Nestled off the main drag in Covington at Claiborne Hill is a new place that is really an old place. The River Saint Hotel, Restaurant, and Bar is a bed & breakfast dating back to the middle of the 19th century. The property sits on the river behind the Chimes, and it was most recently Annadele Plantation. Pat Gallagher, a hometown boy made good, added it to his collection of restaurants last year. After an extensive renovation, the place opened for business this week.
The renovation is beautiful. I was worried that the cozy vibe in the bar would be gone, but it has the same feel without the wear. I have always said that it’s a great place for someone to be having an affair. Fortunately, that vibe remains in a much more glamorous environment. The place was run down, but it is beautiful again. All the period furniture has been reupholstered, and a new life begins.
We sat in the downstairs dining room. Upstairs, there's a large dining space where we had an Eat Club many years ago. I didn't realize until this visit just how many dining rooms there are. It's at least six small and large spaces with seating.
The menu is the perfect size, enough to interest a diner but not enough to overwhelm. Young, enthusiastic waiters take good care of you.
Almost as soon as you are seated, they offer a small French bread loaf in the white bag, as Pat does at the steakhouses.
We started with a crabcake and fried green tomatoes with Crabmeat Ravigote as appetizers. ML got a wedge salad as an entree, and I had the Pompano Amandine with haricots verts. We also had the creamed spinach, and I added a mushroom risotto.
When Pat opened his Rest-A-While, the crab cake was sensational. And it was a steal. In the last few years, all the thrill of that crab cake is gone. It has morphed into a lackluster crab s stuffing patty. When I ordered the crab cake at The River Saint, I wondered which crab cake would show up. Sadly, it was the boring one. The crab stuffing patty. Such a disappointment, though it was served with a delish tomato tartar sauce.
The fried green tomato app was better. It was presented as two medallions with a third one of Crabmeat Ravigote as a stuffing, molded into another medallion. This was odd, I thought, but tasty. It was served with a small vinaigrette salad with a light but surprisingly sweet dressing. ML thought the fried green tomato app was very good. The crabmeat stuffing was a great element to this, and for the price it was a good value.
ML had a wedge salad as an entree and was slightly underwhelmed when she saw one at an adjacent table, but she liked it. Lots of Blue Cheese crumbles and dressing; all the elements were plentiful enough to make a nice statement. There were large pieces of bacon on this smaller wedge (a perfect size, really)
I was delighted with the entree and sides. Tom always said that Pompano was the king of the sea, and every time I have it, I agree. This was a perfect Amandine preparation, plated with Haricots Verts in an Amandine sauce. But what could be wrong with double Amandine Brown butter with toasted almonds? It is never unwelcome to me.
The Amandine was perfect, with plenty of toasted almond slivers on the fish and the green beans. Tom always called Pat’s food “lusty” because of his liberal use of butter. I thought of that as I savored this dish. There was plenty of brown butter on the plate before me.
Pompano is a smallish fish that I love because of its mild flavor, but also because it is so thin. I have said many times that I prefer thinner fish, excepting only Halibut and Salmon, and only because they are prepared with a crust. (Well, at least when I ask for that.)
The creamed spinach was the best version I’ve had in any of Pat’s restaurants. The Gallagher-style creamed spinach is not my favorite, but it’s high on the list, and this one is even better than that. Very dark with spinach and its accompanying flavor, It is creamy but not overly cheesy. It tastes like spinach.
The last thing on the table was sensational. It was a not-especially wet Mushroom Risotto that came across more as buttery rice, but the amount of meaty, buttery mushrooms on top made up for any imperfections, if there were any. I loved this dish.
We sat downstairs in the dining room we remember from Annadele. It is handsome, I think, with exposed brick walls and lots of windows. Looking around made me happy to see the place get a new life. It was definitely in need of it. And while nothing we had last night was especially brilliant, it was delicious, affordable, and really a pleasant way to spend a meal. My instant favorite of the Pat Gallagher Group. It will be a regular on my “nice restaurant” line-up.
The River Saint Hotel, Restaurant & Bar is much more than the longest restaurant name I can think of. It's a very welcome addition to the neighborhood.