Local Favorite We…read morehad such a great experience here! The live music made for such a fun atmosphere, and it was especially nice that the owner came out and introduced himself. You could really tell he cares about his restaurant and his guests. The mango ahi tuna bites were a 10/10--absolutely delicious! The cheeseburger and fish sandwich were also both on point and cooked perfectly. Great food, friendly service, and a relaxed atmosphere made for a really enjoyable evening. My only suggestion would be to add a few more two-person tables and bar seating for smaller groups. Other than that, we really enjoyed our visit and would definitely come back!

Great location on the water with chill vibes and live music. Food is better than I expected but WAY…read moremore expensive than it's worth. Definitely a great spot for drinks and a bite after a full day on the water. Service is slow but mostly friendly. Would visit again.

Great nachos and service by Sarah. They could have had more…read moreof anything on the 4th, but I won't hold that against them.

Amazing food, even better service! Great place to relax with friends and family. Inside seating…read morewith air conditioning and full bar. Or you can sit next to the Virginia dare and enjoy food and great live music! Highly recommend. -SML resident

This year I chose this restaurant above all others to celebrate my birthday, and I wasn't…read moredisappointed. It highly went beyond the highest of my expectations, and delivered an extraordinary dining experience. After making an appointment for five o'clock and mentioning that I would be celebrating my birthday there on that day, I wondered how it would be, for everytime I have dined there, their attention to detail has been superb, and their cuisine has been exquisite. The day finally arrived and I was standing by the door at five minutes to the hour. Inside I could see through their large front windows the movement of all the staff getting ready for the opening of the restaurant. At exactly five o'clock, the hostess approached and opened the door for me to enter. She warmly greeted me and apologized for not being able to give me the table I requested because they needed it to unite with other tables for a large group they would be having. But they had prepared another one in front of the open kitchen for me, where I would be able to observe the Chef and other cooks preparing my food. It was definitely to my satisfaction, and when she took me there I was very impressed with the small detail on the table of a Happy Birthday card from the restaurant signed by everyone there and suspended by a little stand. Things like that are priceless in my eyes. Shortly afterwards, my friendly and efficient server Ivy, came by, wished me a Happy Birthday and took my order. To drink I had my favorite Mocktail there, the Butterfly Kisses. As appetizer I ordered the Oyster Wraps. And for my main entrée, the Hanger Steak, my favorite item in their menu and that of all the other restaurants around the area. My server did an excellent job of bringing out my ordered items in a well-paced manner. I noticed the small but significant detail that the chef had of serving me a slightly larger amount of Hanger Steak than the usual, and this meant more to me than any of the other complimentary desserts which are given in most other restaurants on your birthday. The Hanger Steak was so delicious. I invite you to view my photographs accompanying this review to get a better sense of the place and the high-quality of their food. Also to read my former review where I explain what a Hanger Steak is all about. For the Grand Finale of my Birthday meal I had their Panna Cotta dessert deliver with a burning birthday candle on top, another wonderful detail that many restaurants leave out now-a-days yet is so meaningful to many of us. This was truly a memorable dining experience. One that I will always remember and cherish dearly.

While The River and Rail has many things going for it: great location, adorable atmosphere, fancy…read moreand delicious cocktails and delicious food, one thing they don't have going for them is their ability to stay true to their operating hours. My friend and I walked in at 9 o'clock EXACTLY on a Thursday night to have a drink. The sign on the door said they were open until 10:00. There were 4 or 5 tables seated, enjoying dinner and cocktails. 5 or 6 people at the bar. There was no one to start with at the actual hostess stand and servers saw us standing at the door but did not approach us even though there was an hour left on their operating time. So we walked directly to the bar and sat down. We had just eaten at Fork in the Alley so all we wanted was one drink and we figured an hour was plenty of time to get that done. The first thing the bartender said to us was "The kitchen is closed." Not "hello" or "Hey what can I get you?" but the kitchen is closed. I said "oh I'm sorry I thought you closed at 10:00." He said "well, that's up for debate we were actually discussing that right now. We're basically closed but you can have a drink because it's not like the rest of these people are going anywhere." What do you mean that's up for discussion? Your hours say you're open till 10 o'clock, it's 9 o'clock I have an hour to eat and have drinks! The other bartender, or perhaps he was only a bar back, gave us a very disapproving look. I get it, I work in the food service industry. I'm a server at a 4 diamond restaurant, and I hate when people walk in minutes before we close and want to sit down. But if we post that we're open until 10 and you walk in at 9:45 I'm going to serve you and treat you like anyone else that walked in at 6:00 because it's your tips that pay my bills and put food on my table. It's definitely not the hourly wage I get from my employer! And as a server I never walk into a restaurant with less than 30 minutes to close. And it's more like an hour if I'm looking to eat a meal. I know you want to go home. When it's the end of the night and I'm at work, so do I! But there's an hour left and I wanted one drink. That's it! We continued to get disappointed looks from a few other employees even though we weren't the last people in the place. I told my friend (it's 9:45 at this point) that we obviously need to go since servers are standing around looking at us like we've got the plague. We paid our bill and promptly left. Two couples still at the bar. It's 9:59 right now as I'm writing this at home (you're still technically open btw) but I left feeling like I had stayed hours past your closing time. It's a real shame because we really enjoyed our drinks! They were super yummy! And I'm always getting asked by guests where's a good place for a late night cocktail and I used to recommend The River and Rail right along with Lucky's because we had a shuttle that would take guests out, but after tonight I won't be doing that anymore. Because there's nothing worse than feeling unwelcome at a restaurant that is still open.

The Carnitas and black beans were bland . The chicken was tasty and the Carne Asada was…read moredelicious.We had Orlandi as our server and he was excellent. The outdoor patio was great because although it was a bit of a hot day, they have umbrellas and they gave us enough shelter. The Flan is one of the best i've ever had! They serve a delicious house margarita .

My husband loved his food, mine was meh. To each his own At…read morefirst the server wasn't sure about our service dogs- which is never a good sign. But our waiter set her straight- and was a consummate professional. Overall, I'm not sure I would return.

Everything was so great. I love it there. They change their menu often and there is always…read moresomething interesting to try

Have you been? HAVE YOU BEEN? If you haven't, you're missing out. The pizza is delicious, the…read moredrinks are amazing, the folks that work there are stellar, and the atmosphere is a whole vibe. And who doesn't like a restaurant that has weekly specials! (Follow them on FB, you won't regret it.) Moving from a foodie city (Portland, OR) to Franklin County had me worried that I wouldn't find "my spot". This is MY SPOT. Funky, cool, quirky, delicious, and my drank is on the menu: the Negroni (though, I funk it up with tequila; JennGroni ladies and gents). And I would be remiss to not mention that they don't take tips because the employees are paid a livable wage, BUT any tip left is donated to the animal shelter. YES, CHIL'. These folks are the bees knees and then some (hornet elbows?) Stop by for a sip and a nosh. You will not be disappointed. YA WELCOME!

Came in on a Sunday in January to find a lively crowd and a good menu. Had the Captain's Platter…read morethat included fresh peel and eat shrimp and my favorite hush puppies. Had a Bloody Mary special that the bartender made extra spicy by request. The Carolina Gold was recommended by our server and was spot on. Enjoyed everything about the visit and the service was fantastic (both waitress and bartender get 5 stars)Best trip out for a meal at SML in the winter I can remember.

Great local pub here in SML! We loved the environment, drinks, and food! Ask for Taylor (waitress)…read moreand Luke (bartender)!

Really good food, reasonable prices, great service. We boated up and docked for free by Mangos…read more Loved my margarita. Arroz de la Mexican was the favorite dish at our table.

Excellente!!! Had the burritos alpastor, hubby had the carnitas dinner. We shared chorizo fries…read more Everything was delicious. The coups de gras... was the jumbo watermelon margarita. Omg... made with fresh fruit, tasty tequila... I've never needed help finishing off a margarita... mi sombrero is off to Cancun... well done... well done indeed.

Great restaurant. The food is always good. A lot of fun by boat. Have an ice cream after dinner.read more

A prime water front restaurant on Smith Mountain Lake. More dive bar feel, but third generation run…read more(which is saying a lot!) and worth a visit if you're in the area. Locals know the drill, order a bucket of beer and get settled in. Don't expect it to be very kid friendly, no kids menu and all the tables outside are high tops (although they do have high chairs). We arrived slightly before 6pm, before the dinner rush- but still waited 45 minutes to get our food. Our bill was slightly discounted because of the delay, (did I mention we had to get our own lemonade refill) but I'd rather have faster food service than comped food. The view is what people really come for. Here's a snap of my drink, The Hummingbird.