River Roast — Restaurant in Chicago

A nice place for a weekend brunch. The ambiance overlooking the Chicago River in the heart of downtown is amazing if you can get a seat with a view.

Though to be fair, you better make a reservation if you plan to get a table. We showed up early for brunch to try to get a table - and even early, we were only able to get a table at the bar because while they had plenty of tables, they were reserved and that went unseated for about an hour to hold them open for the lunch rush rather than the brunch seating.

Food was delicious. Chicken and waffles was flavourful and savoury. The waffles were light and airy and was my favourite part of the dish. My only ding on this dish would be the use of boneless chicken breast. I would prefer a couple of wings or a boned-in breast. But I get being in the Midwest, often folks are more skiddish about eating meat off the bone compared to other parts of the country.

The pork belly eggs benedict was an interesting twist to the classic benedict. We enjoyed the flavour and tenderness of the pork belly. And the hollandaise was a delightful in-house freshly made sauce with a slight almost mustard note that made it unique (unlike some places that use packet hollandaise). We wished they put more hollandaise over the dish. The roasted potatoes were amazing that the dish was served with!

We also treated us to their thick cut bacon that was outstanding! Smokey and caramelised. Crispy and yet also tender. It was perfectly cooked bacon.

London Fog cocktail was delightful and citriusy - full of vibrance in flavour. Wasn't very London foggy inspired (the tea drink), but as a stand alone drink that maybe could have been called by a different drink name - like a London Spring! 😉

Service was okay. We get that bar seating is a tough service because of multiple needs the bartender has to address. We wish they were more attentive to check on us and our needs sinde we often asked for refill of coffee and waters. Also, the day we went l, many of the components of many of their cocktails were out or not yet ready.

Also, while not necessarily a ding, it should be noted that food service takes time. I appreciate a slower food service. Especially since you are dining at a sit-down nicer brunch service restaurant. This place was in no rush to get us in and out. And I appreciate that. Also, because many of their food elements involve roasted items and/or long prep (e.g. hollandaise sauce, roasted potatoes, roasted pork belly) - be prepared to enjoy some cocktails before the main course dishes show up. 😊

The ambience is warm and cozy. Dark stained wood and warm yellow lights makes the place feel like you are in an almost cabin/or ski lodge-esque dining hall overlooking the river. Especially at Christmas time when they have the faux-fire and sofa area adorned with some Christmas decor!

We plan to come back for dinner service. And next time we plan to try to get a table looking out...

I found this restaurant by accident today after hiking along the chicago Riverwalk. I'm sort of conflicted writing this review because I absolutely loved the view from my window seat and my charcuterie board was beyond delicious but my waitress was cold.

My server and I didn't seem to mesh well this afternoon. When I entered the restaurant I was greeted by an extremely friendly hostess and she encouraged me to head downstairs to be seated.

When I entered everything was extremely formal and no one acknowledged me so I wasn't sure if I should seat myself.

A young lady didn't seem to understand what I was doing there and she asked me if I wanted a seat by the bar. I explained I actually wanted to relax and dine in so she let me pick a booth and I asked for a paper menu to make it easier. She gave me a small plastic plaque instead and encouraged me to scan the menu from my smartphone.

I'm not a fan of downloading these codes but there were no other options. I asked if I could combine the meats with cheese 🧀 for my charcuterie board and she said yes. I chose chicken liver pate, humboldt fog and a triple cream cheese. She insisted they were out of chicken liver pate and suggested I pick the prosciutto. I told her I definitely would prefer the liver pate but if they ran out of it they could substitute it for prosciutto.

She presented me with this absolutely exquisite charcuterie board and said they definitely had chicken liver. I saw the mistake immediately when I saw only one cheese selection and prosciutto with the liver side by side. She suggested she could have the chef remake a brand new board for me and I hate seeing good food going to waste so I simply suggested she add the triple cream cheese instead of returning everything to the kitchen.

She brought out a generous portion of the triple cream cheese and extra toasted sourdough bread 🍞 that I asked for.

After a certain point I simply couldn't eat anymore so she brought out the check and a box for my leftovers. She disappeared and never returned to pick up my credit card so I finally got up and brought everything to the cashier up front.

My bill was a bit higher because I ended up paying extra for the cheese I originally asked for. The original cost of a 3 selection charcuterie is only $18 but because I wanted the extra cheese I had originally ordered I was charged a bit extra.

I definitely love the decor here and the food I ordered was incredibly good. My server was cordial but chilly and I could tell she's probably used to more sophisticated clientele. I'm a very warm person so I felt awkward communicating with her throughout my dining experience and I felt a bit "off" after leaving. I came here with positive vibes and left feeling unimportant.

I took note that the other servers were a bit friendlier to their customers but for some reason my server obviously didn't like me that much 😆 She's probably not comfortable...

New review: Very sad to write such a negative review. We chose to cancel a reservation for Mother’s Day at another well known restaurant and instead dine at River Roast for my Mothers day brunch. Our experience last year was wonderful hence my request to spend my special day here. Sadly, the whole experience was rushed, we felt ignored and it was all around a complete waste of money ($350+) for two adults and a child for brunch! We dined here last year and the food and service was exceptional. They had multiple stations - a welcome cocktail bar, a carving station, a beautiful buffet and offerings that were actually WARM!!! This year was a complete let down. Our server was horrible, we felt ignored entirely. I waited about 15minutes for a coffee and was nearly done with my “so called” meal by the time I received any salt or pepper which was greatly needed. The buffet did have some offerings but everything was cold. Cold chicken, eggs, cold fish. Have you ever tried cold, cooked fish???? I felt like I was at a 3 star hotel breakfast buffet.

I am writing a review because the restaurant failed to reply to me despite us being asked to fill out a survey at check out. The survey literally had asked if you would like to be contacted by the restaurant regarding your comments. I checked yes and despite it being weeks later, I haven’t received a reply. Details matter and sadly River Roast is not into details. Details and service did not matter on Mothers Day nor did the attention to reply to a customer survey. I hope management starts to pay attention to details because the setting and offerings have great potential at this restaurant. I would like to see them succeed.

We dined here for our anniversary this week & it was perfect. Previous to this we celebrated Mother’s Day and loved their brunch so knew we wanted to come back. River Roast has one of the best patios on the river with stunning views. Service was exceptional, I feel they really went the extra mile to ensure we had a fabulous evening. We started with the chop salad - well balanced flavors and abundant with veggies. We split the roast beef and half chicken. The roast beef was cooked really well with a nice sear on the outside. The chicken had glistening skin and was very flavorful and moist. They offered us a dessert and we chose carrot cake. It was huge and so delicious! The frosting was not sweet and paired well with the cake which was also light in sweetness. They just do it right, we’ll be back...