miss — at...

We came here on our last evening of vacation and we were sorely disappointed. We walked in and put our name on the wait list, the wait was supposed to be around 45 minutes (but could be as little as 30 minutes or as long as one hour) and we waited around 30-40 minutes.. which was fine. We were seated… outside… my husband and I asked our daughter and niece if they would rather eat inside and they said yes. So we walk back to the host stand and ask to wait for the next available table inside. She told us she could, but we would be put back on the bottom of the list and an hour wait. I laughed because obviously this was a joke. Spoiler alert: it wasn’t. We sat back down at the table we didn’t want to sit at outside because we didn’t want to go back to the same places we have already ate at. We are off to a bad start at this point. An employee visits our table with the server (my husband has exclaimed our distaste to her when she took our drink order), we assume it’s a type of manager on duty but we are not sure because he looks sloppy and unprofessional, and he asks us what the problem is. My husband explains what the hostess said to us and he tells us that’s the way it works. I just want to be clear, my husband and I have worked at a handful of restaurants (at very different levels and styles/multiple different positions) and we have never heard of this. As a hostess, you would move the person to the NEXT available table that’s inside the restaurant and move on to the next person on the wait list. You wouldn’t put the person back at the bottom of the list, that’s just preposterous. Back to the conversation with the manager though - he asks how he can make it right…… I think it’s pretty clear what we wanted. We stated what we thought should have been done and since he wasn’t willing to do that, there was nothing he could have done to fix the situation. Which is crazy, if he’s a manager or an owner then he clearly has zero accurate training or experience in running a restaurant 🤷🏻‍♀️

He owes our server the tip and that’s a shame because we tip 30-50% on a ticket based on service and she was great. So she easily would have made $40 on just our table of four.

The only reason they get TWO stars is because the server was decent and the food was actually...

We were here on a Sunday afternoon, and the front porch had a sign reading, "Holy $#& we made it 5 years!" Immediately, we felt conflicted because either we were in for a treat or we were eating at a place where the people don't have kids. (The 8-year-old: "Mommy, what's $#&‽" The 14-year-old takes a picture to text his friends.) We chose to eat outside, and the view from the table was wonderful. There's enough wind that there was no oceanfront smell, and while that might be something you expect around that type of area, it was nice having a meal without it. For appetizers, we had Crab Stew. It was good and creamy. (We tried to order oysters, but there's a supply problem right now which, while a bummer, isn't their fault.) The server was great. While she didn't know the menu well and wasn't the most personable, she did ask about allergy concerns and check in on us regularly to make sure we were good. For meals, we had: Child 1 - Kids fish plate. She loved it, and they have malt vinegar that makes her super happy. We tasted it, and it was nondescript white fish (maybe tilapia?). Child 2 - Swordfish steak with fries and red potatoes. He is adventurous but has a lot of food allergies, and the care taken for his dish was phenomenal. They genuinely cared to make sure there was no cross-contamination. Adult 1 - Shrimp Po Boy. This was the win of the table. The shrimp is cleaned, and to us, that's a big deal. Adult 2 - Greek Salad. Okay, so it's a salad, and I tend to expect a wilty piece or two. However, having a husband in the industry, we were surprised this salad would be served as it was. The cucumber had clearly been frozen, and it was visibly gooey, see-through green. The tomatoes had two brown rotten spots on them. Since they are served in wedges, it would have been easy to cut the icky parts out, but the person building the salad obviously didn't care. As expected, there was some brown-edged lettuce, but there was also wilty lettuce that looked like it, too, had been frozen. All in all, we would definitely go back and eat here again. The food, overall, was just okay, but we really think that was related to menu changes based on shortages and not a...