The River and Rail Restaurant

This is the kind of place you’d find in a bigger city! There are very few other restaurants in Roanoke at this caliber. Top 3 in the area for sure. Definitely recommend calling in for a reservation ahead of time - they don’t have long hours and fill up quickly. Cocktails are creative, and typically on point. I absolutely LOVE their Chicken Liver Mousse and my husband said the Oyster Rockefeller some of the best he’s ever had. The small plates are alright, but the entrees and dessert definitely don’t disappoint!! Love the cozy, intimate vibe - great for special occasions and date nights ❤

We went for our anniversary dinner and loved their food and atmosphere here. The angus beef steak was absolutely amazing, every little bit of it was flavorful, cooked to perfection! The duck breast was also great. We got a pineapple mocktail drink and that just hit the spot. Absolutely recommend, cozy little restaurant with friendly staff and good food!

Incredible dinner date experience. The staff are engaging and kind, the food is so wonderful, and the atmosphere provides the space for you to enjoy someone else's company! Definitely go for their suggestions!

Hands down the best restaurant in Roanoke. We recently moved from the west coast and have been making our way through the Roanoke restaurant scene, trying to find our new go to. It has been found with R&R. The cocktails, food, atmosphere and service are all great. The menu is inventive and changes to keep things fresh. Best part, this place is consistent every time we go. 5 stars all day

Update: Sept 2023
We’ve been coming here for close to 2 years now and it’s still our favorite place. The drinks are inventive, the chef and his team are creative, the service is wonderful, and they host specialty wine and dinner nights. We just attended the Spanish wine night and had an amazing time. This place truly is a gem.

I don't write reviews often, and it takes a lot to stand out in my eye's... especially as this is what I do for a living. River and rail was exceptional, period. The quality of the food was without compare, the service? Not a clink of a glass let alone a drop of wine on the table, plus our waitress Ivy did a exceptional wine service (caught me off guard). The flavors are creative and exiting for not just the drinks but the food. The open kitchen runs clean, quiet and smooth. They balance the size of the venue well with the capability of a small kitchen and balance their menu with a insane depth of forethought. Kudos to the staff and management for providing a experience I've only enjoyed in a restaurant with a Michelin star. 110% underrated spot.

Husband took me out for a date and we were pleasantly surprised. The kitchen was small, but the food was flying out. Small intimate setting with dim lights and beautiful music playing. The food was superb, and the service was excellent. Definitely plan to go back. 10/10 recommend.

I would currently call this the over all best restaurant in Roanoke. Tasteful decor, attentive servers, and impeccably produced food and flavors from starters through to dessert. The neighborhood is comfy cozy, though there's not much in easy walking to go to afterward. Some outdoor seating is present, and the decor inside runs towards finished raw wood and cozy lighting. Southern fusion with a variety of inspirations (see the Spanish octopus?) makes it an appealing dining option for picky family as well. The price point is on the higher end but portion sizes were good, with my fried chicken including several pieces and my girlfriend getting a whole fried snapper. Execution was impeccable, absolutely perfect work by the chef running the fryer station in particular. Imo what sets them above Lucky was a better dessert selection, what I felt was Lucky's biggest weakness when I went. No bad spots the whole time. Try it.

I’m at a bit of a loss of words for just how good this place is, so tldr; go eat everything this place has to offer.

I am still so stoked that we managed to get a reservation here on our brief 4/20 stop in Roanoke. There was only the earliest reservation slot open, and it’s easy to understand why that’s the case. Every single thing we had was great, but most of it went beyond even that — and we saved our 4/20 smoke for AFTER, so it’s a less biased review!

My fiancée and I don’t drink, but their cocktails looked great as well, and the staff we interacted with were all so friendly and knowledgeable that I’m certain their bartender is also a master at their craft.

Special shoutout to the pork rinds and pimento; neither of which I would guess I would give a particular shoutout to, but HOLY S**T do I wish those were the kind of rinds I was porkin’ on during my Keto diet!

Anyways, thanks again to the staff at River & Rail, and hope you all enjoyed the 6’er! 🍻

Awesome food, great atmosphere can’t wait to go back! Hidden gem.

Had a small celebration for my mother’s birthday. Random Tuesday evening and the atmosphere was still great. We were there just over 2 hours with several shared dishes and multiple bottles of wine. A manager (i think) had good recommendations for wine & cocktails. Also our server (Ivy) was knowledgeable of the food menu and did not disappoint!

Everything is clean, there’s options for small and regular portions, food was great and had a tasteful presentation, bartender did well on the drinks and dessert ended our night on a great note.

I will our table of 4 all agreed that we would not order the filet again. It was cooked & seasoned well but we felt the quality of the cut could’ve been better. It was chewy through most of the, i think 8oz? Definitely nothing to complain about, and we will surely be back for a 3rd dinner with R&R.

We spent right at $100 per person including wine and a couple cocktails, well worth it! We shared all of our dishes among the table.

~Definitely try the chicken liver Mousse~

Thanks for a 5star experience, again.

This is by far one of the best restaurants I have been in. I was eating food I normally do not eat and loving it. The ribs are sweet and so tender. The rinds with dip omg was so good! The desert was even more tasty if that's possible. It's heaven to the taste buds!

Jessica was top notch! Great wine selection! Small menu but the flavors of each entrée was perfectly matched up. Beautiful Dining room, great full service bar for walk-in dining, tables are Reservation only, it's worth it!

Dined here 9/6/2022. Once again farm fresh is where it hits! Cute little spot in a neighborhood and local favorite. Food was divine and so well crafted, service always spectacular out here and great atmosphere. We stayed eating and talking even little past closing time but they let us. Sweet people! Excellent place to dine! 10/10

I am not one to usually leave reviews but I had to go out of my way to leave 1 for this restaurant. I was visiting from out of town and did a quick Google search for nice restaurants and this 1 jumped out at me. I decided to make a reservation and go the day before and wow, everything I ate from the biscuits to the oyster wraps to the grouper to the banana pudding was amazing and my waitress Leah did a great job recommending things. All of the staff was very professional, the restaurant is very nice, and it's in a cool part of Roanoke. If I am ever back in town again I will definitely be returning. Go out of your way and spend the extra money to definitely check this place out!! 5/5

Absolutely wonderful. The food was all fresh and delicious. Probably one of the best steaks I’ve had in awhile. The cocktails were phenomenal. The staff was lovely (at the end of the night, our waitress said it was her first time serving, she was usually a hostess, but she was wonderful, definitely would not have known). This was our second year doing a valentines date there and it’s definitely becoming one of our favorite traditions. Genuinely one of the best restaurants in Roanoke and perfect for special occasions!

First time there with friends. Our server Alexia was phenomenal. Very knowledgeable about the whole menu and made great recommendations. Appetizers and drinks excellent. I tried duck for the first time, nice presentation. Loved the bread pudding and veggies that came with it. Would not get duck again, but glad I tried, just not living the flavor, that's on me.we tried there homemade pumpkin ice cream, orange sherbet and buttermilk ice cream. All very good. Will definitely go again. Thanks.

Delicious food, great ambiance. My third time here, but first for dinner, and first post-pandemic. Four of had the scallops, hanger steak, and pork, and ribs. Hanger and scallops were the best. The sides that came with the pork were especially yummy. Ribs were tender but a bit too sweet. We were a bit confused if the pimento cheese and cornbread came with dinner but would have definitely wanted some, so that was a bit odd. Worth it for sure for a special occasion!

Great restaurant nestled I. The Crystal Springs area! The food and cocktails are on point! Never have had a bad experience here!

Food is great, friendly and professional staff. The drinks 🍸 are excellent, best Manhattan in town.

I have had so many delicious meals at River and Rail since relocating to Roanoke, VA from Lexington, KY. Everyone there made my husband and I feel like we were regulars from the first time we went and the food and drinks are incredibly delicious. By far our favorite dining experience in Roanoke so far.