Owner Patrick Mitchell has worked in kitchens across the country, including the south, and brings…read moreboth a northern perspective and respect for the heritage of the cuisine. The restaurant on the corner of Bridge and West First Streets in the center of Oswego is probably not something you'd expect to find in the area, somewhere that adds an entirely different dimension to dining in the city - a showcase of cuisine inspired by the American south. We recently tried out Southern Fare with some friends and we were all extremely impressed with the restaurant. My wife and I got there a bit earlier than our friends, so we sat at the bar for a bit. As someone who doesn't drink, I'm always excited to see mocktails on the menu. My wife got a cocktail, I got a mocktail, we both loved the drinks and the bartender was extremely nice and personable. We made a reservation for 6PM on a Saturday, although it seemed we probably didn't need one this day, so when our friends showed up, we were sat right away. Our friends ordered cocktails, while we ordered another round for ourselves, and again, loved everything we got. We ordered some friend green tomatoes for an appetizer, which were a little bland, but the sauce was good and made up for it. We all ordered a different main dish and everyone was very happy with their food. I ordered a pork chop special - I love pork chops, but don't eat them often, as my wife isn't a fan, and pork chops can be difficult to cook properly. The dish was a lemon marinated pork chop, grilled, topped with a strawberry compote, crispy fried potatoes and roasted broccoli. The pork chop was huge, cooked perfectly, juicy, bursting with flavor. The broccoli and potatoes were also delicious and needed nothing added to them. It's probably one of the best meals I've had in CNY, period. It was a little bit higher priced, but it's what we expected, and the food was absolutely worth it. We will absolutely be back again.

Amazing service, drinks and food! Fried green tomatoes were perfectly seasoned and salted with…read morelight batter. The fried chicken, same.. we got it plain to try it the first time naked, but I would definitely sauce it next time. Also ordered but not pictured was the double smash burger, Mac and cheese and chicken sandwich but my boys devoured them before I could take a picture.

If you're looking for a classic summer experience, Rudy's Drive-In in Oswego is worth the stop…read more This old-school, à la carte drive-in sits right on the shores of Lake Ontario, and the setting alone makes it special. The lake views are beautiful, peaceful, and the perfect backdrop for a casual meal. One unique touch I loved was that they provide paper bags to cover your food when you're eating outside, a clever way to keep the seagulls from swooping down and stealing your meal! Inside, it's exactly what you'd expect from a traditional drive-in. The staff was friendly, efficient, and kept the line moving quickly. Plenty of parking with some space across the street too. Cleanish restrooms. One thing to know if you have food allergies, specifically a shellfish allergy, and they use shared fryers, so I couldn't safely order anything fried. I really appreciated their honesty and transparency. Between the friendly service, gorgeous waterfront location, and nostalgic atmosphere, Rudy's is a classic place that's easy to recommend.

"Great" is always relative to the palate using the word. After 80 years on the shore of Lake…read moreOntario, Rudy's carries a lot of lore opened by Rudy Gadziala and his wife Marie in 1946, now run by third-generation owner Jason Livesey, famous for its Texas hot sauce and the founder's old line about owning a "million dollar hot dog stand." Online reviews are all over the map, so we wanted to see for ourselves. We visited recently with our 7- and 8-year-old nephews, hoping to soak up the tradition. The reality was more transactional. The hostess took our order while sipping her own beverage likely why we were shorted an order of fries. Nice enough, but not especially professional or welcoming. The whole operation moves fast; the staff is determined and task-focused rather than friendly. You get a buzzer and wait. The interior was renovated in 2025, and it shows but not in a good way. The bright white walls and green banquettes feel sterile, more fast-casual chain than 80-year-old lakeside institution. In modernizing, they stripped out whatever nostalgia the old space had and put nothing back. Some local artwork, vintage photos, or lake history on those fresh white walls would go a long way. The food: the boys enjoyed their cheeseburgers, and the fries are genuinely good. The fish sandwich was generously sized but bland the batter had little flavor, and the tartar sauce didn't rescue it. For a place with an 80-year reputation built on fish, I expected more. The lobster mac and cheese left a lot to be desired. The tab: four drinks, two cheeseburgers with fries, lobster mac, and a fish sandwich with fries came to nearly $70 steep for a lakeside stand where fries alone run $5.25. The setting is lovely and the legacy is real. But sometimes generational ownership slips down a slick slope and making money starts to matter more than making memories.

Best place in Oswego for cocktails and a proper meal with a view. Located in a building in middle…read moreof town close to River.

I am not a big fan of the restaurant as it is just too ritzy for the locals! The placement of the…read morerestaurant is a cool concept but you would have to dress up to fit in soooo I am out sorry!

Cornbread sucked! Dry as the desert and gritty! Whats with the mac n butter? Lacked cheese!read more

First: Location was super clean, neat & orderly. Casual dress, beautiful inside & outside seating…read moreoverlooking the Oswego River as it dumps into Lake Ontario. Second: We lucked out with the BEST WAITRESS I've had in over one year. Ms. Amy S was so pleasant, attentive and just a sweet lady. Third: The food was served beautifully and good size portions. The fresh haddock...YUMM and the specialty dish of brussel sprouts in a cream sause...OMG..yumm-yumm. Prices were right on target. There was one very minor issue with my wife's dinner and before I had a chance to say ANYTHING...it was taken off our bill as a comp by the Manager. All in all this was a perfect location for a nice quiet casual dinner with my wife as we watched the water. BRAVO! Paul & Coleen Clapper, Syracuse, NY

I was kind of hesitant to stop here as some of the other reviews weren't so pleasant, however we…read moreactually stayed at the hotel that this restaurant is in and just to make sure being a bar and grill I wanted to see what they had so we checked out the menu before sitting and yeah, no problem I can't remember the name of the way Chris but she was awesome very attentive and helped my wife out with a drink but I'll get that out in a minute. We started with appetizers and we were very impressed. I had some fish strips and she had some clams, and both were very tasty. After this I ordered a fake haddock beer battered onion rings and she had a macaroni and cheese with seafood. Everything tasted just wonderful. It was a nice breezy evening and we sat out on the porch overlooking the river which was only about 100 yd from the lake anyway. The part I wanted to brag about was when my wife showed me the cocktail menu and asked what she thought I would think she would like and I mean this light-heartedly because my wife does not like the taste of alcohol. There's only one particular flavor of wine for example that she can have and I've tried it, it tastes like a spoonful of sugar, I'm not a big fan.. but either way they didn't have that there and nothing else on the cocktail menu looked to me like she was going to enjoy it however I had a video that I had saved from you too a year ago of oranda bartender making a drink that could be served to people that don't like the taste of alcohol. I'm not going to go into what was in it here however I showed the ingredient list to the waitress and asked her if she thought that the bar would have all of that and she replied yes so she wrote down to each individual ingredient and came back with this cool looking glass full of pinkish liquid it had two oz of alcohol in it according to the list I gave her, and my wife absolutely loved it. So basically from a waitress telling a bartender. Here's what I want but I don't know the name of it, but here's what's in it... They nailed it. . Add that to everything else that went splendidly, and yeah I would definitely come here again.

This restaurant remains tried and true. The menu isn't very fancy. But they don't try to be…read moreanything they're not. Grab a drink, share an app, sit on the water and watch the sun set. You'll leave full and will probably be back at some point. And GS Steamers will still be here for you.

The press box is a short walk from the marina we are staying at…read more It has outdoor seating and indoor and she could imagine with the name like the press boxers TV so all over inside. Service was great and the food was outstanding. I was actually here last night for taking out takeout brought a Ruben home for Peggy. I forgot it was sitting on the refrigerator so here we are at the press box again . We split the lemon chicken dinner with two side salads it was all great would definitely do it again. Recommended if you're in the area. The ambience was outstanding. Everything was neat and clean. A fun place to go. You should try it out sometime. The old guy

They may have been a bad day here. I ordered the Rubin and the bread was burnt on the edges and…read morerock hard all a round. Waitress was not the best and I could tell she was embarrassed regarding the food she brought out to us. I didn't complain or send it back and will Just reevaluate going to this place in the future while in Oswego Ny.

Wow. I rarely leave negative reviews; I try to lead with generosity. But I was genuinely surprised…read moreby the level of service we received - especially because my extended family, who live here in town and joined us, told us how much better things had become after the renovation. Things started off normally. We were seated promptly, although our server, one of the bartenders, seemed largely uninterested from the beginning. When she came back to take our order, she forgot to take mine and my daughter's, but added them at the end. Mistakes happen, so we didn't think much of it. What happened next was where the experience really went downhill. We ordered two appetizers and six entrées. Somehow, my salad and my daughter's cheeseburger arrived well before anyone else's food - and before either appetizer had even come out. The food runner, who turned out to be the most attentive, also failed to bring silverware. After waiting about 10 minutes without seeing our server, I finally had to walk to the bar to ask for utensils. Instead of simply helping, one of the other bartenders gave me a hard time for asking. When our server finally brought silverware, she sarcastically said, "I guess I'll have to fire the person who brought your food over." She then walked back behind the bar and joked about the situation with the other staff. Several members of my family overheard the comments as well. Being mocked after an obvious service failure was far more frustrating than the mistake itself. To be honest, as the only person of color in our party (the rest of my family is white), the way I was treated left me wondering whether unconscious bias may have played a role. I can't say that for certain, but it's an unfortunate feeling to leave a restaurant with, especially because I looked different from 99.9% of the rest of the clientele. Meanwhile, the rest of our party waited another 25 minutes before receiving their meals. Both appetizers and all of the entrées arrived at the same time, and my father-in-law's chicken sandwich came out prepared almost the exact opposite of how he ordered it. The only bright spot was one food runner who genuinely seemed to recognize that things had gone wrong and tried to help. Unfortunately, that professionalism was not shared by either bartender - one of whom was also our original server. One final note: the music was so loud that holding a normal conversation at the table was difficult. Overall, this was a disappointing experience from start to finish. Everyone can make mistakes, but how a restaurant responds to those mistakes says everything. In this case, the dismissive attitude and lack of professionalism were far more memorable than the food.

Revisited this restaurant/tavern shortly after they reopened following an extensive renovation due…read moreto a fire. The food was very good which it always has been with the chicken wings being the standout item. The renovation really opened things up and the restaurant is much bigger than it was. High ceilings and light colors make it seem even bigger. Also they have added LOADS of wide screens that showed every kind of sporting event known to mankind. This will absolutely be my "go to" for games when I'm out and about in the Oswego area. The only downside I saw was the noise level when there are a lot of people there. Because of the high ceilings and how open it is, the voices seem to echo and consequently you almost need to scream to hear each other. Not a horrible thing if you're there to take in a sporting event, but if you're looking to enjoy a nice quiet meal you may become frustrated.

2 eggs 2 toast…read more $6.75 They are over $2.00 over priced Wades at least included homefries and is still LESS expensive A dozen eggs can be had for $1.00 Loaf of bread $1.50 A 42 cent meal at almost a 2,000% markup Make that make sense Million dollar Restarants ocean front / hostess / 2 waiters and those places are less Sorry Maria's not sorry Places like you PUSH customers towards McDonalds or Byrne Dairy $2.50 meals

My son has been going to SUNY Oswego for 4 years and we FINALLY managed to get breakfast here…read more Sorry we waited so long because it was excellent. Our waitress was just the right amount of sassy and the food was plentiful and delicious. The late Wednesday morning crowd was either local elderly regulars or college students. Two groups who know the importance of a good deal.