River Bend Bistro & Wine Bar

We were a table of 3 (including 1 walker to park). The drinks, olives, salads, sandwiches, and meatballs were enjoyed by all! Thank you for the lovely service and experience dining outside!

Food is good. Day and night. Brunch is very good. Full bar. Nice people. Try it and you will know if you will enjoy it again. Specials rule. Soups are nice. Chef and Bar make it great.

Best spot in Hollin Hall.

I live down the street from River Bend Bistro and have enjoyed their food a few times in the past, but today was anything but enjoyable. My wife and I ordered lunch there to go and when we returned home with our food, my burger was cooked on the outside and RAW in the middle. I took it back to the restaurant and showed them the mistake and instead of making me another burger that was cooked to medium rare, they took the old burger and just returned it to me...unsure if they actually put it on the grill again or not. Very disappointed and will not be going back again to get a $16 uncooked burger. See picture to see how raw the meat still was after my second go around.

My wife's Salmon and Lentils also tasted off...like the wine wasn't cooked out of the lentils. Very bad day for River Bend.

This might be my favorite restaurant in the area. We had the flatbread and a real good bottle of wine!
Will come here again. Next time we’ll get the risotto.

Delicious! tuna steak. ribeye and lamb shank were all perfectly prepared - melt in your mouth, fall off the bone.
We truly appreciated our seating request being accomodated and our young waiter added to the lovely overall vibe of the diner.

They turned us away at the door bc we had a party of 7 but half of the restaurant was empty with many empty tables next to each other.

My bestie and my favorite lunch spot, especially when Kathy is working! Gin and Sonic? Yes please! The shoestring fries are always amazing, as are the country ham biscuits.

I want to love this place! It's cute, nice neighborhood spot, seems to be small business-y with involved ownership, and the food is good but the service was honestly so bad and the table seated very very closely beside us had every aspect of their order screwed up and the patrons were (understandably) annoyed so the who atmosphere was bad.

Additionally, it was general lacking in cleanliness was an issue - ubiquitous stickiness, the dessert menu was stained and ripped (so gross!) and while eating, an employee came and sprayed lysol on the table beside us, not 2ft from my plate. I would certainly check reviews for notes of improvement but until I see those, I won't be back.

Atmosphere: 3

Food: 4

Service: 2

Gourmet. Tasty. Fair pricing on food and alcohol. Sweet potato biscuits, salmon, rockfish, veg and tomato gazpacho, cobbler. Easy to return.

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 5

Service: 5

Wonderful menu. Fabulous service.
I had their version of tater tots creamy inside with horseradish sauce. Heaven. I had one sweet potato biscuit with ham. Heaven. Then duck confit frisse salad. Heaven. Hidden gem. Reasonable prices for the area. I will come again.

Also had chocolate mousse. Wonderful

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 5

Service: 5

Recommended dishes: Crispy Duck Confit with a Frisée Salad, Caramelized Onion Tater Tots with Horseradish Cream

We had stopped coming to this place last year because the food quality had declined but decided today to give another try based on recent reviews. The good news is the food is good again! Bad news is the service is still terrible. The servers are young and inexperienced which isn't their fault, of course. It is evident that the management has put zero into training in the basics, however. We waited 30 minutes with empty glasses of water after placing our order. Literally had to grab the server as he was chatting up another table to remind him we had ordered wine. I was brought the wrong entree which prompted a conversation by two servers looming on each side of me about what to do while someone else's entree cooled in front of me. Asked for a to go box which was plopped unceremoniously on the table. Pro tip; servers should take the remainder to the kitchen and pack your to go container. While fumbling with the to go, I accidentally knocked over and shattered the empty wine glass (no offer ever to refill during the meal) no one, including hosts or servers present, offered to help as I picked up glass shards from the table and floor. Everyone kept their gaze firmly on the floor in front of their feet. Finally, as we left with my elderly mother and another patron using a walker in front of us, not one single employee thought to get the door for us much less thank us for our business. The kitchen is still super slow. Our Cheeseburger was good but not cooked to the requested temperature. The place is way too noisy for comfort.

Wheelchair accessibility: Not accessible

Atmosphere: 2

Food: 4

Service: 1

Warning, the air conditioning is out and it’s hot. Our chips from the crab dip were melty but the entree was good ?

Atmosphere: 3

Food: 3

Service: 4

Delicious food, attentive and friendly service, in an unpretentious setting at a fair price.

Small and intimate but loud. Chef owned. Food was fantastic. Service was good. Small so not a lot of seating. Reservation suggested.

Atmosphere: 4

Food: 5

Service: 5

Recommended dishes: Fruit Cobbler with Vanilla Ice Cream