Nice summer vibe featuring live music during week. Service was great! Good variety on menu but prices were a bit high and parking was tricky. read more

River Grill - Grilled Swordfish - Seafood Near Me - Tonawanda, New York

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Beautiful holiday weekend, the promise of live music until 8 pm, eating outdoors.. we decided on River Grill. Big mistake. First of all we've been here several times over the last few years. Sometimes it is very good, sometimes not. We arrived at 6:30 after putting our name on the wait list by phone .. I like that ! Figured we had a good hour and a half of the music... wrong... music ended at 7... I did not like that. Waited forever for our food and even too long for our drinks. Note: the sever warned us that food was taking a long time. She was pleasant and as efficient as the bar/kitchen would allow. My husband and I both ordered the ribs. They were tender and fell off the bone ! However, the menu indicated choice of potato and chef vegetable. Only fries were available and the chef vegetable was a pile of macaroni salad!! A table of 6 by us were told "I'm sorry you have been waiting so long for your food but I must tell you we are out of the steaks that you ordered"!! The table next to us got their entrees before their appetizer! The sever said the mussels were not thawed yet and she would bring over when ready . The woman said , never mind and the sever ( not the same as ours ) said they were being prepared and she had to serve them . The couple refused. I don't blame them . Here's the thing, the menu is touting that this is the 20th season for River Grill! After 20 years they should have their opening weekend up to snuff! We may give them another chance later in the summer but I would not recommend to friends asking for a good outdoor place to eat. read more

Went today n got 1 captains platter an order of 10 wings n 2 drinks 91.00 w tip! Food was cold sent back, got only 7 wings, had to tell waitress n she brought out 3 more after! Not going anymore to pricey! read more

Waitress barely checked on our table. Had to walk up to bar for a second round of drinks 10 minutes after our food was delivered, because our waitress never checked in. She was incredibly rude when coming back to deliver drinks/check. When bringing second round of drinks, she failed to clear empty bottles and plates from table. She brought us the check & then went to enjoy her dinner with other wait staff instead of cashing us out. Quality of food- very good. Mixed drinks were so bad. Don't waste your money, just go safe with a beer. read more

Unique place good music. Food is over priced. The breading on shrimp scallops to thick. The fish was over salted. The waitress was stretched to all over the place, so hard to address issue. Parking is terrible. Out of the group of 4 only 1 person was able to eat their meal without any complaints. Service to get food is slow.. read more

4 of us stopped there 1:00 pm 6/21/25 to have some drinks and food. went outside to sit down. 2 people sat at a table and 2 of us stopped at out side bar and ordered drinks for all of us. then one of there waitresses started yelling across the patio we can not do that she needs to git our drinks!!!!! well we already had them and went to sit down. the table was pushed up to close to the railing and could not sit 4 of us. we moved to another table and a waitress came over and gave us place mats and utensils. then another waitress came over and said there will be no one to serve us at this table until 4:00 and would have to get up and leave. we took our drinks to some chairs no tables not to far away then two of the waitress came over and said we can't sit there ether. what a dump if i could give it a negative number it would be -100. the outside bar tender apologized to us. well they lost over $100.00 in business read more

First time ever eating there . Was on vacation at Niagara Falls and wanted seafood. Done a search for seafood and the River Grill came up. We gave it a try and the food was excellent. Service was really good also for busy. Will stop in again if we are in the area. read more

River Grill - Seafood Near Me - Tonawanda, New York

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Passing by this attraction for years the lighted palm tree we finally arrived for dinner and some music. It was a wed night so we waited until 6 to arrive. Parking is limited but chose to park on the road. Not bad at all. Waitress told us 1/2 hour was more like 2 1/2 minutes. We got some sangria at the bar and didn't even cheers. Ha ha. Food was really good for the price. I got tilapia with salads. Very good. Husband ordered ribs should have ordered 1/2 rack not full rack. But he finished. His came with fries. Not sure but the were out of this world. Service was great...waitresses very attentive. We started listening to the music while eating then ordered one more drink to sit on patio. Unfortunately weather didn't cooperate and we had to leave due to thunderstorm. Plan on coming back once more before season ends. read more

River Grill - Ribs and chicken. And best fries in the world. - Seafood Near Me - Tonawanda, New York

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We came tonight for my Dad's Birthday and ordered 2 lbs of mussels, coconut shrimp and crab cakes for appetizers. The mussels were good nothing to write home about but they were a good size and a lot. The coconut shrimp tasted okay and I liked the sauce. However I recommend putting the sauce on the side and not serving them soaked in it. The clam cakes were very big and tasted good. For entrees we ordered the cod, Mediterranean pasta with chicken and a steak. I can only speak on my pasta but it was pretty horrible. The Alfredo sauce tasted okay but the pasta was literally soaked in a huge bowl and served like soup. It did not taste Mediterranean whatsoever I guess they call it that because it has some olives and tomatoes thrown in. You honestly couldn't even tell what was in the bowl. We had two Miller lights, two angry orchard and one corona. The bill came to $142 and $30 tip. Service was good no complains there. And the band was nice wish we came later and ate while the band played entire time. read more

River Grill - Seafood Near Me - Tonawanda, New York

so so disappointing.. years ago was so good, now imitation french fries, small and loudly breaded scallops. the food had gone way down.. the oysters rockerfeller was very good though. everything else, not so much. won't b3 going back anytime soon. it's really too bad because we so used to love it for being near the water on a summer day. Sharon F. read more

River grill is located right on the water and is only open during the summer months. The restaurant typically offers live jazz music and of course a beautiful view. River grill is one of my favourite places in Buffalo, especially because it's a summertime classic. They offer a variety of dinner meals, especially in regards to seafood. To go along with your meal, they offer a range of drinks and fantastic daily specials. Recently, the restaurant updated their menu- but, no worries, it's still the same delicious food! My personal favourite is the fish tacos, which I order Cajun style. The fish is perfectly cooked, placed in soft taco shells, and topped with coleslaw and a spicy mayonnaise. The dish is accompanied with more coleslaw and delicious fresh fries, which are terrible addicting! This past visit, we also ordered the bay shrimp, salad with swordfish, and the ribs...and wow, the shrimp and ribs are a must try. Shrimp is a perfect summer meal and the ribs are just melt in your mouth. Watch out for the large one portions and delicious food- you'll be going home very full! The service is fast and friendly, the food is relatively inexpensive and fantastic, the music is entertaining, and the view is beautiful. Overall, if you're in Buffalo during the summer, then you need to come here. Eat some seafood and enjoy the view! read more

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The staff is unbelievably rude and the food is way overpriced. Their "seafood chowder" is basically canned tomatoes with a shrimp in it. For $10 are you kidding me? And then I had a salad with chicken on it and a salad itself ended up to be $30. Ridiculous go somewhere else. The staff is completely rude. And it took us forever to get our food. We will never ever be back here. There are so many other places to go. Do not go here. read more

Came out to the RiverGrill for some appetizers and music n dancing this place hops 7days a week. chicken wings n clams casino coconut shrimp all we're prepared very well wings very good loved the clams other seafood on the menu our waitress Amy very nice pleasant and smiling all the time she did a great job she even picked The drinks for us excellent read more

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Fresh, delicious seafood, excellently prepared in a comfortable environment. Busy, but very efficient and well organized. Moderate waiting time and excellent service. GENEROUS portions, reasonably priced....... Highly recommended.... read more

The food was pretty good but the service was terrible! they were busy in their defense but 45 minutes for chicken fingers that was put in as an app is pretty lengthy. A person in our party had 2 beers for $12 and alcohol tax for $12 was added to the bill which we didn't notice till we got home. Also 2 items were added to the bill that we never received which we did notice and the server seemed annoyed that we said anything. Like I said the food was good but the experience was terrible. I called in the morning for reservations and was told they don't take reservations. Sitting there for an hour for a table we heard several parties say they had reservations and were seated immediately. What's with that? read more

The service was very slow and our food was cold!!! Actually went home and puked all night.

This is such a cool place! It feels like you're in Florida on vacation! I came here with my family and I was pleasantly surprised. For some reason, I wasn't expecting much from the food, and I was wrong-- really good food! I had the fish fry and it was perfect. My fiancé had the fish tacos and they were excellent. The ambiance was so different and refreshing than "normal" restaurants in Buffalo. It's such a neat spot. Definitely check it out! Very family friendly. read more

I've driven by here while on the 290 so many times and only seen the tip of the palm tree. Always wondered what this place was like. You really have to pay attention to find it and then follow the narrow ( crowded with parked cars) was at back to the grille. Tiny parking lot, so you might have to park on the tiny road! Once you park, you find somewhat of a courtyard with multiple patios facing each other. Make note of the faux lighthouse ! The restaurant sits on the water, and you'll have a slight view from the patios. The inside restaurant has minimal seating, and a small bar area. We went specifically to see a big band. The stage area is great, but if you want to sit at a table you need to order dinner. Bar staff very friendly, drinks reasonably priced. Didn't eat, but the food smelled and looked delicious. Surprised by the somewhat upscale choices on the menu. Not just burgers and wings Entertainment was great! Fun seasonal location read more

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While out on a bike ride, we stopped for dinner. Two beers, a broiled fish and three tacos came to $56. The mahi tacos had ZERO flavor and the broiled fish smaller than average. It took 41 minutes for our food from the time we ordered. I worked in the industry for a long time and that is absolutely unacceptable. I was also watching the young woman who was food running, eating candy from another employee with her bare hands and will come out of the kitchen minutes later. There was no way she was washing her hands in between feeding herself and running peoples food. The only positive the experience was our waitress Kathleen, she apologized for the long wait and had a great personality. We won't be back. read more

im sorry to see a good place on the waterfront go under but this place is doomed. 2 hour wait for basic food. what a great atmosphere to have a few drinks and listen to music but unless you have hours to spare forget the food. the quality is ok. However, it takes 2 hours to get out basic food. what a shame. I dont know what happened but a great establishment is not going to last long with this new level of service. I will be sad when the close read more

Pretty nice place. On the river. Ordered the shrimp tacos and the captains platter. Both were very good. Servers were very good however there seemed to be confusion when the orders were brought out. Wrong table. Everyone served a a table but one person. Overall experience not bad as they corrected the issues promptly. We would come back read more

So sad to write this review. Went there for years and loved the place. Great music and food. Went 2 times this year, and The food was poor both times. Went for lunch with my kids and ordered calamari which was decent and two steak sandwiches, which used to be phenomenal. They changed the quality of meat, and must have changed the chef over the years as well. It was a bland piece of meat and no flavor, neither my son or I enjoyed it. Went back for dinner Saturday. Waited 1 1/2 hours for a table for 2. Checked in a couple times with the hostess, who did not appreciate my inquiry. Incredibly slow service at the outside bar. Bartender had a difficult time making drinks. 9 to $10 per mixed drink as well. Finally asked him if he would talk to the hostess to see if he could get us seated. He did and we got seated. Service was horrible. Inattentive, older waitress. Cleared $20 appetizer before we were done eating it. I tried to stop her, and she just shrugged her shoulders. We had our drinks when we sat down, my friend asked for a water, waitress brought one water. My friend asked for a knife, waitress brought one knife. Translation: if you didn't individually ask for something you weren't going to get it. I ordered the Bouillibase special. Basically water, with a plum tomato, some shrimp, a few clams, a few mussels and soaked linguine on the bottom. Oh, and half a lobster tail. Had zero flavor. My date had the fish special which was OK. When the waitress came by finally to ask how the food was, I told her that my dinner was awful, it had no flavor. She asked if I would you like something else instead? And I said NO. She asked me if I was sure, and offered a burger. And I said I used to like the steak sandwich with the hot pepper on top, she said she'll put the order in and took my bowl away. Came back a few minutes later and said they're out of hot peppers how about a Delmonico instead? I said just give me the strip steak sandwich, and asked if they can put mushrooms on top? She said sure. I will end this review with this. They put canned mushrooms on top of the steak, which is a joke! The waitress wanted to put mozzarella on top of my steak sandwich when I believe the menu says provolone, I corrected her. I ate half the steak sandwich. They ended up charging me for half of the Bouillibase, {$36} and 100% for my steak sandwich!! I told the waitress that SHE offered me something else! I can't believe you're charging me for the entrée you took away, and she said: "well you ate the half lobster tail"! Well, I had to try it, I argued. Unbelievable! Anyway, place used to be great, but now food is bad, service is horrible. I don't know where the owners are, or who's managing it, but someone really needs to supervise the kitchen and the staff. When they presented the bill and brought the receipt back dirty dishes were still on the table. My date and I sat there finishing our drinks, with the dirty dishes, and suddenly after 20 minutes, the waitress AND the hostess came over, obviously angry for some reason, and started clearing the table and putting new flatware out, while we were sitting there, even though the place at that point was half empty outside! Obnoxious. Long live my memories of Billy McEwen and The Soul Invaders, and The River Grille. Sadly, I can't go back. read more

Great food and drinks by the water. Great time. Yes this place is usually really busy so it will take some time to get your food. Just enjoy the vibe. read more

I can understand why this place is only rated a 2 star which is completely over rated after what I experienced last night with my girlfriend. She goes to the bar inside to order me a beer and a glass of Pino for herself. She gets back to our table to recognize the Pino is actually something else so I ask her to return so she can enjoy. This guy Dennis the bartender says "your actually in the wrong bar if you're a wine snob" he grabs the Pino served in small screw top bottles and tells her to smell the cap to ensure it is the right wine. What kind of bartender does such a thing to embarrass someone in front of other people. This is completely unacceptable not to mention my girlfriend is very influential in the community this will have a trickledown effect. Be aware of this guy. read more

River Grill - Seafood Near Me - Tonawanda, New York

Love the atmosphere here, but the service was extremely slow. The food was just ok, I had shrimp taco's. Luke warm, not even hot. Prices are high for what you get and it seemed like the place could use a good cleaning. We did enjoy the view and I am totally open to trying again on a different night. read more

First time at this restaurant, food was OK , had to wait for a little bit to get waited on, server was fine, water was never refilled and we weren't checked on after our food was delivered. My biggest problem was that we split the check and the waitress never told us that they'll be a gratuity added if you split the check automatically. So if we wouldn't have asked about the check we would've tipped more. Not a good way to do business. read more

Such a great waterfront spot to grab your favorite seafood. Large, crispy and filling Crab Cakes, a great choice of brews and the best boils in the city limits. Find out their live music schedule, but get there early for a parking spot! It gets lively. If you need a break, take a stroll alongside the marina and to the secluded park not far from the restaurant. read more

River Grill - Seafood Platter - Seafood Near Me - Tonawanda, New York

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Lunched there today with the Ladies Who Lunch group. Food ordered varied fish frys, burgers, crab cakes. None of us had a complaint about the food. I had the crab cake po'boy. It is served on a Constanzo roll not the usual po'boy roll. For me it was too many carbs. I normally order anything that had a roll gets served without it and I forgot. I had the remulade sauce on the side because I wasn't sure how spicy it would be. It had a kick so I am glad I had it on the side. Our server Sebastian was amazing! Quick, courteous and so funny. He told us the specials and was just all in all a great server. I would definately recommend going there. My only complaint is that there isn't a great view of the water because of a boat storage place. But definately try it. All they food was amazing we agreed. read more

Great place Great food awesome atmosphere and fair prices good staff the food is great

We love to go to lunch at this quirky summer destination. My grilled fish tacos were fresh and tasty. And my hubby's chicken sandwich was satisfying and fresh. Will be back one more time to get the seafood platter. Seafood there is always off high quality. read more

Food was amazing. Service was horrible. Servers name was Mikayla. She was rude, inattentive, and just overall horrible.

this place was horrible! we asked what was on the buffalo chicken sandwich and she had told us lettuce, tomatoes, onion, and pickles. after we received our food there was blue cheese on it. we had nicely asked if they could remake it because we are not fans of blue cheese. she continued to argue with us and wouldn't take the food. not to mention there was barely any chicken. one of the other orders had chips and my made it fries and still charged us for it. they were completely rude and ignored us when we would ask for something. you will not see me eating here again ! read more

River Grill - a person holding a half eaten sandwich - Seafood Near Me - Tonawanda, New York

Place is definitely nice, nice view of the water, great atmosphere with a live band, people were dancing, overall really nice vibes. However food didn't taste that good for the price I'm paying, I would expect it to at least be yummy. Service was also very slow, i would suggest getting more staff on busy nights. read more

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I have to say the food at this place is delicious ! My fish tacos were fresh and flavorful! The music is amazing and no cover charge. The wait service is prompt and attentive. But, there is one HUGE issue. We put our name on the wait list and expected a wait but I saw at least two tables empty for 40 minutes. When I asked when we would be seated they told me that they had to wait for confirmation to seat us. 40 minutes is a long wait time. I said I could wait at the table until the kitchen was ready instead of standing. I could order a drink at the bar and enjoy the music and wait in a seat. No, I had to wait. It really made a beautiful evening and good music go sour. That was policy. That is a really bad policy. You need to give paying customers a choice. I will return but I now will come later, or not at all for food. read more

River Grill - Fish tacos - Seafood Near Me - Tonawanda, New York

I have been here several times and had good service and great food. We went for lunch today and it took 45 minutes for a bowl of soup. 30 minutes after we finished the soup our sandwiches weren't served. They Kept seating customers and taking orders while people who where seated an hour before us hadnt received their food. I would not recommend this place for lunch. read more

I went to this restaurant and i got the buffalo chicken sandwich.when i asked what was on the sandwich i was unaware of the blue cheese that came out and when they told me what was only on the side. and the service was not that good and we didn't not get checked on as much and we had a big table and didn't even come down to the other side and made us yell crossed the table to tell her what we wanted. I think this was very bad service and i downloaded yelp just for this :) read more

Went there for the first time tonight for a birthday dinner with my mom and sisters and sister-in-law. Service was great and the staff was friendly and the food was delicious. They let us stay and talk a while and we didn't feel rushed. Casual outdoor atmosphere which is exactly what we were looking for. Would recommend this restaurant and I'll take my husband next time. read more

Check 'em out! Small local restaurant with an outdoor patio on the water. Who doesn't love that right there?! I've never had the pleasure of eating here yet but stopped here for a quick drink while on a bike ride. The staff was friendly and welcoming! read more

River Grill - Outdoor patio right on the water. - Seafood Near Me - Tonawanda, New York

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Should have known it was going to be a bad experience when it took the hostess forever to grab menus and silverware. Got seated at a table and the women sitting at the table next to us was definitely not 6 feet away from us. It was super hot this day and we asked the server for water and she forgot about that for a while. The clams casino app was probably the only good part of the meal. The mahi mahi was dry and chewy and the catfish was flavorless and mushy. The Mac salad and fries on the side were pretty good. To top it off, the live music that wasn't supposed to start until 7 started nearly 2 hours early. Not everyone wants to have loud music blared when they're trying to enjoy a meal and we specifically went when we did under the assumption we'd get out before it started. read more

River Grill is a hidden gem in WNY! I went a few days ago with colleagues after our last day of school. They were very accommodating to our larger group. One of my colleagues has tried most things on the menu and loves this place. They are known for their seafood. I went with the fish tacos. You get three HUGE fish tacos with a side of coleslaw and fries (or a substitution). I couldn't finish my meal, and that's after working a hectic last day and I can eat. There was so much food. The fries were so good too. The atmosphere was fun. It has that tiki bar vibe and is right on the water. Being on the water is like bonus points for me. It has a huge tent outdoors with lots of seating. River Grill will definitely be a place I go back to! read more