Cliff’s Rendezvous Restaurant

I have to admit. I wasn’t too sure about this place from the looks on the outside. I’ve been living in the area for 5 years and I haven’t thought once about going in here. My friend and I decided to give it a shot yesterday while we were in the area.
The place absolutely has a «local dive bar» vibe to it. The place was empty when we arrived (late lunch: 230pm). We were seated right away. The hostess /​waitress was sweet and put up with our sense of humor.
I ordered a cheddar cheeseburger and my friend ordered a rueben sandwich. After reading reviews on this place, they seem to be known for their burgers and steaks. I have to say that I wasn’t that impressed with the burger. The meat was okay — nothing special but the bun was weak. It was very soggy on the bottom and tasted like a frozen bun from Burger King. My friend enjoyed her rueben. Also, my water tasted a little funny (like a chemical /​soap-​like taste). The iced tea was not bad.
I don’t think this would be a place that I would frequent, however, it is not terrible. If you are in the area and need a quick bite to eat — this may be your spot.

We checked into the restaurant and waited for 5 mins to be seated. While everyone else was seated immediately. There were many open tables but we had to wait for the one in the corner to be cleaned. Fifteen mins later our waitress showed up, with no smile and no personality took our orders. Our appetizer and beverage came 25 mins later and main course 1 hr &15 mins later. Duck was a bit on the rank side (we are duck people and this was above rank) clam chowder had more sand than usual chowders. Of the entire 2hrs our waitress came 4 times of which 2 of the four times we asked for her.
For the record: we noticed that it was only us who received this treatment. I felt our waitress was of a segregated mind set.

This place is a «go to» for the locals in the Westhampton Beach, Quoge and River Head area of eastern Long Island areas. It’s constantly packed!
Provides quality food and great service. I had the marinated Sirloin steak
Which tasted wonderful. It was a bit cold and a little undercooked as I asked for medium and it turned out to be more like medium rare. The sweet potato was very good. If you compare this place to most other places in the Hamptons this rates very high up on the scale! I took off 1 point because the marinade on the steak was a bit salty but it made the meat soft and tender. Totally recommended! I heard they have great burgers for Lunch if your in the hood!

Unpredictable hours. All info states they close at 10pm. Drove all the way there and arrived at 9 to be told they are closed. Unacceptable.

There are so many alternative options instead of this place so take advantage of that. The staff (hostest and bartender) were some of the rudest people I had ever met in my life. Cleanliness was not a priority and anytime our group had to ask a question, we received answers that were hostile and filled with attitude. Go across the street to the much more spacious and friendly Sonoma.

Wow! What a juicy burger! I had to find out why so I asked the waitress. She explained that they soak it in there own marinate, it compliments the meat perfectly! You don’t need ketchup or mayo on the burger. All you need is lettuce, tomatoes, and my favorite CHEESE!!! It’s great. The atmosphere in the building is the kind of place you take a date. You can talk and really get to know someone without loud music. I recommend taking a first date to the joint, you will score big points. There’s not a lot of parking around on Main Street, so you might have to walk a bit. Perfect way to work up a appetite before you eat!

Greets with a smile … Casual bar atmosphere!!! server was very friendly and tentative. Had a palm and Guinness … And ordered … Turkey burger /​fresh shrimp and a shrimp wrap with peppers… Over all great experience for lunch or dinner or just a beer.

Growing up, the Rendezvous was the place you went for special occasions — confirmation, graduation, dates, etc. It is an institution. You came to the Rendezvous for a nice steak and excellent seafood. The menu was small, but everything on it was good. Potatoes came with every dish and your salad was the vegetable. Done and done.
Over the last couple of years, there have been a few changes. When the aquarium closes, there’s a lot of families with over tired children. Steak houses generally involve a wait; not good with cranky kids. It is also a favorite with the day tripper wine tasters who want to get something in their stomachs before heading back. That can also be an issue. The menu has expanded to have a broader appeal, but it has resulted in longer waits. The prices have soared as well. The surf and turf, went from $ 25– $ 35 in a very short time. The quality of the filet has declined a bit lately. It is still a very good dish, but I don’t know if it is pushing $ 40 good.
While the hamburgers are no longer on the menu, you can still ask for them. They are outstanding and should be put back on the menu permanently. The baked stuffed clams are the claim to fame, but my favorite is the scallops — sweet and tender. I would like to see the quality of the steaks come back up to where it always has been. Especially at these prices. We are already waiting for the steak; please stop butterflying everything and cook it the way it should be cooked. The peel and eat shrimp was a great appetizer; that should make a come back too.
Some places, you don’t want to see change. You go there for comfort food. You go to see waitresses and bar tenders who you know and who know you. You want to have food that is consistent and filling in a space that is homey and conducive to relaxing with family and friends. Rendezvous always was that kind of place. I hope they can remember that and return to being a simple steak place with 4 star, special occasion dishes.

Went on a Tuesday night and it wasn’t crowded. We ordered baked clams which have been a favorite, but they just weren’t as good as they used to be. We had two entrees from the specials menu… stuffed flounder and crab ravioli. The flounder was a big portion and good, came with fries that could have been cooked a little more. The ravioli was under cooked and drowned in a heavy cream sauce. The bead basket is basic and so are the salads. The cocktails were not great. The server was nice, but very slow. By the time we got out of there the place was packed… barely any elbow room & loud.

Been here a few times now for lunch and both times were great.
Hamburgers are actually cooked to temp not like most places where you order it medium rare and it comes out well done. Fries are great nice and thin and crisp. the artichoke dip which was also great.
Waitress was great very attentive and helpful always had a full glass of iced tea and water

Over priced extremely poor service 9.50 for a poorly made bar well liquor Cosmo Served wrong steak at higher price steak price and they thought we wouldn’t notice. Who charges 10.99 for 5 oysters on the half shell. This place is not the ace it use to be. Cliff must be rolling over in his grave.

The steak is delicious. The service was great and the atmosphere was appealing and enjoyable. Great during the week spot to gran dinner

Same owner and famous steaks as Elbow Room, again, if in town, a worthy stop.

Don’t waste your time on this over priced dump. First of all, if you’re gonna charge $ 35 for a steak, and it takes you two times and you still don’t get it to the correct temperature, you’re in the wrong business. We also ordered the duck special of the night that the waitress conviced me to get it because it’s not on the menu all that often and it’s crispy and delicious. To be quite frank, the duck sucked and there was nothing «special» about it. She obviously doensn’t know what the word crispy means.
My guess is that when Perabell opens in March in Riverhead Cliff’s is going to run out of elbow room.

One of my new favorite places to go– the staff is so super friendly and somehow they remember your name?! Prices spot on and their steak is amazing!

Excellent food. Excellent service. Had to travel a little way to get here. Glad we did. Passed it many times while in Riverhead and always wanted to stop. Glad again.

Really nice place. Bartenders friendly, food very good. Burgers not on the menu, but delicious.

Great place for great food! The staff was super nice and the food was awesome. This was my first time here and I am already making plans to come back again.

Amazing steaks. Very friendly and clean. Great desserts. Took the kids and they enjoyed their fried shrimp and bacon cheeseburger. Highly recommend it. Will be back for a night out without kids at their bar as well.

Went here after a friend who grew up nearby recommended their steak. Tourists be warned, this is a townie restaurant all the way! When you see the exterior you’ll understand what I mean, and the interior hasn’t been updated since the late 70s or early 80s. But plenty of places that look like this end up having great food, entertaining servers and great people-​watching.
Well, two out of three ain’t bad?
Unfortunately, while mingling with the locals (all in their late 40s and up) had a certain charm and the waitress was exceedingly friendly, the food was a disappointment,
New England clam chowder was good, although nothing special.
The house salad that came with my filet mignon entrée was huge, but loaded down with too much cabbage and red onion for my taste. Then came the filet.
I had ordered it with their «famous» marinade, which turned out to be some kind of teriyaki glaze. I’m sure it would have been good, if not for the fact that they burned the s— out of the glaze, making it crusty and charred. If you’re thinking that sounds delicious, think again. We’re talking scorched earth on the outside of a filet. The inside was only slightly overcooked, but either way, it was hard to notice the flavor because it was so charred and over salted.
If you’re going to charge $ 32 for a steak, you can’t do that. I mean, that’s something that I wouldn’t serve my friends if I had them over for dinner.
It was very disappointing. If you do go, try it without the marinade. At least you’ll have a shot at tasting the meat.