Wood Ash Rye — Restaurant in Saint George

This was an overall very disappointing experience. We travel frequently and love to find good places to eat for our last night. I found this online and made a reservation. The atmosphere is cool. However we were seated in an alcove booth close to the front door and host station despite a lot of open tables so that was disappointing. Our fault..we could have asked to be moved. As the night went on I realized the open concept kitchen is not to my liking. We were located across from a kitchen area where they made biscuits and dessert and every few minutes the cook would yell "biscuits up" etc for the server. So kind of disrupting. I could see a cook dropping a deep fry basket behind the kitchen bar from my seat on and off. We could watch the servers having tense words with the cooks a few times. Just didn't seem to go with the upscale vibe and prices they were trying to present.. Our kids have been servers at some point so we don't like to complain unless something is really off. Our waitress Miyah was fabulous. The watermelon pork belly was fabulous. Everything else was just really disappointing. We ordered bread for the table that they charge for. It came with oil and balsamic. When it came out it looked like pieces of breakfast bread that had been sliced, drenched in olive oil and grilled. It was super greasy and off-putting. We tried dipping it in the balsamic oil and that was more oil than balsamic and little flavor. We never send stuff back but asked Miyah to take it off the bill. She was super sweet and did so but asked if she could bring us biscuits instead to try. We said sure. We cut into the biscuit and the inside wasn't fully cooked. Really doughy. We didn't say anything but didn't eat that. We waited forever for the pork belly . She came back and apologized and said something happened and the order never got started on. She comped that as well but it was a very long wait. Our second dish was a quesadilla type of thing with short rib meat. The flavor was good but the quesadilla tortilla was again soft and doughy so we didn't finish it. By that time a family with three kids were seated next to us in the second booth in the private alcove. When the kids started having play sword fights with their silverware and knives we had to just laugh and ask for the bill. Maybe everyone was just having a bad night. I don't know. It happens. But we couldn't get out of there fast enough to get a nightcap somewhere else. Great concept. Great server. Super disappointing food..bizarre atmosphere where we were seated.. I don't think we will be back if we...

We visited W.A.R. when they were still in their cold open. Only a few menu items were available as well as just a small beer/wine selection. While that visit didn't blow us away, we agreed to return again once they were fully up and running.

Okay, so it took us a while to return. We invited another couple along for dinner and made reservations for when they reopened with their dinner menu. Our friends had arrived before us and I was glad to see they were already seated at our table, We were seated centrally on the street side and able to overlook the dining area and the cooking area, which was spotless while the chefs and cooks worked their magic.

Our waitress arrived cheerfully and promptly, inquiring about 1st timers, or past experience. She very clearly explained the special and how the dishes were essentially tapas style for 2, freshly prepared and depending on cook time for each dish, they may be tabled seperately.

Let's talk about the drinks. Lemonade and tea for our friends, they were very pleased. My wife ordered from the specialty drink menu. She absolutely loved it. I ordered off-menu, a Whiskey Sour, after being assured they prepare it with egg white. Our waitress asked my preferences -brands, rye or bourbon. I appreciated her knowledge. It was one of the best I have had. Great drinks.

We came for the food. Between the four of us, we shared the roasted brussell sprouts, biscuits, pasta with chef's choice portobello mushrooms, and the roasted carrots. I would be typing into tomorrow to give adequate detail of each delicious dish. I thought I was the roasted brussell sprout master until now. So good. The biscuits were the size of my fist, lightly salted and buttered on top, soft as a pillow on the inside. The housemade large flat pasta with the portobellos made me want to slap someone. The sauce was so good, I would have licked my plate clean had we not been in public. The roasted carrots came with a well prepared chimichurri and cotija cheese, cooked to al dente and just unbelieveable.

Had to pass on dessert, because no one had absolutely anymore room. Being that full would not do it justice.

Our waitress was right on top of everything during our visit, refreshing drinks. clearing the table and getting the check paid.

I read the past lowest Google reviews before we came this evening, because, well, just because. Those reviewers were either in a different restaurant, or the owner/manager made good on all of the responses to ?take action to improve. Bravo, Wood Ash Rye. A diamond...

Wow! What a hidden gem in St. George. I would have to say this restaurant is easily of the top 3 fanciest and best restaurants in town. It's inside the new hotel on the corner of St. George Boulevard and Main Street. Reservations are required, as there is limited seating. It's set up to be family and shared plates. The decor and set up has a southern, country, but slightly modern farmhouse feel.

The plates and portions vary but we found each plate and dish we ordered to serve at least 3-4. (2 of us had dinner and we had enough for leftovers the next day.)

As far as the menu goes, we ordered the chicken skins as an appetizer. It completely surprised us as it is a fried chicken skin, drizzled in spicy honey, with a dash of dried cheese. It sounds odd but was actually really flavorful and just typing about it has me craving more. Definitely a standout in the appetizers.

We also ordered a crab/pasta dish and that was also very tasty. We'd try something else though next time.

For the main dishes we shared the chicken and dumplings and their fish of the day. Both were very delicious and the chicken and dumplings definitely had a home-cooked, motherly feel to the dish. We are going to try the Rib Eye on our next visit.

We also had the macoroni salad and the mashed potatoes as sides, along with the house salad. We'd definitely order the potatoes and macoroni salad again. (If you like southern food and BBQ, I'd recommend mixing their housemade mole BBQ sauce with the mashed potatoes and macoroni salad! Mmm!)

Their drink menu has some unique drinks and is the most unique in St. George. The prices are steep though (average price for a mixed drink was around $12). Some were as high as $16. They do have a good selection of wines as well.

All in all, we were pleased with the experience and felt the service and food quality was extremely high. The chef personally greeted us and all the dishes were explained by our server as we had questions. There is a lot to take in on the menu but do order to share and do expect a more expensive bill. If you're looking for something cheap, this is not the place to go. If you're looking for a great night out with friends or family, and want to sit around a table that feels like home and enjoy an extremely tasty, fresh, and home-cooked meal; this is the place in town to go. We will be back and we are thrilled to have a restaurant and chef of this caliber...