The River Room — Restaurant in Smithfield Township

I had no idea what to expect when I arrived at the River Room and I was tremendously disappointed. I trusted that the quality would be fitting of a nice golf resort. I wish I had checked the reviews before my family dined here

From start to finish, the quality of the food and drinks suffered….painfully. I ordered a mint/coconut mojito made with vodka and ginger ale. The first cocktail our waitress brought out to me had gummy, brown pieces of rotten mint floating in it 😵‍💫, and also had a spot of what looked like fruit from a previously made drink stuck to the inside of the glass. I sent it back and requested that it be remade, which it was. The second drink was better but underwhelming. Kind of flat and certainly nothing special.

The texture of the complimentary table bread was dry and had very obviously been frozen for a while, thawed, and then reheated. It was free, so you get what you pay for.

I also received a salad fork with a bent prong in my napkin/place setting, but no dining fork. I bent the prong back into place and it worked just fine. The rest of the table had dining forks.

For appetizers, we ordered Boom Boom Shrimp for the table, and I ordered a side Caesar salad. It’s very telling whenever a restaurant serves a Caesar salad with very small, pale, and yellowish pieces of romaine. It did not taste fresh. And surprise surprise, I found a small black hair in it halfway through!! 🤮 It was not worth it to send back so I didn’t even mention anything. (Image attached)

To the River Room’s credit, the Boom Boom Shrimp were very good, and unlike most restaurants which choose to keep the shrimp tails on, River Room removed them prior to serving. They were nicely fried, decent portion (about 6), did not taste fishy, and served on a bed of mixed greens. Boom boom sauce tasted good!

For my entree I decided to stay on the side of caution and order a nice fried chicken sandwich with the works and boom boom sauce on the side. I upgraded my fries to the truffle fries as well. Pretty safe option.

The fry on my chicken was not even a fry. It was a coating of flour and flat. Not crispy, no detectable seasoning, and the chicken was very dry. (Image attached) I ate about half and left the rest. When Chick-Fil-A outdoes a resort restaurant in terms of chicken sandwich quality, there is an alarming problem. Our waitress asked how my sandwich was, and when I relayed the dryness she responded with “Oh, well that’s what the boom boom sauce is for!” No dear, with all respect, a good fried chicken should be moist and crispy, regardless if it is served with a sauce or not.

About the boom boom sauce, again it was good! But not enough to save the sandwich. However, it DID save the truffle fries, which tasted like regular fries with a few shreds of cheese and garlic salt. No truffle to be detected. Maybe they used a tiny bit of truffle oil?

At that point, I was done and not even interested in dessert, but my family wanted to give it a try. Fair enough. They reported that the carrot cake and cheesecake were good. The cheesecake, in particular, was fluffy.

Service Report: Our waitress was sweet, but at some points appeared a bit lost and not super knowledgeable on the menu. The person who remade my drink was polite and there was also a nice gentleman who helped serve food to the table. It took awhile to receive the check at the end of the night but that’s fine. At the end, the kitchen was most to blame for the issues during our experience.

Ultimately, the quality at River Room at Shawnee is quite fitting of its environment: dated, dry, under seasoned, and therefore probably quite pleasing to archaic men who enjoy golf. The inn feels “old” and not historic like I think it intends to feel, and certain amenities and areas are in desperate need of repair and upgrade. The clientele for this resort is dying off, and I would not recommend this place to a younger...

We were a party of 4 staying at a nearby resort and not the Shawnee Inn. We were seated promptly but had to change tables because our first table was not balanced and rocked. The chairs are faux leather and are comfortable but several have issues with the coverings being cracked and adhesive tape has been applied to cover these issues. Since it was dark outside, the bright lights (no dimmers) in the restaurant reflect off the windows which need a good washing. Draperies hang from rods and are totally askew and not in their proper place giving a very messy appearance. The wine list is very basic and not impressive at all. My husband ordered a $48 filet mignon that was very disappointing. Steak is his favorite and he did not finish his. Not a good sign. It came with a baked potato that was not edible. When I say it was like rubber, I am not exaggerating. He could not mash it up with his fork. He asked for bacon bits but got slices of bacon on top of the potato. He asked for some broccoli not realizing that he would be charged separately, $6 for 5 boiled florets. My dish, Chicken Francaise was very tasty along with the chicken parmigiana my sister ordered. My brother-in-law ordered a Caesar salad with chicken added that looked like it came from a bag you would find at the grocery store in the frozen section. Our waitress was very sweet and accommodating. There were three other wait staff that mainly hung out at the check in desk, engaged in lively conversation. Very unprofessional looking. We asked our waitress if she had mentioned to the chef the issue with the baked potato and she said she did but did not know if they understood because none of them spoke English. There did not seem to be a member of management available. We were hoping for a little bit more of a fine dining experience but, we obviously, should have researched a...

Run down place with old dining chairs that get stuck on the floor that could easily be fixed to glide quietly and effortlessly. Dirty windows . Bathroom toilet seat was destroyed by chemical cleanings that could have been replaced at no great expense. We arrived on time for our reservation but had to wait from our 6:30 rez until after 8pm to get any food. We didn't even order appetizers because it took so long for anyone to take our order, and there were 10 empty tables around us. Service was non-existent. We had to Ask for water, and drink refills. A good waitress makes sure the customer doesn't have to ask. My husband, a superb home chef could tell that my steak had been frozen, and defrosted in a microwave; the telltale hard overcooked corners, and it lacked moisture and was tough to chew. My steak knife was dull and would shred and pull the meat instead of cut through it. Boring menu, stuff you could cook at home. Nothing outstanding here whatsoever, and they brought the bill to us with a 20% gratuity already added to it! Maybe if service was exceptional,...