The Wyld Dock Bar on a Winters Day

If you look at Savannah on a map, especially one that offers a satellite image view, you see that it is more marsh and water than land. In fact, the place is named after the vast expanses of marsh grass found around just about every corner. You would think then that a place that is built on marsh and water would have more places like The Wyld: restaurants or bars sat on the water overlooking the savannas of Savannah. In reality though, there really is no other place like The Wyld and it's only been around for a few measly years now. Sure it was something else before (a private "yacht club" type place), but that doesn't count for our purposes. Of course I understand the issues with finding locations. The way the rules work, you are pretty much out of luck went it comes to building on the marsh because of its "wetlands" status. The government will crucify you.

Thus, if you find yourself at The Wyld you definitely came on purpose, because it is not near anything. No tourist is going to accidentally find the place unless he was kayaking down the Herb River and got hopelessly lost. You come to The Wyld specifically because of where it it. You come for the view.

That being said, they are a restaurant and "bar" is in their name. I've been twice for both purposes and didn't walk away either time wowed to the point of wanting to jump on Tripadvisor and sing their praises. The menu is ostensibly seasonal, and that certainly applies to the fish they serve. I quizzed one of the waiters extensively after my last meal there and I was impressed with his answers (which we will get into in a minute.) Obviously, being a "dock bar" mean the menu is more or less seafood focused. The bar, as you can see from the pic, is short and faces the wrong way. I supposed they were limited in what they could do with the space, but if you are coming to drink with a view then you need to grab one of the few tables. Or just turn around on your stool. I leave that up to you to decide.

It was a Saturday when the wife and I last visited, and I suppose the cold kept the crowds away. We choose a spot right out on the doc and admired the lovely brown waters of Country Club creek. The cool wind kept pluff mud smell at bay, and it was all together a pleasant experience as far as atmosphere was concerned. As we ate we were able to watch an egret fishing in the shallows, where he eventually speared a baby flounder. For our part, we order some smoked fish dip to start. It was on a specials list, which is a shame because it was the best thing we ate. It was a smallish portion, and served with tortilla chips, but the flavor was amazing. The waiter I grilled later told me they smoked the fish there at the restaurant and that day it was a combination of trout and flounder collars. It was slightly spicy from added jalapenos, which helped balance out the smoke flavor.

My wife went with the fish tacos, which came in a set of two, which is a real disappointment given the cost. I personally feel like if tacos are being served as an entree, they should come in a set of three. However, they were at least loaded with huge chunks of black bass. The dressing of onions, hot sauce, and cilantro left a lot to be desired, but honestly the taste was spot on and we were both happy with the end result. The side was a real winner too, being an incredible version of fried corn on the cob, seasoned like elote so that is was creamy, crispy, and spicy all at once. The waiter gave me a run down of the exact process for preparing the corn but I forgot. It was essentially a poach, roast, fry situation.

In my quest to find a burger worthy of my sensibilities in this hick swamp, I decided to give the Wyld a fair shot. The menu said the burger (simply titled as "burger) was house ground chuck. It was a single patty, pub-style burger which is my least favorite style but never-the-less ubiquitous in Savannah. It was dressed up like any regular hamburger you would find in a dinner or someone's backyard with lettuce, tomato, american cheese, and onion. They gave me a condiment caddy of ketchup, mustard, and mayo to sauce it myself at the table. The bun was nice, but unremarkable. To cut a long story short, it was a decent burger. It was cooked perfectly medium and satisfying enough that I wasn't upset for having ordered it. Again though, the side stole the show. It was a bomb of yukon gold potatoes smothered in cheddar and bacon and topped with sour cream and chives. They'd hit it was the broiler to get the cheese perfect on top,

If I had to choose a burger to eat in Savannah that wasn't made in my own kitchen and wasn't from Five Guys, I would probably go with this one again. Yet, the quest continues. We will probably be back to The Wyld in nicer weather. They put on a brunch spread that looks decent from what I've seen on their instagram. I really want to like the place for more than just the view, so we'll see what happens come Spring. I would be fine though sitting on the dock munching on that corn and fish dip.

I'll leave you with a photo of our egret friend.