Riverhouse Waterfront Restaurant — Restaurant in Palmetto

I normally do not take the time to make a review, but in this situation I feel it is very much warranted. I should start by saying we’re locals and have dined here multiple times over the last few years and have never had a bad experience with food, or service. Tonight, however, was such an exception to the norm that I’m here writing about it so the owner(s) and GM of Riverhouse can rectify the personnel issues at hand. First off, tonight seemed very disorganized, the hostess seemed lost/unsure of where to put us. We got to the restaurant at approximately 5:50pm on a Saturday, so right when things get busy, so that’s understandable. We got seated at a great table facing the docks. That’s where the good times quickly ended. Our server took at least 15 minutes to come to your table. We’re 3 adults and 2 kiddos sitting in Florida June heat with no waters, no nothing. Why were we seated if there was not a server readily available? Finally, after a 15 +/- minute wait, our server, Chanel, showed up. You would expect waters to be dropped off, that wasn’t the case. She came empty handed, we got over it. We ordered 1 Margarita, 1 Rum Punch, 1 Corona, and 2 kids drinks. The wait for those was easily another 10 minutes. When she came, she did not have my wife’s margarita. Why? Because it needed two hands…why are we not using a tray? Why are we not maximizing efficiency and trips to the tables? From there, her check-ins were very sporadic and she would more or less take the orders in passing. She never truly stood there to take the order. Waters ran empty, drinks ran dry, plates piled up. Towards the end of the meal she asked “do you need anything else?” We said no, we’re all set. We sat another 20 minutes with no visits from her. Finally, sick of waiting, but waiting another drink, we opted to get up from the table and sit closer to the bar. She finally brought the check to us. Not split, no questions. Within 2 minutes of dropping the check off, she was back…record time! Where was that sense of urgency during the actual meal? Approximately 10 minutes later, the “manager” if you can call her that, Lendi, came to tell us we need to pay our bill if we’re getting drinks from the bar. We explained why we left. She admitted that “service can make or break the evening”, we agreed wholeheartedly, just having had a bad experience. She told us she would talk to the server and “take care of it”. Now, most restaurant managers after being told something like this offer some concessions on the bill, right? Nope, not Lendi. Our bill was $205. We were not asking for a free meal, but really, you can’t comp a drink or two or an app? We opted to ask her, what exactly did you take care of? Here version of “taking care of it” was running our cards and limiting our interaction with the server. I asked her why are we not comping or doing anything additional? She said, “well, was there a problem with the food?” Apparently to her, that is the only reason to comp. She offered gift cards after the fact, which we declined. We said that this was unacceptable, and was offered far too late. She then told us “we don’t need your service”, clearly she meant business, but we got it. We sat there in disbelief that this was the manager. A few moments later, she stormed back to us with an attitude and said she told the outside bartender to not serve us and to leave. I’ll get to the only good part of the evening in a minute…but it is worth noting, earlier in the evening, a table of 4 women seated by us, they also had an issue with something. We saw the manger there, who we later found out was Lendi. I wonder if their issues got resolved, because they also were rather irritated.

Google won’t let me make a second review, and this review was too long to include the good. So, my wife, will make a separate * review for the hero’s of the night! Truthfully, that works out for the best, they don’t deserve to be lumped into a 1...

Unfortunately, we chose the Riverhouse Waterfront restaurant for our Mother's Day celebration today instead of Pier 22, Mar Vista or Riviera Dunes, which were our other choices to dine. We should have gone to any other place but here! We paid $65/person for the Mother's Day buffet brunch which was 10-3. We arrived a 1:00 and seated at 1:15. After we were seated, we could see from our table what look like a dessert table but it was very sparse, we thought it was perhaps petite croissants/pastries. No, it was what was left of the desserts. Next to it was a table with some cheese and a bit of Caesar salad and another salad mix and fruit but also very sparse. After we had a drink and a few pickings from the fruit/salad table we went up to the buffet and it was literally almost empty! Every turine was practically empty! This was only at 2 o'clock. They had seated several other guests after us including a party of 10! There should have been plenty of food??? Or why seat people??? We started with eggs, hash browns, bacon/sausage, French toast and each turine we opened was almost empty. The hash browns were gone and we were told they would not be making anymore. There were 8 slices of French toast that were stuck to the bottom of the turine and obviously had been sitting there for quite some time. And when we got to the prime rib, which is what we went there for the young man, offer us what looked like a piece of bark and when we asked if they would be bringing out another prime rib or other breakfast items that were not in the turines so far he said "oh no, this is all we have. I'm sorry, but there's this end piece here of prime rib and the rest is basically fat, but you can have that if you'd like!" For 3 ladies! Are you kidding??? What about all the guests coming behind us???Well, obviously we declined and as we proceeded down the buffet line it got worse. The Chicken Cutlet Parmesian was dry and had no sauce on it. There were only 2 pieces left. There was no shrimp and grits which was the other food item we specifically went there for. They did replenish the grits but they were not even cooked, they were crunchy! There were fresh fingerling potatoes and Mac 'n cheese at the end of the buffet that was the only good thing we ate which you can get at Publix! The last buffet table had some fresh? oysters which looked like they had been sitting for there for awhile and a plate of warm shrimp cocktail with like no cocktail sauce left in the bowl! This was the worst brunch buffet we have ever gone to! The manager on duty did come to our table after we complained that we were paying $65/plate for basically NOTHING! There was literally no food in most of the turines and we were the first of many guests whose table the manager had to visit. Everyone was was upset. Guests were standing around for food that never came. It was awkward and embarrassing. They were serving a similar menu downstairs so why could they not have provided us ALL prime rib and other dishes from that restaurant? We were offered one slice of cake/pie from the desserts downstairs and were given a small discount from our meal tab which hardly made up for the disappointment of celebrating a very special day at this restaurant. We were all looking forward to eating tons of delicious food which was listed abundantly on their website. We definitely WILL NOT return Kelly! Failure at many levels. The atmosphere by nature on the water was lovely but nothing special beyond that. No unique art or decorations. Same as it has been for atleast 5 years. Our waitress was lovely. But everything else was a huge disappointment. In this economy, you must do better! What a waste of very hard...

We’re locals and have visited Riverhouse several times, despite being disappointed each time. We keep coming back because we love the location, and the staff is always so kind, but the food just doesn’t live up to the price point. Here’s my honest review, start to finish:

The Hostess – 10/10

Super sweet and welcoming. A great first impression!

The Bar – 10/10

Friendly bartender, fantastic drinks, and quick service. No complaints here.

The Bathrooms – 2/10

This is where things take a turn. I understand that keeping restrooms spotless in a busy restaurant is challenging, but this was a Thursday evening—not a peak time. Floors had “water” and toilet paper scattered around, there was thick dust buildup (like it hadn’t been cleaned in months), mold in the caulking around the sinks, and overflowing trash. Not exactly what you’d expect from a higher-end restaurant. It makes you wonder—if this is the state of the bathrooms, what does the kitchen look like? There’s potential here, but for now… yikes.

The Server – 10/10

Our server was fantastic—attentive, friendly, and on top of things. No issues at all.

The Food – 3/10 • Bruschetta Appetizer (5/10): Basic and uninspired. Just plain bread with chopped cherry tomatoes, some balsamic, and a few pieces of lettuce. Edible but underwhelming. • Fish & Chips (7/10): This dish was exactly as expected—nothing more, nothing less. • Petite Filet (3/10): This was the real disappointment. It tasted like a bland, chewy sirloin—not even close to a filet. It had no seasoning, and the mushrooms seemed old and reheated, possibly from a can. For a $40 entrée, this was unacceptable. The only saving grace? The smashed potatoes and steamed carrots were decent—nothing special, but at least they were good. • Kitchen Speed: Every time we’ve dined here, the food takes an unusually long time to come out. The filet arrived lukewarm, not hot and fresh off the grill like you’d expect.

The Atmosphere – 10/10

This is why we keep coming back. The waterfront view is beautiful, the outdoor seating is great, and the heaters in the winter and fans in the summer make for a pleasant experience. This place has SO much potential, which is why I’m writing this review—I truly hope the right people see it and make some necessary improvements. We’ve been coming here off and on for over 20 years, always hoping it gets better, but it just hasn’t.

The Verdict:

If you’re looking for slightly overpriced, mediocre food but with a great view and good drinks, this is your spot. Just expect slow kitchen service, and be glad the bathroom...