River Stone Chophouse

Absolutely horrible food to the point I could not even give them a second chance. A chop house should be able perfect a medium filet mignon but I guess they can’t. Sent it back since it was overlooked and when the new one came out it was the same, odd? The Caesar dressing tasted more like Italian, I dealt with that but could not with the steak.

Very nice choice for our Valentine’s Dinner and a great place to take a date that you would like to impress. Our server Valerie was outstanding from her recommendations of the Cheese course to the dinner specials; she deserves a 10 for her impeccably professional service.

Back in December I made reservations for me and my wife to dine at Riverstone on Valentine’s Day. I could not have made a better choice. Everything about Riverstone is first class. The customer service, and the staff were the finest I have ever encountered. NOW FOR THE FOOD.
Me and my wife started with the soup of the day which was the crab bisque. We ordered the surf and Turf for two which included; two (2) 12 ounce New York, two (2) lobster tails, mashed potatoes and broccoli. We also ordered a side of the 6 cheese macaroni and cheese. The steaks were cooked to perfection! We will definitely be returning!

Amazing food. Everything we had on the menu was nothing short of wonderful. The cocktails were devine. The ambience and staff were perfect.

Great sushi, great steak, great drinks, great service. Riverstone is one of the best in Hampton Roads.

This restaurant is upscale and classy. The service was excellent and the staff was very polite. The food was amazing. The food felt like there was a party in my mouth LOL. Be prepared to pay over $ 100. Definitely worth it!
I had…
DRINK: Pineapple Sage Virgin Mojito
APPETIZER: Warm Deviled Crab Dip
SOUP: Thai Curry
MAIN COURSE: BBQ Bacon Cheddar Meatloaf, Cream Spinach and Macaroni & Six Cheeses
DESSERT: Red Velvet Cake

Top notch food didn’t get a chance to get the real deal but what I had for my work Xmas party was pretty good.

Riverstone is a very classy, well decorated establishment with excellent food. The portion size is fare. All of the ambiance and decorated food come at a price and it’s hefty but if you planned to go there you should expect that. There are a lot of nice touches throughout the restaurant that makes it special like the fireplace, the rustic feel and dimmed lighting. It is a great choice for a special night.

Finally went here during restaurant week and ordered off that menu, so there’s the disclaimer. Restaurant week always fascinates me. I’m sure a lot of servers probably hate it thinking their place will be filled with low tipping bargain hunters, and some chefs and owners seem to think that way too. If I was a restaurant owner though, I’d see it as a time to really shine and show people what you can do in hopes of gaining some new regular customers. Some places do it really well like Todd Jurich’s in Norfolk and Fire & Vine in VA Beach (both of which we now frequent). Others, not so much. And still others fall somewhere in between like River Stone.
First, the place is gorgeous! A really beautiful restaurant inside and out. Hubby was a big fan of the flat screen TVs in the men’s room, lest you miss out on the game, but I digress.
He started with the Caesar salad and I had the house. Both were really tasty, though I was worried the Caesar had too much dressing at first. On the contrary, it had just the right amount of tang and was obviously not store bought. The green goddess on the house was good, but nothing really to write home about.
We both had the NY strip, because what better way to judge a chophouse? They were on the small side (but hey, it was restaurant week after all) so I certainly hope that didn’t represent what comes from the regular menu. The steaks were served on a scoop of unremarkable mashed potatoes, but they were both cooked perfectly — his rare, mine mid-​rare. And that’s it. No veggies (menu said served with the chef’s choice of accompaniments). See, here’s the rub. Some of the veggies on the menu sounded good, but you had to pay extra. We could have, but it was the principal of the matter for me. The desserts were ok — Hubby’s s’mores tort was super rich, while my pumpkin cheesecake cake was lacking that rich pumpkin flavor.
The service was fine and friendly, and we didn’t wait long for our meals (based on other Unilocaler’s reviews we made reservations really early so we weren’t waiting forever). All in all a nice experience, and I hope to return in the future to try their regular menu. I just won’t be racing back through two tunnels to do it anytime soon.

I enjoyed the food, no surprise, but we waited thirty minutes for our first drink and forty five for our salads. Two tables next to us sat, ate, and left before we were served our main course. This alone will keep me from returning.

Very Disappointed tonight! Been here a few times before, but tonight we had reservations for 7:15 didn’t even get our dinner till 8:20 and that was after I had to say something. That was after I pointed out the people next to us who sat after us both had steaks (take a while to cook) beat us.
Topper that ruined it, today is my 2^nd Anniversary and they tried to rush my food and it came out tasting like a block of salt! Very disappointed, I expect more for fine dining.
They comped our entire meal (right thing to do) just hope they don’t get it wrong like this again.

So I shall begin with the shrimp cocktail, the shrimp was over cook. Can you say rubbery I think when you pay greater than $ 15. It should come with six shrimp not four and you should cook them properly.
My wife dinner was awful she had a meat loaf that was let call it it breadloaf with a somewhat meat taste to it oops she corrected me and said it was more like cheese loaf boy I bet that just makes you wanna run down there for that. And she order sweat bread that came out more like crap bread. The only thing worth raving about is the baked potato loaded of course and the tea very good tea.
For the price I paid the place really sucked. Will never go there again. Oh don’t forget to read the fine print in groupon they done honor groupon in the bar/​lounge area wow that’s a knee in the giblets.

A very pleasant experience! We had reservations for 8 for a birthday and the service was phenomenal.
I got the NY strip which couldn’t have been cooked more perfectly and I added a side of mashed potatoes and broccolini which was equally as good.
The real winner here is the cocktails. I got the white cosmopolitan. I’m not much of a vodka drinker (for various reasons) but I do love a good cosmo every so often so I figured id try it out and I’m glad I did. Top notch booze with a fancy little flower floating in it.
The coolest thing that sort of won me over with this place is that they bring out a platter of their steaks and show them to you and even explain the differences between the cuts of steak and recommended cooking methods.
I will definitely return.

We had the best experience at River Stone. On a Friday night, my sister and I rolled into town around 10 p.m., starving and tired from our long road trip from Atlanta to Suffolk. River Stone was such a pleasant surprise!
The wine list is on-​point. We started with a bottle of Chardonnay (one of my favorites — Chloe — is on the menu!) The couple sitting next to us heard how hungry we were and passed us their appetizers to share. Talk about Southern hospitality!
While our menu options were limited to the late night menu, we were very happy with our selections. We noshed on crispy potatoes with a creamy dipping sauce, split a wedge salad, and two sushi rolls.
And oh my goodness y’all, the sushi here is 5 stars! Sushi chef, Mike Hart, worked for the renowned Masaharu Morimoto of Iron Chef fame. His sushi is not only the best in Suffolk, but some of the best I’ve had in the South. Opt for his roll with beef tenderloin, or the delicious Island roll with tuna, mango, and jalapeño.
The service was definitely 5 stars. As we were wrapping up our meal, I asked our server if I could purchase a bottle of wine to take back to our hotel, and he said sure, then even gave us a 10% discount!
Next time in Suffolk, be it early or late, I’m definitely coming back to River Stone.

Amazing atmosphere, friendly staff and great food. I got the bbq chicken with mac and cheese, and my husband got the grilled salmon with mashed potatoes and asparagus. Both were outstanding. We also had the calamari for an appetizer.

I had the pleasure of taking my parents here for dinner and we were all very impressed with the food, ambiance and service!
We started our meal w/​salads. River stone salad for me and Ceasars for mum and dad. My mum had a sesame crusted salmon w/​friend rice, delightful! My father had the chicken w/​roasted potato and he enjoyed it very much. We decided to sample the macaroni and cheese, sauteed mushrooms and asparagus… all three so good! So Yum and huge portions of everything!
Although we were stuffed to the gills we decided to enjoy the chocolate torte and strawberry bread pudding. Both fantastic!
Service was really great and the atmosphere was elegant yet relaxed. Be prepared to spend a little money.
We will be returning here soon! With more guests!

There’s a fireplace in the middle of the restaurant. It really doesn’t get more rustic and cozy than that. Other than the fact that this place looks like a house on the outside. A charming mansion. I love it.
I’ve been here several times, for its happiest hours (the food is way cheap), but I finally had dinner here for NYE. They were very accommodating. And the ambiance was perfect.
For appetizers we had the Philly cheesesteak spring rolls, which were really good. We also tried the calamari, and while it was cooked perfectly, it was horrible. Why? Because of the breading. It was, like, cornmeal. Mealy and gritty. Devastation.
They were out of scallops. Second devastation, but completely understandable. This was 10pm, New Year’s Eve, afterall. So we tried the BBQ Bacon Cheddar Meatloaf. Life-​changing.
A good NYE, despite the lights going out in the women’s restroom and everyone taking turns with the flashlights on their phones. The common bond made for instant friends and lots of laughs.
Overall, everyone knows River Stone is a solid Suffolk staple. Make a reservation.

Happy hour here is the only thing that is consistently to my liking (reference my previous reviews). I don’t know why my luck is so terrible when it comes to the dining room but it makes me sad because I love beef.
Oh well, it doesn’t stop me from coming here though since they’re a hop, skip and a jump from my corner of the universe (aka Suffolk).
Again, Happy Hour prices are very reasonable, menu offerings are on point (try the crab dip — DELICIOUS, and the Nachos with the home made chips they serve were great too).
They were super crowded this past Thursday, Surely because end of year gatherings for the surrounding businesses, but service was still seamless.
Great job guys!

I really liked this place except for a small hiccup at the close of the meal which I’ll detail at the bottom.
My boyfriend and I stopped in for an early dinner after Homearama. We had a 5:30 reservation and were promptly seated. I requested a quiet booth for two and that’s exactly what we got — seated at booth number 2 which is a comfy booth with leather seating specifically for a couple. Fine by me. Saves me from large parties and babies being all around.
After getting the seating sorted out our waiter promptly came to say hello and we ordered the Blackened Sirloin bites to start — which are, of course, blackened sirloin bites with crispy onion straws and a yummy horseradish dip. They were out very quickly (probably because there weren’t many people there yet) in 10 minutes or so. They were very good.
I chose to start with the Bibb and Bleu Cheese salad which had a TON of Bibb lettuce (a type of butter head lettuce), bacon, bleu cheese, tomatoes and pecans. It was a pretty big salad and fairly yummy. The presentation was nice but basically I had to cut these HUGE pieces of lettuce up so I could actually eat them and I hate doing that because, as I told my boyfriend, if I am going to have to cut up my food to eat it, I’d rather be at home where I have my knives and cutting board, not sitting at a nice table with a butter knife doing it in a nice outfit…
My boyfriend got a baby spinach salad with some sweet fruits on it and a light dressing with nuts. It was good.
For my entrée I ordered the fish special for the night which was tile fish — a white fish much like flounder. It came with parmesan rice and asparagus. I chose the veggie side special of the night: sautéed squash and purple sweet potatoes with peppers.
My boyfriend went with the marinated skirt steak. It was good and his potato wedges were yummmmmmmmy. He didn’t love it — but I think it’s more because as he gets older he likes the texture of red meat more and more.
We finished the meal with coffee and shared an orange chocolate truffle cheesecake for dessert with orange whipped cream. It was yummy but I only had about 3 bites because by this time I was stuffed.
Now, our experience was by no means perfect, because when our entrees were brought out my side of sweet potatoes and squash did not come out — in fact — I sat there waiting for a full 15 minutes before it finally arrived. That was irritating for such a nice place — but when it arrived it was delicious.
Then — when it came time to pay for the meal our checks were split and our server only ran the credit card once — so we only had a $ 49 bill… which would be fabulous except we spent like $ 120. So when we tried to explain he was sure that wasn’t the case — then the manager came over and was telling us about how the credit card didn’t go through — yadda yadda. We kept telling them there were two checks (it said check one and check two with two different seats and amounts of money with different food items on there and I was a server so I knew what was going on — they only ran one card and the system was like — hey dummy, you still have an open check) and finally they’re like, «Oh! You have two checks!»
So the manager left to fix that and ended up having to cancel out the previous $ 49 which had already been pre-​authorized on my boyfriend’s card, re-​ring up everything on one ticket, and bring us a new bill for about $ 115. Then they didn’t swipe the card even though they had it with them when they came back so they had to go do that. All told, that took up an additional 45 minutes before we could leave. So we sat for 2 hours. I wasn’t angry, didn’t tell anyone off, and we remained very friendly and understanding. Now, we could’ve simply filled out the $ 49 bill with a tip and left because we were told twice by two different people (the server and then the manager) that was what we owed — but we didn’t. Instead we sat there for an additional 45 minutes while it was sorted out. I don’t expect things for free — and I can more than afford to pay that bill — but a gesture of goodwill because of our troubles would’ve been nice. A ‘We’ve covered your dessert’, or ‘we covered the bill’, etc. since the potatoes were 15 minutes late AND our bill required more than a half hour to fix. Nothing. They were polite and apologized but no other gestures. This is a really expensive place and my ex husband worked at Red Star Tavern in Hampton as the Manager and he would comp entire meals for much less than this. So I have to say — I was less than pleased with how they handled it. Especially since we were very nice and forgiving about it — again — didn’t expect freebies — but had I been the manager — I certainly would’ve comped the potatoes and dessert, if not the entire meal, or offered free appetizers or something next time.

We came tonight to hang out with friends in the bar area. We got there early enough to snag one of the long tables with cushy bar seats. The smaller round tables have seats with backs. But the big crowd tables only get bar seats.
Happy Hour has apps 50% off 3−4pm, 25% off 4−6pm. And they had drink specials. House wine was $ 4.
The bar area has a different menu but you can still get several of the steak and main menu items and any of the sides.
We started with the chips. They are kettle chips, very tasty and only $ 3. We also tried the cheese platter. It was a good serving to share. Three types of cheese with grapes, crackers, a mint jelly and pimento cheese spread. Oh, and some candied nuts.
Now, we expected the bar to be a shorter experience than the fine dining side. I had a child to pick up and gave myself 2 hours to hang out. But it took over an hour and half for our food to come out. My husband only got a burger, and I had a soup and shrimp. We then had to rush to finish and get out of there on time. It shouldn’t take almost 2 hours for what we ordered. My biggest gripe is the wait for food in the bar area. I guess they did sell us more drinks…
Ok the food. The burger was huge. They had a burger/​beer special for $ 16. But the husband didn’t like their draft beer choices. So the burger was $ 13. He really enjoyed it. He said the mustard they served was way too spicy however. He had put it on before realizing this and had to overcompensate with ketchup. And he likes mustard, but this was clearly too spicy.
My lobster stew was amazing. It was huge and could have been my meal. Creamy sauce, chunks of lobster, onion, potato… yum! My peel and eat shrimp were large. For the price/​value get the peel and eat shrimp. The shrimp appetizer is only 4 shrimp and they aren’t colossal. The peel shrimp were seasoned just right, easy to peel, and a good size. I brought half home and made shrimp & grits this morning, super yum!
Everything our group got looked great. The steak was super thick and cooked just right. The sides were all very good. Some are leaving the menu for summer, so everyone was happy to get a taste before they are gone. One friend got the wings and said they are great. Looked good to me.
So overall, we had a nice night. My complaints are the time it takes to get food. I chose the bar so I could get out in 2 hours. Nope, I was barely on time to get my child last night. Obviously this is a higher end place and prices reflect that. Even in the bar we were over $ 100 for just two of us. So while we really enjoyed the food and drinks, it’s not a place I can visit often.
Perfect for a special event though.