RiverMarket Bar and Kitchen — Restaurant in Town of Greenburgh

We have eaten here a few times over the last 5 years or so and it was very good and a very pleasureable experience however, this was not the case this time at all!!! It started off with the incorrect drink order. I had ordered a specific Bourbon from a local NY distillery that I drink often. That same distillery offers a Single Malt as well, which is obviously a completely different spirits. My drink came, which was a pretty healthy pour but, it was the Single Malt not the Bourbon that I ordered. I politely informed the waitress of the error (which could easily happen) and she insisted that I received the correct "Single Malt Bourbon" which is like saying I got the correct "Vodka Gin" they are two completely different spirits. So after explaining to our waitress the difference she rudely took my drink to the bar where a very heated conversation occurred between the bar tender and waitress that was aimed solely at me, as if I had done something wrong by being sent the wrong drink. After about 15 minutes the waitress returned with my drink dropped it in front me, saying absolutely nothing, turned and walked away. I looked at the drink and tasted it, this time it was correct however with the large cube of ice (which is how I ordered it) I would estimate that I received 1.75 ounces, a very light pour to say the least. If that was the worst part of meal it would have not been a very big deal, it was just a drink. Next comes our appetizers . We had ordered two pizzas for table which were just okay and I ordered "wild caught" muscles in a "spicy lobster bisque" the muscle supposedly came from Rhode Island but I was seriously questioning whether or not they came out of the Hudson. They were dry and very fishy tasting for muscles. The lobster bisque was a bland watered down tomato soup looking broth. Ok, that's two strikes, the main course has got to be better. After waiting for approximately 40 minutes my wife finally got the waitresses attention (who never came back to the table once to ask how everything was) and she said " excuse me is our food coming out soon" to which the waitress sarcastically replied "should be" and continued walking. About five minutes later all of our mains arrive at the table. I had ordered the Hanger steak and my nephew, sitting next to me ordered the ribeye ($48 & $52 respectively Ala carte) my steak was cooked as ordered and was pretty okay but fairly small and almost cool in temperature. My nephew steak however which was as cool in temperature looked like it came right out of a Sizzler. It was 1/2" thick and not very flavorful at all. I was actually embarrassed that we had chosen the restaurant to celebrate my daughter's 20th birthday party. To top it off because we were a large party they automatically charged us a 20% gratuity. I can understand 15%-18% automatic gratuity for large parties, which by they way I usually tip on top of that if the service is good, but 20% for a very poorly served terrible meal was the "icing on the cake" pun intended! This was all only on my side of the table, there were numerous complaints from others around the table but I think you get the idea. This restaurant is not worth your time or money!!

Update:: As you can read from the owners response below I didn't proof read my review and spell check "corrected" the word mussels to muscles. I apologize for that. The sad thing is that there is not a similar application or service for owning and running restaurant because if there was even a poor correction would be better than this place on it's best day. This owner is obviously past his prime and should hang up his apron. He cannot handle truthful criticism and reviews of his failing establishment. I would never wish any business owner ill will but if you read Glenn's responses to other reviews, he obviously doesn't belong in the food service...

My mom and I go to River market often and usually have a nice experience. However, yesterday was different. I took my sisters and nephew to River Market for the first time, and everything was going well until the food came out. When the food came out, we asked the waiter for straws for our drinks and hot water for our utensils. The waiter had such an attitude and made it seem like we shouldn’t ask him for anything else. Then he started talking to the other waiter in Spanish and staring at us. I felt so uncomfortable. As we’re outside eating our food, we were swarmed with bees that just would not leave. We asked the waiter if we could be moved towards the back area of the outside patio because no one else seemed to be having a issue with the bees outside. It was really a nice day and we wanted to enjoy our food in the sun. But the waiter insisted that we sit indoors. Inside was empty and they decided to sit us right behind the hostess’s podium. The hostess chair and my chair were literally touching. My sisters and I were wondering why would they sit us there and so close to the exit. No one would acknowledge my question and wouldn’t move us to another table. We felt like we were being watched. So we decided to quickly eat our food so we can leave immediately. We asked for the check and the waiter was hovering over me to see what tip % I was going to give him. I felt so uncomfortable and waited a bit to see if he was going to move and he just stared at me. Like I mentioned earlier I have never experienced this at this restaurant with my mom. Usually they give you the bill, walk away and come back. They put your card in the machine, let you type in your information privately and then return your card and receipt to you. NOT THIS TIME. This waiter was so adamant about finding out what tip he was going to get. Honestly for the service and the way he made us feel I should have put no tip, but I don’t like doing that, however I did only give him $5.00 because that experience was not worth any more than that. RIVER MARKET DO BETTER. Just because we’re black, doesn’t mean we don’t have money or should be treated less than. The things your business pulled yesterday would have never happened with your OTHER...

Being locals and lovers of our adopted hometown, my wife and I always want to give our local establishments a sporting chance to impress. After our fourth visit, we've both concluded it's time to throw in the towel with Rivermarket. There are tons of tourist/daytripper traps up and down the Hudson. This one is the worst we've been to. The atmosphere is nice. They clearly put considerable effort into the decor but, unfortunately, that's where the positives end. All four times now the service was subpar to outright horrendous. At our final visit, the waiter was nice but not present and clearly overwhelmed. No specials to announce, not even a "Can I start you off with..." Just a simple "Ready to order?" Goodness, even the diners in town are better than that. Food took forever. We had to ask about it twice. This happened during one of our previous visits as well. At another visit, we sat at the bar for dinner and the bartender couldn't have been less interested in serving us. I get the strong impression that the staff is disgruntled from poor management. Even the host staff don't seem to care about making a good impression. To be fair, we didn't witness the kind of abusive behavior from ownership that other reviewers claimed to have experienced, but let's just say I believe them. Food is mediocre at best if you don't look at the prices. If you do look at the prices, the food is nowhere close to worth it. Absolutely nothing unique about it. I suppose they charge those prices because they're right near the water? But the views aren't all that spectacular, so to be honest I'm not sure what the high prices are for. If there was ever a place in dire need of new management, this is it. There are numerous other far better fine dining choices in the area. Twisted Oak and Tarry Tavern come to mind.

FOLLOW-UP EDIT: If you read the owner's somewhat conciliatory, yet rambling and defensive response below to my review above, decide for yourself whether those other reviews are being truthful when they describe hostile behavior from management. A sharp eye for tone will tell you that the words below are not those of someone who should be in the business of...