Was in the Mt. Vernon section of Alexandria with some friends and decided to stop in for an early dinner at local favorite River Bend Bistro. Their website suggests making a reservation via Resy, and good thing I did. When we arrived around 5:30pm, the place was 30% full. By the time we left around 7pm, it was packed. Located in the quaint Hollin Hills shopping center off of Ft. Hunt Road, a few people I know have recommended River Bend Bistro as a "hidden gem." Unfortunately, based upon my recent dining experience this place should stay "hidden" until they correct a few major issues with their food and most importantly, service. Dining room tries to evoke California wine country vibes with dark hardwood floors, dark wooden cabinets filled with wines, with semi-uncomfortable rounded metal chairs and booth style seating along the walls. Even with large windows towards the front, the interior space is still dimly lit. Didn't really catch our server's name, but for a place which supposedly specializes in wine, he wasn't particularly knowledgeable about the offerings. Our party ordered three different proteins: fish, duck, and chicken. We asked fairly basic questions about what type of wines would he recommend pairing with each, and he couldn't really give any good answers. "Well, what do you like? White with the fish? Excellent choice. A glass of the house white wine, then?" OR "I can suggest a red with the duck, sir. What type? Oh we have many. What did you see which interests you? Oh the Australian Shiraz? Very good choice." Talk about generic "advice." I wonder if I had inquired about the wines from the "Arbor Mist" or "Charles Shaw" wineries, if he would've responded, "I've heard those are excellent wines, but we do not carry them." We finally settled on a California Merlot and a German Riesling. The table shared a starter of Caramelized Onion Tater Tots with Horseradish Cream, and the husband portion of the couple I dined with, had the split pea soup. The soup was...well, it was awful. The bowl arrived and even across the table, I could tell it wasn't going to be good. The soup was very thin, and lacked the thickness representative of a typical split pea soup. And my buddy confirmed that there were hardly any peas or smoked ham. He only had 1/4 of the soup and let the waiter know, it was very underwhelming. Many reviews mentioned that the tots were "highlights," and they were...okay. To me anyway, mashed potatoes were battered and deep fried; not typical tater tots, but the consistency was good. The accompanying horseradish sauce would be indicative of a constant theme of the evening - lack of flavor. The dipping sauce was neither spicy and needed salt...lots of extra salt. Honestly, it tasted more of mayo with a hint of horseradish mixed in. My friend's wife got the chicken with the house made Tagliatelle Pasta, and I agree that the presentation was a bit off. I'm glad there was a large piece of chicken, but it could've been pre-cut into sections to make it easier to eat, instead of having to perform "surgery" by sawing it at the table. She mentioned the Sherry Cream sauce and mushrooms was good, but again, her dish needs several dashes of table salt. My friend's trout was...again, just bad. It was leathery dry and when we mentioned something to the waiter, he looked at it and remarked, "oh, there is normally a sauce on this. let me take it back for you and have the chef remake it." It came out a few minutes later and the previously dry fish was not soaked in a white wine and butter sauce. He reported it was better, but still, would've been nice if it was sent to the table correctly the first time. When we asked him about this, he seemingly blamed the kitchen by saying, "Oh they are busy and sometimes they forget things like this. I will mention it to them." Well, if the kitchen sometimes "forget things like this," shouldn't y
Hi D M.
We had a wonderful evening of 8 friends, champagne was perfect temp! Green goddess salad delicious! Veggie option was fantastic and FRESH! Salmon was crispy and delightful. Special treat was the sweet potato biscuits!! Yummy. Great service! Lovely and Local!
Dave -.
Cozy and unpretentious. Nice selection of wine. I had the Berthet, Côtes du Rhône. I was disappointed in their lunch entree menu (lots of sandwiches) but I liked their large selection of small plates (snacks and appetizers), which is nice if you just want to relax with a drink and small bite.
Jon Johnson
Great find in a strip mall.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Duck Breast
Alex Sprague
The smaller the French fries the better ?
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Bistro Burger and Handcut Fries, Great Fries, French Fries
LoulouInLA
Downright nasty service. Would never set foot in here again. They no longer have any outdoor area and it is just in a nasty little strip mall.
Atmosphere: 1
Food: 1
Service: 1
M B.
The food here is, well, there is something kind of off about each dish. We went with a party of 7 and so we did get to try a number of dishes. I would say the favorite was the tater tots, which I would describe as croquettes. Those should be called croquettes as they were top notch. A tater tot is something fried at a diner, hard on the outside, greasy. These were light and fluffy and crispy on the outside but not hard. Perfect. And the Rockfish gravlax, which I would say is like a cold smoked salmon (but rockfish).Those are the two best items. and the leeks. The ambience is pleasant, but a bit noisy. The wooden chairs were too hard for our 95-year-old guest of honor and he was very uncomfortable by the end. The lighting is lower, although the noise level is acceptable it is still on the noisier end. Probably because of the concrete floor? The service was really good. And the parking was easy and plentiful. The chicken was said by a friend to be the best, but it was dry and the sauce not too flavorful. I think 3 of us ordered the chicken, so it was not a one-off. I would say the same about the snapper. Dry and sauce not flavorful. I wished afterwards that they had asked me for a level of cooking for the snapper. The cream sauce on the leeks was nice in that it was light. The leeks were fantastic. The boston lettuce salad was very fresh but the dressing was all vinegar, harsh. Like I said, every dish is like 75 percent there, like there is something that makes it not good enough to order again. And the pricing is not cheap. At $28 for the snapper, it should come out perfect and divinely flavorful. Not something you debate whether or not to take the leftovers home. We had the apple cobbler and the lemon pudding. I did love the lemon pudding. I thought it would be a cake, because it said cake, but it was not. It was a liquid, warm from the oven with a cooked top. With powdered sugar atop that. The apple cobbler you expect to have a crust topping, because it has the word cobbler in it. This did not. it was more of an apple bake. The apples were really good, but again, if you expect cobbler then you want cobbler... It seems many items on the menu say one thing but are actually another. I don't know what this restaurant needs except someone to come in and go through every dish and modify a bit, honoring the other reviews that have been left here. The lengthy one i read here from 2014 was spot on. 10 years later (now). Judging from the patrons, it seems like maybe many people just return out of habit, a place they have been coming to for over 40 years, before which it was a clothing store.
Jeremy Jarvis
Delicious wild mushroom omelette, sautéed spinach, and Boston salad. Very friendly and attentive staff.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
P Fournier
Lovely local bistro. Daily specials are delicious and served hot. Fish is outstanding. Great service. Will definitely return.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Елена Французова
I have been going here for years. This is definitely my go to place for date night, an intimate girls night out, or just to grab some really tasty food. I've never been disappointed. Not only are the staff friendly and down-to-Earth, but the owner is the chef who works every time I've been there. You can see her popping in and out as she frolics in her moments of free time with return customers and close friends who help keep the business poppin.This place is so good, that I really believe this is a gem! Food is consistent and delicious. Cheese selection is always fresh and exciting. The chef really takes pride in her work and it shows. Her rotating menu as well as seasonal cocktails are just proof to any foodie of a person who is passionate about food and the dining experience.If you want to grab a seat at the bar and sneak a peek at the amazing chef as she pops by for a refreshment, or take a seat at a table and enjoy some quaint romantic moments w your guest, you will love it.Because the food is amazing, it is a little pricey. Be prepared to drop at least $80-$100 for two people. However, there are better priced items on the menu, as well as drinks. My personal favs are the Cotswold mac n cheese w crispy onions, ANYTHING with duck (especially the salad), and the daily risotto.Vegetarian options: The meat is definitely the strong suit of this place for most dishes. However, there are available options on the menu for non-meat eaters that are also good and don't feel like an afterthought.Parking: It is a shared free parking lot with the other shops and boutiques in the upper-class strip-mall there. Sometimes when it is really busy, you might have to park 30more steps away from the door, but this food is worth more than 30 extra steps.Kid-friendliness: Not many "kids" items on the menu. But if the supposed child likes to eat good food, this is def a place for them. The crowd who goes tends to be older (I don't see too many kids there regularly), but the cheeseburger and mac n cheese definitely will make any average kid overjoyed.Wheelchair accessibility: The place is a little small, but intimate. More than accommodating for wheelchair access if needed.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 4
Recommended dishes: And Sausage Rogu, Duck Breast, Crispy Duck Confit with a Frisée Salad
Good food. Good service. Unfortunately No draft beer. No brunch on Saturdays. Magnificent omelets and pasta. Good duck! Lively and crowded on weekends.
Tiffany Raley
The staff is friendly and attentive, especially the bartender, Antonio. The food is delicious and reliable. It tastes just as good no matter what time of day you come in for a meal or drink.Vegetarian options: They have salads and vegetarian dishes.Kid-friendliness: They are always happy to seat us. The only drawback is that the bathroom does not have a changing table.Wheelchair accessibility: There are no steps. All seating is on the first floor, and the floors are hard wood.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
David Williams
Lovely place away from Old Town with its tourists.
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 4
Service: 4
Andrea K.
Fantastic restaurant! My husband and I came for date night and it was a wonderful experience. Great atmosphere, food and service!
Danele D.
FLAT BREAD was an extreme disappointment. Toppings were on regular toast - not "Flatbread" as described on Menu. Warm spinach salad, had microscopic pieces of Prosciutto, and supposedly was topped with "Gruyère" Cheese, but it was not. It was some other tasteless hard cheese. I used to love River Bend, but I was so disappointed that I will not go back!
Was in the Mt. Vernon section of Alexandria with some friends and decided to stop in for an early dinner at local favorite River Bend Bistro. Their website suggests making a reservation via Resy, and good thing I did. When we arrived around 5:30pm, the place was 30% full. By the time we left around 7pm, it was packed. Located in the quaint Hollin Hills shopping center off of Ft. Hunt Road, a few people I know have recommended River Bend Bistro as a "hidden gem." Unfortunately, based upon my recent dining experience this place should stay "hidden" until they correct a few major issues with their food and most importantly, service. Dining room tries to evoke California wine country vibes with dark hardwood floors, dark wooden cabinets filled with wines, with semi-uncomfortable rounded metal chairs and booth style seating along the walls. Even with large windows towards the front, the interior space is still dimly lit. Didn't really catch our server's name, but for a place which supposedly specializes in wine, he wasn't particularly knowledgeable about the offerings. Our party ordered three different proteins: fish, duck, and chicken. We asked fairly basic questions about what type of wines would he recommend pairing with each, and he couldn't really give any good answers. "Well, what do you like? White with the fish? Excellent choice. A glass of the house white wine, then?" OR "I can suggest a red with the duck, sir. What type? Oh we have many. What did you see which interests you? Oh the Australian Shiraz? Very good choice." Talk about generic "advice." I wonder if I had inquired about the wines from the "Arbor Mist" or "Charles Shaw" wineries, if he would've responded, "I've heard those are excellent wines, but we do not carry them." We finally settled on a California Merlot and a German Riesling. The table shared a starter of Caramelized Onion Tater Tots with Horseradish Cream, and the husband portion of the couple I dined with, had the split pea soup. The soup was...well, it was awful. The bowl arrived and even across the table, I could tell it wasn't going to be good. The soup was very thin, and lacked the thickness representative of a typical split pea soup. And my buddy confirmed that there were hardly any peas or smoked ham. He only had 1/4 of the soup and let the waiter know, it was very underwhelming. Many reviews mentioned that the tots were "highlights," and they were...okay. To me anyway, mashed potatoes were battered and deep fried; not typical tater tots, but the consistency was good. The accompanying horseradish sauce would be indicative of a constant theme of the evening - lack of flavor. The dipping sauce was neither spicy and needed salt...lots of extra salt. Honestly, it tasted more of mayo with a hint of horseradish mixed in. My friend's wife got the chicken with the house made Tagliatelle Pasta, and I agree that the presentation was a bit off. I'm glad there was a large piece of chicken, but it could've been pre-cut into sections to make it easier to eat, instead of having to perform "surgery" by sawing it at the table. She mentioned the Sherry Cream sauce and mushrooms was good, but again, her dish needs several dashes of table salt. My friend's trout was...again, just bad. It was leathery dry and when we mentioned something to the waiter, he looked at it and remarked, "oh, there is normally a sauce on this. let me take it back for you and have the chef remake it." It came out a few minutes later and the previously dry fish was not soaked in a white wine and butter sauce. He reported it was better, but still, would've been nice if it was sent to the table correctly the first time. When we asked him about this, he seemingly blamed the kitchen by saying, "Oh they are busy and sometimes they forget things like this. I will mention it to them." Well, if the kitchen sometimes "forget things like this," shouldn't y
We had a wonderful evening of 8 friends, champagne was perfect temp! Green goddess salad delicious! Veggie option was fantastic and FRESH! Salmon was crispy and delightful. Special treat was the sweet potato biscuits!! Yummy. Great service! Lovely and Local!
Cozy and unpretentious. Nice selection of wine. I had the Berthet, Côtes du Rhône. I was disappointed in their lunch entree menu (lots of sandwiches) but I liked their large selection of small plates (snacks and appetizers), which is nice if you just want to relax with a drink and small bite.
Great find in a strip mall.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Duck Breast
The smaller the French fries the better ?
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Bistro Burger and Handcut Fries, Great Fries, French Fries
Downright nasty service. Would never set foot in here again. They no longer have any outdoor area and it is just in a nasty little strip mall.
Atmosphere: 1
Food: 1
Service: 1
The food here is, well, there is something kind of off about each dish. We went with a party of 7 and so we did get to try a number of dishes. I would say the favorite was the tater tots, which I would describe as croquettes. Those should be called croquettes as they were top notch. A tater tot is something fried at a diner, hard on the outside, greasy. These were light and fluffy and crispy on the outside but not hard. Perfect. And the Rockfish gravlax, which I would say is like a cold smoked salmon (but rockfish).Those are the two best items. and the leeks. The ambience is pleasant, but a bit noisy. The wooden chairs were too hard for our 95-year-old guest of honor and he was very uncomfortable by the end. The lighting is lower, although the noise level is acceptable it is still on the noisier end. Probably because of the concrete floor? The service was really good. And the parking was easy and plentiful. The chicken was said by a friend to be the best, but it was dry and the sauce not too flavorful. I think 3 of us ordered the chicken, so it was not a one-off. I would say the same about the snapper. Dry and sauce not flavorful. I wished afterwards that they had asked me for a level of cooking for the snapper. The cream sauce on the leeks was nice in that it was light. The leeks were fantastic. The boston lettuce salad was very fresh but the dressing was all vinegar, harsh. Like I said, every dish is like 75 percent there, like there is something that makes it not good enough to order again. And the pricing is not cheap. At $28 for the snapper, it should come out perfect and divinely flavorful. Not something you debate whether or not to take the leftovers home. We had the apple cobbler and the lemon pudding. I did love the lemon pudding. I thought it would be a cake, because it said cake, but it was not. It was a liquid, warm from the oven with a cooked top. With powdered sugar atop that. The apple cobbler you expect to have a crust topping, because it has the word cobbler in it. This did not. it was more of an apple bake. The apples were really good, but again, if you expect cobbler then you want cobbler... It seems many items on the menu say one thing but are actually another. I don't know what this restaurant needs except someone to come in and go through every dish and modify a bit, honoring the other reviews that have been left here. The lengthy one i read here from 2014 was spot on. 10 years later (now). Judging from the patrons, it seems like maybe many people just return out of habit, a place they have been coming to for over 40 years, before which it was a clothing store.
Delicious wild mushroom omelette, sautéed spinach, and Boston salad. Very friendly and attentive staff.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Lovely local bistro. Daily specials are delicious and served hot. Fish is outstanding. Great service. Will definitely return.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
I have been going here for years. This is definitely my go to place for date night, an intimate girls night out, or just to grab some really tasty food. I've never been disappointed. Not only are the staff friendly and down-to-Earth, but the owner is the chef who works every time I've been there. You can see her popping in and out as she frolics in her moments of free time with return customers and close friends who help keep the business poppin.This place is so good, that I really believe this is a gem! Food is consistent and delicious. Cheese selection is always fresh and exciting. The chef really takes pride in her work and it shows. Her rotating menu as well as seasonal cocktails are just proof to any foodie of a person who is passionate about food and the dining experience.If you want to grab a seat at the bar and sneak a peek at the amazing chef as she pops by for a refreshment, or take a seat at a table and enjoy some quaint romantic moments w your guest, you will love it.Because the food is amazing, it is a little pricey. Be prepared to drop at least $80-$100 for two people. However, there are better priced items on the menu, as well as drinks. My personal favs are the Cotswold mac n cheese w crispy onions, ANYTHING with duck (especially the salad), and the daily risotto.Vegetarian options: The meat is definitely the strong suit of this place for most dishes. However, there are available options on the menu for non-meat eaters that are also good and don't feel like an afterthought.Parking: It is a shared free parking lot with the other shops and boutiques in the upper-class strip-mall there. Sometimes when it is really busy, you might have to park 30more steps away from the door, but this food is worth more than 30 extra steps.Kid-friendliness: Not many "kids" items on the menu. But if the supposed child likes to eat good food, this is def a place for them. The crowd who goes tends to be older (I don't see too many kids there regularly), but the cheeseburger and mac n cheese definitely will make any average kid overjoyed.Wheelchair accessibility: The place is a little small, but intimate. More than accommodating for wheelchair access if needed.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 4
Recommended dishes: And Sausage Rogu, Duck Breast, Crispy Duck Confit with a Frisée Salad
Restaurantji Recommends
Good food. Good service. Unfortunately No draft beer. No brunch on Saturdays. Magnificent omelets and pasta. Good duck! Lively and crowded on weekends.
The staff is friendly and attentive, especially the bartender, Antonio. The food is delicious and reliable. It tastes just as good no matter what time of day you come in for a meal or drink.Vegetarian options: They have salads and vegetarian dishes.Kid-friendliness: They are always happy to seat us. The only drawback is that the bathroom does not have a changing table.Wheelchair accessibility: There are no steps. All seating is on the first floor, and the floors are hard wood.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Lovely place away from Old Town with its tourists.
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 4
Service: 4
Fantastic restaurant! My husband and I came for date night and it was a wonderful experience. Great atmosphere, food and service!
FLAT BREAD was an extreme disappointment. Toppings were on regular toast - not "Flatbread" as described on Menu. Warm spinach salad, had microscopic pieces of Prosciutto, and supposedly was topped with "Gruyère" Cheese, but it was not. It was some other tasteless hard cheese. I used to love River Bend, but I was so disappointed that I will not go back!