River Dog Cafe

Weenie Wednesday is perfect for a midweek break form cooking dinner. You can’t beat $ 1.99 for a Kid’s Meal… what?! I had the Windy City which I have never tried before and it was fantastic. The toppings are fresh, crispy and paired with a combo of yummy seasoning. The peppers on top of the dog were awesome. The adult meal was $ 8 and it included the chips and Root Beer. The house chips were great too! What a gem this place is!

I heard about River Dog from a friend who’s kid attends a school River Dog Café does lunch for. My girlfriend and I decided to stop by for lunch around noon on a Tuesday. Cool little place when you walk in, memorabilia lines the walls and good tunes play in the background. We were greeted by the Chef Christian, who seemed like a very friendly guy. I saw the Duck Breast BLT on the menu and had to try it, unfortunately I was told that it was hard to get and that they didn’t have it (which I find hard to believe since Duck is a pretty accessible food). I brushed it off and decided to try the Dog Melt with Tator Tot Upgrade, since I was told it was a new menu item. My gf ordered the Buffalo Chicken Salad, simple enough. We both also got the Draft Root Beer, very old fashioned, love it. Food came out pretty quickly. I think it took less then 5 minutes. Unfortunately the table we chose was a little wobbly and was propped up by some napkins (just fix it, its tacky). When my food came out I had to make sure I ordered the right thing. My Dog Melt had french fries in the sandwich, which I don’t really care for, and it didn’t say it had french fries on the menu. My order of tator tots was merely a taste for what I paid for, could have been more. My gf said here salad was delicious other then the fact that the amount of chicken on her salad, which was only a few pieces. It seems like you get small portions at River Dog. I really wanted this place to be so much more. Maybe I’ll give it another shot some time.

Food not very good, was missing a lot of the ingredients listed. And for almost $ 10 an item, with no sides, it was severely overpriced. Coffee was gross. Good atmosphere and staff.

I’m not sure I even went to the same place I read about here on Unilocal… when I arrived it was empty; the fries to start out are not fresh cut ! The buns are not even steamed and the truffle dog with bacon we both agreed tasted funky bad! I thought it would be like a glorified awesome sandwich shop but turned out to be totally average run by young guys playing loud music… Is every place west of the Rocky River Bridge just frozen average food seems that way.

Great little spot with hearty options. I went here for breakfast and ordered the River DogHash, which was phenomenal (Corned beef, crispy potatoes, roasted red peppers, with a sunny side egg on top & sourdough toast). For the price, I felt like the portion should have a been a little bigger, but the service was incredibly fast, friendly and I left with a full stomach. Highly recommend!

Nice little place, we’ve been here a few times since its been open. Easy place to take kids, they have stuff for them while you wait, crayons and actual coloring books. Good fries and unique dogs. A bit expensive but the quality matches the prices.

i thought this place was cute. you order at the counter and then they bring out your food (or you go back up to get it) but i had a breakfast wrap that was good. the potatoes on the side were truly delish.
as other patrons were coming in around lunch time, they were ordering the fries, which looked amazing in my opinion. i am a HUGE lover of fresh cut fries and these looked like they totally made the cut. (no pun intended :)
if you are looking for a quick something i would stop in and at least try them out. i do want to go back for the fries and try one of their hot dogs!

Food truck catered my son’s 11^th birthday party and it was OUTSTANDING! The adults loved it, the kids loved it and the food and service were really amazing. This was no typical food truck. Very satisfied!

Great hot dogs– their chili is pretty dang good too, although I guess I like mine a little spicer. The root beer is amazing– an absolutely necessary addition to any meal here. I’d definitely come back here again as I’m anxious to try out their full menu.

Extremely good! Looking for a local place to get a bite before heading to my next jobsite and this popped up. Well worth the 8 minute drive from westgate for really good breakfast tacos and burritos as well as awesome hot dogs. I really recommend the adam bomb or build your own. Brisket kielbasa or brat and bavon with siracha mayo is a man’s best friend!

love this place. lots of healthy and delicious food! I highly recommend the buffalo chicken salad, the chicken salad wrap, the Mac and cheese, the blt, and any breakfast sandwich. ingredients are fresh. staff is friendly and accommodating. I’m on a restricted diet, And its so easy for me to eat here because everything is healthy, wholesome and tasty! the all beef hot dogs are delicious. kid friendly too. root beer on TAP!

I think River Dog Café is the perfect example as to why you should give a place a second try. My first time here I was meh about the food, second time around however I find myself much more pleased with everything! I’ve actually been back about half a dozen times I like it so much.
Their hot dogs are nice and plump; I usually get the Adam Bomb with brisket and cheese sauce, but I ask them to remove the bacon and add coleslaw right on the dog. This makes it so much more tastier, so although a little messy, it’s definitely worth it. The cheese seems different as well, or maybe since they don’t use foil anymore to wrap up the to-​go dogs there is no longer the problem of the cheese sticking to the foil.
The fries are the same, still frozen, but made to look like fresh cut fries so they are the best of the frozen kind in my opinion. I really enjoy dipping them in the red pepper aioli. I did try the loaded fries with chili (meat sauce), cheese sauce and sour cream, but unfortunately I did not care for them. I still have a thing against their chili (meat sauce), it’s just too sweet.
The staff here are always pleasant, and for less than $ 10 you can get a big loaded hot dog with a side which is plenty enough to fill you up for hours. I would recommend River Dog Café! Next time I think I’ll try a rootbeer float and their mac & cheese.

Nice location and vibe in Rocky River. Nice, people with great food. Rocky River is s bit uppity and this place is great as u feel welcome. Love the menu and we had a great experience. We will be back

Just had dinner at River Dog Café for the second time, this place has some solid hot dogs.
I got the Polish Boy, a Cleveland tradition, but instead of the fresh kielbasa I just got a regular hot dog. I absolutely loved combo of the house slaw with the fries and hot sauce. The hot sauce is so spicy my mouth was on fire but I ate the entire thing – I couldn’t help myself.
My boyfriend got the Adam Bomb. Which is a hot dog topped with beef brisket (that’s really tender), bacon, creamy cheddar cheese sauce, and fresh herbs. I had a bite of his it was also delicious.
The prices are reasonable too, my hot dog was 5 $ and the other was 6 $.
My boyfriend is also obsessed with the root beer there. I don’t like root beer to begin with but he gets excited about it lol.
The first time I ever went there I got the Chubalub. It had a heaping load of macaroni and cheese shells on top of it, and a fried egg. It was amazing. I can’t wait to try something new next time!

Sitting here enjoying my chicken salad and have to say as it is getting more crowded it didn’t seem to phase the staff… They remain smiling and very customer oriented. The register girl jen was very informative and smiley and I met the owner… what a nice guy. Oh and did I mention great food!!!

I went here because I was feeling too lazy to cook something up at home. Plenty of parking outside. The place itself is nice and casual. You could bring 4 or so friends and have a table with no trouble. It’s a small place, and they keep it very clean.
I took some time to order and the guy at the counter didn’t mind explaining any questions I had. He told me of a deal they had going on for their tacos, so I got three chorizo tacos for $ 8. They are corn tortillas with a decent bit of the typical fillers inside. You can get bigger meals for $ 8, but I wasn’t disappointed with the meal in any way. As I was waiting, apparently someone who ordered fries had left, so they offered them to me. Definitely got lucky there!
I’ll be coming back here to check out the hotdogs. I was told that the chili cheese dogs were fantastic.

My girlfriend wanted for us to go out after work for dinner and recommended us trying this joint. When I initially checked out the menu, I was put back as I am not a hot dog fan but they also had sandwiches and wraps/​salads on the menu so I was good to go.
We went in on tonight (Wednesday @6) and it was not crazy packed which was refreshing to have some space. The place itself is a bit small but cozy and has a nice wacky décor. The menu is written on a chalkboard above the ordering counter.
Now to the food. We both ordered the buffalo chicken wraps. Cool thing is any salad mix can be made into a wrap. We also ordered fries and on tap root beer! We sat down at a small table and the owner himself brought us our meal which was a nice touch. The wraps were very good and very fresh. It tasted like someone made it with love. The fries were hot and crispy; one order is good for two people by the way. The on tap root beer was awesome!
What a refreshing addition to the food scene in Rocky River. Great food, very nice and welcoming staff, good for kids and awesome root beer! We will be back!

Sometimes in life, you just can’t decide if you want a hog dog or a healthy salad. Luckily, there’s a place that can meet your indecisive needs — River Dog Café!
My husband and I stopped there for lunch today and decided to eat in. We got the Cleveland Beef which was on special ($ 9.50 for brisket sandwich topped with fried pickles plus a homemade sauce — and chips and a drink are included) and the River Mix salad (mixed greens and spinach with red onion and goat cheese and you can adds meat — I did and it was $ 11, which also included a drink and chips).
What we liked:
— The sandwich was perfect. Grilled bun? Check. Amazing sauce that didn’t overpower but added some pizzazz? Check.
— Greens were fresh and chicken was organic.
— Interior. Cozy diner style seating and it’s not too big, not too small. Vintage toys and signs for décor is a nice personalized touch.
— Service! Super helpful, friendly and prompt. We ate in, and we only waited for about seven minutes for our food to be prepared.
Options: I could have made my salad into a roll or wrap for the same price, and all the salads come with that option.
What we didn’t like:
— I would have given it 5 stars, but felt it was a bit on the higher end of pricing for a lunch. For two adults, we paid about $ 22.
Overall, this is a great casual dining spot in River, for professionals on a lunch break or family dinner. And they must be doing well, because they’re expanding — they are now offering meal preparation in family size portions.
We will be back to explore all of the options!

Found the menu for River Dog at the Rocky River rec center and thought it looked really good. Decided to try it today.
I ordered the polish boy and it was AMAZING! The kielbasa was really good. The thing was huge! David got 2 hotdogs. One deep fried and the other one just regular. I stole a bite of the deep fried and have decided that the next time I go, I will get one of those.
I really wanted to try the duck BLT, so I ordered it to go for lunch tomorrow. I couldn’t resist nibbling on it a bit and it was wonderful as well. You can tell they put a lot of thought and preparation into their food. Totally surprised at how affordable it was as well.
This is my new favorite hot dog place. Totally blows happy dog away and you don’t have to deal with rude hipster either!

Hiding in a quiet little plaza and disguised as a hot dog place is this adorable café. Gourmet hot dogs is the staple here, but they also have wraps, entrees, and sandwiches. You choose your hot dog (regular, brat, veggie, bison, etc) then choose one of their fancy creations or build your own. The buns are tasty and fresh. No dry crumbly buns here. Toppings are fantastic. And the veggie dog mimics the taste and texture of the real thing.
Breakfast is also delish. The breakfast tacos are served on three corn tortillas stuffed with egg, chorizo, potatoes, and tomatillo salsa. Flavorful and fresh. The quinoa bowl is filled with fresh fruit and topped with cinnamon and sugar. Kind of like a protein packed oatmeal. The sausage egg sandwich has some sort of creamy/​spicy deliciousness on it and its held together with a soft and flaky brioche bun.
It’s counter service here but everyone has been super friendly and happy. Food comes out pretty fast, so if you’re in a hurry or super hungry, no worries there. Also seems like a cool place to bring kids. What kid doesn’t like hot dogs? They even have a kids menu with kid sized hot dogs. And the parents can make the kids happy while also enjoying real food themselves. And prices are very reasonable. You definitely won’t break your wallet here.