Was so hungry. Stopped in just after 4:30pm, when they open. This place is huge. There are several seating areas. I was seated at a two top near the kitchen. My server was Amanda and she was prompt. I started with a cocktail - the mango tango- and asked some questions about the menu. I had never heard of this Quahog, which apparently is a noreasterner kinda thing. Ok. Chopped clams, bread crumbs, bell peppers etc. why not. I'll try it. Bad choice. It had a good flavor but I kept crunching on shells!!! It seemed like eggshells were in it, everywhere. It was horrible. I kept thinking the next bite won't be like that- but it was. So many bites were bad. I asked the server what was up- she figured it out. It's not shells it's SAND!!!!! They're not cleaning the clams well. Bro. Rookie mistake. This is why I never order scallops. I hate when they're sandy. And now clams?!? I have to stay away from clams?!? Sheesh. She asked if I wanted bread- I said yes. I wasn't sure if the bread was included? It is not included and is an up charge at other restaurants (The Perfect Caper is an example of that, as well as Ortigia). She gave me one piece. It was delicious, served warm and crispy, and the whipped butter was fantastic. I asked what the butter was a Wisconsin country cream. Clean ingredients. Lots of salt. Yum. I also got a small cup of their soup. Amanda said their soups are always good. The soup of the day was braised beef noodle. It was really good. I could see having a bowl of that and a piece of bread and being totally happy. I was torn between the meatloaf and the Portuguese stuffed shrimp. She recommended the meatloaf. Oh boy. That was a great choice; it was huge. Smothered in bruleed cheese and sauteed onions. Lots of gravy. Lots of skinny green beans and a big scoop of mashed potatoes. Wow! What a meal. So good. I got my leftovers wrapped up. I took a piece of the birthday cheesecake home. It was listed on the specials menu. It looked really nice. However, it was not my favorite and actually, I would not recommend it. It's not cake, it's cheesecake, but the sprinkles just ruin the texture and flavor of the cheesecake, which wasn't a great cheesecake to begin with. Skip it. When the bill came, I was surprised the Quahog was on there. Especially because it was so ill prepared and I complained about it. But whatever. I thanked Amanda, paid, finished my cocktail and left. Parking is on the street or in the parking garage structure on the road behind them. Bathrooms are in the back along the long hallway, I didn't check them out. They have a large bar up front and what looks like a room they could do private events / meetings in. They have a new summer menu where all items are $20. I think that's a good deal. They have a lot of great sounding items on their menu and I heard the shrimp Mozambique is amazing. Maybe I'll get that next time. read more

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Our family of 5 met up at the River City Grill for dinner. It's central to downtown and waterfront and a nice walkable area. It appears to have a long history in the area. We were pleasantly surprised by the Portuguese dishes on the menu. We enjoyed the pork stew and shrimp Madagascar, such depth of flavor and a welcome change of pace from resort town menus. The pot roast was a little dry but a still a solid choice. The inside was a lot larger than it looked from outside. The inside decor could use a refresh but the great service helped us not to notice. read more

Really working diligently to explore Punta Gorda my own backyard. Quite the amazing restaurants in this one is amongst the top. Lots of room for seating, but I would still make a reservation. This place is busy, because it's good. There is a parking garage in the back behind the restaurant so don't let the limited street parking deter you. There were four of us and we had fish and chips, shrimp, the crispy fried chicken and steak everybody loved their meal. Good selection for drinks we even had a Keylime martini (wow). Our service was fantastic. She made amazing recommendations and we never had to look for her. Had the pleasure of meeting the owner Diana, quite a story and very much hard working! Support local business and check out River city Grill and if you're in the mood for pizza or pasta, they have a restaurant right next-door that looks amazing. Going check it out soon. read more

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River city Grill is my choice for lunch and to have a chat with Amanda. I adore the Portuguese Calamari. Patrons are friendly and always ready to chat. I like that they have 00 beers especially at lunch time. Don't miss this restaurant/bar. You are sure to enjoy your experience there. Joanne John read more

Everything!! Food Service Ambiance A++ Wonderful brunch and dinner every time. Servers are excellent. Food delicious and restaurant creates a tranquil atmosphere. read more

First time at River City. Friendly greeting at check in. Seated quickly for my 5 pm reservation. Good summer menu and specials. I had shrimp Mozambique after cheddar potato soup. Both were good. A good menu selection to choose from. Chocolate cake fir dessert. We will return. read more

Great place, fun and friendly atmosphere. Had the pot roast, so unlike me to order something like this but it sounded good and thought I'd give it a shot- Wow!! it was delicious! Everything was. Cute spot on Marion. read more

We all sure enjoyed our meal here tonight and such reasonable prices for what you get! The service was excellent and the place is really nice inside! Super packed by the time we left, looks like a real favorite place for locals in downtown Punta Gorda! Lots of parking around! read more

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Our server Savannah is top notch! She took care of us the entire night. The new items we ordered were the smash burger and my 12 year ate every bit of it. My 10 year old ordered the rigatoni bolognese and he was in heaven. He's a complete foodie and kept saying how much he loved it. I finally took a bite myself and he was right. It was delicious! I will have a hard choice between the Tampa cracker steak or the bolognese when we return next time. read more

Went here with my in laws during our last visit. The service here was excellent. Waitress was helpful and friendly. I ordered an old fashion, which was pretty good. My husband had a Manhattan and he enjoyed it too. Looked at help to see what I should get and settled on the shrimp Mozambique and it was super flavorful and delicious! The restaurant is cute and has a casual vibe. My in laws go here a lot and say they always enjoy themselves here and I would def agree and would def go back! read more

River City Grill - Shrimp Mozambique - American Near Me - Punta Gorda, Florida

Our first time here with a group of 8. Yes, they added the automatic 20% gratuity. Savannah was our server and she was very good. The downside was that we were charged $4 to split our meal and we were not told. I really just wanted the salad and my husband the fish but we mentioned we were going to share the entree. She said they could split it, I said no need, she said it's not a problem and so I said ok. It is an expensive place too. The service was good. The food was good. Only one bread basket for 8 people wasn't enough but okay. The photos show other entrees from our table. read more

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River City Grill never disappoints. My dinner companion and I had the ribeye steak. Cooked perfectly. Angie, our server, made the dinning experience delightful. From the minute we sat down, she was welcoming and attentive. She checked in just the right amount of time. Never felt rushed or forgotten. Can't wait to go back. read more

Great food and great service! Bartenders are awesome! The views, the music, the great feel of being outdoors in December... love it

One of our favorite local restaurants. The menu is varied enough to please every palate and includes some very unique Portuguese dishes. We have never been disappointed with a meal at River City Grill. read more

Great service and great food. Drink prices were a little steep, but everything else was wonderful.

Cute place with a good ambiance. The cracker steak was the star of the show. Cooked perfectly and a good cut of beef. The mushrooms and mashed were quite tasty also. The lower rating comes from a chicken dish that had iced cold sausage. The remade dish was good but instead of 5 slices of sausage (I know because I felt them all and they were all cold), the remade dish had 2 slices. Based on the chefs approach, I would not race back. Too bad. read more

Food was ok. Not spectacular. A bit pricey for what we got. I think the menu was pretty limited. Wait staff was ok but could have been more attentive especially since it wasn't that busy. Atmosphere was just ok, dated interior. read more

My husband visited Punta Gorda, Fl over Valentine's Day this year. We really did plan or make reservations, we stopped in The River City Grill to see what the wait would be and the hostess and owner were very friendly and even though they did not have anything immediately available they were trying to accommodate us and set up another table for 2 out on the sidewalk in front of the restaurant. They were exceptional and the food was delicious. I would highly recommend this restaurant if you choose to getaway to Punta Gorda, FL. We thank them for a memorable time of friendly service and great food! read more

Great service and food every time I go there. Very consistent. Highly recommend. You will not be disappointed.

We recently celebrated my husband's birthday at River City Grill What delightful experience! The food was excellent and our waitress Angie was friendly and very helpful with explaining various entrees The service was fast and personable. I would recommend River City Grill and Angie as your waitress. read more

Was a little busy when I went, but I was able to sit and eat at the bar w/o having to wait too long. Food was great!

The food isn't that good for the price. It used to be good a long time ago. They went downhill.

All the food was very good and prepared perfectly. We had the pot roast, Tampa cracker ribeye and Caesar salad with blackened chicken. Of note, the Caesar dressing does not have the usual "Caesar" flavor. It is stated that way on the menu and that is accurate. Definitely recommend the blackened chicken. Good portion sizes and again, all meat was cooked perfectly. Genevieve was our server and was a delight. We were celebrating my dad's birthday and she made him feel special. She was friendly and helpful. The only reason I give this place 4 stars is the atmosphere. It's dated. Or appears to be dated. It almost has a diner feel, but trying to be upscale. The place is huge and could accommodate many large parties. The food is solid, so do not let the atmosphere deter you if you want a good meal. read more

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Great delicious smash burgers, lively atmosphere and top notch service. Krista was awesome!

Food is always great, servers are friendly and we need to support our local restaurants in Punta Gorda not fast food or chain restaurants. If I can't go local I'd rather stay home. The owners are invested in this community and their staff is treated like family. This was my favorite restaurant when I came down for a visit in 2004 and the restaurant they own Nextdoor Italia operates the same. read more

We were in The area for business and this place was within easy walking distance of the hotel. We were seated immediately and service was prompt and very professional very knowledgeable of the menu and gave great descriptions. Beer selection is limited yep no dark or even good amber beers. Heart breaking. Food was very good as we both had seafood dishes. Somehow Jeff had room for a piece of Oreo cheesecake which must have been good as he devoured it. Neat decor and good AC which was key this evening. read more

Great experience this evening. My wife and I had not been here in some time. We decided to eat dinner at the bar. Amanda and Drew were amazing. They worked very well together and my wife and I were very pleased. The food was very good, we ordered off of their specials menu. read more

The boom boom shrimp appetizer is so incredibly delicious that we said next time we dined here we would order it as a meal instead of appetizer. And we did! Ordered side salads, wine, And a boom boom shrimp order for each of us. Amanda was a sweet server. Highly recommend this as an appetizer or a "dinner" If you don't want something too heavy. It's almost not breaded, so light that I think possibly coated with corn starch or arrowroot powder to sauté or fry, instead of flour, then tossed in some kind of delicious sauce. read more

River City Grill - Boom boom shrimp - American Near Me - Punta Gorda, Florida

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Another fabulous evening at RCG. I made a reservation for 12 at 4:30 Easter Sunday. We walked in and were immediately seated at our table. The service was excellent. After drinks and appetizers we ordered dinners. The scallops were number one choice then bolognese, butter fish, steak, chicken and sausage and pot roast. All entrees were great. Our table was long but we could still talk with everyone. We will be back again and again. read more

First time at River City Grill and we picked a doozie of a day. Light up the night festivities in Punta Gorda and even though we got here early enough the streets were already packed, as were the restaurants. Most eateries had a two hour wait time except for River City, only 1-1/2 hours. So we added our name to the list and walked amongst the crowd for a while. I'll skip back to the restaurant at this point. So we eventually got our table (2 hours) I should have known, but expected as much since they were really busy. Waitress came by in no time and took our drink orders and told us the bar was backed up and it could be awhile before we got our drinks, she did bring us waters. She came back and took our dinner orders, the menu looked really promising as the description of the dishes sounded really good. My wife ordered the Phyllo Baked Salmon and I the Shrimp Mozambique. Both dishes were amazing and well worth the wait, the only hiccup I had was the second beer that I ordered and never arrived. Either our waitress forgot to put in the order or the bar was backed up I don't know. Either way we came for the food, and it did not disappoint. We will definitely give this place another try on a normal night. read more

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Good service and atmosphere...had crispy chicken tenders with potatoes and gravy, excellent and large portions.

The best part of Punta Gorda is the private restaurants, not chain establishments. Good choices of food, reasonable, try it!

Good service and clean restaurant. Ingredients were good, just their menu was not of my taste. The clam chowder was just potatoes, so that was a pass. The schnitzel was a bit tough, but good seasoning. It just seemed each menu item had one or two ingredient/flavors for me personally. I would say 50% of our party loved it and 50% was "good but wouldn't choose again". read more

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Great service food was fresh and tasteful large menu plenty of different type dishes. Prompt courteous and friendly service. My friend had the cracked steak and enjoyed it and I had the Portuguese steak is very tasty . No complaints recommended read more

Food was good. I had salmon special (salmon was cooked a perfect med rare) and my husband had the pot roast Waitress was 100%. Summertime BOGO specials on. However does not include special. The "salsa" for my salmon was just some large chopped fresh tomatoes which were tasty but still had skin on read more

River City Grill - Grilled salmon over rice and black beans. - American Near Me - Punta Gorda, Florida

Food and service were both excellent. Suggest calling ahead for reservations in the busy season and on weekends.

Consistently offers excellent food, service and wonderful staff!! Both the bar and dining area are wonderful!

Menu has alot of comfort food prepared well and some surprisingly tasty appetizers. The flash fried calamari is crisp, not salty/greasy and the chef tosses them in a Melange of sweet peppers and onions with a bright aioli. The house salad was rather limp and tough w the young greens and obligatory thick slices of tasteless cucumber and dry carrot shreds. The shrimp Portugiesisch pasta dish was fine. Service was swift and only fell short w the wrong cocktail and lack of water on table, pepper missing and side salad forgot but all were easily fixed. During off season it empties out by 8 seemingly and as we ate in the bar area we noticed the heavy traffic was between 6:30-7:30, gone by 8. Comfortably situated and something for everyone! read more

Great food. Quick and attentive service. Amanda was the best. Comfortable dining room. read more

So we didn't think we were that hungry when we went in but Angie the amazing waitress of 15 years there said the pot roast is excellent. She was so right mine was absolutely delicious. Also, my husband had the pork schnitzel with a smoked bacon gravy that was to die for we actually got a little to go because it was so yummy. Will definitely return.! read more