River Tavern — Restaurant in Chester

River Tavern is my go to lunch place - I say lunch because I have not had dinner there, but given the lack of quality lunch places that are not just sandwich places (not that there is anything wrong with that!) River Tavern is an Oasis of Culinary Deliciousness. The staff is friendly, knowledgeable about the menue and always had a smile.

Here is just a sampling of a few lunches that where out of this world. Starters warm olives and spicy thai shrimp salad - mango, peanut sause, scallions and mango-chili-lime dressing. These two dishes warmed up a gloomy rainy day. 3-4 different olives (yes I have had olive apps that were bad!) served with warm oil with thinly sliced garlic just perfect. Spicy Shrimp salad was garden fresh, nice kick, a variety of subtle flavors and perfectly cooked shrimp.

Main attraction was one of the best beef burgers i have had - smoked bacon, bel paese (cheese) spicy aioli - i kid you not the first two bite produced "juice pops" only a burger cooked to perfection can do. The second dish was expertly charred octopus with saffron aioli, potatoes, olives, tomato, fennel and parsley. Light, subtle flavors and the aioli tied the dish together.

OK my first dessert at the River Tavern was the Lemon Posset - truth!? the fresh (and I mean homeade fresh) whipped cream so was good I thought it was the dessert! The lemon was unlike anything I have had before - just amazing - and clocks in as top 10 desert in my life.

To keep the next lunch short, just look at the pictures - classic caeser tasted freshly tableside perpared (make sure to mix the salad up) and the asian salad w/green apple, cashews, scallions and miso-ginger dressing, both fanastic. The mains were a homemade pasta special with crisp but soft garlic, pancetta, mushrooms and parmesan in a white sauce. The last was just an expert explosive combination of flavors in the Chinese fried rice, shrimp, pork, egg, vegs, chili, cashews, ginger and sesame, filling (takehome) and perfect. Desert was the Blueberry Buckle with homade Whipped Cream. Here is a desert NOT overloaded with surgar! It is moist dense and naturally subtle blurberry flavors. Mixed drinks were on point...

Since I posted a review criticizing RIVER TAVERN in 2017, when it had hit its' nadir, I thought I should revisit the place and my review, as there was a time when I loved the place.

Jonathan is back in the kitchen and the food is usually terrific. I have been going for an occasional lunch, ( I do wish there was more variety in the lunch menu), and less frequent dinners which are usually very good. The staff has upped its' game, paying better attention to clients, and making better cocktails. They have a bit of SERIOUS competition across the street with GRANO ARSO's fabulous menu and creative food, but competition may be exactly what RIVER TAVERN needs.

They are open on Mondays for lunch and dinner, with no competition, and I appreciate that.

Keep up the good work. Nice to have you back, Jonathan.

River Tavern used to be my go to place in my lovely Chester town. I have enjoyed meals there since its' opening. but...since the owner opened his new restaurant, Wright's, the service and food are...unremarkable. Even the Caesar salad, an uncomplicated dish they had mastered is now banal. The original staff is gone, wait staff changes every other week, and is composed of young girls who stand looking stunned most days, unsmiling, wiping tables. The bar tenders ask the wait staff how to make drinks. It is very sad to see the demise of this once lovely establishment. I wish Jonathan would show up once in while to play "host", and occasionally comp a regular? I am a New Yorker with a home in Chester, and have favorite restaurants which I loyally patronize. In the 15 years or so I have frequented River Tavern at least once a week, I was never comped one drink, appetizer, etc. It builds loyalty. Every NYC restaurant knows this, and Jonathan comes form a NYC...

I don’t like giving bad reviews on the internet. But this place was so horrible that I had to complain somewhere. Sorry that I didn’t take pictures. First off, the tables were crowded next to each other with barely any room between them. Once we got sat down, my mom noticed the table cloth had guacamole on it, which she is allergic to. Then, I saw on the table a pepper shaker and a tiny bowl with a little bit of salt in it. Sorry restaurant, could you not afford a second shaker for my salt? Also, there wasn’t even a spoon in the bowl, so I have to reach into the salt where other people have put their hands in it. Very unhygienic. Then, I tried to order the French toast, but they didn’t have it, so instead I got pancakes with a side of bacon. I asked for the bacon to be soft and not crispy. Remember that. Also, my mom got a salad. And they were both $16. 16 dollars for a salad? That’s crazy. When we finally got our food, I was shocked. First off, my soft bacon I ordered turned out to be the crispiest bacon I’ve ever seen. The next thing I noticed was that the strawberries that I thought were going to be on top of the pancakes were cooked inside of the pancakes. Let me tell you, I’ve never had a bad pancake ever in my life. Until today. It tasted absolutely awful. Why not put the strawberries on top? Why? And my mom’s salad wasn’t any better. Her salad was apparently way too salty, it had a giant pepper in it, and the miso dressing wasn’t good at all. How do you mess up a salad? It’s literally just vegetables! At the end of the day, the server wasn’t nice, the food was awful and expensive, and the ambience...