The Waterfront River Pub and Terrace

I was at the Waterfront River Pub with a group of ten on this Saturday evening. I had been here the last time I was in Napanee and had enjoyed my meal. It had been a while since then but I did remember that the food (while a little higher in price) was very tasty and plentiful. I also seemed to remember that we had a bit of a wait the last time we were here. Tonight we were seated fairly quickly and our drink orders taken quite promptly. Then the wait started. It took about ten minutes or so to get the menu's, they were delivered after the drinks were served. The wait for the orders to be taken was a little bit more. After the orders were taken the real wait had begun. Our drinks were refilled about three times before any food showed up, some appetizers. There seemed to be quite a few wait staff on this busy evening as they were able to keep our glasses filled but the food just didn't seem to materialize. When the food finally showed up, one and a half hours had elapsed. My food was as excellent as I remember and everyone seemed to enjoy the fare but by the time we were done it was after seven o'clock. Total time was 2 3/4 hours from entrance to exit. If I had been in any hurry tonight I would have left, but I stayed because of the good conversation with good friends. One couple in our group did have something that they wanted to attend after dinner and were late, after I assured them at the beginning that there was plenty of time. I am sure that the kitchen was slow for whatever reason, the quality was still there but they just couldn't get the food out. I can see this if it was fine dining ala carte, made to order, but the fare is mostly bar food, abet higher end bar food. The Manager came to apologize at the end but didn't offer any compensation. That is why I gave the restaurant a lower rating and the service a three. I would try this restaurant again, the food was good. But if it is even close to my first experience (let alone my second), it will be three strikes and I am out.

I cannot describe the food without starting to drool a little. We started off with a strawberry daiquiri and pins colada. So tasty!!We had two appetizers that were amazing. We had the garlic loaf with bacon and cheese. It melted in your mouth. We also had the Thai bites. Oh my goodness...the presentation was so pretty we didn't want to wreck it. The main course was the beef and pork burger (cheese and bacon) with a poutine (real cheese curds). Our server was fantastic and very personable. I can't wait to return in the summer when the huge patio is open.

We stopped by for lunch this week and ate on their uniquely designed patio. Every table had an umbrella and tables were spaced far enough apart that patrons had privacy.We started with a beer from the County, Loyalist Lager, and it was just perfect. I ordered the Grilled Cheese (cheddar and apple) with Root Veggie Soup and my husband had the Double Stack burger with salad. When our meals arrived, we traded: I gave him my soup and I took his salad. He couldn't finish the burger and brought half home for supper. My sandwich was tasty and so was the salad. The menu was interesting and it was hard for me to choose just one item.We waited for a table for a few minutes but, once seated, the service was very attentive. One suggestion: the server talked to us in a tone I use with my toddler grandchildren.......congratulating us on our choices, for example. Keep the "friendly" and talk to adults as though they are adults.One other suggestion would be to make the lunch menu more flexible. I really wanted the salad as a side but it wasn't an option without paying a substitution fee. Maybe all lunch items could have a choice of soup OR salad OR fries.I also placed a to-go order of wings for my mother and dropped them off so she could have them for supper. She texted me later to say they were delicious.

Absolutely beautiful location with tons of parking and covered tables on the patio. Service was great, menu expansive, food was great and very reasonably priced. A great addition to Napanee's eateries!

The Waterfront River Pub is a wonderful oasis by the river. The staff are super friendly and accommodating, the food is excellent, and on Sunday afternoons, there is free live music by Kim Pollard and her band (2-4 pm). We've been there for the past two Sundays and can't wait to go back. You could pay big money to see this level of entertainment, but in Napanee it comes free with a great vibe!