Avo's Ria Mar — Restaurant in South River

What a find! We thoroughly enjoyed our dinner at Ria Mar,such that a couple of days after our meal there, my wife is planning for a return visit. We found Ria Mar provided us with a wonderful dining experience on all counts. I feel I should explain that we had just completed a long and emotionally charged weekend in Boston, and we arrived back in New Jersey wanting to just kick back. Neither my wife nor I were in a particularly exuberant frame of mind. I had heard a bit about Ria Mar, and, despite the fact that it would add some distance to our trip, I thought it would allow us to hit the reset button of our lives. Ria Mar came through spectacularly. Although Ria Mar was quite busy when we arrived on a Sunday evening, we were promptly seated. The table linens and settings were set out with care. The wait staff is mostly young men, and they provide exceptional service, a level of service you would not expect from men of their age. Our server was thorough in answering our questions, and made a few suggestions that were appreciated. Dinner started with fresh bread, and we could have easily filled up on bread and been quite content. A salad with fresh ingredients followed. We chose the cold polvo salad as an appetizer, and it was outstanding. We followed with a paella that was excellent, replete with generous portions of seafood. Normally we don't order dessert, but we chose to further indulge in the extravaganza of tastes Ria Mar had thus far provided. The food was wonderful. Ria Mar has beautiful decor that is at once calming and sensuous, and contributed to the enjoyment of our meal. Although the dining room was full, sound levels were very good, and we found it easy to converse despite the many people present. Parking, always an issue in the area, is very good and very convenient. Prices are more than fair, given the quality of the ingredients and the care of presentation. Portions are quite generous, and we noted that many people took bags of leftovers home. Ria Mar is a real treat in every way: the food, the atmosphere, the staff combine to provide a memorable dining experience. We will certainly return...

Had my husband retirement dinner here last night (Saturday) Very disappointed. Our reservation was at 4:30. We arrived at 4:15 and our entire party of 22 was there by 4:30. When we sat down the bread and salad was already on the table. The salad was brown from sitting so long. The bread was delicious as always. The waiter came in for us to order and about a half hour later they brought us fresh salads. Food started arriving about a half hour after we ordered. The waiter had no idea who ordered what and just started calling out the entrees. One entree they kept bringing out over and over was veal ria mar, after about 10 minutes later after everyone but one person received there meals the waiter came about again with the veal Ria-Mar. We finally told him no one ordered that, but one person did not get his meal. We told the waiter he ordered pilea, not veal. Meanwhile one of our guests sent back her food because she found a hair in it. The waiter offered to get her another plate, but she declined and asked for the meal to be taken off the check. By this time everyone was eating and still no sign of the pilia that our guest was waiting for. I decided to go find a manager. Which was not very helpful in the matter. I told him what happened and his reply was. The woman was offered another plate, but she refused and the individual did get his meal. Which I replied. No he did not. After we ordered dessert and don't get me started on there Chai tea. Which they brought us a lipton tea bag and was told that this is what Portuguese refere to has Chai tea. After everyone finished there dessert our guest finally got his pilia, he told the waiter to just wrap it up, since everyone was done with their meals. He didn't want to eat by himself. Ria-Mar did comp the meal and gave the table a pitcher of $13.00 sangria. Ria-Mar even messed up on the bill. I understand things happen. But not once did a manager come over and apologize. We use to love Ria-Mar, but since the new remodel. Service is not what it used to be. We dropped over 2k. Didn't even get a Thank you. ...

Furious after this restaurant owner ruined my two young daughter’s and wife’s, who is a South River teacher, Valentine’s Day.

Arrived at 8:10 for an 8:30 reservation. Have to wait until the designated time, completely fine. 8:30 comes and there are not any tables for 4 available yet, also ok and understandable on one of the busiest days for a restaurant. 8:40 comes and still nada, however 5 or 6 tables for 2 that arrived after us are seated. Fine, there may not have been 2 close enough to pull together at that point. 8:55 comes around, 5-6 more tables for 2 seated, my daughters are having hunger pains and I call it quits so I can get some food in their stomachs. No offer to do anything by the owner or even to bring out a piece of bread for the girls.

As we are walking out my eldest daughter starts to cry, get them to the car. Papa bear mode engaged. Confronted the owner loudly in the hallway without cursing or demeaning, voicing my displeasure. Response, “Do you feel better now?” Do you feel better that you ruined two little girls and a former teacher to roughly half of your staff’s nights? At some point, with it getting late, a normal restaurant would look to attempt to push two tables together to accommodate a reservation that was made 10 days out. Do not give me that nonsense that you are booked until 10 with the current setup. If you cannot honor reservations on a day like this, you need to change your approach and do timed seating windows; cannot fool someone that used to work in the industry.

Instead you want to prioritize profits over the experience of two little girls and a respected member of the community that your restaurant is in.

No thanks, I will drive the extra 15 minutes to The Armory or Fernandes from now on to get better service, food, experience and encourage others to...