Riverside Barbeque Company — Restaurant in Toledo

This experience was extremely unfortunate. Four of us went to Riverside BBQ as a birthday celebration. Upon entering through the doors closest to the parking lot, we were met by the most incredible smell. There wasn't a hostess, nor staff to direct us. We eventually found our way to the "front", which is off Summit street. The hostess gave us a table number with a QR code. The experience went down from there. Thirty minutes later, the 3rd party point of sale and ordering software, Toast Tab, finally loaded after numerous attempts and took our orders...but it wouldn't take our money. We couldn't pay to complete the order. Ten more minutes went by before we could find a runner (there are no servers) to ask what the problem was. Their response, "Sometimes, it just does that. You can order through the hostess." While someone at our table did say "Your app sucks.", it was immediately recanted with a statement that we knew it was not the runner's app. Before going to the hostess to place the order, I asked if there was a manager or owner they could convey a message to. I told them to let that person know this software would certainly result in getting a bad Google review. The server left the table and we walked to the hostess stand to put in our orders totaling more than $150, not including tip. The first person in our party paid but immediately came back to tell me not to pay and that we had been kicked out. The Chef/Owner came out of the kitchen, grabbed our plastic utensils, and said "GET OUT! We are not serving you." to the one person from our party still seated at the table. The Chef/owner proceeded to say we "threatened his staff's livelihood". Which couldn't have been further from the truth. Chef Paul Matthews never asked what happened. He just told us to "Get out." At the end of the day Toast Tab WILL result in terrible reviews if they can't fix the glitches. I'm sorry he didn't care to hear that feedback.(After 45 minutes, we were not able to order a drink or food.) We gladly left and went to Manhattan's where we learned many folks shared similar stories about glitchy software and leaving Riverside BBQ before they could even order. Chef Paul should consider having a manager on the floor to provide guest oversight. Sometimes, having a bad day is hard to overcome when guests willing to spend money at your establishment are assumed to be personally threatening someone, when that was not the case, and told to "GET OUT!" This was VERY...

We put in our name and waited 45 minute for a table to “become available.” There were open tables, but they don’t seat to capacity for reasons I won’t speculate on. We waited across the alley at Molly’s Irish Pub (awesome spot) and had drinks. Once we got called to come over to Riverside, we went to the hostess stand, the girl was very nice, but handed us a tray with silverware and said sit wherever you like. So, we went for a picnic table near the bar but got beat by people step away from the bar and had to sit at the other side of the restaurant. Then we realized we had to order food and drinks from a QR code on the table (no server, they’ll bring your order when it’s ready). We ordered which came with some stress from google pay’s pop up block. Our order then came (brisket, Mac & cheese, and Ribs) which was very good, but our drink never came ($30+ in beer and cocktails). The person who brought our food asked if everything looked good and we mentioned not getting our drinks. She said those go to the bar separate and will be over shortly. Once we finish our meal (about 30 minutes, 45 since order) without getting our drinks we went to the hostess (because there are no servers) and told her we would like the drinks removed from the bill which needed to be paid in advance. She said she would take care of it, and less than 2 minutes later the bartender showed up with our drinks saying the ticket just came through. We explained to her we just tried to cancel the drinks, and she explained they would just be dumped out anyway. They were never removed from our bill which was again required to be paid in advance due to the QR order system and no personal service. We then took the (paid for, then cancel, but received, and never removed) drinks and went and played pinball which is a...

TL;DR: Best barbeque I’ve had in over a decade. Chef Paul is a meat maestro! A smoking sensation, a barbeque bailiwick! Seriously, though, amazing food, awesome atmosphere, great building/space and the food will blow your mind!

I love BBQ. It’s my favorite food in the world. When I am not smoking meat or eating smoked meat, I am thinking about smoked meat. To say my expectations for barbecue are high would be an understatement. But let me tell you - Chef Paul at Riverside Barbeque is the real deal! I’ve been three times now since they opened and every time, it blows my mind!

My favorite so far is the “Dazed and Confused” which is the most delicious, buttery sweet potato you’ve ever had, covered in Mac n cheese, pulled pork, green onion, BBQ butter, and other stuff I’m forgetting. I also highly, HIGHLY, recommend the potatoes (no clue what the secret sauce is on them, but it’s epic), and the burnt ends. Absolutely delicious! If barbeque could be life altering, this is it!

Pictured are two desserts. The meat is so good, I had to try the desserts even though I am always way too full after eating the generous portions of meat. Hands down, the best banana pudding I’ve ever had. The cream on top is rich, sweet, and tastes like it was handmade by a French pastry chef! it’s amazing. The other dessert I tried was an apple cobbler with ice cream. This thing weighed like 5 pounds! Also amazing! My wife and I had to “spoon dual” over who got to finish the whipped cream (I lost).

You gotta go to Riverside! If you like BBQ, smoked meats, great desserts, and an awesome atmosphere, this place is it! The pinball machines are...