Vic's On the River — Restaurant in Savannah

I have been eating at this lovely restaurant since I first moved to Savannah in twenty o'seven. It was the first restaurant I ate at in Savannah and I just dined there, again- October 8th and the ambience, quality and service was as impeccable as the first time I dined there.

The service is elegant, the staff is lovely~ first class. I love white linen table clothes and napkins and fine silverware and gorgeous white plates that accentuate the presentation of the food, the food stands alone.

I entertained two friends and this is what we got. An order of the fried green tomatoes with a remoulade tomato sauce and chèvre. It comes with a cheesy grits- amazing. I found out you can add crab, however we did not. All three of us thought the dish was the best we've ever had. We followed that up with oysters on the half shell with a lovely mignonette and a side of horseradish. Sumptuous. Each of us sighed with nearly every bite. It's that good.

One of my friends got the pan seared sea scallops- with a parmesan risotto, lemon herb cream sauce & truffle oil. Divine.

My other friend got the special that evening which was sea bass topped with a peach glaze served on risotto with asparagus. I tasted it and the pan sear on the fish was perfection, the fish was moist and tender, it broke nicely in large chunks.

I got the jumbo lump crab cakes which were nearly one hundred percent lump crab. It was served with traditional parmesan risotto and topped with a divine mustard cream sauce, Milanese style with asparagus. Yum.

I had a lovely Bombay Sapphire martini up, rocks and olives on the side. The martini was super chilled and paired so well with dinner- oh, I forgot- they also served some of the best dainty cheese biscuits I've ever had in my life with a honey butter. Fantastic.

My friends got a lovely bottle of Pinot Noir and the entire evening was relaxed, elegant and lovely.

For dessert we got a trio of desserts with peaches~ creamy cheese cake topped with a peach glaze, a peach ice cream and a peach cobbler- amazing. Don't miss dessert.

Vic's on the River~ This is where memories are made. I have never had a bad meal here, and the meals I've had are outrageously over the top. Make sure you make your dinner reservation at least a half hour early because you will really need to study the menu as every single item on the menu sounds fabulous. When we arrived we were seated promptly.

Our server's name was Cher and I tipped her fifty bucks because she was and is thee best server I have ever had in my life. She really loves her job, the restaurant and the food and ambience of the city~ she was so incredible that she made the evening sparkle.

Love to all...

For a high end restaurant this place misses the mark. Let’s start with appetizers. Crawfish beignets comes in 3’s and made in a baked pastry puff. I told the waitress that this is not a beignet. Anyone that’s been to New Orleans knows a beignet is a fried donut. She’s says that they use a beignet mix and therefore it’s a beignet. That’s like saying I threw some flour mixed with water into oil and it’s now a donut. You can tell that the crawfish is fresh but 2 bites later it’s gone and forgotten. Then there was the fried green tomatoes which came loaded with cream cheese and jam. The toppings overpowered the tomatoes and really it was just eating the toppings. I won’t recommend the fried green tomatoes. The crawfish puff pastry “beignets” were tasty when you do bite into a crawfish but there wasn’t enough crawfish , and for what you pay for not worth it. Now for the entrees. Shrimp and grits. The grits were cooked right and not “play doughy” but had a one note flavor of cheese. I had grits at Clary’s and I felt those were more flavorful and multifaceted. The shrimp was over cooked and even though the waitress offered another dish my wife turned it done. I should have asked her to comp the dish but didn’t think about it. I had scallops and it was cooked right. Nothing special about it. Came with semi cooked zucchini, cherry tomatoes and carrots. They ran out of couscous so I had grits instead. My son had the cheer wine short rib. The big piece of rib was generous and sandwiched between pretzel buns. The beef was dry, however, and should have been soaked in sauce or gravy. It became tedious to eat because of the size, dryness and lack of flavor. It did come with 2 sauces but that didn’t help much. The coleslaw was also drier that’s your usual coleslaw and had subtle flavors. Maybe that’s what they’re going for but coleslaw doesn’t absorb flavors unless it’s in a vinegrette. This one was a Mayo style coleslaw and it’s the sauce that provides the flavors. My daughter had the blackened shrimp pasta. It was spicy but flavorful. I would say it was the best entree on the table. The shrimp was cooked right but I had 2 complaints. It came with andouille sausage bits and they were dry. It also came with bits of crab and they were dry also. Other than that this was a good dish. In terms of service my waitress failed the basic test which was to fill our glasses with water. We had to call her over near the end of the meal. Overall, I wouldn’t recommend this place. It was disappointing for its price point. 2 stars for the shrimp pasta and free biscuits (warm, soft and crumbly) and...

My spouse and I recently moved to the state and decided to take a 90-minute drive up to try this restaurant. From the start, they were incredibly accommodating, my spouse has gluten-free dietary needs, and they confirmed everything both over the phone and again at the table, which we really appreciated.

We had an early dinner reservation between 5-6 p.m., not too early, not too late. When we arrived, the restaurant was about a quarter full, but by the time we left, it was at capacity. The location is beautiful, right on the river, and seating was straightforward. That said, the tables for two are quite close together. We ended up chatting with the couple next to us, who even ordered the same appetizers after seeing ours! If you’re looking for a bit more space, I’d recommend coming for lunch or dining with a slightly larger group.

I personally liked the simple, uncluttered table settings, there’s nothing worse than a crowded table full of things you don’t need. We had a partial river view, but honestly, our focus was on the food.

Speaking of food, it was fantastic. Everything we ordered was delicious and well-executed. The appetizers were so good that our neighboring table decided to try the same ones! Even the salad stood out, which isn’t always easy to do. The dressing was just the right amount, not too much, not too little, and full of flavor. Our entrees arrived without issue, and we even took two desserts to go.

Where things fell a little short was service. While the tables around us had attentive servers, ours was more hands-off, maybe too much so. We’re not sure if they were busy with another table or just stretched too thin, but for a restaurant of this caliber (and at this price point), I expected a bit more engagement. In a 90 min timespan, I had more engagement with the host staff entering and leaving. The bussing staff was quite friendly as well, highlighting how little we spoke to our server.

Overall, the experience was great, and I can see why this place has received so much praise and recognition. Every other table seemed to be celebrating something: anniversaries, bachelorette parties, retirements. We were celebrating a belated Valentine’s Day, hoping for a quieter evening.

Would I go back? Maybe, but I’d go for lunch or at the very start of dinner rather than mid-rush. And I’d request a different server. The food alone makes it worth a visit, but with so many other intriguing spots along the way, I’d likely explore those first, especially if they offer solid...