Riverhouse Inn

Reviews 4

A

A Private User

The RiverHouse Inn is a gorgeous old house that sits on the banks of the Red Cedar River on the west side of Williamston. The building was actually built in 1929 and for 77 years, it was a private residence. The current owners of the building planned to remodel the place into a bed and breakfast, but that never really happened. Instead, they opened a restaurant. The inside of the building still looks like a house. When you walk through the front door, you come to a hostess station in a hallway between two rooms. The sign said “please seat yourself” so we started looking for the best place to sit. There were no people in the two rooms you can see when you walk in, but I could kind of see a staircase that led down to a bar area. I figured that was the best place to go since there would at least be a bartender who could see we were there. We headed through what was probably an old living room or dining room that had just a couple tables in it on our way to the bar. Every table in the house is in a pretty intimate setting. It’s really hard to describe the ambiance. It looks like they used the existing layout instead of trying to open everything up and only keep load bearing walls. The place just had a charm that you can’t get from a new building. Once we found our way to the bar, we made our way to a pub table on the lower level of a split level dining room. The table was a big piece of granite surounded by bar stools. There are a couple other regular tables in addition to the few pub tables. The bar only has a handful of stools but the view from those stools is amazing. Like I said earlier, we were getting a pretty bad snow storm the day we were there and there are huge bay windows looking out to the Red Cedar River behind the Inn. The falling snow made the river and trees look really pretty. After getting settled in, a waiter came over with menus and took drink orders. We both just ordered a Pepsi/Diet Pepsi while we looked over the menu. The lunch menu is made up of salads, sandwiches, and a couple entrees. I think we each found three or four sandwiches that looked really good. I went with the Riverhouse Inn Burger. The sandwich is fresh USDA prime grade beef topped with organic field greens, tomato, red onion, and your choice of cheese on a toasted bun. The got Gorgonzola on my burger and took off all the veggies. The burger was really good. It was really juicy and there was a lot of cheese. The bun was toasted, but it was still soft and flaky. It was a very delicious burger. The sandwich came with fries on the side. They were thick cut fresh cut fries that were a perfect golden brown with a little Cajun seasoning. It didn’t look like there was a lot of food on the plate, but I left full and really, really happy. J ordered my second choice, the Smokehouse Panini. Her sandwich came with house roasted turkey, hickory smoked bacon, cheddar cheese, tomato, onion, and homemade BBQ sauce on sourdough bread. She left the tomato and onion off. The sandwich was awesome. It was smokey. It was nice and crispy. It was just a really good sandwich. Her meal also came with fries and she got a house salad on the side which came with a balsamic dressing. Our bill was just over $25 for lunch. On most days, that’s a little more than I like to spend on lunch, but the quality of food at the RiverHouse Inn is more than worth the price. They do things the way I would (will) do it if I ever (when I) open a restaurant. The sandwiches are made from fresh, quality ingredients and they take time to pay attention to the little details. The RiverHouse Inn is really a hidden gem in Williamston. I heard some buzz when it first opened, but it’s been a long time since I’ve read anything about it. This is a place that really should be on everyone’s short list for a great meal in an amazing atmosphere.

A

A Private User

Ive been to the Riverhouse Inn twice, and it was terrible both times. We had the same server both times, who apparently has never been trained in how to wait tables. He took one drink order (from a party of eight) and wandered away, and about ten minutes later strolled back with the drink and started to wander away again. We called him back and placed drink orders. Ten minutes later he took the appetizer and entree orders (a no-no in an upscale restaurant; the appetizer order should be taken first, not both at once). Twenty minutes AFTER this, still no food. No appetizers. Nothing. We had to *ask* for bread baskets, and those didnt arrive until thirty minutes after we were seated. It took yet another ten minutes for appetizers and twenty MORE minutes for entrees. So we were finally eating entrees an hour and ten minutes after we were seated. Did I mention that we were the ONLY party in the house? Inside, outside, just us, and it still took more than an hour to get food. Which, to be honest, was mediocre at best. My whitefish was overcooked, and lacked the bacon that was advertised. My sons chicken sandwich was dry and tasteless. I had to hunt down my own silverware (both times Ive been there, our party was shorted a table service, and still lacked it after two requests to bring us more silverware). Not only that, the food is seriously overpriced. I wont be back, and I recommend not bothering. Its only redeeming factor is the outside seating, and that wont be available now for several months. This place sucks. Avoid it.

A

A Private User

Where to begin. We visited the Riverhouse Inn for the first (and last) time last week. We ordered the bar-bq salmon special and the balsamic strip steak which was advertised as marinated for at least three days. We didnt receive any bread, had to ask for it midway through our meal. The steak was raw inside and had no flavor whatsoever. The rice was undercooked and its probably a good thing the salmon has so much bar-bq sauce that your couldnt taste it. Its pretty when your server asks how everything was and you flat out tell her it was horrible for the reasons stated above. She actually confirms that she has been hearing a lot of similar complaints and doesnt know whats going on. No manager ever came and not a dime was taken off the bill. For $75 it was the worst food weve had in a long time, save your money, theres much better restaurants in and around Williamston.

CO

Connie Scarpone

If youre planning a special evening and want to make reservations at a nice restaurant in Williamston - DON"T GO TO THE RIVERHOUSE INN! We made reservations for Valentines Day for a 6 PM dinner at the Riverhouse Inn six weeks in advance. When we arrived we were told they had cancelled our reservation (yes - we were on time). No reason given. They said they were really too busy and the best they could do was seat us at a pub table, but theyd throw in a bottle of house wine. Since we had made our reservations with the intention of sitting on chairs and not bar stools, we declined. Our advice if youd like a nice dinner - skip the Riverhouse Inn. There are a number of other restaurants in Williamston with food just as good or better that are also professional enough to honor your reservation!