Riverbend Pub & Grill — Restaurant in Manchester

First time trying this spot(5/1/2024) and although the inside is relatively small there is a decent outside patio with a great view of the Maquoketa River.

The menu is fairly limited, which I prefer rather than having 40+ items to choose from. I ordered the Chicken wonton appetizer, Haddock sandwich, and my mother ordered the tenderloin.

When I received the wontons they were undercooked and a couple of them were still frozen in the middle. The server took them off our bill and had the kitchen remake them. Second time around they were much better! Nice golden brown, and crunchy.(There is more in an order than what I pictured but I already ate a couple of them)

My Haddock sandwich was fantastic. Nicely fried and not dried out. The ciabatta bun was toasted perfectly with a good mix of soft but slightly crunchy edges. The side of sweet potato fries were not cooked long enough, soggy, and didn't have a good crunch to them.

My mother's tenderloin, although looked dark and assumed bad fryer oil, was actually very tasty. The spices they use in the breading mix just cause it look dark brown but don't be fooled! It was still tender, big(10oz), and had a very good flavor.

Really the only bad part of our service was the initial hiccup with the wontons, and they don't have anything on tap for beer...

Food... meh.... was ok. Pricing was a little high for the amount of food presented. Burger was bland. Service... I assume our server was the owner.... he was pleasant enough... but food came out slow... and was rather cold, which makes me think it sat for a bit before coming out... Refills, asked for them, never came... had to go to the bar to get it... while what I assume is the owner standing behind the bar talking to other workers.

The real annoyance.... suggested tip on the bottom of the check

minimum 20%... max 40%

40? really? Are you kidding me? This is a bar and grill, not a 5 star restaurant in Chicago.... That really put me off. You might want to change that.

Not likely...

This is a nice place. The wait staff is excellent for making sure you have a nice time. The food and cleanliness……. I got tots and it comes with cheese and olives and salsa- bland at best. Got cheese curds, which were good as with every bar you go to. The fried pickles- ok. The Mac and cheese (which we get everywhere) was a pass, didn’t even finish it. We passed on burgers since we noticed no one else had any and for the prices today you look at what people are eating first. Needs more attention to cleanliness as you can see in the picture on the salt shaker and broken chair. It’s a super nice place to watch some kids float on the river and have a drink but as for a go to eat...