The River and Rail Restaurant - Roanoke

Wonderful experience. They were overly attentive to our anniversary and a number of staff members wished us well.

This is my favorite restaurant in the area. We have been here numerous times. This one time was somewhat of a disappointment. From when we arrived, it took over an hour to get our entree. The real disappointment came from the food as the food temperature was barely warm. Overall, this is still my favorite restaurant. But, something was amiss this evening. I just hope they figure whatever the problem is out.

Food was great but the atmosphere was louder than normal

Wonderfully inventive southern food, great cocktails and professional and helpful service! A neighborhood gem!

The food was amazing... when we finally got it. I recognize that finer restaurants are supposed to be slow-eating, but this was borderline ridiculous. We arrived at 5:30, it took so long to get our waiter to our table that by the time he came, we told him we were ready to order drinks AND food. We ordered two appetizers and two entrees. It should be said that the two appetizers required no cooking (oysters on the half-shell and a jar of pickles). About a half an hour later we got our appetizer, mind you the restaurant was 3/4 full, but with two-person parties (and one 8-person party) all at different stages of the meal. After our appetizer dishes were taken, I asked for the wine list again to have a glass with dinner, he recommended something, I looked over the list, then when he returned, I ordered a glass of what he had recommended. Great choice, it was lovely. I am NOT a fast drinker, and I completed the whole glass of wine while we waited for our entrees (pork tenderloin and scallops). They finally came at 7:00, a full hour and a half after we arrived. Needless to say, I had a glass of water with my food. At no point did the waiter come to acknowledge that this was an awkwardly long time to wait, nor did he make any signs that this wasn't the norm. I had wanted to order dessert, but decided against it. I would recommend this restaurant with the hope that this was just an anomaly, and that they normally aren't like that. But I hope you get a nicer waiter and food in a timely fashion. It was also a bit loud with very poor choice in music (think dive bar guitar instead of ambient indie rock) for a place with all hardwood floors and an open kitchen.