Riverfront Seafood Co — Restaurant in Kingsport

The owner came out and SCREAMED at me in front of customers all bc I didn't care for the salad they tried to charge me $22 for. It was not good. He said I talked to his servers some type of way. When his servers were, in fact arguing with me. For the record I did not ask to speak to a manager. I was asked by the server if I wanted a box, because clearly I didn't eat my salad. I said, no thank you I just didn't enjoy it. From there it just went all downhill fast, over a stupid salad. I wanted to get out of there, because they were escalating this fast with several people coming out to the table in an extremely aggressive manner. I asked them to just bring me the bill for my son's food and our drinks, as I was not paying for that salad and stated such. It is clear that they are abusive towards their customers, if their customers don't think they're the best. This is unfortunate, because my husband and I had eaten there several times before, with no problems.

I am appalled (to say the least) at how I was treated today. He literally screamed at me with his shaking hands. He threw my card and receipt at me. Go ahead and read all the one star reviews. If someone has anything to say that isn't what they want to hear, they are bullies. I cannot believe he's allowed to treat people with such hostility. Then to turn it around and say it was on us? Really? I guess he didn't expect a woman to stand up to his attack! Lol 👏🏻 Yeah I'm mad, this was an unfortunate experience to have while my son and I were out enjoying a day together and treating ourselves. In my opinion, the owner of this restaurant needs assistance. Many other reviews mentioned his behavior. He was shaking while he was screaming at me all while insulting me telling me that my husband is probably ashamed of me and sorry he married me. This was after I tried to let him know how often my husband and I have eaten there. Just Awful. While talking to my husband about this on the way home, my wonderful husband said how proud of me he was for not allowing someone like that to mistreat me and think it's okay. This man called me names even, which I can't remember because I was just beside myself and in shock as to what was happening, over a salad. He kept yelling at me to, get out get out, and that's all I was literally trying to do. I probably should have called the police, and mentioned doing so because I felt unsafe.

It was just me and my son, and he charged me the 18% gratuity. On the menu it says for parties of eight or more. I will file a complaint with a Better Business Bureau for that.

If you're a regular and love them, you're probably fine. If you have any other kind of feedback, and I was not rude either, I'd beware. If a man screams at a woman like this in front of a restaurant full of people, can you even imagine what he's like behind closed doors?

*After reading his response, I expected no less. My teenage son can attest to the fact that nor was I disrespectful or rude. However, my attitude certainly did change after I was attacked, verbally attacked by somebody who is supposed to be running a business. His server was argumentative and had an attitude the entire time she waited on us. The second man that came out had an attitude and got extremely defensive about the restaurant. There is no doubt this man has an explosive personality and has no business working in the customer service industry. I'd like to talk to the guests that he's referring to. There were several that were concerned about me. I can tell you that. A person that will never own their own stuff, will never change. It's disgusting that he has not apologized for how he screamed at me. I will give no more energy to this.

Not only will I never come back, but I will tell everyone I can about this experience. I wouldn't eat at your restaurant if it was the last place to eat on earth, and I was starving to death.

Oh, we are richly...

My husband made a reservation a week ago for dinner here (5:30pm) and he specifically requested a table OUTSIDE since the weather was supposed to be in the 70's and sunny.

They told him they could only seat us outside if they opened up that back deck area by then.

When we arrived, (20 min early, btw), we asked if the outside deck had been opened yet and they said yes. We reminded them that we requested an OUTSIDE table and they said ok, no problem.

We waited 15 minutes, which was fine, since we were early, and expected to be seated OUTSIDE. Instead, they seated us INSIDE on the inside of the back deck with the big windows that overlook the river. To add insult to injury, they stuck us at the far end of this deck next to the only CLOSED WINDOW on that back deck and it was roasting hot in that spot. I could feel my anxiety rising and my face was getting flushed after just a couple of minutes. When our waitress came and took our drinks I told her this seat was not satisfactory, that it was too hot. She was very understanding and accommodating and moved us to another table in another server's section. Yes, it was a bit cooler but it was still not OUTSIDE. My husband seemed ok with our new location so I didn't pitch a fuss like I really wanted to so I kept quiet and my temperature and anxiety eventually subsided. At least it was a little cooler as we were across the aisle from an open window that was still overlooking the river and a very slight breeze was coming in.

When we sat down at our new table, it LOOKED clean but it was sticky. An absolute pet peeve of mine, because, as one who has worked in a restaurant before, I know that if the table is sticky after being wiped down, that means it was wiped down with a dirty rag. Can't stand that and a lot of restaurants do that.

I ordered the coconut fried shrimp. It came with a side salad, one side (I chose broccoli), 2 hush puppies, and coleslaw. The salad was fresh and crunchy but it was lettuce with 2 grape tomatoes and one tiny slice of cucumber and a small amount of shredded cheese. At least it was served in a bowl and not in a plate.

The hush puppies were very tasty. The Cole slaw was creamy but bland and was missing the celery seed that would have given it more flavor, and the serving size was chintzy...I would say maybe a quarter cup. The broccoli was served piping hot and cooked perfectly (slightly crunchy) but I had to ask for butter to put on it, it wasn't brought out with the meal. Fortunately, the waiter brought the butter fairly quickly. The shrimp was cooked perfectly and the coconut breading was very tasty, although it kept falling off the shrimp as soon as I took a bite. It was served with an orange sauce which we think was orange preserves heated in the microwave.

Hubby had the blackened redfish and loved it. He also had Cole slaw, hush puppies, and a side salad.

We shared the hot fudge brownie sundae which had a scoop of vanilla ice cream on top and was really to die for.

The waiter was professional and pleasant and did a good job. I was impressed he remembered we both were drinking UNsweet iced tea when it came time for refills. Most servers don't remember this detail. He also noticed I was nearly out of ice in my drink and brought me more ice. He absolutely earned the extra tip we gave him.

So mixed reviews on our dining experience this evening. We have been there a few times before and it's always been a positive experience. Had it not been for the seating debacle, I would have given...

What more can I say great food, great atmosphere and a terrific view of the River from your dining table. Our two appetizers of frog legs and potato cakes were superb. My wife had the riverfront combo and I had the fried grouper special which were both excellent and modestly priced. My wife and I really enjoy good seafood and we have spent at least 20 Winters in Florida sampling their Fair. Riverside Seafood Company beats all of them. We are from Chattanooga Tennessee and the only unfortunate part of this experience was that I had joined their Rewards Club several days prior to arriving at the restaurant but did not receive a response in time for this particular dinner. It was our 59th wedding anniversary and my wife's birthday in a few days and our first visit which we would have qualified for had we signed up earlier. Rachel our waitress who was superb throughout the meal asked management if we would still qualify but we were denied. If you read my entire review and read the response of the owner you will understand why I am changing my rating from 5 to one star. This is a prime example of ultra poor customer relations. He didn't even have the courtesy to explain why he denied our request even though we were signed up on their rewards program. I just noticed that my review is no longer posted on their website. Apparently the owner was too embarrassed to approach the rationale for his actions. I'm now wondering how many more one and two stars have been mysteriously removed from this website. If you carefully read through their reviews you will notice that whenever there's an issue that deserves a low rating the owner typically says basically that he will pass this along to somebody!! He never seems to address the issue. And then says I hope you'll come back and try us again!! What a way to run a business. I just got a response from the owner and once again he totally glossed over the issue and did not answer it. I hope enough people read this review to understand what kind of owner you're dealing with and what you expect to happen if the least little thing goes wrong with his precious restaurant that can do no wrong. I repeat what a way to run a restaurant. He definitely needs to take a course and...