River Haven

Passing on 301 and decided to stop. Am glad we did. The view of the river from the tables is great and worth the stop. I ordered the Haven hamburger and found it to be tasty. Good American food and reasonable prices. The greeter/​waitress was very attentive and friendly. Am glad we stopped here.

We love River haven and have ate there many times over the last few years. Now that we live even closer to it, it has become our go to restaurant to celebrate all occasions. The staff is very friendly and accommodating. The food is great, even our very picky kids love everything they get. Service can be slower at times but you have to remember you are in a small town and this isn’t a chain with an abundance of servers. In the summer they grow a garden next to the store so your veggies are normally fresh picked too. Enjoy the view and if you are lucky in the winter you can see the beautiful Belle Grove Plantation across the river (stop by for a tour) and enjoy some of the other historic venues in port Royal if you have the time. I love having so many local places that make you feel like home.

Entered the restaurant and was seated instantly atmosphere was nice, then it started to go down hill. It took 15 mins for server to approach us, not sure if their was some confusion between the two servers as in who’s table we were sitting at. Not one of them bothered to ask if we have been waited on and they both passed us several times. We finally order and 20 – 25 mins later we got our cheesesteaks and ½ lb steamed shrimp, sandwich was bland but the shrimp was satisfying.

Back again passing by during travel. Crab cakes still up to par! Husband had the fried clams. FRESH clams cut and battered. Very good! Simple place, fresh food. Good local craft beer, bar, wine selections too.

My first visit here was for lunch. I was quickly greeted and sat at a window seat overlooking the river. Service was good and the restaurant appeared very clean. I ordered a fried catfish sandwich with fries. The fries were tasty though not many came with the sandwich. The first taste of the fish was good. However, a bite of the fish sandwich left me shocked to find that the fish was mostly raw. The edges flaked but it was a thick slice and the thicker part was not cooked and inedible. I sent it back and they removed it from my bill. I paid for me Coke and left hungry and disappointed. First time, I have ever been given raw catfish. Too bad because I liked the atmosphere and it would have been a great local place to head to when in the area.

A diamond in the rough. This is the statement I have for this quaint little restaurant overlooking the water. I stopped here on my way home from Bowling Green and saw a few cars, so hoping to be able to grab it a good bite but not waiting a long time. This place didn’t not disappoint.
As I explained to the lovely server there, that I have not been here before, she informed me that the crab cakes here were her favorite item on the menu. With this in mind I continue to read the menu finding the boiled seafood platter. when I ordered this I was truly shocked how wonderful it all was. the flounder and shrimp had this butter/​lemon sauce that just popped! The crab cakes was so phenomenal. Perfect mayo, egg, and mustard combination. Along side that the crab lumps were huge! Hand down the best decision I made that day. I will be returning to river haven in the near future

This is a good restaurant. But the oyster Po boy has 3 oysters on the edge of the sandwich. They were good though the entire sandwich bread was empty. They were out of lobster wontons. Calamari was good and clams were good.

2 stars instead of 1 because the view was pleasant and staff was friendly. But the food is inedible. Got the seafood platter. 5 shrimps, a small piece of fish, and spoiled crab cakes. Mac & cheese tasted like nail polish remover and the crab cakes tasted like sh@$. I know that’s usually a simile for anything bad tasting but in this case it was quite literal. Bob sad.

Beautiful view of the Rappahannock River while we lunched — highly recommend anything seafood! Crabcake was one of the best. Fried fish sandwich was excellent. French fries were fresh, not frozen. Will definitely stop here again next time through.

Nice roadside stop! Fits the crime and nothing more. Ok food, great view, good service!

Quite enjoyable casual anniversary dinner with a lovely view. We started with their lobster wontons with plum sauce. Sort of like crab Rangoon but stepped up a couple notches. Very tasty! For our mains, I had the broiled crab cake platter and the hubbsterdude had the broiled seafood platter, which we both enjoyed. The crab cakes were fantastic, with just enough egg, mayo and mustard with herbs to hold them together. Very meaty with an excellent texture. The only down side was the macaroni and cheese side. It really was just buttered macaroni with a little cheese melted on top. No cream sauce that we could tell. But the crab cakes totally made up for it!
For dessert, he had the bread pudding, which was really good, not too sweet and not too dense and heavy. Just very simple and good because of that simplicity. I had the fresh berry cobbler, which was so wonderful. The berries came from the farm down the road and just burst to life with every bite. The topping was a very simple oats, brown sugar and cinnamon crumble, lightly toasted and topped with just enough whipped cream to melt into the berry juices. Highly recommended.
With the good, but somewhat slower-​paced service, quite good food and fantastic view, we will probably be back next time we are out this way.

Average food… food was priced a little high for the small portions but the three stars are given for the cheap all day beer bottle specials. Catfish nuggets were more like catfish strips but they were freshly cooked and served hot. Stay away from the cold salmon dip… not much salmon within contents.

Don’t get the hushpuppies! They were disgusting!
Oyster poboy was good.
Catfish sandwich was ok.
Fries were great.
Nice water views.

I’ve been searching the Atlantic for the best crabcakes and found this jewel hidden on the Rappahannock. It’s a 30 min detour if you’re travelling 95 but I can personally guarantee it is well worth the drive. The location is perfectly situated on the river across from the birthplace of one of our founding fathers. View is great and their local seafood wonderful. I had their catfish on my last trip and it reminded me of fishing with my grandpa. Its fresh wild caught on the same river your table overlooks! They have a decent crabcake (nothing like Edgewater) but still not bad. All lump meat I would recommend broiled. Presentation is elegant and prices moderate. Décor is a bit dated but who really cares right? I will continue to visit here for some great crabcakes convenient to my commute.

We almost passed this little gem by during a 4^th of July road trip to Port Royal. We’re glad we didn’t. The beautiful view of the Rappahannock River from our table provided the ambience for a quick lunch of specials recommended by our attentive waiter. The menu is heavy on sea food as you would expect and from the other diners’ comments, it’s probably excellent. I’ll try the crab cake sandwich on my next visit. This time, I opted for the house-​smoked, pulled pork platter, which was excellent. My wife enjoyed a creamy salmon dip and a very well prepared martini.
Don’t let the bright blue, river shack appearance scare you away. It’s worth a visit. We’ll definitely go back.

Stopped in for lunch. We needed more than a fast food break in the middle of a long drive. River Haven didn’t disappoint. I had the Lobster Rangoon Wontons, yummy, and a salad with the house made pomegranate poppy seed dressing. Also delish. My husband had a Crab Cake sandwich. The crab cake was great. Mostly crab and deliciously seasoned. If we are in the neighborhood again we will definitely stop by.

The grilled romain salad was good and they had good small craft beer menu. The crab legs were ok but they were severed with movie theater «butter»! Aka some type of oil. It was for sure not real butter.

Never, ever again. The hamburger was raw and the clams casino was awash with bits of broken clam shells. My fault with ordering medium-​rare, I guess, but when the manager appeared at our side the only comment on the clams casino was «sorry about that.» The menu was optimistic, but the preparation and delivery was amateurish. (This visit was several years ago, but inasmuch I drive past the «haven» several dozen times a year, I am compelled to recount my displeasure and shake my head; never, ever again.)
~ Addendum (since the owner has blocked me from replying to his last comment)
My wife corrects me. It was steamed in wine mussels that was littered with bits and pieces of broken shell.

Really good dinner. I had the boiled seafood dinner and my husband had the lobster mac and cheese. the mac and cheese was good but not great I understand it was a little bland but the boiled seafood was so good. the crab dip was worth the ride alone. The seafood and the crab soup was very very good. We enjoyed watching the Eagles and Osprey play above the river. And then enjoyed a breathtaking sunset. I just don’t understand the bad reviews. We have been two times in over a year and both experiences have been wonderful. don’t believe everything you read.

While the view of the river provides a nice backdrop, the food and service were both disappointing.
My grandmother took me here for lunch when I came to visit since it had been on her radar and there aren’t many options in this neck of the woods. The décor inside the restaurant is pretty plain, but the view of the Rappahannock is quite breathtaking. Since there were only a few other parties, we were able to get a table by the window overlooking the water.
The lunch menu offered both sandwiches and seafood platters (platters were quite pricey) — lots of fried seafood options. My grandmother ended up going for the crabcake sandwich and I went for the fried catfish sandwich. We both had potato salad as our side. I was pretty surprised that it took as long as it did for the food to come out. Given the simplicity of the dishes and the emptiness of the restaurant, 20 minutes seemed long. While I thought the catfish was a bit bland, my grandmother felt like the amount of seasoning in the crabcake masked the flavors of the meat. The potato salad was not to our liking at all, way too much mayo. The fresh tomatoes on our sandwiches were the biggest treat.
In addition to the long wait for the food to arrive, our server didn’t check up on us much. The owner/​manager who was greeting and seating customers also didn’t give off particularly warm vibes. We were bummed overall, but at least the view was pretty.