Creola’s Restaurant

First time here last night. My family and I went around 740pm the restaurant was fairly empty. That staff and environment where nice. Waitress as well was nice but a bit rushed. Seemed new or overwelmed. There were only 5 of us and about 2 other tables with people at them that were on there way out. We ordered a plate of pasta, a steak plate and the chicken marsala and the scampi and rice plate I believe. We also around some lemonade, pinapple juice, and apple juice. By this time it was only us that were left in the restaurant.
Well we got our meal a little over and hour and 15 min later. I almost took a picture of my plate and should have. I ordered the scampi and rice. With all due respect, the rice was overcooked and mushy and I felt that my shrimp was undercooked, the plate was just a mess, presentation wise and cooked wise. I’ve done better at home. However at the end of it all I sent the food back and was disappointed all together. The lemonade was likely the powered brand and the pinapple may have been the can kind. The veggies seemed to be the frozen kind as well. For a 20.00 plate I would have done extremely better than that.
By this time the places was closing at 9pm, mind you the food didn’t come til about 850pm or 855pm. So not only did I not want anything else and didn’t eat my food the bill came and the waitress advised we took the food off however we charged you for the soup that you ate «that initially «came with the meal. It wasn’t a big deal to pay for the soup however common courtesy would have been «since you were not satisfied with the meal, we won’t charge you for it including the 5.00 for the very small bowl of soup.» I just felt for the time it took to get our food it would have been piping hot and just right I know my shrimp and I know my rice and this was not it.
I likely won’t come here again. The staff was nice but the food and everything else outside of wine were not great. The plates averaged at the least 20.00 per person. I’m not sure what happened this night but the serving size was subpar for the price and the food I got was subpar. Maybe it was just what I ordered. idk but don’t let my review keep you from going.
Kudos for the effort I commend the ability to open a restaurant and I’m unsure how long it’s been open but I’m sure, going into the future there will be more and more ways to improve. Keep up the good work and most of all the good customer service, without the rush of course.

I am giving this place three stars because the food was great, the waitress and staff were nice and the place was clean. The food I do not feel was fine dinning, however was good. I was disappointed they only had two choices of soup, both which I would not prefer. I feel our waitress was either new or overwhelmed, but we were the only table seated that was ordering everyone else was done. We waited quite some time to order as well as to eat. The seating was not private and a little homely, like I was at my aunts house. It is very open so it can be a little loud depending on crowd. I wools say try this place for the food but do not go in thinking you are going to a fancy upscale restaurant like we did.

We have always had good luck here, the soup is delicious! The entrées are also very good, the tableside preparations are also very nice. Charming little place in the neighborhood. Also they honor reservations.

Just wanted to update my previous review after celebrating Valentine’s Day at Creola’s. We had a wonderful dinner with our family, and the food was delicious! Creola created a special menu, which was limited, but had something for everyone. We started with the cheese pâté and the mushrooms, yummmm!!! I had the bacon wrapped filet, which is my favorite and always delicious. For dessert we had the crème brûlée, that was so good! The restaurant was very busy and most of the tables were taken, so it was a good thing we made a reservation. Even though they were very busy, the service was excellent! I’m looking forward to our next visit to Creola’s!!!

We made a reservation (but on early on a Monday night it was not really required). When we arrived, we were greeted by Creola (she is very warm and makes you feel right at home). Our server was very helpful and professional. Based on her recommendations, I had the lamb in dill sauce (something I wasn’t sure I would like). It was wonderful. My wife had the flank steak (perfectly prepared – nice, but not exceptional.) Our starters were the spinach watercress soup (try it for the experience) and a salad (only so-​so), Their deserts looked wonderful, but we were already way too full to have one. While a 5 rating is a bit of an overstatement (4.5 is more accurate). If you find yourself in Riverside, this is a very nice and unique place that is worth a visit especially considering the very reasonable prices.

I would award this six stars, but there are no options for that… :) My siblings and I selected this restaurant based solely on Unilocal reviews. None of us had ever been to this restaurant, and it was a special occasion: Mom’s 80^th surprise birthday party. Initially, the owner helped us find a florist (excellent!), played along with the surprise for Mom, and was insanely helpful – she really went above and beyond. When we got there, everything was set up just the way we wanted it. The food was SPECTACULAR. My niece, who is a chef, loved the food – not a complaint about anything. The staff help was very attentive. Sometimes with large groups, the table gets ignored, but that was not the case here. The prices were excellent, especially for four siblings (two with spouses) and four grandchildren who had all already spent about $ 500 just to get to Riverside for the party. Truly, there was nothing bad about this place. I can’t complain about anything. If you are in the area, please stop in. It can’t be beat. If you live in the area… I am envious.

Had dinner here last night for my birthday and we all just enjoyed everything — food was delicious — wine was great — service very friendly !

I had the lamb shank in dill and sour cream sauce. I was delicious. Great food and home like atmosphere. A little hidden gem.

I’ll admit I was a bit skeptical based on the photos, which don’t look the hottest,…i suppose i’m used to pretty plated yuppy establishments… but this is literally like eating at your grandma’s house, who happens to have professional chef experience. Creola herself was there and doing the flambé’s in the dining area.
The entire restaurant is quite small and located oddly in a strip mall, almost seems out of place. then you walk in and its a time warp… to an old southern kitchen in a plantation home… curtains and hackneyed light fixtures,…literally…grandma’s house.
But the food made up for it. the potato rockaford soup was REALLY good,…just needed a bit of salt and the hint of blue cheese was amazing. my cohorts loved the zuchini soup too.
I had the salmon and the escargot mushrooms. The salmon was literally perfectly cooked and while the side of vegetables looked deceiving, they were cooked well and lightly seasoned to perfection. My only complaint is the rice, but then again, i’m biast because when you grow up eating African and Indian rice, you just don’t find too many American establishments who cook rice properly. So take that with a grain of salt.
Service was kind and Creola herself stopped by, made our flambé and spoke to us. Very nice older woman and boy, was she a rockstar. Still ripping and running and actively running the place. She is impressive.
Id eat here again!

so glad we finally made it, some of the finest food matched with some phenominal flavor .how mrs. creola managed to fit that much heaven on one plate is beyond me,…and the bananas foster are by far the best i have ever had,…mrs .creola even came to the table to prepare fresh from scratch ((((bananas foster)))))-a must try!!!

Was looking for a romantic, quite and medium priced restaurant to celebrate our 37^th wedding anniversary and found Creola’s on Unilocal.It was a little bit of a drive for us but turned out to be the perfect place and in fact exceeded my expectations! Very romantic, quiet and the service was excellent. We started off with the spinach flambé and sautéed mushrooms which were amazing. Even the fresh table bread was hot and to my surprise soft crusted and dipping it in the butter garlic from the mushrooms was fabulous! Next I had the salad with a very flavorful bleu cheese dressing and my wife had the artichoke soup that was awesome. Finally I had the falling off the bone tender lamb shank with Dill and sour cream gravy and my wife had the filet mignon full of flavor and cooked to what she requested and covered in more sautéed mushrooms because you can’t have too many sautéed mushrooms. It was very quiet medium lighted atmosphere perfect for our romantic dinner. Creola personnally came by to say hi and see how everything was. Couldn’t have had a better celebration dinner that was within our budget! AWESOME! We have a new top restaurant and its affordable for us.

Best dinner we have had in a long time! Our food, everything, was fabulous, generous portions, the service was wonderful and it was affordable! We will be back and we are bringing our family and friends!

This is a phenomenal place to go for a nicer, quieter, meal in the Moreno valley/​riverside area.
Food is fantastic all around. Flavors are balanced but punchy when need be. Presentation is classic. Service is attentive and knowledgeable.
Desserts are a MUST here!
The crowd is a mix of younger couples on dates and larger, older, parties. Don’t expect any loud music or distracting décor.

There is hardly a place that I’ve dined at and was left and found so unsatisfactory. The food was flavorless the staff unfriendly and the ambience is like fine dining in a trailer park. I’ve heard people in the area rave about Creola’s and I really don’t get it. I walked passed I guess what would be the waiters station and I seen them pulling out bread rolls from a bag in a box, looked like Costco bread but even Costco bread is better. The place was empty when we went and the owner asked if we had a reservation, she took us reluctantly to sit. The whole time we were there the restaurant was pretty much empty till we left, hmmm wonder what happen to all the reservations, they must have all canceled and decided to feast on something with a little more taste. Don’t waste your time or your $$$. No stars for this place.

If I were in the mood for this type of food, I’d rather pay the extra money and go to Le Rendezvous in San Bernardino. The food was decent, but felt uninspired. The one thing that was unforgivable was the music choices: muzak of 70’s rock, and even the Cranberries «Dream».

My husband and I decided to have dinner here this evening because of the Dine Riverside promotions. I have to say that we were a little underwhelmed. The food wasn’t anything special. The atmosphere and the food was dated. It was definitely an early-​bird-​special crowd. I don’t think we’ll have a reason to go back.

Love it! Mrs Creola was a sweetheart she introduced herself to us and made us feel welcomed. Nice and really comfortable place to have a quiet and romantic dinner. Food was exquisite. We had an appetizer: the Mushrooms & Escargot in garlic butter. Yummy first time we had snail. I had the French Onion soup and my BF had spinach watercress Zucchini soup. Both were delicious. My BF had the Veal Piccata with lemon butter & mushrooms I had the Chicken Marsala, breast in marsala Wine Mushroom Sauce. He had wine and I had the chocolate raspberry Gevalia coffee we could not leave without trying the Cherries Jubilee Flambé. It was really cool that Mrs Creola heated up the jubilee Flambé herself.

So amazing! The service, the food Everything was so absolutely wonderful! Can’t wait to go back. A+++++

Creola’s dining is a hidden gem in Riverside. My husband and I went there for the first time after seeing it listed among the top 25 restaurants in Riverside County.
Everything was fabulous! The meal began with a superb wilted spinach salad prepared tableside and the warm bacon dressing was perfect. Next was the herb crusted whitefish with rice atop a delicate butter sauce. My husband had the pork tenderloin with apricot and peppers. The mashed potatoes were just like mom’s homemade and would have been great just on their own, but the tenderloin gravy was icing on the cake.
My husband’s a dessert guy, so we had to have some of that too. Chocolate cake that was rich and brownie like along with a lemon tart that had a very rich sugar and buttery crust were the perfect ending to a wonderful meal. The old fashioned cozy atmosphere, along with very relaxing music made for an excellent overall dining experience. We will definitely go back again! And… our waitress was fantastic, very attentive and great personality.

What a lovely dining experience! This quaint, continental little restaurant is beautifully laid out, with tablecloths and fresh flowers on every table, nice, soft music in the background, and perfect lighting for a dinner with friends or a romantic evening Not only is the ambiance wonderful, the food and service are very good. The owner keeps the dining room and restroom (singular-​coed) spotless, too.
I will definitely be returning, as the menu is extensive, and I want to try everything!