River House Grill — Restaurant in Portland

I was looking for a relaxing summer meet-up place for some lunch and drinks with some west side friends. It was a great experience! Our Waitperson Shy(sp) was very personable, attentive, and cheery from the start and stayed that way for the 2+hrs we enjoyed our table. She never once made us feel rushed or like the establishment wanted to churn & turn tables. The view on a beautiful sunny day was nice and relaxing while overlooking both the Grand and Looking Glass rivers from their large deck. Food was very good Tavern style grub. I can only give a review of my food (though none of my 3 companions voiced any disappointment). Mine was excellent and well priced. We started with an appetizer of the Cheesy Garlic Bread. I'm from the greater Detroit area and have enjoyed literally 100s of different varieties in my life (my Gold Std was/is Sila Italian Dining that was in downtown Berkley est1959). This was on par with the best I've had in a long time. Plus it was enough to share and still bring some home to enjoy. My entree was the Dirty Larry Grinder with House made chips. I had them hold the BBQ sauce. It was outstanding and hearty. The chips were very good. Next time I'm there I'll be hard pressed to try something else because of how much I enjoyed it. If I had a couple of very minor suggestions, it would be these. One, you NEED Onion rings on the menu as an upgrade. Two is a nice finish to any sandwich style meal, a crisp kosher pickle spear to...

What a great find! I was traveling for work in E Lansing, and have a rule of visiting Small Town USA, mom & pop type of places for dinner when I can. I chose River House Grill this trip since it was a beautiful night, and on the water. While getting off the interstate and heading in to town, I noticed this eerie presence, nothing was open, signs were dark, stop lights not working... I got to River House and a few regulars were still milling around the bar, I was told they were closed due to a power outage throughout the entire city. After some conversation, they said if I had cash, I could still buy a beer (always carry cash!). The regulars moved on, and I was finishing my drink when the power comes back on! The owner Mike had already sent most of his staff home, as the estimated power restoration was well beyond their normal operating hours, but he said he would turn the fryers back on, and start the pizza oven since I was there. I told him he didn't have to and I would head back to East Lansing, but he insisted, at this point I was the only one in the place! Ordered a pizza, and boy was it delish! By the time my pizza had arrived, a few others had managed to come in and fill up the place! Thanks to Mike, Jen (bartender) and the staff who stayed! I can't wait to come back and try the rest of the menu, and see the renovations next time I'm in the...

My wife and I ate here yesterday for our first time. Our server was top notch. Personable, friendly and very knowledgeable of the menu. Her recommendations were on point. There were however a couple problems with our visit, but the level of customer service went so far beyond, we still left very happy. First, the food took a while. We sat for ten minutes after we finished our appetizer. When the food came out, my wife cut into her wet burrito and there was meat in it, which she made clear to the server that she did not want. The server was apologetic and gracious when we asked to just have it taken off the bill. She went into the restaurant (we were on the porch) to talk with her manager about what to do. When she came back out she asked if I would take it home and eat it so it didn't get thrown out, which I said of course. Where the customer service went above and beyond, was the manager came out to explain the mix-up which she said was actually her fault and then offered to have the kitchen make my wife the burrito without meat, and said they would box it up for us to take home free of charge, so we took home two free wet burritos. Needless to say, we left shocked and impressed at the lengths they went to to make sure our first visit would not be our last, and it...