Russian River Pub — Restaurant in Guerneville

maybe i'm ill informed as the pub is the only dining i have experienced along the russian river, but the experience here is only mediocre—at least compared to other reviews.

the food itself was all good, but the portions served were not at all deserving of the price. seven "jumbo" shrimps that were actually only average sized and as if previously frozen for $14 was actually preposterous. 16 ounces of clam chowder that was in fact all chowder and not clam for $10 was disappointing. $13 crab cakes "with tartar sauce" did not come with tarter sauce and was no more than 10 ounces was absolutely unreasonable. burgers were ordered and regret was felt when bites revealed grey, distasteful patties. frankly, i would have been more satisfied with frozen food and a microwave, but what can i do when i'm hungry in an isolated part of civilization. they offer draft beer though

the servers were kind, though. it was easy to ask for utensils and condiments. there were proper clean up jobs here and there and constant bustling to keep trash from building up on our table. i also saw an adjacent table get water for their dogs. there is an automatic charge for big parties (we had 6 people)

the ambiance was pretty nice too. if you have kids, there's a huge lawn, a sandbox, and cornholl for entertainment. there is both indoors and outdoors seating, both dressed to give that classic cozy hub vibe and obviously situated near the russian river in a dense thicket of foliage. the parking is just gravel path.

overall? not awful, but overrated and not worth a whole meal or experience. maybe they're the best in the area, but that's not to say you should settle if you want a good food...

I had an incredibly uncomfortable experience here. I camp at the nearby Riverbend resort with my family and friends every year during the summer and don’t usually go to this pub next to it. This year me and my boyfriend decided to go a couple times during our stay. The food was unremarkable, and the service was bare-minimum, which honestly met my expectations for a place like this. Normally I wouldn’t even bother leaving a review—but I felt like saying something about my experience with this one server. She had black hair and tattoos, and she served us the first time we visited. We spent about $40 and left a 20% tip. The second visit, we spent $25 and tipped around 12%. Fair, I thought—especially for service that was just average. However, on our third visit, before we could even sit down, this same server stopped us, confronted us about the previous tips, and proceeded to belittle and harass us over what she clearly thought was insufficient generosity. She scolded us like children. It was awful and embarrassing. She then seated us with an obvious attitude and stormed off. I completely respect that tipping is part of restaurant culture. I always tip, and I usually tip well. But it’s still voluntary. And frankly, for a place that’s barely holding itself together and seems to be staffed entirely by moody teenagers, I don't think our tipping was out of line. Even if it was, cornering and disrespecting customers is absolutely unacceptable. We handed our menus back and walked out. I had no interest in being served by someone so aggressive—and certainly no interest in tipping her...

We came here twice over the course of our stay in nearby Guerneville. We had just driven in from Mendocino up the coast and were looking for a dog friendly easygoing place to eat. The restaurant itself sits on a fairly large property with plenty of parking, indoor/shaded outdoor more intimate seating as well as community style tables and an outdoor bar around the side. Both times we visited around 4pm or so and it was busy but not overflowing. One thing we both really appreciated was the staff here particularly their friendliness and how often they checked in on us. We never felt harassed nor ignored. The food selection is classic pub fare with a few unique offerings like Jalapeño Poppers which we both loved along with Seasoned Waffle Fries! I particularly enjoyed their Pulled Pork Sandwich with Jalapeños. They also offer nicely portioned roasted chicken or beef bites for dogs, which was a real treat. For drinks they offer beer/cider along with a full service bar as well as non-alcoholic options like ice tea and sodas. Try their Mandarin Orange Lemon Drop if still available or their Skinny Mule! Overall our experience here was quite nice on both occasions with one of the staff even remembering our dogs on the second visit. The food/drinks were reasonably priced, the staff were friendly, the restaurant was easily accessible and spacious and they cater quite nicely to dogs with water bowls and food offerings. Not much more we could...