Reviews River Roast

I chose River Roast to celebrate my birthday because of its view of the Chicago River. The experience itself was truly salvaged by our server. Mostly because i didnt have a true understanding of their menu. I had selected a menu item prior to coming in. From their lunch menu. You know how it is when you've got your mind set on something specific... Well when our server let me know there's no lunch menu on Saturday - i was clearly disappointed. The brunch menu basically offers breakfast options with a couple of exceptions. The server said he'd see if he could work something out with his manager (no dice) and attempted to take my drink order. I'd seen something interesting on the 'specials' menu upstairs, but it apparently was for a special event the night before. The server had to check to see if i could order it (No luck again) I opted for something else for the drink and my lunch. Poor guy brought the drink that wasn't made quite right, but with a smile and a determined spirit quickly got it corrected. I apologized several times for being so much trouble and he light heartedly joked with me about how it was ok because it was my birthday. The food came and it was presented beautifully. I would have preferred my original choice, but it's completely my fault for not being clear on the weekend choices. By the end of the meal the server told me for my birthday I'd receive key lime pie, on the house - but handed me the dessert menu and told me i could ask for something different if I'd like (its like he knew me... lol) I requested the chocolate cheesecake and he made it happen. The manager came and greeted me and thanked me for coming to celebrate with them. The bus boy even wished me happy birthday in Spanish. Even though the decision to go to River Roast had all the ingredients of being a disaster our server made every single effort possible to make my experience special. So, to the management - give Kyle the employee of the month parking space or a raise or a simple thank you. Because its people like Kyle who keep your customers coming back. And to those thinking of heading out for a great view and some good food, be sure to ask to be seated in Kyle's section. He'll do a great job!

Fabulous meal. Great service. Amazing view. What more could you ask for? The key lime pie was the best i have ever had and i have it every birthday. The tenderloin was melt in yiur mouth delicious. Go.

Great brunch and when we were there they had excellent musicians playing some great blues music. And the views were great overlooking the river and the river walk stairs. The food was yummy! Loved it there!

Great place for a larger party. Family style dishes are delicious and perfectly done. Visited Friday evening for a friends birthday and everyone loved it. Roasted chicken, roast pork roast and roasted fish were fantastic. Try the shashito peppers and carrots too. Something for everyone.

When thinking through where we would have our wedding reception, we ultimately decided on having a city wedding. We knew we wanted there to be great food and views for our guests. River Roast fit these requirements for our special day! We worked with Jenn as our wedding coordinator. We had several in-person meetings with her over the months leading up to our wedding. She was incredibly patient, kind, and responsive. She made sure we were happy with our wedding day plan every step of the way and always went above and beyond. Jenn supported us through all of it: our planning, allowing us to mock set up our centerpieces with the sample linen at more than one meeting, and even making sure we had plates of food put together for us on the wedding day. She also made sure that all of the leftover food from our event was packaged up for us and our guests to take with us. The staff at River Roast, from planning, setting up the day of, and cleaning up, were all very professional and helpful. Our guests loved the brunch food! We had many people tell us it was the best wedding food they ever had, and we agree! Thank you, Jenn & River Roast for helping make our wedding day perfect! - Leah & Matt Photo credit: Sarah Nader Photography

Love this place! Our waiter was super attentive without being bothersome. He was super friendly and provided fantastic service! Everything we had was delicious from our drinks, to our appetizer to our main courses. And of course the patio experience right on the River was perfect! Only con is how hard it was to find the entrance. It was an odd warm day in Chicago in October, so I think they had closed the patio down for the season and opened just for the day. Made it hard to navigate to but it was worth the extra bit of a hunt!!

A nice place for a weekend brunch. The ambiance overlooking the Chicago River in the heart of downtown is amazing if you can get a seat with a view. Though to be fair, you better make a reservation if you plan to get a table. We showed up early for brunch to try to get a table - and even early, we were only able to get a table at the bar because while they had plenty of tables, they were reserved and that went unseated for about an hour to hold them open for the lunch rush rather than the brunch seating. Food was delicious. Chicken and waffles was flavourful and savoury. The waffles were light and airy and was my favourite part of the dish. My only ding on this dish would be the use of boneless chicken breast. I would prefer a couple of wings or a boned-in breast. But I get being in the Midwest, often folks are more skiddish about eating meat off the bone compared to other parts of the country. The pork belly eggs benedict was an interesting twist to the classic benedict. We enjoyed the flavour and tenderness of the pork belly. And the hollandaise was a delightful in-house freshly made sauce with a slight almost mustard note that made it unique (unlike some places that use packet hollandaise). We wished they put more hollandaise over the dish. The roasted potatoes were amazing that the dish was served with! We also treated us to their thick cut bacon that was outstanding! Smokey and caramelised. Crispy and yet also tender. It was perfectly cooked bacon. London Fog cocktail was delightful and citriusy - full of vibrance in flavour. Wasn't very London foggy inspired (the tea drink), but as a stand alone drink that maybe could have been called by a different drink name - like a London Spring! 😉 Service was okay. We get that bar seating is a tough service because of multiple needs the bartender has to address. We wish they were more attentive to check on us and our needs sinde we often asked for refill of coffee and waters. Also, the day we went l, many of the components of many of their cocktails were out or not yet ready. Also, while not necessarily a ding, it should be noted that food service takes time. I appreciate a slower food service. Especially since you are dining at a sit-down nicer brunch service restaurant. This place was in no rush to get us in and out. And I appreciate that. Also, because many of their food elements involve roasted items and/or long prep (e.g. hollandaise sauce, roasted potatoes, roasted pork belly) - be prepared to enjoy some cocktails before the main course dishes show up. 😊 The ambience is warm and cozy. Dark stained wood and warm yellow lights makes the place feel like you are in an almost cabin/or ski lodge-esque dining hall overlooking the river. Especially at Christmas time when they have the faux-fire and sofa area adorned with some Christmas decor! We plan to come back for dinner service. And next time we plan to try to get a table looking out to the river.

Beautiful views if you can snag an outdoor table on a nice day. Food is good. Table next to us ordered the roast chicken and that looked amazing. Fried Chicken Sandwich was WAY overcooked, I could taste its potential, so knew it probably would have been great if not left in the deep-fry so long. Steak & Rocket salad was good too, but a bit too much dressing as it was drowning. But taste was good. Service was excellent, not hovering and not absent. And they didn't shuffle us along, which was nice. Next time I'd try the roasted chicken...

We enjoyed the view, atmosphere and food for a birthday celebration. The servers and staff were accommodating with food choices and drinks. The reason for not giving five stars is … the BBQ chips that come with the sandwiches/burgers were just not it. No one in our group liked them