We headed to Hippie Chic's River Shack after finishing a three-hour family tubing trip with Andy's…read more After several hours on the river, everyone was hungry and ready to relax.
One thing we didn't realize from looking at the reviews was that although they apparently offer food other than pizza at other times, in the evening the food options were basically limited to the pizza kitchen and bar.
We just missed getting a spot in the main parking area and had to use the overflow parking. The restaurant sits on a fairly large property with some funky little cabins scattered around. One thing we really appreciated as parents was that there seemed to be only one main entrance/exit to the restaurant area. That made it much easier to let the kids wander around and play without constantly worrying about where they were going.
The property itself has a fun, laid-back river atmosphere with some cool repurposed pickup truck seating, swings, and benches. It definitely feels like a place designed for hanging out after a day on the river.
Ordering was a little frustrating. The main bar handled pizza, salads, mixed drinks, and other orders. There was also a cash-only bar, but its selection was mostly canned drinks. If you wanted a mixed drink and weren't paying cash, you had to stand in the main food line again, which made getting another drink while waiting for food unnecessarily cumbersome.
We initially ordered several pizzas, salads, and breadsticks. The food took quite a while to come out. The salads were okay, and the pizza crust was good, although our pizzas were slightly overcooked and the toppings and overall pizza were pretty mediocre. The breadsticks came with what seemed to be the same pizza sauce, which was extremely thick and almost tomato-paste-like.
The biggest disappointment was the value. The pizzas are fairly small, and we eventually had to order two more. We have two boys, 10 and 7, and a 5-year-old daughter, and somehow our family ended up needing four pizzas. At nearly $20 each, that's a lot of money for pizza--especially when the food itself wasn't particularly memorable.
Drinks were mixed as well. The margarita was okay, while the recommended coconut margarita was much too sweet for my taste. On the positive side, they had a good beer selection and were happy to let me sample before choosing one.
The bathrooms were pretty small, but otherwise the property worked really well for a family. The kids could play, we felt comfortable letting them explore, and there was plenty of room to hang out after being on the river.
Overall, Hippie Chic's is a fun and family-friendly place to unwind after tubing, and the setup of the property is probably its biggest strength. Unfortunately, the limited evening food choices, mediocre pizza, small portions, and poor value kept the experience from being better. I'd consider coming back for the atmosphere and a drink, but I'd have a hard time spending close to $100 on four small pizzas wit tip again.
