vic's on the river

a little bit fishy.... i went to vic's in february of 2012 (i know, i'm writing this review a little late). i had really high hopes as my boyfriend and i had eaten at the olde pink house the night previously and enjoyed it. the restaurant was packed, but it had a neat ambiance. while there was quite a wait between getting seated and having our waitress come over, it was understandable as the place was absolutely crazy that night. the appetizer started off fairly strong, but things hit a sour note when it came to the entrees. my boyfriend's meal was decent but nothing of any particular note. however, it was mine that was the problem.

i had ordered a dish with scallops and risotto. upon tasting the first bite of the scallop, something was off. it almost had a very very oversalted and metallic taste. on the second small bite, i recognized the flavor - ammonia. for those who aren't regular seafood eaters, this is a sign when shellfish is turning old, the smell and/or taste of ammonia. when the waitress stopped over and noticed i wasn't eating anything, she asked if i needed a box. instead, i told her that i was sorry, but that i was pretty sure the scallops on my plate were bad. unfortunately, that contaminated the whole dish as the juice from the scallops had mixed with the risotto.

she brought it back into the kitchen immediately (side note: i was very pleased with how she handled this situation as it was my first time ever sending back food and i felt awful because of it). she offered me a replacement dish but by that point i wasn't hungry anymore. the sad part was the chef said he didn't believe the scallops were old, but the waitress had said she agreed with my analysis. the manager did comp the meal, but he seemed incredibly put out by it. i'm hoping i just hit an off night, but i don't think i'll be taking the chance of getting sick from bad seafood again.

superb from top to bottom, excellent server (robert), great view of the water and lunch menu very affordable high end cuisine.

great food! great service!. one of the best meals we have had in a long time! the meatloaf is divine!

had the fried green tomato blt and it was pretty good! the service was a little slow at first and the host came to make sure we had been helped because he must have noticed. the atmosphere was fresh, clean, with a nice view of the river! cost was affordable and food decent, parking was a pain.

excellent lunch and dinner. best place for fine dining at savannah. during our 72 hr stay at savannah - ate their twice. lunch on friday and dinner on saturday - excellent food, service and ambience.
this is the place where locals go for fine dining.

there’s a restaurant along the savannah river in georgia that is populated by many. the ambiance conveys southern charm and the staff is generously hospitable, as expected in such a quaint area of savannah.  ladies meet here for cocktails in the lounge, executives gather for power lunches and locals and tourists alike all seem to know that they won’t leave disappointed when they choose vic’s on the river as their dining destination for whatever event they may be involved. a fun and scenic method of getting to vic’s is to occupy one of the savannah belles ferry’s water taxis from hutchinson island.  just a few minutes is all it takes to cross the mighty savannah river, as the ferry ride is relatively slow-paced.  resembling the crafts that were once seen in the harbor over a hundred years ago, you will feel as thought you’ve been transported back in time when you step aboard. the four-story building that is now vic’s on the river was originally used as a warehouse many years ago.  with

great modern southern cuisine. scallops are top notch. warm and energetic atmosphere.

excellent southern coastal cuisine. someone recommended this place for lunch when i was in town, so i ventured in. i almost never stray from salad or sandwich for lunch, but when i saw the local shrimp and smoked cheddar stone ground grits with smoked bacon and barbecue sauce, i couldn't resist. i'm glad i didn't resist. it was great. a side of collard greens and i was all set.

and it's interesting to watch the huge ships that are taller than the fourth floor of the building pass by the window. next time in savannah, i'm coming back. definitely beats garibaldi's.

great food bad parking. my wife and i chose vic's for dinner last night because we thought it would be perfect ending to a beautiful day in savannah. we started the morning in buying a new car in jacksonville yesterday morning, then droveup to savannah to have dinner at vic's and catch a show after dinner. we were pleased to find valet parking out front (just off of river st.) and were quickly seated. our server, well composed, delivered the day's specials with precision and care and inspired us to indulge in the snapper special of the day as well as the seared scallops and risoto. prepared to perfection, we enjoyed every last bite and felt well cared for. so well in fact, that we decided to end our evening right after dinner instead of trying to catch a show afterwards.

that is until the following morning when, to our horror, we discovered the damage to our car that could have only come from the valet at vic's on the river. unfortunately for us, vic's subcontracts their valet service which doesn't seem to be any quality control or accountability to vic's management. how can i be certain the damage occured while under the care of the valet service of vic's on the river? it is simple: we purchased the car yesterday morning, brand new with 44 miles on it and thuroughly inspected it during dlivery. we drove to vic's on the river and patronized the valet service to have an enjoyable experience from door to door without the hassles of parking. upon surrendering the ticket, the car was returned to us in the dark and the damage went unnoticed because it resembles the glare from headlights or other lights sources on along the edges of body panels on a brand new car. however, it is painfully obvious in the light of day as the scrapes left from impacting an inannimate object (like a wall in a parking structure). how do we know that it didn't occur after leaving vic's? well, since we did not hit anything with our brand new car on the way back to our hotel, and did not park the car any where near anything that could damage it because it is brand new. it is highly unlikely for something resembling concrete came anywhere near the car last night.

the purpose of this review is to praise vic's front of house and back of house staff for a well executed meal and pleasent experience as well as to warn future patrons of vic's subcontracted valet service to closely inspect your vehicle before accepting it from the valet upon its return. we hope that no one has the same experience as we did once we discovered there is no recourse for this occurance and it left a permanent stain on our perception of quality that should come from an establishment like vic's.

good food. really recommend making a reservation...wait can become very long if you do not.

amazing dinner. excellent service - ask for mary. she was delightful. wonderful to find up scale dining in the land of fried seafood! while atmosphere calls for dressier clothing - staff did not allow us to feel uncomfortable in jeans. don't miss the chicken liver appetizer or the lava cake!

beautiful view of the river but i wasn't impressed with the food.

excellent experience. we had reservations for a friday night, but still had to wait a bit when we arrived. however, vic's has a great atmosphere and it was pleasant waiting for our table in the bar listening to the piano player and singer. our entrees were very tasty, but the real stars of the meal where the delicious appetizers (fried green tomatoes and crawfish beignets) and phenomenal dessert (peach trio-do not skip this!). our server, robert, was super pleasant and incredibly helpful. he gave great recommendations and was very accommodating (brought 5 of each appetizer instead of 3 so that we all had one). we would definitely return to vic's!

vic's came highly reccomended if i was ever in savannah. i made a few mistakes which made the experience good but not great. first, i made this a late dinner and they ran out of the dish i came for. the menu had many other choices that sounded as good as the first, but then made my second mistake. i chose meatloaf. as soon as i dug into the island sized meal, i thought of ron burgendee from anchorman, this was a bad choice. all good restaurants have that one dish the waiter wished he could tell you not to choose and this is the one at vic's. the tell tale sign, after the fact, was that the meatloaf was covered in vic's famous bbq sauce. that would be a good thing unless bbq is not found on the menu. i'm not sure if it was bbq or red syrup from the candy store below vic's. which ever it was burned my throat with every bite. extremely kind staff in a romantic setting that included a live singer with piano accompaniment, i must give vic's a second try.

wonderful special night out. after being told there were no reservations at the old pink house before 10pm, we decided to try vic's instead based on recommendations and online reviews...

we got to the restaurant about five minutes early, but were led right away to a small table in the main dining room. no, we did not get a window seat, but we also didn't request one and made the reservations the day of. our table was still quite nice and our waiter was prompt and friendly. we each had a cocktail from the bar which were great, then had french onion soup to start - also quite good. the biscuits that came with dinner were amazing. for entrees, i chose the crab cakes and my husband got friend oysters. the crab cakes were really good - with actual pieces of real crab. i don't care for oysters, but my husband really enjoyed his meal as well.

the place was pricey but certainly not outrageous, and the food was pretty darn good. not the best meal of my life or anything, but i would definitely go back. touristy? yes... a lot of underdressed families with young children (which seemed odd because not a very child-friendly menu) but my husband and i had a great night out nonetheless. next time i am in savannah, i would eat here again and definitely try to get a window seat to view the beautiful river.