E'Town River Restaurant — Restaurant in Elizabethtown

Sorry, most reviewers may disagree but I have to review based on my own experience. I arrived midafternoon while vacationing in the area and walked up to the counter. Some people were paying, some were ordering and some were being directed or led to tables. Since there were no signs about seating or ordering I got in line to find out. When I got to the counter I explained I was new and asked what to do. The response was “whatever you want.” I had been looking at a menu while in line so I put in my order for a catfish snack, tater tots and unsweetened tea and told the waitress where I would be sitting (just a couple of tables from the counter). She asked if I wanted to pay right away or later. I decided to pay since I was there at the counter anyway. The bill was just over $10 and I added $3 for a tip. I sat down with my drink and the room I was in was ¾ full. There was other seating outside. Most people were finishing up and leaving one table at a time. 30 min. later there was only one couple left at a table and they just received their orders. I figured mine should be out next. Then more people started coming in and soon the room was almost full again and the waitresses were taking their orders. My waitress finally came to my table to see if I wanted a refill. I said “yes, more unsweetened tea. But mainly I want my food. I’ve been waiting a long time”. She said she would check. She returned with my tea and said my ticket was in line and the cook should get to it in about 15 minutes. After she left I drank some tea and found that it was sweetened. I noticed that UN had been written on my cup with a black marker. It took a while to get her attention again to get it replaced with the correct beverage. The previous couple who had received their food was now done and leaving. I checked the time stamp on my cash register receipt. 60 min had passed when she finally delivered my fish snack. She said the tater tots would be out soon. At the same time other waitresses were delivering meals to people who had come in 30-40 minutes after I put in my order and my waitress started doing the same. The batter on the fish pieces was very good and if it had been a thin batter on a decent size piece of fish it would have tasted good. They looked ok until I bit into them. Unfortunately all the pieces were about 65% or more batter around a small thin piece of fish so I really couldn’t tell if the fish had good flavor or not. After another 15 minutes I had enough. As I walked up to the counter I noticed that several people had orders of tater tots on their tables. I told the waitress I couldn’t wait any longer and to give my tots to the table next to the counter if they ever came out. I don’t know if she even bothered. I could have asked for a refund but after wasting an hour and a half for a few crummy bits of food it wasn’t worth the time to get a couple of dollars back. It’s hard to find one star’s worth of rating for an...

This restaurant is the only one in the area on the water. I was visiting Shawnee National Forest for the weekend and wanted a place on the water - this was the only option, which was surprising. As I approached the restaurant, there was a strong "dead fish" smell, so I was hesitant to sit outside. I risked it, and was happy that I did, as the smell was gone on the upper level of the eating area. There was also a nice view of the barges and other river activity. No one greeted us, so we just assumed it was a seat yourself kind of place. We did so, and finally figured out (after watching others) that we needed to order at the counter. We did so, and told them that we were sitting upstairs. It took an extraordinary long time to get our food. We actually went to check on it twice, and it was between 30 and 45 minutes that we waited! The food was just ok. I got the pond catfish and my boyfriend got the river catfish. After trying both, I'd recommend the river catfish, as it was more tender and there was a larger serving size. It's nice to have a restaurant on the water, but being the only one of its kind in the area, I think they're over crowded. Overall, the environment was decent. The hospitality had something to be desired and the food was ok. I'd recommend checking it out once, but I'm not sure that...

My wife and I were bored so we wanted to go somewhere we had never been. We headed to Elizabethtown and the E'town River Restaurant. About an hour and a 1/2 drive for us. We had never been, so we thought we'd check it out. The place has been there a good while and is a little run down and a little bit dirty. It sits right on the water and is very small and can only hold about 45 people inside but ample seating outside. There was only one server working, but she was outstanding. She did everything from taking our order to cleaning the tables to checking us out. I ordered a catfish nugget dinner, which came with Hush puppies and 3 sides. I ordered onion rings, slaw, and baked beans. My wife ordered catfish nugget snack, which was 5 catfish nuggets and 3 hush puppies. My wife was not crazy about the catfish, but I was OK with the fish. However, the hush puppies were not quite done; they were a little mushy in the middle. The slaw was good, but the baked beans were just basically beans out of a can heated up in a saucepan, I suspect. Although it was a unique experience, we will not make the hour and a 1/2 drive to...