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Home > Restaurants > The River Café

All Reader Reviews of...

The River Café

1 Water St., Dumbo, NY, 11201
at Old Fulton Street
718-522-5200

9.2 "Highly Recommended"
Average Reader Rating
on a Scale of 10		 Write Your Own Review
76% Would you go back?
76% Would you take a date?
30% Would you take kids?
69% Would you go on business?
76% Would you go on a special occasion?
Food: 9.3
Service: 8.1
Décor: 9.5
Value: 8.1
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  • Showing reviews 1 through 10 of 13

Expensive But Worth It!

JudgeJudy from 11229 | Posted on 11/21/09

Overall Rating: 10 (Highly Recommended)
Would you go back? Yes
Would you take a date? Yes
Would you take kids? No
Would you go on business? Yes
Would you go on a special occasion? Yes
Food: 10
Service: 10
Décor: 10
Value: 9

Food is fantastic...service was attentive...so what's $6.00 for a small glass of iced tea? Great place for a romantic date or special occassion.

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0 out of 0 people found this review helpful.

NYC Classic

nycesq from 10013 | Posted on 11/4/09

Overall Rating: 10 (Highly Recommended)
Would you go back? Yes
Would you take a date? Yes
Would you take kids? Yes
Would you go on business? Yes
Would you go on a special occasion? Yes
Food: 9
Service: 9
Décor: 10
Value: 10

The River Cafe is subtly beautiful, sophisticated, and classic. Men and ladies must be dressed and behave like grown-ups - jackets for gentlemen, and no sneakers, ripped jeans, or shoddy attire. At a special occasion, I'm always disappointed when some guy wearing a baseball hat sits at the next table, while his date gabs on her cellphone. The River Cafe is simply elegant - the amazing flower arrangements, iconic city view, and gracious staff. I've eaten here many times, and it meets and exceeds my experiences at some of the world's finest restaurants. My real treat is having lunch here after a court date or business meeting in Brooklyn.

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0 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

an army of waiters

vogelenzang from 10009 | Posted on 9/23/09

Overall Rating: 6 (Mixed Reviews)
Would you go back? No
Would you take a date? No
Would you take kids? No
Would you go on business? No
Would you go on a special occasion? No
Food: 7
Service: 5
Décor: 8
Value: 4

it started with a very critical glance of the girl at the entrance, She gazed at the way my wife was dressed, as if she hardly could pass the dresscode-exam. (She was clothed very decent). One waiter with cold eyes directed our bottle of wine, another our waterbottle: you could not take one sip, and there they were again to refill the glasses. Then there was a guy who took the empty plates, interrupting our conversation, and another taking away empty glasses, interrupting our conversation and even when the bottle was not empty. The older man in grey suit who took the order was the only one who was very nice. Food: my duck breast was okay, about the quality you get it in a local place in southern france, which is indeed good. Overall: a pretentious place for people with money.

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2 out of 4 people found this review helpful.

Spectacular.

CynicalSunshine5 from 11375 | Posted on 2/27/09

Overall Rating: 10 (Highly Recommended)
Would you go back? Yes
Would you take a date? Yes
Would you take kids? No
Would you go on business? Yes
Would you go on a special occasion? Yes
Food: 10
Service: 10
Décor: 10
Value: 10

I plan on going back again this summer to enjoy the views and food - my boyfriend and I found it to be very quiet and romatic - an ideal summer date spot.

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3 out of 4 people found this review helpful.

Home of the "three hour" rule

domenick from 10306 | Posted on 2/22/09

Overall Rating: 9 (Highly Recommended)
Would you go back? No
Would you take a date? No
Would you take kids? No
Would you go on business? No
Would you go on a special occasion? No
Food: 10
Service: 1
Décor: 10
Value: 8

We had been dining here at Christmas time for over 10 years, and always loved the experience - but never again. The last time, just after we finished coffee and desert, the waiter came over to our table and asked if we were finished, since he needed the table for another party. We politely explained that we would be finished soon. In a little while, the captain of the wait staff repeated the request, and asked if we would like to move to the bar. At any quality restaurant, this behavior is unacceptable. When we voiced our displeasure, the captain explained the "3" hour rule to us, that is allegedly common in most good restaurants in NYC: your meal should be limited to three hours, after which it's polite to leave. As native New Yorkers, none of us ever heard of the "3" hour rule, which we told the captain in no uncertain terms, and vowed never to return to the River Cafe!

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5 out of 22 people found this review helpful.

amazing

alecw from 11598 | Posted on 7/22/07

Overall Rating: 10 (Highly Recommended)
Would you go back? Yes
Would you take a date? Yes
Would you take kids? Yes
Would you go on business? Yes
Would you go on a special occasion? Yes
Food: 10
Service: 10
Décor: 9
Value: 10

i went with a groupof nine people. the decor and flowers were stunning/ the service was great!. i had a sweet, crisp summer salad, and a vegetarian. my mushroom welligton was superb, and so was my pea risotto.i loved my caramlzed apple cookie.

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181 out of 342 people found this review helpful.

SUPERB SERVICE EXCELLENT FOOD

JASONEMERY | Posted on 11/30/05

Overall Rating: 10 (Highly Recommended)
Would you go back? Yes
Would you take a date? Yes
Would you take kids? Yes
Would you go on business? Yes
Would you go on a special occasion? Yes
Food: 10
Service: 10
Décor: 9
Value: 9

MY WIFE AD I VISITED THE RIVER CAFE TWICE IN ONE WEEK AND FOUND IT TO BE FAULTLESS ON BOTH VISITS THE CAPTAIN OF THE AREA WE WERE SEATED WAS TRUELY PROFESSIONAL AND A PLESASURE TO KNOW (PAUL)SEE YOU NEXT YEAR PAUL ALL THE BEST JASON AND DEBBIE

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340 out of 699 people found this review helpful.

Bad service for groups.

vanyali | Posted on 7/16/04

Overall Rating: 6 (Mixed Reviews)
Would you go back? No
Would you take a date? No
Would you take kids? No
Would you go on business? No
Would you go on a special occasion? No
Food: 7
Service: 1
Décor: 10
Value: 2

I took a group of 6 business associates for dinner, and the service was very bad (I guess since they were adding the tip to the bill themselves -- no opportunity to punish for bad service, except here). Very inattentive & dinner took 4 hours. Somehow the $78/person price fix got up to over $110/person with no one drinking alcohol. Nice flowers & view. Food good but not spectacular. I'm a big Brooklyn booster, and really wanted to like this place, but I was disappointed.

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251 out of 575 people found this review helpful.

Brooklyn and Manhattan Heights

martin_chamois from West 50's | Posted on 6/13/04

Overall Rating: 10 (Highly Recommended)
Would you go back? Yes
Would you take a date? Yes
Would you take kids? No
Would you go on business? Yes
Would you go on a special occasion? Yes
Food: 10
Service: 10
Décor: 9
Value: 9

This is an outstanding and wonderful dinning place. The incredible views of the Brooklyn Bridge and lower Manhattan are complemented by the menu, the preparation of the food and the service. New York is a better place because it has the River Cafe.

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310 out of 622 people found this review helpful.

M y daughter's 16 yrs

alfiehom | Posted on 5/13/04

Overall Rating: 10 (Highly Recommended)
Would you go back? Yes
Would you take a date? Yes
Would you take kids? Yes
Would you go on business? Yes
Would you go on a special occasion? Yes
Food: 10
Service: 10
Décor: 10
Value: 10

I took my daughter for her 16th birthday and we were delighted!, everything was delicious and the service was wonderful, we had a night to remember. My daughter had the shrimp filled with crabmeat and I had the fettuccini appetizer, and they we out of this world, so were the entry, I had the grilled Sirloin and it was perfect, and the desserts were also very good. The whole family is taking my husband for his birthday next week.

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277 out of 596 people found this review helpful.

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