My family lives nearby and we were eager and excited to return to the restaurant upon its reopening. We are realistic people, so we expected hiccups given that it was the first weekend after reopening (believe they opened on Friday, and we went Sunday). Some good/bad from our experience:

GOOD

• The remodel is beautiful. They did a great job with the design and were smart to build the bar out where it’s now located. Very nice atmosphere.
• We ordered a side of Mexican street corn. Good taste, nice serving size.

BAD

• Cost. This place is WAY, WAY overpriced. We have frequented the Ritz, and if Waterway is hoping to satisfy/draw the incoming Ritz clientele, it’s in for a rude awakening. Waterway does not meet those standards. Some reasoning below…
• If you’re spending $40-$60 per entree, you should be receiving very good food. Of the four of us, three said their meals were underwhelming. Only one (salmon entree) felt their meals justified the cost from a taste/serving size perspective.
• We ordered the “Jumbo” lump crab cake. It costs $30 and to have the word “jumbo” attached to it is laughable. This costs 2x what it should given its size, and it also was on the underwhelming side from a taste perspective.
• One of us ordered a burger, which was described as it felt/tasted like it was sitting under a heat lamp for a while. The bun didn’t feel fresh, and the bacon slapped on top tasted as if it was made that afternoon and just reheated.
• No table bread is offered, which is surprising given the pricing structure. Most restaurants in this price range that the four of us have experienced in our lives have offered some form of table bread. (Whether you eat/enjoy it or not is your decision.)
• We ordered a side of sweet potato fries to share. This costs $12 and is listed as shareable. Maybe for one adult and a toddler? Maybe? It’s the exact same size serving that comes with a sandwich for one person. Another ridiculous markup and serving size.
• There is a 20% service charge baked into any/every bill. Our experience is that this is usually standard for larger parties, but here, it’s for every bill. We always tip 20% minimum, so not impactful for us from a cost perspective, but we felt that if you’re going to bake this into every bill, the service at your establishment should be TOP NOTCH, which this is not. This is casual service. Our server in particular needed to ask the kitchen a ton of questions (fair given the recent reopening), they forgot about us and our food/drink orders multiple times, at least a handful of meal options weren’t available, the beer tap(s) is/weren’t working, etc. There’s nothing about this place that justifies baking this service charge in.

Overall, we love the atmosphere, but walked away feeling that ownership believes Waterway is something that it is not, which is a high-end restaurant. This is casual fare with a huge, wild, and unjustified markup. We all shared the feeling that it is a place best served for us to have some evening/weekend drinks in the future and nothing else, simply to enjoy the atmosphere/location.