River Grille — Restaurant in Plains Township

I booked 12 seats for the holiday hideaway pop-up event and paid $60 over the phone for a 90 minute slot. A few weeks later when I got to the restaurant the hostess tells me I only booked 10 spots, my wife shows her the receipt and we tell her only 11 people are going to show up. Hostess acknowledges this.

We are led to our seats with only 10 chairs but at the moment its fine, not everyone is there yet. The waitress takes our drink order and initially was very nice to us. We also tell her that we would need an additional chair and that we were originally booked for 12 and only 11 will be here and that there is only 10 chairs. She also acknowledged. After about 15 minutes, 9 out of 11 guests had arrived, I again asked if we could get an additional chair for the table. The waitress then became extremely rude and raised her voice to me and told me that we were on limited time and that our guests better get here now so they can get food and drinks (we still have 1 hour and 15 mins of our booked time left). I didn't match her rudeness and continued to be as respectful as possible.

She brought the chair and then went to get our food order with a permanent scowl on her face and in a very rude tone. When it got to me I asked for the "Short rib" (instead of saying short rib aracini) and immediately she jumped down my throat. She continued to be rude to me and the entire table. Throughout the night she was very short with us, rolled her eyes, would walk away from us in the middle of people trying to order drinks, etc. She was like a emotional vampire and began to suck the fun out of our good time.

I wanted to give her the benefit of the doubt that she was having a rough day but I have been thinking about it since last night and it still hasn't settled right. My total bill was 450, not including the original reservation fee we paid (510 adding that). I feel like the food was underwhelming, the service was probably the worst I ever had, and I paid half a grand to get talked down to. The worst part is that the bill had gratuity added to it so I paid a $68 tip for all this b.s.

For all the good things about the holiday hideaway, the drinks were very unique and great tasting. Aesthetics were definitely on point for the drinks and the environment. I would just be aware of the venom lurking below...

I wanted a nice dinner with a view for our anniversary, so we drove over a half hour for dinner. Made a reservation ahead of time to sit out on the deck. We were promptly seated at the table reserved for us and given menus. We watched as all of the other tables around us had orders taken or drinks brought over. We sat for 27 minutes until a waitress finally came over asking if anyone had been over yet. This same waitress had walked by us probably a dozen times and avoided eye contact with us at all costs. The hostess seated a handful of other tables in the time we sat there waiting, never asking or noticing we hadn't been waited on yet. Two other waitresses waited on the tables in the vicinity of ours, and avoided assisting us. Our waitress finally came over and said "there was a mix up inside"..... Inside where there were no customers because everyone wanted to be outside. By the time we even got drinks we had been there nearly 40 minutes....sitting outside in the sun and 80 degree weather. We ordered the Buffalo egg rolls as an appetizer. The chicken inside was very dry besides a disgusting fatty piece I had to discard. The celery was inedible. Our entrees were decent....we had the Nashville chicken and the chicken cheesesteak. I'm just so disappointed with the service. I tried to be understanding considering everyone is short staffed, but to sit for 20 minutes and not one employee even look your way, wow. I had to laugh because when you arrive, there's a sign that says the time limit is 2 hours; well thank goodness because it took more than an hour to even get...

The River Grille is a casual restaurant in Wilkes-Barre that offers pub-style fare and views of the Susquehanna river while dining.

We arrived on a Friday evening around 6:30, with threatening rain clouds on the horizon. We were immediately seated in the covered patio section overlooking the river. After a brief shower, we were treated to a declining sun glistening off the water. In addition to the covered patio, the restaurant also has open patio and indoor seating.

Mike, our server, was a gentleman, and gave us honest insights to the menu selections. For starters, I went with the crab pretzel, a soft pretzel topped with crab meat and cheddar cheese. The pretzel was soft and fresh, and the crab very creamy. It was just enough to whet the appetite.

For our entrees, we had the Caprese Ciabatta, which consisted of sliced turkey, roasted tomato, mozzarella, pesto aioli, a balsamic reduction, spring mix, on a rosemary ciabatta roll. The turkey was fresh, and the medley of fixings were flavorful and mouthwatering.

Also enjoyable was the smoked meatloaf sandwich infused with Gouda cheese, topped with roasted garlic black pepper aioli, lettuce, tomato, on a rosemary focaccia roll. The meatloaf, served cold, had a delicious smoky flavor. I never had smoked meatloaf before, but after this dish, I'll be searching for it at many a sandwich shop.

Overall, the River Grille was relaxing and delightful, a perfect way to begin the weekend. The venue also serves brunch, and if the dinner selections were any indication, I'm sure the choices are just...