The experience was honestly super rocky at first. The host was extremely rude when we asked to switch tables. She was originally going to sit us next to a big and loud group with a not so great view of Sardis. We finally sat down and it took 10 minutes for us to be served and there were at least 3-4 other servers working and it was not that busy. Our server was ok. There was another blonde girl that seemed more accommodating to other tables I wish we had instead and one of the bartenders was really nice when I asked for a refill since our server rarely stopped by. I ordered the pork tenderloin sandwhich and fries. The sandwhich was amazing and had great flavor. The fries had good flavor but were soggy. Some people at my table got the catfish and they were tiny strips and definitely not worth the value. The sandwich came with 2 small measly pieces and the platter came with 3. The burger and BLT were both a hit. read more

Rafters On The Water - The pork tenderloin sandwhich with fries & tea - American Near Me - Sardis, Mississippi

It's ok. Went on a Sunday night around 5:30, there was live music on the patio and we entered from the dockside but an absolutely lackluster security(?) guy told us to go around. Which we later learned meant go around to the front from the outside, which was very unclear so maybe some training needs to be done there as well as with the other hostesses. Just not the friendliest vibe? We sat at the bar bc the wait was 45 minutes but there were several empty tables that stayed empty. The bartender was wonderful! She was the highlight of our meal. The food is just okay. The menu is limited to many unhealthy items and salads. It's just seems like all frozen Sysco type stuff that has been fried with some sauce on it. They were out of a few things so I got a burger. The patty was a bit over cooked. Fries okay. I also got the rolls as a side bc i felt like it was odd to have as a side so they must be special. Not so. Stale Hawaiian rolls with garlic butter on them. They forgot to put one person in our group's order (nachos) in and it just never came so they "comped" us?? Ok. The mudslide was ok-ish as it's a mix in one of those machines and the Miami vice tasted absolutely like cleaning chemicals. I think it would have been nice to sit outside as the atmosphere would have made it alright but I won't be back. read more

Rafters On The Water - Mudslide - American Near Me - Sardis, Mississippi

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What a memorable dining experience.... if by memorable you mean the kind you warn your friends about. The hostess acted like seating guests was a part-time hobby, and once we finally got a table, we spent 45 minutes waiting on a cheeseburger that looked like it lost a fight with the grill and tasted like cardboard. The fries were decent. Our waitress clearly thought serving us was beneath her... eye rolls included. If this place's goal is to make customers feel unwelcome while serving burnt food, then congratulations, mission accomplished. We'll never be back. read more

Today the news broke that Jimmy Buffett died. We did not come here because of that. It was more serendipitous. We ate our lunch overlooking the lake, sipping boat drinks, listening to Jimmy Buffett. I got the Rafters Punch cocktail. Yum! Also got the chicken Caesar wrap. It was very good! I like a wrap but often feel they need more sauce or at least a more flavorful sauce. This had a delicious bite to it with the Caesar dressing and Parmesan. With my wrap I got the house made chips, which were very tasty. Our waitress was very nice and helpful. This was not a fast meal. We waited a while for our food. But that's okay. We weren't in a hurry and the food was good. read more

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We came in here for lunch on a Saturday afternoon on kind of a whim; we were planning to be in the area around Sardis checking out camping sites etc and figured we would plan for lunch as well. We got here around 1-130pm. Place was relatively packed, no wait to sit but most every table was filled, let's say about 85% overall. There was an Ole Miss football game on so every tv (except one which was on the Samsung Baywatch channel ‍) had the game on. There was a HUGE projection style TV outside with the game as well for those in the outdoor seating. The sound on the TVs inside was muted but the volume from the outside was turned up a little so you could kind of hear it inside but not really well. The wall to the outdoor seating was giant overhead doors that were open so it was like sitting on a covered deck more than being inside. It was a nice day temperature wise (mid 70s) but rainy off and on. Still was an enjoyable experience. 2 of us had burgers and 2 had wraps. All the food was really good, 3 had fries and 1 had the house made chips. It took a LONG time for the food to come but that wasn't unique to us, looking around we saw most everyone was waiting for their food for a while as well. Not sure if the kitchen was short staffed or watching Ole Miss football or just making everything fresh takes a while. Not a huge deal as we were not in any kind of hurry at all. Restrooms are outside and around the corner; shared with the marina. Don't know who is responsible for cleaning them but the men's room anyway definitely needs some attention. read more

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So I gave this place a four star rating because if you visit on a nice afternoon when they have live music you will enjoy the atmosphere and the scenery. Being on the water and enjoying music makes the food taste better. With that being said it's beer burgers and shrimp. It's pricey for basic food but it's fun! read more

Staff was rude. Website says restaurant closes at 11 on the weekends but staff informed us the kitchen was closed at 9:30 when we arrived.

Not a fan. Prices are ridiculous for what you get. Food is average, nothing to warrant the price hike. Had a long wait time. This is more of a hangout spot. The best thing about it is that it's on the water read more

Service was great and food was good. Place is super cool to see for sure. I will go back with out a doubt. read more

Rafters On The Water - Outside seating such a great place to hang out. - American Near Me - Sardis, Mississippi

The food here is okay. The service is awful, they won't even refill your drinks, and they are so rude. The ambiance is nice but not good enough to make up for the horrible service. read more

The food isn't that great but edible. You go back because of the beauty of the location and the atmosphere!

Service is horrible. Wait, staff consider working at the Sardis Lake location as punishment because they cannot make as much money as the Oxford location, and there was no live music as advertised on Memorial Day. It was the second worst experience I had there. read more

The food was not that great. Do NOT get the cheese fries!!! I would really just go there for the drinks and ambience of being on the water

Once again! Long wait for initial service at table. Went to the bar to get our drinks. All tables full but only about 5 had any food!!! Worthy of only ONE Star just because I had to assign at least ONE!!! Cody needed up being our Server!!! He was so pleasant and was worth the wait! Best Server this year!! Keep it up Cody!!! I will ask for you next visit!!! Cody gets the Stars!!! read more

Rafters On The Water - people sitting at tables under umbrellas - American Near Me - Sardis, Mississippi

Worst service ever encountered. Serve staff clueless waited 2 hours for a mediocre hamburger. Really nice view and building but don't come here for service or food just really poorly run and book out 4 hours for a hamburger go somewhere else. Just left can't make this up 2 hours for hamburger asked if I wanted ice for my beer and no pen to sign $0 tip read more

ATTENTION! To the owner: Rafters is great! BUT, you are inconveniencing your customers by refusing to serve food to them in the bar areas!!! You're losing sales! We tried to sit on the outer patio, but there were bulky flowers and stacked chairs along the railing that obstructed our view from the water. We then moved to the outer bar area so we could have a view of the water, but then realized that servers did not service the outer bar areas at all Please consider changing this for the better! read more

Burger is just NOT good to me or fiancé. Fries hard and way over salted*, Don't adhere to MS laws in animals/dogs inside reatauarant or bar area. Had to fight off dog hair from one in bar area that shook and every time someone stopped to pet wads flew out. read more

We decided to make a last minute trip to Sardis on a beautiful Saturday. While it took a bit for our table to be ready, fear not, there is an outdoor bar and picnic tables in the shade that you can look at while you wait! Once seated we tried the zydeco shrimp and crawfish rolls. I should've listened to my wife and ordered the shrimp poboy to split, but I saw zydeco shrimp and my mind was made up. The shrimp were breaded and fried, topped with a spicy chili sauce. They were okay in the fact that the spicy chili sauce overpowered the shrimp and seasonings. If they tone down the hot sauce portion of it (which lends a distinct taste), this dish would be out of the park. The crawfish rolls were basically egg rolls filled with a cream cheese and crawfish mixture served with a remoulade. They were terrific although a bit messy. Service was terrific by Anne Margaret! We can't wait to return. read more

Run do not walk way fron this place. It is a money grab at best. They are renovating and it should not be open. Its 4th of july weekend. They are boasting a huge 4th gathering. If you dont mind sitting on a half finished patio and having to serve yourself because there is no waitstaff. Ohh and running a tab, not goona happen. You have to walk across a parking lot to get a drink, maybe, thats if the breakers are working. My wife waited 2 and half hours for a drink. Because they couldnt keep the drink machines running. The food is ok. Maybe after its finshed it may be ok. But for now find an alternative. read more

Alcoholic drinks are small but delicious. The food is plentiful but overall average with very little seasoning other than salt. Live music a delightful bonus. read more

the service was absolutely wonderful. the drinks were over priced. we ordered a shrimp platter that came with fries, lcoleslaw and hushpuppies for $16 as well as the loaded fries appetizer. both came out with burnt fries that were freezing cold, cheese was hard. they were out of coleslaw and hush puppies, we only got 4 pieces of shrimp and fries for $16. overall i couldn't and wouldn't recommend this establishment to any friends or family. good entertainment but id recommended skipping ordering any food. read more

Came with a group of people and service was great! For the first hour or so. Our server refused to write down our orders (we were a table of 10) on a notepad so a lot of our food/ drinks came out wrong or didn't come out at all, since she forgot. When we asked for an item she forgot she began getting frustrated but still never wrote down any of our orders. At the end of our meal everything was taken off the table, but our server was nowhere to be found. After waiting 30mins to ask for tickets it begins pouring rain outside, so we stand inside to hide from the rain. We are in the middle of the floor for another 30mins and NOBODY asked us if we needed anything. Not the manager, the hostess, or the bartenders of house. Many employees were on their phones even though we clearly were standing in the middle of the floor, needing service! It had been an hour at this point and our server STILL was nowhere to be found. By the time saw her come back she blatantly pointed at us and told a fellow server "that table was horrible". At this point I got a server and asked for a manager so we could get our bills. The original server checked us out and didn't say a word. I don't understand how someone can be so mad at something easily prevented. They put 20% tip on our tickets and it made us feel that she felt as though she could treat us badly since she would be getting our tip anyway. Usually a really easy going customer, but this was the first and last time my group will be going to Rafters. No excuse for horrible service like this. read more

We walked in and were told there was a 45 minute wait but we could eat at the bar, we sat there for 20 minutes and then were told by the bartender that we couldn't order at the bar. We explained that we didn't put ourselves on the waiting list, however they still refused to serve us. WILL NEVER GO AGAIN. Shame the food looked good...... read more

Always a good time at rafters. The view of the upper lake is refreshing, and there is almost always a cooling breeze coming off the water. The food and service have always been phenomenal when we visit. Never a bad experience. read more

The staff was great, food was amazing, band was awesome! The best atmosphere in oxford!

Really cool place. Sat outside by the water. Great view. Good atmosphere. Had the jalapeno burger and it was perfect.

Great view and pleasant staff. We drove in just to check out and stopped in for lunch.

Nothing fancy, just good drinks and food overlooking the water. Waitress was extremely helpful. Great place

Great atmosphere! Live music, great food, and yummy drinks. My boyfriend and I went here, got 2 sodas, two drink, two entrees and it was $50 plus tip. Highly recommend! read more