Ole Savannah Southern Table & Bar

Second time we have been really disappointed in this place. When It first opened the food was top notch. However, our party of eight was not that impressed last evening. The jambalaya was a bunch of mush. We told the waitress upfront that we would need a few separate checks which she said she would do with the end. At the end of the meal she presented us with a single check. And this girl did not smile once. She did re-​do the checks. It seems like most of the waitstaff there are getting extremely burnt out. Very unpleasant. Unless we can sit outside and enjoy the view, we won’t be going back.

First time and last time. Waited 10 minutes before server acknowledged us. Apologized for the mixup. 25 minutes before our drink order makes it to our table. Speak with the manager who says «who is your server?» You tell me…
45 minutes later food finally arrives. We were told it was delayed because the steak needed extra time.
Brisket good but service was terrible.

My wife and I had dinner at Olé Savannah last night with our toddler. The food was actually pretty good (my wife had the fried chicken — definitely recommended, while my burger was a little more «meh»), the ambiance (waterfront seating, ducks and fish to entertain the kids, etc) is amazing, and the service was good, if a bit overwhelmed. So why am I giving it a 2 star review? Because it took over an hour to get our food, and we had a very cranky toddler who didn’t want to wait for us. The problem was definitely with the kitchen, not the wait staff, and like I said the food was good once it came out. But it took waaaay too long. And we apparently weren’t alone with the problem this past Memorial Day Weekend (see Doug B.‘s review for the same experience the night before). So I don’t feel bad about posting this review because it’s clearly something that the restaurant needs to hear and deal with. I have eaten there before, I love love love the location and the space, the food is solid, the service friendly, but they just need to deal with their crowds. The place (which is huge, btw) wasn’t even full, and they couldn’t handle what looked like a pretty ordinary dinner rush.
Oh, and they should also complete their awning coverage so that they can use all of their outdoor seating in the rain. Kind of a no brainer. We had to move back inside when the rain got harder as the overhead coverage was imperfect. I don’t really blame the restaurant for this — I was the one who chose an outdoor table knowing full well that it was starting to rain. In fact, my wife completely blames me for that part, not the restaurant. But I don’t start the 1 hour plus clock on bringing out our food until after we had moved back inside and ordered from the correct waiter for our inside table. If you add on the time we spend outside, it was over 90 minutes from our arrival until our food’s arrival…

I was extremely disappointed that while dining with my husband and three children during Memorial Day, our son did not receive his dinner because «they were so busy the kitchen forgot it». The waitress tried to «make it right» by offering us a dessert, but by that time we just wanted to leave. Our waitress talked to the manager and he thought that taking $ 10.00 off our check would suffice. We spent over $ 125 dollars on drinks and dinner. I thought that $ 10.00 to say sorry your child’s (adult) dinner wasn’t ready, was a disheartening effort to apologize. As a local, I was extremely disappointed.

Interesting prior reviews led us to a Memorial Day dinner here as a finale meal for a family reunion. Our waitress Shannon was doing her best and we felt bad that the back of the house just couldn’t get it together in a timely manner.
Reservation was at 6:30, restaurant not very busy, got seated right away. Looked like we were headed for a 4 or 5 star rating. Ah ha, not so fast.
Wait for it, wait for it, wait for it. .. Yes we did. Meals didn’t arrive until 8:11. Food was good but the excessive wait was not acceptable. Olé Savannah, we expected so much more.

We selected this restaurant because of location and that is the only positive portion of this review. It is right on the water in Kingston. On a beautiful evening, you can sit outside and enjoy the views on the Rombout creek. The menu has a typical selection for southern barbecue. My jambalaya was an enormous portion of overcooked rice with three shrimp, two scallops and four andouille sausage slices. My husband had baby back ribs that were overdone and bland. Others in our party had fried chicken and catfish. Everyone felt that the food was mediocre at best. The coffee was cold. We will not be back.

Cornbread and pulled pork sliders were excellent. The beans were nothing special but overall a great dinner with a lovely view.

Skip the Sunday brunch buffet! Besides being incredibly expensive at $ 20 — doesn’t include coffee, most of it was inedible. The scrambled eggs were watery, home fries were mushy, french toast was tasteless, small bagels were days old — even the ‘fresh’ fruit had an off taste. They should stick to what they do well — dinner there (at another time of course) was good.

The food was delicious, the servings were large, the prices were reasonable, the servers were helpful, the décor was great, my only regret is that I didn’t try the fried green tomatoes. I will definitely be back.

I rate a restaurant by service, food quality and price. My first visit to this restaurant was exceptional. I had the burgers. Probably the best on I’ve ever had. And the host, Allen was polite and attentive.

For an extremely busy day (St. Patrick’s Day parade) service was great. Food came out promptly and tasted great. Atmosphere is amazing. Prices were very reasonable. Will definitely return on a normal day anytime

I’ve been here when it was Steel House and the décor is rather similar– exposed brick and beams, high ceilings, etc. Nothing to complain about there, I like the vibe. In the warmer months, there’s outside seating and I believe a boat dock.
We took the kids there tonight and got a meal for four; kids eat free Sunday through Thursday which is really nice! (Note: they’re closed Monday.) Sometimes I balk at going out because the kids are going to order mac n cheese which is like $ 1 at the supermarket but $ 8 at a restaurant. Olé Savannah is really on to something great with the free kid’s meals. I hope they keep this perk going.
Also, the kid’s options are real food; for example, the Mac N Cheese isn’t just a box of Kraft orange junk, it’s house made. The kid’s sliders are good beef (I think from Fleischer’s Butcher in Kingston), not frozen foodservice junk. The fries are hand cut in house (not frozen). The kids order of sliders is two sliders (bigger kids might be better off with three but it does come with a side of fries).
I got a burger, which is one of the cheapest entrees there, but it was very good. The beef is local and it was cooked perfectly. The hand cut fries were excellent (could have been a touch hotter but I assume they had to sit a little while while waiting for the rest of the food to be done.
The only downside is it took a while to get served. This is not the waitstaff’s fault as far as I can tell, our waiter was attentive (and well-​informed on the menu items) but the kitchen probably struggles to get all this hand-​made food out quickly. On the other hand, they brought out everything at the same time, which I really appreciate. With 2 young kids, it’s frustrating and impossible to get them to wait for everyone to be served if their dinner is in front of them.
So, all in all, a solid place, and I plan to go back at least once to try some of the more expensive fare (BBQ) and report back.
PS: I saw PBRs on the menu for $ 3 which ain’t bad.
Pro tip: if you get there early enough, there are a few spots right in front of the restaurant. If not, there’s a large free lot directly across the street.
Pro tip 2: They bring you 5 or so pieces of fresh, moist corn bread with butter and margarine. You can eat it with your meal or if you’re feeling cheap like I was, you can save it for afterwards and eat it as dessert :-D
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UPDATE– Went back for one of the bigger BBQ plates and it was excellent. I tried the ribs and brisket. Both are excellent and it’s clear they put a lot of work and care into their BBQ. The plate was also huge, I took half of it home and ate it for dinner again the following night.
Definitely a solid four stars for Olé Savannah and my family will be back for sure.

My Husband and I found Olé Savannah last summer right after we moved to the Port Ewen area, the smells drew us down the road Literally, the BBQ cooking smell was amazing, we went in and ordered the Burger… WOW Doesn’t even begin to describe this Burger, it was so good we talked about it for days and was scared to go back for fear it was a fluke, but happily we have been back many, many times :)
The Burger with grilled Onion, Cheddar & Thick cut Bacon is the best. But we have eaten the Ribs mmmmm ~~ The Brisket is so good and melts in your mouth like cotton candy. i could go on but is making me hungry:)
Oh yea the staff is so awesome :)

I won’t usually write a review after one visit. But, as a local resident, I really want this place to do well… thrive! But based on my experience, and word around town, it’s going to struggle.
The owners have created a beautiful space, with exposed brick and beams, high ceilings and classy appointments. And then they filled it with mediocre food and service. We ordered relatively simple entrees… smoked chicken and fried chicken. And then waited 40 minutes for it to arrive. To be fair I’m not sure of that… But I do know that it took longer than it should have… much longer.
I always contend that one weakness at a restaurant can be made up for by other strengths. In this case, had our server been attentive, engaging, and caring enough to update us on our meal, all would have been fine. She didn’t. We saw her briefly and got the standard «I just checked on your food. It’s coming right out.» I could tell she knew it was taking too long. And it was simply OK. Not great but not even close to bad either.
To paraphrase a local developer, «Kingston has all the mediocre it can handle.» I truly hope the owners will strive for more than that here.

Our party of 4 got to Olé Savanah’s in the early afternoon, were seated outside — between the bar and the dock.
Apps: pulled pork nachos! The portion was enormous, more than enough for us to share, and delicious. We also got one of the app specials, «pork wings,» which had an Asian inspired glaze and were riblet type things… really yum!
I got the gumbo, my husband got brisket, ribs and pulled pork, with mac&cheese and baked beans. Our friends got brisket and another multi-​meat platter. Let me tell you, the portions are no joke. I’ve never seen these two guys take a to-​go box and they both did! It was all delicious. I’m happy to report that the brisket pleased me the most — SO moist, not overly smokey, really delicious.
While I felt that the food was reasonably priced, they REALLY get ya on the drinks. I think the lemonade, sweet tea, sodas… were $ 4 or so? Not large. No free refills. We allll switched to water after our first bevy (we didn’t have any alcoholic beverages.) The sweet tea was not impressive, in my opinion.
I’ve said it in other reviews of mine — it breaks my heart when a restaurant puts so much thought and effort into the food, offers dessert, and PHONES IT IN. Don’t offer me dessert if you’re not making it yourself. *le sigh*
Lastly, I applaud the service. Our waitress, Courtney, was sweet and patient, our water glasses were never empty, and she was absolutely horrified when she thought there was a dirty plate on our table (my husband had put dots of the sauces on his bread plate and there was a smudge leftover.)

It’s all been said. Come for a drink and water view. Skip the food. Skip it altogether if you have somewhere to be.
After two visits for beers on the patio, where I first experienced the molasses-​slow service, I decided to try food. My mistakes for coming here hungry!
The food we ordered was gross and grossly overpriced. Unripe watermelon salad swimming in liquid, served with overripe arugula and tiny chunks of goat cheese. Overpriced basket of sad fry ends. BBQ chicken served with generic bland sauce, baked beans that tasted canned, and coleslaw so gross my wife couldn’t eat it.
Had to wait and flag down server for anything from water to cornbread (was it Jiffy? Coulda been) another round of drinks. He was busy running from one side of the patio to the other, trying to cover his tables. Other waitstaff I saw were lounging by the car and obviously eating in front of customers. What the hell? I’ll stick to beer and nothing else here.
Sad to spend $ 75 on sub-​mediocrity. Even sadder when we were both incredibly gassy and bloated all night long. Olé Savannah, what are you doing to your food? Please stop torturing it… and your customers… you’re clearly out of your league.

Walked in, wasn’t greeted.
Meandered around and landed at the large indoor bar, sat there for a good 5 minutes only to be told by someone from the kitchen that the indoor bar isn’t open — only the outside bar…
Ok. Marched to outdoor bar and sat there for a solid 10 minutes, wasn’t greeted. Nothing.
Terrible service poor management… Don’t go here.

Came in… Wasn’t greeted… Okay guess we’ll walk to bar. Sat there for five minutes. A staff walks over to us and tells us the outside bar is open only. We then go to outside bar… Sit for another ten minutes. Finally bartender acknowledges us. I order a drink. My boy friend asks for menus… They were covered with sauce (yuck)… After another ten minutes bartender gets me my drink and takes my boyfriends order… He gets his drink in a few minutes. Only to discover a fruit fly in his drink. — I’m done. CHECK PLEASE.
Two stars because it is a nice building and great location.

My experience at Olé Savannah was excellent service, environment, and food, hence the five star rating. The visit started without plans, just wandering the Rondout District Waterfront looking at the historic buildings. We noticed the attractive restaurant and smelled BBQ meat smoking. Have to check this place out.
Inside we were greeted very warmly. The interior is beautiful, high ceilings, Fancy wrought iron and wood trim abound, a large bar, tasteful maritime décor. Although impressed with the look and feel inside, we chose to eat on the outdoor deck, which had shaded and unshaded sections, perfect on this late summer day.
The prices are reasonable, especially the lunch menu. We were given corn bread to start. Seated alongside the Rondout creek, I couldn’t resist throwing some pieces to the ducks. It was surreal seeing giant carp swimming to the surface trying to compete with the ducks for the crumbs.
Our entrees were buttermilk-​battered fried chicken which came with grilled corn, and a pulled-​pork sandwich with fries. Both orders came with cole slaw. The food was very good, chicken soft, tasty, and not overly salty. The pulled pork plentiful, moist, again not overly salty, one spoon of bbq sauce on top was the perfect topping. I also want to give props for not over-​pricing drinks. (A bottle of Heineken for $ 5 is reasonable). Lunch for two, under $ 40, in a beautiful setting with friendly service, I will be sure to return when I’m once again in the area. And family’s note there is a kids menu and special promotions for kids throughout the week.

I gave this place two stars for the food. Service, on the other hand, needs a lot of work.
The dinner started out with us waiting about 20 minutes to put a drink order in. We were seated and forgotten. My girlfriend had to actually grab someone to take care of us. In the meantime, everyone else around us were arriving after us and were being served before us.
I also like to have a glass of water with my dinner. In addition to the alcoholic beverage. Which was mostly ice and very weak.
One out of three times I received water when I asked for it. I eventually got so fed up that I took it upon myself to get up out of my seat, walk up to the bar cart, and bring the pitcher of water back to our table.
Minus the poor service, the food was very good. I didn’t like the fact that you can’t substitute sides though. Ribs came with beans and coleslaw and I wanted to substitute both for one side of mashed potatoes, but was unable to. The beans and coleslaw that came with the dinner came as a rip off portion. They arrived in those little ceramic containers that quality restaurants use to put dipping sauces in.
The fried green tomatoes appetizer is very good as well. I’m not a big fan of tomatoes, but really enjoyed it. It comes with a zesty dipping sauce and was probably the best part of the entire meal.
The restaurant offers nice outdoor seating next to the water. Which would’ve been a lot more relaxing without the added stress from poor service. I felt like I was responsible for serving myself while I was there. We had to get our own waiter and glasses of water. I’m surprised I didn’t have to cook my own meal.
My advice is to stay clear of this restaurant if it looks busy. The wait staff in their current state is incapable of handling large groups and you risk being jerked around by going during peak hours. I’m sorry, but if you’re going to charge $ 30+ for entrees, the service better match that price. Otherwise, you’re not getting what you pay for at this restaurant.