River & Rye — Restaurant in Shreveport

I heard there was a new executive chef and I wanted to take the wife there to see how progress was being made. After our visit I have mixed reviews.

When we walked in we were graded by a very nice lady with a wonderful personality. She told us we could sit anywhere. Every table was set up to seat eight people. There weren't any tables for two or four. That was very odd. There was no silverware on any of the tables. Again, that was odd.

We did find out that there was live music and potential dancing that evening. That made my wife very happy. The saxophone player was pretty good but man was that music was loud. We couldn't hear each other talk. That's something they need to work on. I wasn't sure if I was in a restaurant or a club.

We ordered some appetizers that were very good. The entrees were great and full of flavor. I wasn't very happy that the shrimp was not from the Louisiana.

The drinks that we had were very good but a little pricey. But my wife liked her lemon drop and that's all that matters.

As I mentioned before, every table sat eight so we did end up meeting some new friends. My wife did get some dancing in so as far as she's concerned, the night was a success.

The ladies who were providing service really need to concentrate on how to serve drinks and food to the customer. Plus they need to realize that a smile goes a long way. Didn't see too many. Management needs to do a better job in training.

I give our experience four stars but they have more room to grow on service and general hospitality. Never once did a manager come to our table...

The food was okay. I had the chicken club sandwich. Can't expect too much from that. My server's name was Wesley. Wesley didn't really meet the standards of good service. The bar was super empty. (Only 3 people) Took about 5 to 7 minutes to serve me. Food came within 10 minutes. I asked for a water then Wesley immediately went to serve someone else, not even at the bar. 5 minutes went by and I asked him about the water. He said he forgot, then brought me a water. As a diamond member, I get $15 off food. I asked him about how to get the $15 off, and he said to put my room number on the receipt and he'll charge the rest on my card. I wrote my room number down and gave him my card since it was a little over $15. When I get the bill back, I see that the whole bill is charged on the card, and no $15 was taken off. I asked him about it and he said because I gave him my card, he put the whole bill on my card. Even though he explained the process on the $15 off, it would be common sense that if I asked about how to get $15 off, not to put it all on my card. My thoughts of the restaurant. The food was standard, Wesley could use a couple of tips on customer service, and the atmosphere was good....

I want to mention that they had a limited menu when we went because the hotel itself was sold out. They had a cheerleading competition and Mardi Gras parades locally. What I'm assuming is that they wanted to limit the menu to keep timeliness for both the staff and those attending the events. It appeared to work out across the board. The food came out quick and delicious. The staff was incredibly friendly and attentive (funny, too). We ordered the wings, a turkey club, and the loaded fries. The wings were some of the best we've had. They weren't gummy, weren't hard. Perfect texture with a little crunch and fell off the bone. Not too saucy. The fries were a 10/10. They weren't stingy with the toppings, but they also didn't do too much. The side of sour cream was something I didn't know I needed until I tried it. The turkey club was my favorite thing. It had thick sliced turkey that wasn't slime-y or too moist. It was so good. Sometimes, I find clubs to be soggy, and that didn't happen with this one. Bacon was perfect, and bread was perfectly toasted. Overall, it was a great meal. Will be returning when we're back...