The Rudder

Food was great but the NHC salad was definitely not “hot” by any stretch. Was a bit disappointed that our party was sat out in the side patio so we literally ended up being the only diners out there, even though there were several empty tables inside when we arrived.

Wow! I have lived in Hendersonville for 54yrs and never been here. My first time will NOT be my last. You are literally on the lake eating some great food while enjoying the view.

This is worst restaurant I’ve been for years! The food was cold, overpriced and not tasty at all! We spent 30$ on a duck which is a joke cause it was neither warm nor did it tasted like it should. The potato tasted like someone seasoned it with sugar instead of salt. Would never go there again or recommend anybody else to go there!

Located in the Anchor High Marina,this relaxed lakeside restaurant offers Happy Hour drink specials along with American classics foods. You can either sit inside or outside. Since it was a beautiful evening,we sat outside and enjoyed a few Happy Hour beverages. My wife had the Mahi Mahi burger with grilled pineapple with a honey sesame glaze minus the bun and a side of broccoli. I chose their shrimp tacos with homemade chips and hush puppies. Everything was flavorful,fresh and delicious. Portions were just right. This is a fun place to enjoy watching the boats come and go or a Tennessee sunset.

Visited with a larger group for lunch. The owner greeted us and our server did an amazing job. I had the classic burger and fries. It was served hot and atmosphere was nice. Arrived via boat from Old Hickory Lake. Marina appears to be rebuilding from tornado that damaged it this past December. Glad they are recovering.

Best place in Hendersonville! Food and drinks are always top notch and not expensive. Best view in town, and service is always great!

Great place to take the family, very fun, live music in the evening, great food. Crab dip is perfect, fish and chips spot on, blackened fish tacos perfection. One woman did have too much wine and fell out of her tall chair. She was okay, and they moved her to a shorter table, but shouldn't be drinking that much in public.

We sat outside on the patio which was wonderful. Service was great and the atmosphere is perfect - it'd be especially ideal on a nice, summer day. It sits right on the Cumberland River by the marina. We had the crab dip, maui waui shrimp tacos, fish tacos, and fish and chips. The tacos were great. The fish and chips was alright but not the best we've had.. a little over battered and not much fish. That was the only downside. Otherwise, great spot. We will definitely be back!

The Rudder's a great place to sit hand have tasty food by the Cumberland river dam in Nashville. We arrived by boat from Sam's a bit further away, after taking a plunge in the river, and loved it. We wete served by a very kind waiter, who gave us a bunch of tips and even gave us cheerios to feed the nearby turtles (we counted 10+) and ducks. We tried the lobster roll (a bit bland) and smash burger (great), as well as some cocktails such as the oh so tasty spicy margarita. They are currently rebuilding a bunch of docks in the marina due to the tornado a few years ago, which will allow for more traffic. We were sat at the front of the restaurant, with roll-up windows by the water. There is a Tiki Bar at the back patio as well, which opens up at night.

Wings were amazing!! Fries, amazing! Chicky chicky boom boom, amazing!! Cannot wait to come back and try some other food!!

It was a warm day but we enjoyed sitting outside on the lake for lunch. Our food was excellent and the wait staff was great. Recommend!

This place was pretty good. I love the vibes being on the water and there is usually some sort of music there. The food is good, however I probably wouldn't order tacos again. Besides the fish the only other topping was lettuce. So if you're into that then you'll love it, but for me it just wasn't anything special. The taste was good though. There is plenty of outdoor and indoor seating as well as bar top seating. Definitely coming back here to try more food.

Fantastic service. Restaurant is on the water with indoor and outdoor seating. Decorated for Christmas with Christmas food and drinks. Bar inside and outside on nice nights. Have live music on some nights on stage. My family liked all the food we ordered. Changing table in women's bathroom.

Great service and live music ! We came by boat and had a lovely evening listening to the live music. The service was quick and the food was good. I saw plenty of gluten free options. I got the mahi mahi salad and it was the right portion size of fish and salad . We had some house made chips to share and they were nice and crispy.

This place is at a marina with great views of the water. Service was excellent and we got seated quickly. They had a great band and our food was all very good. I had the red snapper and it was delicious. I will definitely be back

Came in for lunch today on Sunday with my service dog looking for a new hang out and as a seated us inside the manager or owner said you can't have the dog to the waitress and I said he says service dog and he had a complete attitude! Then he golfed as he walked away, and we just got up and left. These people have a serious attitude problem when it comes to people who have disabilities!! What he doesn't realizes is against federal law to not allow service dog to be with the person that their servicing. Shame on you!

The Rudder is the restaurant located on a barge at Anchor High Marina. There is a parking lot in front of the restaurant and it can easily get packed on peak boating days. Expect a wait during peak times as well. Food and service are good, although not worth waiting more than 30 minutes in my opinion. I've seen a 2 hour wait here and would recommend calling prior to making the trip. If you go for an early dinner, you can luck up with less waits and better service. There are indoor and outdoor dining areas along with full bars. Menu offers gluten free sandwich buns. Kitchen has been good about customizing orders correctly. Blackened Fish Tacos are a good choice. Live music schedule is listed on website. Musicians we've seen at The Rudder were talented.

Choose to meet at the Rudder. Just for drinks and to enjoy the weather and lake. I ask to sit by the water and the deck was almost empty. Set me right next to the bar entrance and not near the water. I ask couldn't I sit at one of the high tops. I was told that was only for larger parties. So if you want to go with as a couple your not going to be beat the water at the outdoor bar. I got there before the Rush but was surrounded by high tops packed with children and friends meeting after work. The crab dip was not eatable and the drinks ok. I had the grilled catfish that was good. So 2 drinks, appetizer and one meal over $60 with tip over $70z. My second server was good. I think U will take my business where being early and low maintenance is appreciated.

Love this place! Great food and view. I would highly recommend. I would highly recommend it for a great time

Food Menu has been scaled back, but sufficient for most. Awesome atmosphere on the water. Waitress was attentive without hovering. General Manager stopped by our table with our "extra hushpuppies" since the fish and chips did not come with hushpuppies, but the catfish platter did. Fish was somewhat overcooked. Salads were excellent. Little confusion re: No sweet tea, No unsweeted tea; turns out they had both.LOL. We were promptly seated, but food took a while. We were a party of four and bill was a little over $89. Left a tip of $20. O.K. for an occasional weekend visit,but not a weekly visit. We live extremely close to this restaurant!!!

Love this place. Had a great patio area and the inside has garage doors that open up for the best outside ambiance. Would recommend a bushwhacker!!

I want to like this place more than I did, but it has a bit of a pretentious vibe to it, especially with other waterfront spots nearby that are more fun (Moby Dicky's comes to mind). As usual, I will try to give a decent feel for the place so you can make your own determination (and will re-review if I get back and find my feelings have changed). On the positive side, this marina restaurant has a very clean and somewhat classy feel, at least on the outside deck. They have a big open dining area complete with a small bar. I imagine it is a nice venue to watch music (they have events), but it honestly felt a bit pretentious and the staff gave a vibe they were doing you favor serving you. Most of the time, it felt like they were paying more attention to each other than the guests. Had a bushwhacker, as that seems to be the theme in the Nashville waterfront bars, and it came out really watery. Perhaps it is so popular the machines don't have time to set? Not sure, but the topper quickly merges in and becomes part of the drink. This is likely great with some. As I was sitting at the bar, I opted not to eat and went someone else where I felt I would not be as much of a burden to the staff. Perhaps next visit I will opt for indoors and see if the feeling is the same. Not sure when, or if, that will be. Again, I want to like this place. My feelings? It looks like a great venue to watch music. The food portions looked a bit small, but not to the extent some of the reviews have made it out to be. Great location, nice looking places, likely fun for events, but average rating. I think that is fair.

Food: 10/10 Wait time: no wait on a Friday for lunch at 1pm Service: 9/10 Portion size: medium Value: 10/10 The rudder makes this cute little marina area a fun place to be! There is a place where you can park your boat and get gas for it too. For those who come by car there is a large parking lot. There is an outside patio that is dog friendly with a bar! There is an inside area with AC on that hot day where you don't wanna be hit by the sun with a bar and also an inside area along the water that is open with fans! There is also happy hour Monday through Friday from 2pm to 6pm. I ordered a bushwacker drink ($10) with a banana topper (extra $3) and fish tacos with a side of Brussel sprouts that are a local favorite! Both my drink and fish tacos were delicious! The best way for me to describe a bushwacker drink is a Wendy's chocolate frosty with alcohol in it! I added the banana topper which you can't get anywhere else and it was like a chocolate cover banana! Amazing!! The fish tacos were also a favorite that surprised me! Tennessee doesn't strike me as a place with good seafood but I took a risk and it's a new favorite place for me! I got the fish blackened (you can get fried or grilled as well) and it comes with mango salsa, coleslaw and a spicy mayonnaise based sauce. I put a little but of everything on each taco and the fish was blackened to perfection! So tender and such large pieces of fish in each taco with good flavor! At first I wasn't sure about the mango salsa but it really elevated the tacos! Definitely come here an try it out for yourself

Decent location but staff was so incredibly rude we didn't stick around long enough to try anything.

Valentine's Day, thought it'd be a cute nice place, mind you I've been here once before amazing! This time HORRIBLE. Steak wasn't even a medium, it was mooing when it came out, asked to get re cooked still came out raw, showed the server he said "well? Want me to have them cook it again?" Second time they bring it out we lost our taste paid $112.80 for dinner seriously?? Not coming back.

Food is great, I love the shrimp tacos and fish tacos. The service is amazing specially with Steve at the outdoor bar, thank you! Your bloody Mary's are amazing and the crowd is calm, but fun for all ages. They also have TVs outside for those who watch sports.

I love going here! The food is always really good! They have a great patio and it's always very chill!

Being a Sumner County resident for 5 years, I've never been to The Rudder despite me hearing things about it (both good and bad). After a good/long day of boating, we ended up here for a quick bite to eat. I was quite surprised of how busy it was. Granted it was prime time Saturday night, this place was PACKED with long wait times. Fortunately all 6 of us found seating at the back bar. The bartender we had was probably the most polite person I've ever met. Unfortunately I didn't get his name but the service was impeccable. Various appetizers were ordered for the group (wings, Bavarian Pretzel, and Pepperjack Poppers). I ordered the Ale Pork Chop with Mashed Potatoes and Brussel Sprouts. All the appetizers were really good. My favorite was a tie between the pretzel and the poppers. The pretzel was warm, crispy on the outside, soft and chewy on the inside. The beer cheese was good. It reminded me of the beer cheese I'd get from the grocery up in Kentucky. Thick, tangy, sharp. It complimented the pretzel well. The Pepperjack Poppers were like crack. A crispy breaded outershell encased a nice ball of tangy, slightly spicy gooey cheese. The wings had good flavor, but the skin was too soft for my liking. I like my outer skin of my wings to be crispy rather than soft one. But like I said, the flavor was really good. As for my dinner (Ale Pork Chop with Mashed Potatoes & Brussel Sprouts) I liked it a lot but I guess I forgot how tiny 8 ounces of meat actually is. I'm used to eating 16 ounces or more of meat for my entrees (especially at the 16$ price). The pork chop is supposedly marinated in ale beer, mustard, garlic and olive oil. I do know the marinade made the pork chop very soft but maybe I was hungry and not deterred by the texture. It was tasty though. The garlic mashed potatoes were great. Smooth, buttery, garlicky. I ensured each bite of my pork chop had a nice layer of mashed potatoes with it. For my additional side, I tried to be healthy and ordered the Brussel sprouts. Despite the natural bitterness of Brussel sprouts, these were buttery, hearty, cooked perfectly where there was slight char on the outside and each piece was firm yet tender. Overall I do like The Rudder. I don't know why it has such a bad Yelp rating. I think 4 stars is fitting and it definitely won't be the last time I'll visit.

Very cool place. Came on a Friday and they told us hour and a half wait. We put in our name and headed inside to the bar to grab a drink. We were surprised it wasn't has jam packed inside as one may assume based on the wait time. We were able to find a little spot at the bar to order drinks and then headed outside to listen to the band while we waited. It was only about 45 mins when they called us for our table. Pass on the crab dip-not great. It was pretty thin and very fishy. The pork chop was good, as was the mashed potatoes that came with it and the house salad as the other "side". Highly recommend the fish tacos (I got mine blackened). Service was prompt and friendly, and I was shocked when the bill came in under $100 (inc tax!) for two meals, an app, a side of fries, and four alcoholic beverages!

Fabulous - EVERYTHING Ambiance is great, food is 5 star, and the service was excellent We will be back

Be aware of the Credit Card Surcharge on top of the bill. The restaurant passes the fee on to the customer. The worst part is that we were not warned ahead of time about this. It just showed up on our check. Very sneaky and dishonest!

I like the location at the waterfront. Service was good, food was okay. I had the catfish, which could have used some seasoning.

Good place to eat by boat on Old Hickory Lake. Good food, selection, and service. We keep going back.

Awesome establishment on old Hickory lake in Hendersonville. Great ambience, friendly servers, and great food. Had the Smashburger. It was outstanding.

Great spot on the water with great food, good service, and plenty of large screens. What more could you ask? Will return.

We love this restaurant! The atmosphere is fun and we enjoy watching the boats and being on the water. The service is friendly and fast. We have eaten several different things on the menu and have enjoyed them all. The cocktails are also excellent!

Annie our server immediately asked what would we like? We ordered a couple glasses often wine. BUT...... No mask and No hand sanitizer (except the one I got in my purse) Yea I get it that a lot of Tennesseans don't believe in COVID-19 or the shot for that matter, but there are still some sick folks out there spreading the virus and we maybe in for a rude awakening. Anyway Annie our server over charged us. My husband didn't get his military discount and we didn't get happy hour discount on our drinks. STAR ONE is for Annie's fast service and how unlike most bartenders she was very attentive and friendly. STAR TWO is for the fish Platters that we had. I had the catfish plate and my husband had the grouper fish plate. I had Brussels sprouts hush puppies and coleslaw on my platter. My husband had sweet potato fries hush puppies and coleslaw with his platter. The food was good and hot when it was served. And you'll get a good amount of food for the price. My only complaint was the fish was rather salty the batter was very good but it had a lot of salt in it. STAR THREE is for the live entertainment there on Friday evenings. The band that is here is pretty good. I didn't catch the name of the group. Overall I will probably come back again but not on a Friday evening and when it's less of a crowd and lastly but not least, when Covid is better controlled.

Fun and casual restaurant, with corn hole, waterfront dining, inside and out. We sat on the back covered deck overlooking the Old Hickory Lake. Beautiful. From Ahi and burrata cheese platters to burgers, fish tacos. An upscale bar food with decent wine . Note. We were there for lunch on a Friday My guess is it is a popular hot spot on the weekends as it was pretty hopping for a weekday.

Came here on a Saturday for lunch, with a 6 month old baby. One thing I need to complement them on was that they allowed me to order my side early so the baby had something to eat before we ordered our lunches. Huge props, cause it kept baby happy, and we all know if the baby ain't happy... For appetizers we had the Bavarian pretzel, picked chips and crab dip. It was my fortune here so I had to try all the things. We also ordered oysters but they didn't have any in at that time. The pretzel was good, hot and crunchy on the outside but soft on the inside. The cheesy ale dip for the pretzel was very tasty. The crab dip was my favorite. It came with tortilla chips but I also dipped the pretzel in it. It's popular for a reason! Ok, pickle chips. Never had them before so I don't know what they are supposed to taste like but these were great. The pickles were piping hot and the batter was light and crispy. The spicy dip for them didn't seem very spicy but it was delicious. Our entrees were ok, but not the best thing ever. Although I will say the pork was cooked perfectly and was very tender. But the mashed potatoes were just average. This is definitely a cool place if you want to have drinks and appetizers in a cool atmosphere with good music.

After living in Hendersonville for years, I had only heard of but never gone to the Rudder. Then there was a networking event there, so I went with my colleagues. All I can say is wow! This really gives you the perfect Hendersonville feeling while you're eating and drinking with your friends. You get a lovely view of the marina and some beautiful sparkling water surrounding you, and the outdoors eating area is absolutely one of the best features they have! With a bar inside and a bar outside. The server that we always have is so sweet, and very quick with service. Since then, me and my husband have gone many times, and it's always just as good of an experience. This is definitely worth a check out if you are in the Hendersonville area!

Great atmosphere wonderful food. Had a great time with family and friends. I'd recommend this to anyone any age.

Worst food and service in Hendersonville!! Obviously people only come here to sit on the lake. I have tried this place 10 times. Every time horrible!

AMAZING FISH TACOS!!!! Hush puppies were cooked perfectly & great Music by Steven Bosco!!! I can't wait to bring family here when they come to visit

Since places have stared opening up again my friends and I ventured out to this place to have a girls night out. Been back since during the day time as well! For our first visit there was live music and very very busy! We were quoted an 1hr wait. We got some drinks to kill time. Once seated we met our server Lily who happened to be working her first day there. We absolutely loved Lily as she was very kind, friendly and quick/ attentive the entire time. The kitchen was really backed up and the wait was quite long but once we got our appetizers we were so happy with the crab dip and fried pickles. We definitely scarfed both down. For our entrees we had a lobster roll, catfish dinner and wings and peel and eat shrimp. While we all enjoyed our food none of us ordered the same on our daytime visit. On our 2nd visit, we saw Lily again and requested her. We ordered the same apps ( I love their crab dip and would not be opposed to eating that as my entree in the future) the pickles were a bit salty to my liking for both occasions. We ordered fried grouper, fish tacos and fried shrimp on the 2nd visit. I loved the fried fish tacos and would likely go ahead and order the fried grouper next time to get a bigger portion of the fish! Overall, I would love to come back as long as I am prepared for a long wait if it's dinner time or just come during the early bird time when not many diners are out yet.

What an amazing experience we had. So relaxing and what a beautiful setting on the water . Chris was our waiter and he was amazing. We were seated immediately and we sat on the back patio . There are so many great choices to pick from on the menu. I had crab cakes , my daughter had a burger and my other daughter had a cat fish sandwich. All our food was so fresh and plentiful . I definitely recommend this restaurant!

Love the food and the relaxed ambiance. They redid their menus recently and they look nice. When family comes to visit, we make sure to take them here.

I can't say I was very happy with my meal. I ordered the catfish dinner which came with hush puppies, coleslaw, and a side. I asked for no coleslaw and got veggies for my side. When my food came out there were no hush puppies, the waitress said they were out so my friend and I asked for a side of fries as a side. They charged us for them, even though we should have received a side of hush puppies. The veggies and catfish were cooked fine, nothing special. However, the biggest problem was the service. We waited at least 25 minutes to get our check and our waitress was very dense.

We were waiting on a few other people in our party and asked if we could put our name on the list. They said there wouldn't be a wait and there was no need to put our name down. When our party arrived (15 min later) they said the wait was over an hour long due to the kitchen. There were open tables everywhere (see photo below) Ridiculous. They wouldn't even sit us at a table and give us that hour at the table. Instead we had to wait in the hot sun until the kitchen staff caught up. Poor customer service. I would hold off on going here during the weekend.

Every visit we have made to the Rudder has been good! Prices are reasonable for portion and quality of meals! Staff has always been super friendly and attentive! Atmosphere has always been excellent!

Food was blah. The old menu used to be way better here so I'm not sure what's going on. Service was so slow, too! Big disappointment today when eating there this afternoon with the family.

Overpriced basic food. Soggy and greasy describes everything I just ate. The beer cheese dip was a gelatinous mass with little flavor. The bang bang shrimp too heavily breaded. And soggy. The fish tacos and sides all bland...and soggy. The service was good. Though she lied when she said it was all amazing.

Everything about it. Service, food, atmosphere is amazing. Best rum rudder ever. Great experience

What a fun place! Post Covid attitudes were fantastic. It was finally nice to socialize with people with little to no restrictions. Service was great except for the table that might be 301. It requires coasters to release your drink from the table. The food was fantastic. We had a group of seven and all enjoyed your food. Nice music, good people, and a wonderful venue. What else do you need!!

Hot crab dip had not one shred of crab in it but was still $13. Tasted like save-a-lot generic velveeta. Filet was "market price" $35 and was the size of a golf ball. Are you kidding me? Catfish platter was $18 and tasted about as good as captain d's. Took forever to get to the table. The live music was entertaining though.

ordered a mixed drink, had three ants in it. waitress still brought it over didnt say anything till we pointed it out then she realized that she saw it but then she knew about it had to get a new batch because there was ants at the bottom of it. food was okay just not worth the price.

First time trying this place on a Saturday night. Great place and views of the marina. Outdoor area I'd love to hang out at during warm weather. The service was awesome! Burgers were tasty as well as bang bang shrimp. Lobster roll was really blah - disappointed in it - tasteless! They should remove lobster roll from the menu.

Keeping things floating along during covid...don't miss their free, yes I said FREE breakfast each Sunday from 10:30-12:30. Buy a few drinks (the Bloody Mary never disappoints) and tip your server well. Breakfast bar is served by mask servers. Features biscuits, gravy, bacon, sausage, fried/scrambled eggs, French toast, etc.