River and Rail Cantina

Reviews 5

NJ

NJnerdboy

First time there. My girlfriend and I love Mexican and will always try a new place. Very disappointing. We arrived @ 530 pm, as we some other plans later. Place was half filled. Wait time for any bar service was mediocre at best, but by the time it got busy, it was horrible. The bar area though large, does not have a lot of usable space do to poor plan design. Gets real crowded real fast, with not that many people. The dinning area is almost like a gas chamber due to poor ventilation. 4 or 5 people were having Fajitas and the entire dining area was filled with smoke. Glad we chose the bar. The food is truly less than mediocre. My empanadas ( chicken, beef & Cheese ) had literally nothing inside them, it was almost like a pastry puff. Pathetic. I also ordered enchiladas with mole sauce. Again, nothing inside the enchilada, mole sauce, if made on site, was flavorless. 17$ My girlfriend ordered 3 fish tacos, again, no filling mostly taco. Pretty disappointing. 18$ If you are looking to have a few Margaritas ( @ $12 & up ) the bar is not bad. If you are looking for expensive mediocre food, this is your place. There are better places to be found. Oh, and there is no desert, so eat drink and get out, we have to put another ass in that seat. (aka Jose Tejas ) Freppes on the edge of Scotch Plains/Plainfield border is another place, food is excellent, but no liquor. BYOB So my bill for the night: $7.00 Rouge Dead Guy beer $7.00 Smutty Nose Beer $24.00 for 2 Margerittas $8.00 Empinadas $17.00 Enchiladas $18.00 Fish tacos $81.00 $5.67 tax $18.33 tip ( we always tip well ) $105. To walk away being hungry and disappointed. Oh, well you live you learn.

---

MA

Marta J.

SAVE YOUR TIME AND MONEY! Ive eaten here a few times and the food was just okay. Margaritas were big, but not that great. However, after my last experience, I can definitely say I will never go back. Rude and unprofessional staff, as well as management. Not sure how a restaurant owner can tell his customers they are wrong and is okay with them leaving a bad review. Most restaurants try to keep business, not drive it away. Ill spend my money elsewhere next time. I came in on a Saturday evening and was quoted a 45 minute to 1 hr wait, I understand sometimes it may take longer, but the staff is poorly trained in handling their customers. I was originally told the patio was "reserved" when I asked if we could sit there, only to come back 45 minutes later to an empty patio. The girls in the front are not courteous or professional. I received attitude with hands up and remarks like "I cant help it if people dont get up." Finally after 1 hour and 15 min of waiting, I was told we can sit in the patio area because it would have been another 20 minutes to sit in the dining area. At this point, we waited too long to be in an area with one or no waiters. After speaking to the manager, I was told a different story: that we were told we could sit in the patio from the beginning. This was a lie, which the manager assumed was true; thus, insinuating that the customer is lying. I could not believe that such a nice looking restaurant with so many customers could have such terrible customer service. The restaurant will lose business quickly because of their poor service. What a waste of time and energy. Stay away !

---

MA

Marilyn Cortes

Okay, since there is no option for zero stars Im just giving one so I can write my review. First of all, Ive never seen such lack of courtesy and respect for other people like in this place. My family and I decided to try a new restaurant and have a good time, but while ordering the appetizers one of the waiters was being extremely rude and disrespectful to the guys in the kitchen. ( we were sitting right next to the open kitchen) Second, they took about 30 minutes to bring our drinks and they were overpriced. Third, When we got our food it was not what we all expected. My guacamole tasted like it had been in the fridge forever absorbing all the different taste of whatever was inside the fridge. The burrito had no flavor at all. The staff was very unprofessional and they clearly were rushing us out of the place to accommodate a larger party that didnt like the table where they were sitting, the worst part was that one of the MANAGERS was putting pressure on our waitress by asking her to take our plates even thought we were not even finished and also giving us the check even though we did not get asked if we wanted coffee or dessert.(They dont even have a dessert menu). Honestly, Ive never witnessed such a racist situation specially because the people who wanted another table were white. It is a SHAME that such a nice looking and well decorated place its nothing more than that, because the owner clearly have no idea that what brings life to a business is EXCELLENT CUSTOMER SERVICE AND PROFESSIONALISM.

---

MO

Mona Iwer

It looks so interesting and exciting. Crowded, loud, and the food is mediocre. The service is poor. We sat down at a little table it was a table for two and it was a little tight but it was alright. The table was very wobbly so we asked the waiter for either a coaster or something to put underneath the table. He said ok and never brought it. We ordered our food things were missing from my meal and the appetizer came when the food came. The person I was with they were brought their meal with something that they asked not to have put on the burger. When they brought the order back again it was raw. And this was supposed to be a turkey burger. It had something else on it that was not on the menu we did not realize until we got home that they actually brought him the completely wrong burger. It was beef. I ask for napkins because the food was messy, waiter said okay never brought the napkins. Never came back to ask me if Id like another drink I was going to order at least one or two more for each of us. He saved me money... thank you for that. My rice was hard and some parts and my beans were undercooked and none of it had much of any flavor the guacamole was okay. Ill never go back Im sad to say it looks much more attractive than what it really is.

---

LE

Leslie A.D.

We arrived to be told there was a 45 minute wait. We didnt mind because it was a nice night and would walk around the area. They took our phone number. When we returned 45 minutes later, having not received a phone call (with multiple open tables), the response from the hostesses was that they just got busy and were getting around to calling us. We were immediately seated though outside. Outside was lovely, more spacious, and much more quiet than inside...so if I return this will be my only seating preference. My party enjoyed their meals, but I did not enjoy my shrimp taco. There wasnt a lot of flavor and what was there did not compliment each other. The guacamole and tortillas were good. The salsa was not: it tasted and looked like marinara sauce with lime in it. Within a half hour after leaving the restaurant, my stomach began to hurt and I had indigestion the rest of the evening. Ambiance/atmosphere- 4/5 but only for outside Waitress- 5/5 because she was friendly, accommodating, knowledgeable, and accurate Food- 3/5 I would be willing to try one more dish We agreed that we were glad we finally visited...would come again...but not in a rush to get back...a bit disappointed after all the hype.

---

---