Riverview Bistro Restaurant & Banquet Facility — Restaurant in Stratford

The waitress and atmosphere saved this for me. Me and my girlfriend met up here to celebrate a birthday and have our monthly dinner outing. Ample parking and convenient right off i95. I got there half hour earlier than our reservation but the host sat me at our table. A few more ladies straddled in and at some point we asked if we could switch tables bc we had one extra coming at last minute. She moved us seamlessly. It was a little chilly at the new table bc we were close to the door, but no big deal really. Because we had ladies still coming in, we were not ready to order for a while. Our waited was great and patient just getting drinks for those who were present. Finally we were ready. A couple ordered the chicken burger, one order of shrimp and oyster plate with baked potato, I ordered the avocado salad on the specials menu and shrimp cocktail for protien. Those were the pages I saw, others ordered other stuff and a few started with a soup - they had clean chowder and a chicken veggie soup. I think everyone who had soup enjoyed it. My friend, who is very picky, said the chowder was particularly good. The chicken burgers were HUGE. Like half the plate! I was jealous...Because my Avocado salad was lackluster. The fervor said it had corn, black beans and it was dressed. Well this was no more than a garden salad with half an Avocado on top and corn and beans you had to search for bc it was so little. I think this pitiful plate was fourteen bucks! Thank goodness I had the shrimp cocktail. My friend, the picky one, had a baked potato that was cold. She immediately put two pats of butter on it and those pats sat right there doing nothing, mocking her. How can you mess up a potato and a salad...I don't know. That being said, we had dessert that e brought in for the birthday. They brought it plates, etc. We toasted, gabbed, and had a great time! It wasn't too crowded so we weren't rushed out. Our server was excellent and attentive to us. When we asked for the bill she brought it right out, told us take our time. All in all it was a great time had by all, but I'd certainly order something...

My Riverview Bistro experience has left a bad taste in my mouth - pun not intended. I threw a birthday party for my husband last month that cost over $2000.00 Riverview was not my first choice but when my original location fell through I was lucky enough to find a location to accommodate with such short notice. I visited the venue and was pleased with the decor and the view of the water and the manager Chris was initially pleasant and accommodating however as time went on his demeanor became borderline rude. I chose the Cocktail Party Package and the day that I visited I was shown how the room would be set up but on the day of the event the room was set up completely different. The package was supposed to include soft drinks, coffee and tea none of which were made available to my guests they had to request them at the bar. I requested the food be removed after the two hour restock time Chris said they usually bring take home trays so guests take the leftovers but I reiterated that the food be removed however that never happened and the food remained and take home trays were brought out against my wishes. Guests also complained that the restrooms were not stocked. I hired a professional event planner and when she politely requested something as simple as “can we place the cloth napkins on the table” the manager said “No”. When the event planner stated that the hostess wanted her to serve the food she was also told “No”. Mind you this event cost over $2000.00 however Dave the owner did not respond to my phone calls to expressi my concerns until multiple calls were made and only after I stated that I would post a less than satisfactory review. This leaves me to wonder if I were not an African American woman would I have received a more prompt response. I have read reviews that the owner responded to people who came in for a $50.00 lunch or dinner. The wait staff was great but I definitely would not patronize unless they made some...

Don't Support Bad Service- Went here last Friday, for the first time in a few years. My 13 year old and I wanted something different. We opted to sit in the cozy little bar area since it was only 3PM and the place was almost completely empty except for 3-4 people at the bar area. We preferred the comfy couch at the back and knew we would be long gone before any happy-hour costumers arrived.The waitress immediately shot me a cold glance and wouldn't come to our table to give us menus or water. I patiently walked up to her and asked for menus. Once she handed us our menus she told us we would have to move from our seat if a crowd came through. I looked up and couldn't believe she said that since ALL the other tables were empty. NOT ONE SOUL. She couldn't put two of all the other tables together??? Not that it was even likely being so early. AND BOTH the dining section and this area were COMPLETELY EMPTY. No way. We tend to order the best food and one or two dinners to go for my husband and son at home, and I am a VERY generous tipper...her loss. I'm quite positive that in the 20-30 mins of our stay, she would have made a hell of a lot more off my tip than the $1 tip she makes per alcoholic drink to the 3 people she was catering to. But maybe, judging by the look she gave us, she automatically assumed Latinos don't tip, hence the animosity. I wouldn't even bother posting a negative review if not for the fact that my 13 year old left almost in tears from the embarrassment of her callous treatment. That was a first for her and I had to have a conversation I really did not want to have with her since she always sees the best in this world and I'd like to protect her innocence. RIVERVIEW YOU...