Riverside Steak & Seafood — Restaurant in Swansboro

This is unfortunate. Let me start by saying Krystal, our waitress, is the best waitress on earth. My wife and I enjoyed dinner here once before this experience as we live right down the road. It is one of the most expensive, if not the most expensive restaurant in Swansboro. However, the plating and experience lends itself to a higher end restaurant. I mean, we aren't in NY here so fine dining choices are limited. That being said, when you charge these prices, the food, the experience, the atmosphere, and the treatment of people MUST go along with the price, especially if you are the owner.

This trip was a birthday dinner for my father in-law and my son. There were 6 of us. We ordered 4 of the specials, an appetizer, a baked ziti, 2 glasses of beer, a glass of wine, and other non-alcoholic drinks. The specials don't have prices and they don't offer the prices for them without you asking. This is normal for higher end restaurants and I didn't mind. Everything was good until my mother in-law tasted her grouper. Now, it goes without saying that food and taste are subjective. My mother in-law mentioned that her fish was very bland to us. This is a special dish that was told to her upon sitting down and it happened to be $32.95 which is ok.

Here is what is not ok. The owner came up to the table as we were talking. He asked, "How was everything?". This question lends itself to criticism if there is any. (Keep in mind that my in-laws are incredible, kind people that are careful NOT to offend people) I mentioned that things were good on my side and my mother in-law mentioned that her food was bland and didn't have flavor. My father in-law very politely said he thinks they forgot to season her fish. The owner then immediately, interrupting my father in-law a bit, says, "That's how we do it here. It's just flour with a touch of salt & pepper. We want you to be able to taste the fish." Before he finished the last word he turns and walks off...as to show us that we've offended him.

I can stand a lot of things. But I can't take rudeness or outright disrespect, especially to my family. I have owned my own business my entire life and I've been proud to be more expensive than my competitors as I have better service and higher quality. This is absolutely unacceptable. I have thick skin, but he didn't say it to me. He said it to a senior lady and man that were kind and just wanted the quality and service that they paid for. This is the reason I'm leaving a 1-star review. If you have the gall to walk off, not apologize that it wasn't incredible, and show your back to a couple of great people that are experiencing your restaurant for the first time, then you don't care about what reviews are being written. From reading the other low reviews, it seems that criticism is something that the owner could learn how to handle better. If he would've smiled and said that he was sorry it didn't taste better or done something else with a smile and friendliness, this would've been a lot different and I wouldn't be heated. Hopefully, in the future he will treat people differently. Hopefully.

Edit: Thank you for responding. Though it doesn't remedy this problem, I appreciate your apology and it speaks volumes of whomever is writing this. I'm curious though. You responded and said "we are always happy to remake the dish or make something else entirely" but that's precisely what you didn't do. Why would my Mother-in-law need to mention her dissatisfaction to the waitress after we had spoken to the owner/manager. The purpose of his visit to our table was to check and see how everything was. If he was there to receive honest feedback he would've taken her dish and insisted on getting her something different. Why should his response be any different than Krystal's? I would say he should...

This place is amazing! My husband and I just moved to the area and my parents came with us to help us move. As a celebration of our first night in town we decided to make a reservation here and I'm glad we did.

The restaurant is located in an old renovated historic home, so there is not much seating, but it is two floors with a bar on the second floor. We were seated upstairs as we had a pretty large party, 6 adults. This was a blessing as the view from the second floor was phenomenal. The staff was also lovely, fun and knowledgeable. The bartender who served us was so kind and did a great job making all of our mixed drinks, they were so tasty and not overwhelming or underwhelming when it came to the alcohol. The hostess was also a hoot. She was very pleasant to talk to and very funny.

We then ordered a shrimp cocktail as an appetizers, definitely only made for 1 or 2 people, but it was so delicious (you won't want to share after you try one). The shrimp tasted extremely fresh and the cocktail sauce, while on the spicy side, was absolutely delicious! We then all ordered different cuts of steak and I believe my mother order fish. The food was not very quick, but it was definitely worth the wait. We were first served our salads, with a sweet potato and cinnamon muffin. The salad was fresh and the made in-house dressings were amazing. The muffins tasted like a more dense gingerbread cupcake, but in the best way. Snacking on the muffin while waiting for the steak was great. The outside of the muffin was crunchy, while the inside was warm and soft. I could order a dozen of those. Then when we finally got our steak it looked great. The plating was beautiful and the sear marks on the steaks were well defined. I order the New York Strip, my husband ordered the Ribeye and my father ordered the Filet Mingion. All of our steaks were deliciously seasoned, seared, and cooked perfectly to our preferred "doneness." The fat to steak ratio on each was also great. There was just enough fat to add flavor and still not be overwhelming. They was also so soft, cut like butter, and the flavor melted in our mouth. We were all very pleasantly surprised and raving to eachother about how good our food is. My husband, who is a steak connoisseur/professional steak chef and rarely likes any steak but his own steaks had to admit this is one of two steaks that has ever beat his own. I also had to agree, unfortunately, these beat my husband's steaks, lol. The garlic mashed potatoes were also delicious and were cooked well, not too salty and the garlic wasn't overpowering.

Overall we loved every bit of the meal and it was definitely an experience worth the price. While this won't be a weekly stop for my husband and I, it will the spot we celebrate anniversaries, date nights, and special occasions. We can't...

Food: GREAT! Price: A bit pricey but the quality of food explains that perfectly. In THIS case, you really are getting what you pay for. Atmosphere: Upscale and classy meets down home cooking and hospitality!

I ordered three appetizers. Duck drumettes with mandarin orange Thai chili sauce, Cajun beer battered jumbo shrimp with a buerre blanc sauce, and Maryland style crab cakes with a mustard seed buerre blanc sauce.

The duck was ever so slightly too crispy. However, the flavor of the duck coupled with the flavor of the orange sauce was positively heavenly. The serving size was excellent. I think the app included six good sized duck drumettes. I would order this again.

The shrimp were a great size! They were very tasty and cooked perfectly! It is so unfortunately rare to find a place that cooks shrimp well. (Too long and you're eating rubber.) Personally, I was not a fan of the buerre blanc sauce. I decided to dip my shrimp in the orange chili sauce. Delicious!

The crab cakes were absolutely the best crab cakes I've ever had. I've heard many people say things like that before but in this case, it's completely true (still just my opinion, but I have incredible taste). Unlike many crab cakes I've had in the past, these fell apart when your fork touched them. I know, it's shocking. These crab cakes were made mostly of crab instead of the 50/50 mixture of crab and breading that we've all gotten everywhere else. I will order these again.

For the main dish, I ordered the Grouper Pico. Absolutely phenomenal. The fish, topped with lump crab meat, was plated with a healthy serving of black beans and cheese. The seasonal squash, zuchinni, carrots, and onions were prepared by a sorcerer, I'm certain of it! They too, were cooked to perfection.

The overall impression I'm left with is a pride you just don't see anymore. Every bite communicates the care put into its preparation. The restaurant welcomes you in with a unique home like entrance and wraps you in a level of class that I can only describe as divinely dignified. These are salt of the earth people that care about their establishment and their customers. If I had sixteen thumbs, they would all be up. I will return to this wonderful restaurant and if you're in town, you should add this to your list of...