- River View Grill & Bar (Three Rivers)…read more
My girlfriend and I recently went back to River View Grill & Bar in Three Rivers after not visiting for quite a while. I hadn't been there in at least five years, and it had been over a year since my girlfriend last visited. Unfortunately, this experience was noticeably worse than what we remembered.
The location itself is still beautiful, and the river view is definitely the main attraction. That part hasn't changed. But the food quality, consistency, and cleanliness left a lot to be desired this time around.
To start with drinks, my girlfriend ordered a Whiskey Sour, both of which she enjoyed. I ordered the spicy Bloody Mary, which was honestly disappointing. It tasted watered down, bland, and not spicy at all. It did come with a generous garnish including bacon, celery, and cucumber, which was nice, but the drink itself lacked flavor.
For appetizers, we ordered boneless wings with ranch. Our actual waiter, Juan, was excellent throughout the meal. He was friendly, attentive when he could be, and clearly working hard. Unfortunately, most of the issues came from the food runner/expo staff rather than him.
When the appetizer plates and utensils were brought out, the top plate was visibly dirty with leftover sauce and crumbs still on it, even though it appeared to have gone through the dishwasher. The napkin wrapped around the utensils also had sauce smeared on it, and one of the forks had crusted residue stuck to it. I had to wait over 10 minutes before I could flag someone down to replace everything. That alone was honestly a major concern because cleanliness and sanitation should never be questionable in a restaurant.
For entrées, my girlfriend ordered the fish and chips with curly fries and said her food was good overall. I ordered the "famous" open-faced chili burger with curly fries. The burger itself was cooked correctly, but the chili was surprisingly bland and lacked the depth of flavor you would expect from something highlighted so heavily on the menu.
On top of that, my plate initially came out with regular fries instead of curly fries. At that point, I honestly wasn't even planning to mention it because the experience had already gone downhill. But when Juan came by, he immediately noticed the mistake himself and went to correct it without me even asking. That reinforced my impression that the issues were not really coming from him personally.
Unfortunately, when the replacement curly fries came out, they looked like scraps from the bottom of the fryer basket. Many were tiny, overcooked pieces and noticeably worse quality than the fries my girlfriend had received earlier.
Overall, the experience just felt sloppy and inconsistent. Between the bland Bloody Mary, dirty dishes and utensils, incorrect food, low-quality replacement fries, and general lack of attention to detail from parts of the staff, it really changed my impression of the restaurant.
The river view is still nice, but there are plenty of other places in Three Rivers where you can enjoy the scenery while also having a better dining experience. Sadly, this visit did not leave a good impression, and I'm not sure I would return.