Fresh seafood, daily specials, and great service! There are 2 sides to the restaurant. One with the river view, and the other is a "local side" Always busy, but well worth the wait. read more

Made our annual trip to North Top Sail which meant our annual trip to Riverview Cafe for Dinner. Dinner was great as usual . Everyone enjoyed their meals . Will definitely be back next year !!! Crab Legs read more

I usually order the fried seafood platter but we started with steamed oysters (there were 4 of us) and they were so good we ended up eating just steamed oysters (3 large orders and 1 steamed shrimp). Oysters were steamed to perfection in oval blue enamel ware steamer. The shrimp were good maybe one minute too long in the steamer. Also, if the Riverview Cafe would emerge the steamed shrimp in a cold ice water bath for a 1/2 second, the shrimp are easier to peel and lose no flavor. I've been going to the Riverview Cafe since Lonnie Everett's hound dogs would lie on the deck of the shrimp house and we'd eat fried seafood and look at his hound dogs and admire them. read more

Great food with a great view! Little bit of a drive but updated and clean atmosphere. Plenty of menu options and lots of meringue pies!

Wife & I ordered the fried flounder & fried shrimp. Fish was fresh, very nicely fried, and served quickly. The waitresses & staff were all very friendly too. We arrived before 6 & had a table with a view of the river and when we left 45' later, there was a full crowd of diners. We would recommend Riverview Cafe & will happily return! read more

This is kinda my ideal kind of place to get seafood, the type of place where it's pretty much only locals there. They start you out with free hush puppies, and they have a good selection of different seafood then have specials on a big white board that has been different every time I've been there and different things that come and go as the local fish market has which is how u know it's all fresh stuff. The staff is all pleasant and quick service. read more

Very tasty food. Go for lunch because it's not as busy. Going back for another meal. Our waitress, Linda was super sweet and so was the host. Thanks for the southern hospitality read more

This place is very good. Simple, yet very delicious menu. The seafood choices are pretty good, from grilled salmon to fried oysters. The view is definitely of the river, so no false advertisement there. The prices are reasonable, parking is also pretty good right across the street. I was very happy with the staff and the food. read more

Bang! This place was pretty great. We went on a Monday night and the place was about as busy as most places on a Friday night so you know it's good. We have a party of 16 and they were able to accommodate us relatively fast considering the crowd. The staff was great at attending to our needs. All of their seafood is fresh except for the clam strips. My wife said the scallops were the best she's ever had. The fried squash was awesome and the hush puppies were addictive. Out of our party of 16 everyone enjoyed their food. The hot crab balls were not so great and the consensus was that the shrimp was average. Everything else was outstanding. You have to save room for pie. The coconut was excellent. The chocolate was heavenly and the lemon was absolutely the best lemon meringue pie I've ever had. If you're in the area go to this place read more

Beautifully remodeled. Great friendly staff. Excellent food and service! Party of 9 and everyone loved the food and service was the best ever. Going back again 2 days in a row. read more

Go here if you're Caucasian. And for the fried food. I forgot that there's still racism in the US, but if you're a minority and walk in here, you'll remember it quickly. I didn't feel it from the staff (actually our waitress was really great), but the customers - whew. It seemed like the whole restaurant turned to look at us when we walked in. I shrugged this off and figured it was just a place for locals, but then we got some looks of disgust, stares, and whispers from a handful of the other tables that couldn't be mistaken. Again, the staff were friendly and courteous. If you still decide to eat here, the food is not bad. Every table is filled with fried plates (it's an extra $1.50 if you want the seafood grilled). You get a basket of hush puppies - some of the best I've had. The steamed clams are very good. Steamed shrimp and flounder fillet were a bit overcooked - the whole flounder may be better. Surprisingly, the catfish was really good. I wish I could give this restaurant 2 ratings: 1 for the clientele and atmosphere and a 3.5 for the food. A note: * I've received comments to this review stating that 1) Yelp isn't the place for these types of reviews 2) that maybe I should only stick to urban areas with more minorities so I don't feel this way and 3) maybe I should try to smile and be friendly. My response to this is 1) like many other Yelpers, we trust these reviews when we travel and aren't familiar with the area. The atmosphere is a significant part of the restaurant experience. 2) Avoidance isn't a solution. When has it ever been a bad policy to treat everyone with kindness and respect? 3) You obviously have never experienced racism. Even so, everyone in my party was extremely friendly, smiled despite the comments and leers, and still tipped well. As I mentioned, our waiter herself was great. read more

Why does everyone think this place is so great????? I'm totally confused! NO STEAMERS AT 5:30pm? How's that possible? The size of the shrimp on my broiled dinner (they charge more to broil) was a joke. Tiny!!!! Oh! & not to mention, my $25.00 dish was served on a divided plastic plate!!!! Service was also terrible. Bad food. Bad service. Don't bother eating here. Yelp needs to add a half a star. read more

This place is a solid 4 star restaurant--probably the best of the bunch if you take Topsail and Sneads Ferry together. It's cheap, good, fried southern food. Well, I guess you could get the broiled option, but if you're at a place like this, fried is definitely the way to go. The fried squash (in this case zucchini) was AMAZING--best thing on my plate. Fried catfish and shrimp were also good--the broccoli with cheese was more like cheese with broccoli, but again, you have to remember where you are--they are going to boil the hell out of any vegetables (like the mustard greens) or smother it in fat (oil/cheese). One word to the non-white patrons who enter: I'm Asian American and I got eye-balled HARD by one particular gentleman while we were waiting to be seated. I caught him staring at me and stared back, which usually gets people to stop. But not this guy. He just eye-balled me like I was the Viet Cong (I'm guessing he's a vet--he had that kind of white-American veteran vibe going on). The only way he stopped was when my white southern husband who noticed hims staring at me said, "Hi" to him and then he looked away. But I caught the F***** staring at me as we were leaving for our table. I mean, as racist incidents go, it's a blip, but it's never nice to feel like you're walking into the bar of a western movie where every head is going to flip around and look at you. So be warned. read more

A nice little place that overlooks the water, Riverview Cafe has a lot to offer from tiny Sneads Ferry. I prefer boiled/broiled shrimp but decided to venture off the path and went for their fried shrimp lunch special. It was fantastic! An unbelievably light coating (lighter than Calabash style), the right amount of crunch and very fresh tasting shrimp. The portion was decent along with 2 sides. I chose onion rings (very good) which appeared to be homemade and fries (ok, small portion). My dining companion had the shrimp and macaroni salad. It was very "predictable" nothing exciting, a tad on the bland side. The service was excellent, our waitress Mindy was on the spot with refills and friendly banter. That alone brought my rating from 4 stars up to 5 because good, friendly waitstaff is a rarity. Make the journey to the lil town of Sneads Ferry and tip your waitresses well! read more

In the off-season, when only locals are around, a good bet is eating where they eat. Going off a tip we received while walking on the beach, we made it to Riverview and found those locals eating delicious seafood. Although everything's delicious (our non-seafood-eating companion loved the grilled chicken dinner), some key features stick out. 1. A heap of hot hushpuppies brought to the table right away. 2. Cheap, cold beer. 3. Grilled fish - the grilled mahi tied for the table's best with 4. Fried oysters. Next time I'm in Topsail/Snead's Ferry, a bucket of beer, basket of hushpuppies, and table of fried oysters sounds like heaven. Looking forward to it... read more

Always great food and service. I'm not a huge fan of fried seafood but this place makes even me a convert. Recommend the shrimp and flounder. read more

My family has been coming to Topsail almost every summer since 1984. I don't remember when we discovered the Riverview, but it was a looooong time ago. We make it a point never to miss it, and end up there often more than once during our yearly visit. The atmosphere is friendly and casual. The staff are lovely and friendly. The seafood is fresh off the dock, and outstanding. It is one of our very favorites, if not our favorite restaurant in Topsail....well, Snead's Ferry, but worth the short drive. Oh, and their meringue pies are AH-MAZ-ING. My mother dreams of their chocolate pie year 'round. The lemon and coconut are also outstanding. Soooo good. Not to be missed! read more

The restaurant is in what appears to be an old house that isn't laid out very well. There is little room for patrons to wait inside for a table. And the parking. Not enough. But don't let any of that stop you from visiting. There's a reason this place is so busy. Excellent traditional seafood plates for very reasonable prices. Great service with a smile too. I wish we'd found this place sooner. I had the catfish, which was excellent. I sampled the flounder, also great. Highly recommend this for your family dinner. read more

Great restaurant right on the water. Super friendly waitress with tons of good suggestions on what to eat. We tried the catfish, flounder, fried shrimp and grilled shrimp. All were delicious choices although I liked the grilled shrimp best. The hush puppies were addicting! Enormous seafood menu served very quickly. read more

We have been coming to this restaurant for what seems like forever. It has never lets us down. If you ever want to eat delicious, hot and fresh seafood, this is the restaurant you want to come to. The portions are good and the wait staff are friendly. They keep their fantastic hush puppies coming! Yum! read more

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First off, they need a dedicated hostess. The night I was there I waited 10 min until someone noticed that I was waiting to be seated. Our waitress was great and super friendly which was about the only saving grace for me, that and the crab dip. The crab dip was really good. However, I am not a fan of a sit down restaurant that gives you 2 pack crackers to use for your crab dip and fast food packets of mayo. I got the fried shrimp, and instead of nice crispy fried shrimp I got battery-mushy shrimp. My better half got the broiled seasoned scallops and they were good as well as the hush puppies that they serve. But if you're going to specialize in seafood, make sure it's good all around. read more

Great seafood, great service, great view, and clean restaurant. I got the fried shrimp with slaw and fries. Shrimp was crispy and not greasy, fries were crisp, and the slaw was excellent. Hush puppies are a must here. All the food was served piping hot (except the slaw, thank goodness). Portion was sizeable enough for me to bring home leftovers for lunch the next day. Will be returning for sure. read more

Stopped by for late lunch/early dinner. Our server Stacie was friendly and professional. We both had scallops (fried and broiled) with two sides. Slaw was nice and cold, crunchy fresh. Had hush puppies for first time (AWESOME). Place was clean and river view from our seat was nice. Portions were ample, and seafood was sweet and fresh. read more

Service was okay and waitress was not in a rush. Offered lots of options, but not a big fan of having to pay $1.50 extra to have seafood broiled. In my opinion eating healthy should not be charged for. As for the food....most is fried (not a fan of) & curb appeal is not good. My catfish came on a cafeteria tray. Overall an okay place, but dont highly recommend! read more

Riverview Cafe - My catfish on a cafeteria tray and an extra $1.50 to be broiled! - Seafood Near Me - Sneads Ferry, North Carolina

Nothing fancy here. Just a seafood dive on a nondescript river. But they fry the shellfish to perfection. And if you've never had whole clams, give them a try. Not rubbery like clam strips often are, they have a creamy texture similar to oysters...but taste like clams. Great spot if you just have a need for fried seafood. read more

Best seafood my husband and I found. Large portions cooked to perfect goodness, I had the shrimp and deviled crab. My husband had shrimp and flounder excellent with two sides and homemade desert included. read more

Riverview Cafe - Seafood Near Me - Sneads Ferry, North Carolina

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I found this place on Yelp and decided to give it a try. I'm so glad I did. My husband and I both had the grilled mahi and fantail shrimp. It was amazing! I'm not sure what seasoning they use, but it was perfect! We devoured every last bite, and also really enjoyed the green beans. We split a piece of Key Lime pie for dessert. Definitely not traditional but the meringue was on point. This place is a definite must try if you're in the area. The food is delicious and our server, Rachael, was so helpful and attentive. We will be back! read more

We were told by the handful of beach goers at Topsail Island this was the best seafood in the area. Upon arrival, it was like most beach restaurants, very plain and average environment. No issues with that as some of the best places are exactly like this. It took some time for our waitress to finally get our drink order. Although the place was almost packed, we saw the other wait staff taking good care of their tables. We just happened to get someone who was let's say, a little slow of foot. The menu was typical and had plenty of seafood offerings in addition to steak and other basics. Our waitress eventually go to us to take our drink orders. After the drinks and hush puppies were served by another waitress and all of our questions were sufficiently answered by her, we endured another wait and finally our waitress arrived to take our order. She quoted different (higher) prices for combos than the other waitress had provided so there was some confusion. We finally all placed the orders we wanted and remained patient. When the food did arrive, again it seemed like other tables were receiving much more efficient service, my wife's order was incorrect and they had added a third item, not the two item combo she ordered. In addition, there were no french fries and the servers (again not our waitress but the manager and another waitress) did not even notice. The food was way too salty and very average at best. The scallops we all ordered still had the tags left on them. This is scallops preparation 101, remove the tags! The tab for the four of us was $100, well over priced for both the less than average service and food. Others have given this place good reviews. Maybe we hit a bad night or something but we won't give this place a second chance. read more

This place is one of the best places to eat scallops in that area and the Top Sail Island area combined. The tea is even great. Not a fan of the hushpuppies but not bad. The fish is EXCELLENT and so is the shrimp. Get the baked potato over the fries. The customer service is AWESOME and the prices are not outrageous unlike some of the crappy restaurants on Top Sail Island that are over priced and greasy. read more

If you want to experience traditional southern seafood at its best, the Riverview Cafe is for you. Beautiful daily lunch specials served with homemade vegetable side orders are available at unmatched prices! Seafood, made to order is available all day long. Local shrimp, clams, scallops and fish can be ordered fried or broiled and are the best around! The excellent wait staff is attentive and the owner is generally on site to answer any questions! I highly recommend this " don't miss" treat. If you dine here once, I guarantee you will return! read more

Vacationing in North Topsail Beach and was looking for some fresh seafood. Saw the reviews on Yelp and decided to give it a try. The food was yummy! Hush puppies were great. My favorite part of the meal was the fried mushrooms and homemade ranch dressing. Delicious! The mushrooms were made from scratch and not the typical frozen ones. The best part of the experience was our server, Juliana. She was super friendly and very knowledgeable about the menu. She made us feel right at home. The decide is nothing fancy but if you want s tasty fresh seafood meal then this is the place to go read more

The best local seafood restaurant on the Crystal Coast. From hush puppies to grilled mahi, backfin crab to the amazing homemade pies. Our favorite. Moderately prices for fresh seafood! read more

Riverview Cafe - Seafood Near Me - Sneads Ferry, North Carolina

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Very good seafood selections and an interesting drive to add to the fun of finding this gem of a restaurant. Fresh shrimp and flounder - fried, broiled, blackened...delicious any way you choose. Great place that is clean and tidy with a nice peaceful water view. read more

Wow... Way to go, Riverview! ....after recovering from the hurricane, the food is better than ever... is definitely recommend the scallops... mahi was amazing too read more

So not impressed. I'm not a fan of seafood but my 4 dining companions were so I only have their opinions which was unimpressed. I ordered a salad, hamburger steak and fries. The fries were the best part of the meal. Hamburger steak was tough and flavorless and covered with weird gravy. The salad was uninspired and basic. My husband ate 1/2 of what he ordered. read more

Great local cafe Got take out seafood mostly fried platters All the sides and entrees were excellent The 4 slices of meringue pie were over the top Even taking home the fried food choices didn't deter from the quality and taste. The service interaction was good though limited. You would be missing an excellent dining experience skipping this one in the topsail area. They also have some picnic tables down by the river for takeout folks. Just to add we ordered 5 dinner plates 4 were fried All were in styrofoam clamshells none I repeat none had grease puddles in the bottom lightly battered and fried great meals. And don't forget dessert read more

Even though this place was 45 minutes out of the way we made the journey out to BFE and it was absolutely worth the trek! Julianna was our server and was smiling, friendly and helpful the whole time. We split a seafood platter and got a small pot of steamed oysters and everything was scrumptious. The seafood is the freshest of anywhere you can go and while it may not be good for your waistline it's most definitely good for the soul! While the decor is far from glamorous you can enjoy your fresh fish with a unobstructed view of the water. We had a great time and can't wait to come back next time we're in Topsail. read more

Riverview Cafe - Seafood platter, hush puppies and a small pot of steamed oysters! Delicious! - Seafood Near Me - Sneads Ferry, North Carolina

Good food for a good price. Quite. Low lighting. A variety of drinks. Great for a date night. They have chicken, beef and a lot of seafood. read more

Riverview Cafe - Dinner - Seafood Near Me - Sneads Ferry, North Carolina

It was wonderful. Food was great as usual. Got the broiled flounder , okra and squash loved it yummy. The service was out of this world. The manager Sean was went out of his was to help out party of nine. We visit every year. read more

Every summer my family comes to North Topsail for a week, we went to the Riverview a few years ago and for some reason we didn't come back until this summer. We were definitely missing out! You're doing Topsail wrong if you don't make it out to this place. From the outside you wouldn't guess that the food is so good. The Riverview Cafe is down a back road and can be hard to find. There is usually a wait and they do not take reservations. However, there are plenty of stray cats outside to keep you entertained while you wait! The worst part is the wait, but once you get past that there are fresh hush puppies waiting for you. They are absolutely delicious and keep you satisfied while waiting for your server. The service can be rather slow, especially on busy nights. Most recently I ordered the fried catfish dinner. The fish was perfectly fried and was light and flavorful. I also have tried the deviled crab and the soft shell crab sandwich both were delicious. Everything tastes so fresh! However, almost everything is fried and costs extra to have it broiled instead. So health conscious diners look out for the up charge. The dinners come with fries and cole slaw, which is also quite good! We ordered a side of fried okra... Meh. Wouldn't order again. I would definitely stick to the seafood at this place. Overall, the Riverview Cafe is a hidden treasure in Sneads Ferry, once you get past the cats and the wait you're in for quite a treat! read more