River Bend Bistro

I really didn’t want to write a review for River Bend because it’s pretty much my local watering hole which brings loyalty and friendship into the mix which has no place in a review. With that said, I recently noticed there’s another Fred Z. in the area (don’t know him) that posted a review here. So to ensure all Fred Zs are heard, I’ll go ahead and provide my thoughts. First, what I know best, the bar. Some of the best bartenders in town. Not only are they great drink slingers but they truly know the restaurant business and a few of them pretty much run the floor when the owner is busy in the back. They understand the menu and the owners vision, can discuss the menu items on the same level as the beer, wine and spirit selections, and are extremely attentive, participating in conversations when it’s welcome and disappearing when it’s not. As for the food, I enjoy just about everything on the menu and I’m a huge fan of several of the entrees. The ribeye, lamb shank, and pork tenderloin are my favorites and all of the fish dishes are wonderful. She also gets the best oysters in town, serving them with what I’m told is a wonderful mignonette but I’m a cocktail sauce guy and they’re always happy to whip some up for me. Finally, the wait staff and the hostesses are extremely professional, friendly, and know their business. River Bend is definitely one of my favorite places in town. If you visit between 5 – 7 on the weekends, buy the balding guy with a goatee at the corner of the bar a drink :-)

We decided to try River Bend Bistro for the first time today on a special occasion because it is near the former Wharf, which is what we really wanted.
It was a positive experience. My. Vernon is desperately in need of more dining establishments, and River Bend Bistro fits the bill for its friendly, attentive service, attractive décor, and good (perhaps not great) food. The menu prices are moderate; the price of our meal was slightly less than we paid on our last visit to Via Veneto.
If you want a lively, loud place with tables a little close together, River Bend Bistro approaches perfection. For our anniversary, we would have preferred the more intimate booths like the Wharf, but you won’t find that here. Still, it’s a welcome addition to Mt. Vernon. For the excellent service, we will return.

Superb service and excellent variety for food. Definitely somewhere you will make many repeat visits.

The food is filling but lacks that extra something that would justify its prices. The same could be said for the wine. I can only conclude the proprietors are trying to attract the hipster crowd — a noble aspiration this far out in the burbs. I miss the roadhouse that previously occupied this location; cheap burgers and beer, and never tried to be something it wasn’t.

Went here for a special occasion and had high expectations for a newish location in an area desperately needing some non chain restaurant, higher end dining. It did not meet my expectations. However, that’s not to say it was a bad experience by any means.
The prices were high but definitely not DC or old town Alexandria high. The ambience was like a nice bistro and the service was excellent (although I wish they had done something or even said anything for the bday since we mentioned and made an opentable review. No chilis sombrero or song needed just some acknowledgement). The menu was great and and had a lot of different tasty sounding options. One of those times you coordinate with others at your table so that you get to try several dishes because it’s hard to decide.
The fancy tater tot/​latkes were ok but nothing special there. The salads were very large and tasty though.
When it came to the entrees they were all good. However, everything was somewhat over salted and over sauced. And just missing something to elevate it from a simple meal you could make at home. The duck was cooked well but I didn’t care much for the sauce. The scallops were large and cooked perfectly other than the salt but the beans and flavor were lacking something extra. The fries were weird and thin with the ribeye. The steak was the best meal by far.
Overall decent but I just hoped for more in a place I could make a regular spot in my neighborhood for my family and to recommend to others. Back to the cosmopolitan grill, old town, and avoiding the chain restaurants on route one.

My wife and I took our next door neighbor out for a Birthday lunch. On Open Table I was specific about the Birthday, and detailed what she looked like and what «HER NAME» was. My wife delayed her in the parking lot so I went in and confirmed our «birthday» celebration.
Another manager/​waitstaff person knows our neighbor and came by our table to chat. She happened to mention to her that we were taking her out for her Birthday. After completing our lunch we were asked if we wanted desert we all said no. The waitress brought the check and that was it? No candle no nothing! After paying I stayed behind and asked what happened to the «Birthday» recognition. It was a «McFly» moment when the waitress said that we all said no to dessert. I asked her why I went through all the effort in telling them about this event. I also asked her if next time I should just say, «Give us one SURPRISE desert with a lit candle on it». On the way home my wife said they probably just wanted to have us all order and pay for desert. If this is the case then they really shouldn’t expect repete business, and they are definitely a neighborhood only restaurant that needs me to come back to stay in business. BTW the lunch was pretty expensive and just ok.

I enjoyed a recent weekend lunch at the River Bend Bistro. The salad was fresh from a local farmer’s market and the tagliatelle pasta was delicious. The waiter was efficient and friendly and the restaurant itself is ultra clean and modern. Highly recommended.

Definitely the mac & cheese is to die for it was creamy cheesy it was fantastic. I had the cheesecake homemade in the store I’m from New York cheesecake in my life this cheesecake ranks with the best of them

Just had lunch today. I don’t understand why it’s not busier. The menu is larger than last time I was there. Had probably the best burger ever from a restaurant. The quality of the food is outstanding. Other stand-​outs, the bacon gruyère quiche. I always get the spinach salad with goat cheese and prosuitto. I think it may just be in the wrong location.

Came here for lunch and ordered the ham and Brie sandwich. It’s the first time I’ve been here since the wharf occupied this space. I was unimpressed. I remember the remodel from the wharf took forever but judging by the simple but stylish deco the wait must have been because of permits more so than the actual scope of work
The service was very friendly so no complaints there but I too noticed a smelly water glass from an unknown source.
The menu was inspiring but the meal was just ok at$ 10 for a sandwich and extremely salty mixed greens. I also had the chicken noodle soup which was nice.
I don’t know if I would come back. It is really a destination for the neighborhood when you don’t want to travel for something better. But the distance to a better meal for the same price is only five miles or so.

Went here for brunch and everything was simply amazing! We started with the spinach and goat cheese salad with a ham biscuit to share. Then we ordered the cheeseburger and eye round sandwich. Both are completely worth it and worth a try!

The River Bend Bistro has hit its stride! The menu is mature, well constructed, and healthy and the service was lightning quick and genuinely pleasant. We started of with the fig/​goat cheese appetizer. It was absolutely delicious. For entrees our party of four had the tuna with eggplant veggies; chicken porcini pasta; the lamb chop; and shad roe special. All of the dishes were perfectly prepared. The tuna was the best I’ve had since I left San Diego a decade ago. Despite early challenges, the River Bend is an outstanding local spot for creative fare in a warm, comfortable environment. Loved it!

Great Brunch! Totally unexpected and great service.

I tried this place last year when it opened, but then did not order take out because they were rude on the phone. I have a partner who is not ambulatory, so we decided to try a year later to see if things were better. We like to support local business.
I called and ordered and went down to pick up the order. We decided on a mix of appetizers and starters.
I picked up the food, paid for it, and left and drove home. I thought to myself that perhaps I should have checked the bag, but I kept going.
When I got home and starting putting the food on the table, everything was labelled nicely, but unfortunately my main course was missing and one appetizer was missing. I called and they said, «Oh it is sitting on the counter, please come back and get it.» No way. i asked them to please refund my money on my credit card and call me back and let me know how much the refund was. They did.
The food was lousy. A warm spinach salad with crunchy onions and prosciutto was drowned in goat cheese dressing, two orders of tater tots which were more like tiny potato pancakes were mushy even after I put them in the oven to crisp them up, A Cotswald Macaroni and Cheese that had no cheese on it, and a plate of charcuterie which consisted of a paddle looking piece of pâté that tasted more like canned deviled ham with bunch of rubbery cornichons.
I definitely will not be supporting my local restaurant. There were only two tables being served out of 16 possibles, and they read my order back to me. The food that we did get was overpriced and underwhelming. That is a shame. Won’t be going back.

We’re not really regulars anywhere but we have no hesitation recommending this place nor returning here. We appreciate a neighborhood place even if it’s slightly beyond the scope of our own. Cozy and elevated, not trying to be everything to everyone; nice to have a place that focuses on the food!

I want to like this place more than I do, really. The same starters that I loved before, I still love. The warm goat cheese salad, the duck confit. This time we also tried sweet potato biscuits with ham, pumpkin soup, mac n cheese, and smoked mozarella with spicy red sauce.
Of all the new items we tried, I really only enjoyed the sweet potato biscuits and mozarella. The other items weren’t bad, they just weren’t amazing enough for me to want to pay for them again.
What REALLY brings down my rating was the customer service that we had that night. My friend thought her water tasted funny and thought maybe there was still soap on the glass. She wasn’t upset or anything, but the server gave an annoyed reaction to her asking for a new glass. When he noticed we hadn’t touched the pumpkin soup much, he asked if we didn’t like it. I said it was fine, but my friend spoke up and said it was missing a richness she likes in pumpkin soup. She wasn’t saying it was bad, just not to her liking. I expect the normal reaction to be an apology and offer to clear it from the table. Instead, he got defensive by stating that it’s been on the menu for a month and a half and my friend was the first person to ever complain about it.
We might have wanted desert since we have in the past, but we got the check and left. He felt very hostile during the rest of the meal, and it made the dining experience a tad uncomfortable.

I was brought here by a friend for a weeknight dinner. Don’t be taken aback from the façade. Once you enter the owners have transformed the inside into something Im told is nothing like the former. I can remember a warm goat cheese salad standing out. A great place if you want something quiet and much more reasonably priced.

Came here for my first time earlier this week, and I thought I’d put together a short write-​up. I had heard about River Bend Bistro after the demise of one of my favorite local wine shops, Rick’s Wine and Gourmet. Some of the former Rick’s folks ended up here and I saw a posting on Facebook. Anyway…
The restaurant is in a small strip mall. Outward appearance is simple, but clean and quite new. Once inside, I saw the simple ambience continue. The floor is polished concrete, the walls are brick (or brick façade), and the lighting is utilitarian. Not like any French bistro I’m familiar with, but certainly in fitting with the notion of not being upscale. Seating was also simple, but clean and comfortable.
The menu is relatively short, but there were several things on it that looked interesting to me. It seemed to fit well with a bistro model. Simple, but excellent is what I’m looking for here.
I started with a cold asparagus soup. NOT a cream based soup, but a broth based one. I normally don’t go for cold soups, but asparagus is in season and I thought I’d give it a whirl. Loved it. Mildly salty, and smooth as water. They must have filtered this after pureeing it, I’m thinking. Either way, it was a light weight refreshing starter. Oh, and we’d ordered some prosecco and (for me) a Bell’s Oberon wheat beer by then as well. All played well together.
For my main course, I had the seared scallops over a bed of white beans, drizzled with a basil oil mix. This was the star of the show for me, without a doubt. The scallops were seared but still quite rare on the inside, just as I like them. The beans were perfect, and the basil oil mix complemented them great.
I rarely get desserts, but the blueberry cobbler was more than I could resist, so I had it. Also excellent. Warm berry mixture with some puff pastry chunks on top and a small portion of vanilla ice cream.
I also had a glass of rioja to go with my main course. It was excellent. The wine list itself wasn’t huge, and lacked «trophy wines», which I eschew in any case. It had a bunch of my old friends from Rick’s on it, though. No surprises there. But the list definitely has something for everyone, and the wine prices are quite fair.
Overall, I’m a huge fan. I don’t expect a bistro to have fancy décor or ambience, and River Bend certainly doesn’t. Don’t come here expecting a restaurant. It’s a bistro. But do come here expecting superb food, and you won’t be disappointed.
I’ll definitely be back!

River Bend Bistro has become a welcome addition to the Fort Hunt area, having replaced the Village Warf sometime ago. This bistro is clean and modern and boasts a menu that is well suited to its elegant décor. The owner/​chief has a wealth of experience in the food industry and it shows. I only had a liverwurst sandwich but it was crisp and fresh. I wasn’t too keen on the string fries, but I have never been a fan so I realize that others might enjoy this change from your basic french fries.
Prices are very reasonable here, and you really do get some high quality fare for a solid price. This is a nice spot for a lunch date or a relaxing evening. Again, this bistro has a lot of potential and should become a dinning standard in the Fort Hunt community in no time.

Very good. The restaurant has sparse décor on purpose, industrial style with concrete floors and exposed duct work. The service was prompt and the restaurant was busy for a Saturday afternoon.
The menu was small which I prefer because typically they specialize in specific dishes. I had the warm spinach and goat cheese salad with bacon, fresh with a light dressing. I shared the appetizer of rockfish graflax, very good and served with capers. Definitely recommend. Prices are reasonable. I will be back when I am in the area again.