Riverside Bistro

Great restaurant and lounge located inside the downtown Edmonton Courtyard Hotel. Got into my room and went down to the lounge for a bite and a drink. Nice greeting by hostess but I opted for the bar. Bartender made an awesome dirty martini it is excellent. I ordered the Dry Garlic Ribs. They came out very quickly and were quite tasty. I followed that up with some wings. Wings were very tasty with a nice coating of bbq sauce on them.
Service was great and very attentive but not over the top.
Definitely recommend

Amazing river valley views, with a menu that won’t break the bank. A great spot to go for lunch in the summertime, sitting the patio. Similar view to Hotel MacDonald, better prices, but not the same quality of food or service.

This establishment has the worst service. I was so utterly appalled at the service provided if any at all. I had already reserved and the patio and confirmed with management a couple days in advance. But last minute they decided to cancel on me because they had an overflow of parties. What kind of a professional establishment would overlook something as important as that? I’m never coming back and if you want to deal with professionals that oblige by their words I would suggest you go elsewhere.

I love the view. The food is above average and I think the price is good given everything you get.

I’ve been here a few times several years ago. The food was quite tasty, and the accompanying wedge fries the best ever. The service was excellent. Nice relaxing ambience with a view of the river valley. The only reason I dock a star is because the food is ordinary fare you’d find anywhere from Original Joe’s to Moxie’s and Earl’s.

Food, service, and restaurant were all «good» but sadly nothing made it to «great». I feel like the location is amazing in the summer, with the patio overlooking the river valley, but there was little to see in the restaurant. Still, the restaurant was bright, clean and modern. While I found their Downtown Dining Week menu a bit lack-​luster, I feel like I owe this place another try. I really liked the fettuccine I had, but the avocado crème brûlée was… odd. It was something different but was more of a pudding than crème brûlée. Still, I had a lovely lunch here with my friends and I would love to come back to sample their regular menu.

While staying at the Marriott Courtyard Hotel a couple of weeks ago, I ate twice at the Riverside Bistro.
Let’s start by mentioning that the view from the Bistro is fantastic. It’s a gorgeous view over the river valley and I can only imagine how stunning it is in the summer. But a view alone does not make a restaurant.
The service was ok. I had the same server two days in a row. The first day it was reasonably good service, though I wasn’t diverging from the menu in any way. My breakfast sandwich was quite tasty. It was a bit overpriced, but that is to be expected given that it was a hotel restaurant. This rates a ⁴⁄₅.
The second day, however, the service was a little bit sketchy. I happened to run into an old friend who was also staying at the hotel and joined me for lunch. Now, my friend is not a very adventurous eater. And by that I mean that she prefers generic, tasteless food. The menu with things like pickerel tacos was not up her alley.
She asked if she could have the chicken fingers which her kid had the day before. The waitress could not have been more unaccommodating. Now, in the end, she gave up and decided that it wouldn’t be a mortal sin to serve an adult an item from the children’s menu. However, she could have gone a little bit less out-​of-​her-​way to be so confused about such a request. Her service on my second visit was a ²⁄₅ at best.
Now, I did have the pickerel taco, and it was fantastic. That dish itself is a solid ⁴⁄₅. If you like a lunch that has some spice to it, this would be a great choice.
I don’t think I’d ever recommend this restaurant as a go-​to if you’re not staying at the hotel. However, if you are there, the food is tasty and well-​prepared. The view adds a tremendous value in and of itself. But be advised, I don’t know you’ll want to venture too far from the menu, lest you utterly baffle your server.