Mark F.
Yelp
I was in a group of 7 friends in Savannah for a bachelor party and we needed to make last-minute dinner plans. Before I continue, I HIGHLY recommend choosing that city for a bachelor party! We were on a pedal tour and our guide recommended smokehouse for authentic barbecue. We were not in the mood for an upscale restaurant since we had an expensive dinner the night before in Hilton Head.
The District Smokehouse is situated right on the Savannah River in the Plant Riverside District (behind the JW Marriott). It is not its own building - it's basically a large outdoor bar with a handful of tables. They do not take reservations and if it is a Friday or Saturday night, it is difficult to get seats for parties larger than 2-3 people. We had to split up our group - 2 of us sat on one side of the bar, while the rest of the guys sat together across from us. It was a frustrating, however we didn't really have many options within walking distance.
The menu has a decent variety of meal options (and a full bar menu) and the prices are reasonable. They were probably a bit understaffed as a couple of the employees seemed a bit overwhelmed at times. They have sandwiches, meat platters, typical sides (Mac and cheese, beans, collared greens, etc) and smaller dishes. We were upset to learn that they were out of baked beans after we placed our orders :/
I went with the bbq chicken platter, which included 2 sides and 3 drumsticks. The cost was about $16 (reasonable). However, they made minor mistakes with our orders. Because they were out of beans, I requested Mac and cheese and collared greens as my side. They accidentally served me the platter with 2 sides of fries by accident - it turns out they meant to serve that to the gentleman next to me, but he switched seats! Oops. I figured they could just take back the fries, however I started eating the chicken so they decided to have me keep the fries, which were delicious by the way. I'd say the chicken was quite good, but I added some bbq sauce to make it moist and for flavor. The Mac and cheese was okay, but I'll take it.
The food was satisfying and I loved eating a meal right on the water in the beautiful weather. I would recommend they hire another 1-2 employees to help their operation run more efficiently. I'd also recommend they try to add more tables for groups.