On the River Tavern & Mo’s Cigar Bar — Restaurant in Saint Joseph

I found great treasure on the St. Joseph River in St. Joseph, Michigan…Tavern On The River. When you walk in, you get feeling you are walking into a joint in the Florida Keys. It’s freshly painted and cleaned up, and it’s ready to please locals and tourists alike. You’ll find plenty of tables right on the river’s edge. It’s a fantastic spot! As the 2-man band set up on the dockside stage near the new outdoor bar, we grabbed a couple of brews and started in on the Snack Basket appetizer (Picture a charcuterie basket, instead of charcuterie board.) It had a variety of rarities not found in Southwest Michigan, such as deep fried Shishito peppers, which were not breaded and carried a touch of spicy kick. The house-made garlic Cornichon pickles were also excellent and something I had not had before. The basket had several delightful cheeses, including a fantastic feta that crumbled like feta, yet had a velvety smoothness to it. It’s mild saltiness and creaminess cooled my tongue from the zip of the Shishitos. Reading the menu to order the Greek Salad, I learned that the delicious Feta cheese is from Kourellas, one the premier dairy companies in Greece widely known for top quality organic ingredients for the Mediterranean diet. I was impressed with the Greek Vinaigrette, which didn’t have a dominant vinegar bite that I often find in vinaigrettes. We added grilled chicken to the salad for only $4 more, but you can also add crispy chicken, shaved ribeye or choose shrimp to stick with Mediterranean cuisine. For its pizza, Tavern on the River makes a fermented dough that takes 36 hours to ready (according to the owner, Jordan), and it is cooked to perfection. The bottom and edges were crispy, but the center was soft with a little chew. The longer fermentation process enriches both the structure and taste of the dough. “Do you like spicy?” Check out the chicken sandwich called Nashville Hot. This sandwich isn’t for people who say `I like it a little spicy.’” If you can’t handle the heat, don’t order the Nashville Hot from the Tavern on the River kitchen! It was BLAZZIN’ HOT and I LOVED IT!! It is hands-down my new favorite sandwich in St. Joseph. The chicken was so juicy from the buttermilk brine and had an excellent fried crisp. Sweet Hottie pickles, crunchy slaw, lettuce, tomato, and Louisiana mayonnaise awaited their crown…Nashville Hot sauce made with roasted red Fresno peppers. Jesus himself would order this over the Chick-Fil-A Spicy Chicken Sandwich. Lol Bring the whole gang, it is very family...

I do not recommend going to the tavern anymore. It's a shame we were all very excited to see them reopen after being closed for a year only to be disappointed. We were excited to return to a place that we used to really enjoy going to only to be greeted with rudeness and unsatisfactory service. We were told upon entering the restaurant that only had one table of people in it that the rest were reserved for parties later on and that we have to wait for over an hour if we wanted a table. This was told to us by The two Hosts at the door. We decided to see that the bar and the first drinks for the first few of us came out fine. However when two more joined the party the bartender looked over and discussed and said I can't do this and told another staff member to take care of us. They promptly walked over only to tell us it was going to be a while. They appeared to have 4 to 5 servers to host an inept bartender and somebody who appeared to be either a manager or from the kitchen that kept coming to the bar and running back to the kitchen. Yet a simple drink order was too much for them and we promptly decided that was in our best interest to leave. It's shameful that coming into our tour season that could revitalize our town that others may go and that be their first experience here. There are many fine restaurants in town and within walking distance where you can have more selection better service and certainly be treated better. They should have stayed closed at this rate. It would have been better for the community. I do feel sorry for the few staff members that did try but appeared to have no guidance. I can say you've lost mine and four other families business because of our experience the other night. We were then informed that the next day on a Friday that you were closed with no explanation. Doesn't seem like a good idea in a tourist community on one of the busy nights. If you're reading this and looking for a place to eat please please take a nice walk up the street or stroll into town where you will...

I went to On The River Tavern with a group of friends on a Saturday night, one of which is Italian. We took turns buying rounds and the bartender never asked for I.D. from any of us because we were all clearly over the age of 21. However, when it was my Italian friend's turn to buy a round the bartender decided to ask for his I.D. To me it seemed clear that he only asked for I.D. because he recognized that my friend had a foreign accent. (Note that he had previously knowingly served my friend but didn't ask for I.D. until he heard my friend speak). While I found this rude I wasn't terribly surprised because the bar staff tends to be quite rude in general. However, when my friend presented his Italian I.D. (which is a completely valid photo I.D. that clearly displays his identity and date of birth) the bartender refused to serve him stating that a valid Michigan I.D. was required. When I challenged that I thought this was not correct and explained that my friend had been served in a number of other establishments in St. Joesph using the same I.D. this bartender just walked away and refused to serve me or my friend the rest of the night. After looking up Michigan liquor laws it's clear that this was wrong and that he could have accepted any I.D. that clearly states identity and age as long as he makes a diligent effort to determine the age of the patron (who was clearly over the age of 21 anyway). What this says to me about this particular bartender is that he either does not understand Michigan's liquor laws or he was choosing not to serve my friend because of his nationality. I sincerely hope it's the former and not the latter, but either way my friends and I will not be returning to On The River Tavern. This is mainly because of this most recent experience but also because of the consistent pattern of poor service and rudeness we've seen from the bar staff nearly every time...