River Bar

Whenever I’m at the Assembly Row and I’m hungry, first thing that comes to my mind is the awesome «grass fed burger» they have. It’s juicy, it’s messy, it’s yummy. The meat is nicely cooked with little char, over which they put the small bacon rolls and their own sauce. It comes with a Cole slaw which is different from any Cole slaw I had elsewhere and it’s so good!

Typically love this place, but recently experienced some of the most disinterested, slow service EVER at the bar. I get it: you’re a little cold, it’s winter, you’re partially outside, & hardly anyone is at the bar. But you are at work, & in the service industry no less. Hope this is a one off and not a trend.

Awesome place to have a drink while shopping or waiting for a movie. Loved everything I ordered, service was great!

Nice environment and pretty design !
Went there for a drink with friends. They were OK but not amazing and more on the sweet side !
The small plates for sharing was good. I recommend to try the tacos and escape the chicken wings (too sweet).
Overall, nice place to hang out with friends and watch a game !

Went here on a Friday night with my friend who had glorified the wings at this place and I must say that he was right on! We tried the dumplings and rice cakes as well which were all full of flavor-​good choices! However, I was quite disappointed after I ordered my first drink. The glass was legit filled with ice and the actual «drink» was probably about five sips. My friend and I split the bill and when I checked my bank account I realized that I had been charged the full amount and then the «half amount» again… So just as a warning, make sure to check your bank statements with this place… The drink and payment mess up keep me from giving it four stars.

Great place to have a drink while shopping or waiting for a movie. For now, I only tried the bar so I cannot talk about the food yet, but it is on my todo list. The wine and cocktail choices are great. And the bartender was super nice on my first visit. Now River Bar is on my go again list.

A-​MAZING.
Outdoor seating with heat lamps on the mystic — A+.
Staff, friendly and attentative — A+
Rockin’ beer selection — A+
Food that is absolutely DELISH (please bring the Zucchini pancakes back… although the pumpkin ones are good they aren’t the same). Rice cakes, yum. Potatoes — yeah! Ratatouille — yumma, yum, yum! — A+
LOVE you guys!

Lured in by their open fire pits, we made a late night pit stop here after the movies. Very nice option to go for drinks but a hit or miss with the food.
DO’s — Sit by the nice fire with cocktails. Try their grilled corn and their burger but sub the burger side with something else though. Too much fish sauce.
DON’T — Stay away from the rice cake app! It’s not the worst thing in the world to put in your mouth but I’d never order it again. Was overcooked with a weird combo of Korean rice noodle, string beans and carrots in a hoisin based sauce. Just didn’t get it? I’d also pass on the fig, walnut salad as well. Nothing bad but nothing special to report there as well.
All in all, I’d totally come back for drinks simply because of the ambiance.

I went here last night before going to the AMC movies. The have a cool outdoor area and the fire pits will be nice during the whole fall when it gets chilly. The area at the bar does have heaters as well.
Nice draft beer choices– I had the smuttynose cheery something or other. It was like champagne kinda beer. Light and bubbly.
For food we just got one app and it was the chicken wings. They were OK, nothing spectacular. They had some kind of a sticky sauce that tasted like hoisin and soy sauce. I mean, I make better chicken wings at home…
The reason I’m giving this place 2 stars is because the service is sooooooooo slow! I felt like I was ignored for at least 20 mins. The bar tender was to busy talking to his 2 goober friends than paying attention to any one else that was at the bar. There was probably about 10 – 12 people sitting around the bar and he only paid attention to 2 people. That’s fine if your friends want to come visit you at work– but pay attention to the rest of your patrons!

I regretted picking this place for a quick pre-​movie dinner almost as soon as I sat down. I love that Assembly Row has all these new places opening up, but I expected more from River Bar after seeing a blurb about them on TV. The crowd at River Bar seems to be the epitome of doucheyness, but I try not to judge a place by its customers. What I reacted badly to was the limited and very unapproachable menu. River Bar doesn’t know what it wants to be, so it’s a little bit of everything.
We had the corned beef & cabbage dumplings, which I’d heard were very popular. They were interesting and that’s about it.
I had the burger, which came with bacon spring rolls (they should make these an appetizer). It was cooked well but not worth $ 15. My boyfriend had the Ramen Bisque, which was gross. If you are a fan of either ramen or bisque or both, you will hate whatever this is.
Service was shitty, although it was very busy. Making eye contact with the waitress was impossible, she never looked our way. We were lucky to grab her when she got a new table near us. We got our bill and gtfo. Won’t be returning. If you think you’d like to check it out, look at the menu first. You may not find many options you can stomach.

Sigh… Where to begin. The food not good. Tried 4 different small plates and all were bland. I ordered the zucchini pancake, it came out extremely burnt and tasted burnt. My friend ordered the chicken wings and they were bland, really lacked flavor. The Pickles were too vinegary and almonds were nothing special.
I gave 3 stars because the drinks were decent. I had the Pimms cup and mojito and a friend had their homemade vodka with cranberry.
All in all probably won’t return but great ambiance outside.

Came here for Nan S.‘s birthday and had some great drinks and okay food. The pickles were too vinegary and the salted potatoes were kind of bland while the pom-​butter was not very pom-​y.
The drinks were good, especially The Messenger (tequila drink). I could have drank those all night and not known I was getting drunk, but we needed better food…

I’ve only been here once, so please be mindful of that when reading my review.
Opted to sit outside, facing the water, it was pretty «chill.» You may have to deal with some little flies coming towards you when outside though, but nothing serious.
Service: Was good. The waitress was attentive and checked up every now and then.
Food: Ordered the corned beef & cabbage dumplings and it comes with this good sauce. The dumplings were just OK, but not bad. It’s a really short menu (went for dinner). I’m thinking perhaps they want to place more emphasis on the drinks (I will elaborate on the drinks).
Drinks: Drinks, well they have quite an offering and I wish I had tried a few more (I plan to do that the next time I’m in the area). However, for this first visit, I had the raspberry cooler. The drink was quite refreshing and good. Check out their drink menu online to see what else they have to offer.
Price: I only ordered from the ‘Small’ portion of the menu and those items were fairly priced-​basically appetizers. The drinks offered are fairly priced as well-​pretty standard for drinks in the Boston area.
Conclusion: My review should not sway you one way or another. But I will tell you that I will try this place again, but I will focus on the drinks ONLY. But who knows maybe I might order off the ‘Large menu’ if I’m feeling hungry. Do give this place a try.

River Bar is nice, beautiful location, right across the water but doesn’t have the food to uphold such a beautiful restaurant.
My sangria was so gross, it tasted like liquid Flintstone vitamins. Like the kind your mom made you eat as a kid. I returned it and I noticed another girl return hers as well. She said it had a weird aftertaste.
I ordered the homemade garlic sausage, they ran out of bread. The garlic sausage was delicious! I was very pleased. The coleslaw was overdressed with sesame oil and had no taste. Just too much oil and no flavor. No one in my party had liked their coleslaw.
If River Bar figures out the menu, it would be a great place for dinner and drinks. Until then, no thank you.

I’m crazy about River Bar’s cocktail program. It’s seasonal, creative, and brilliantly executed. They fab their own bitters and shrubs, balance the classics with lesser-​knowns, and every final product is consistently delicious. There’s a reason River Bar is a frequent pre-​game to an inevitably disappointing film at the nearby AMC. (Seriously, are any good movies coming out of Hollywood these days? I digress.) Don’t ask me to choose a favorite, lest I weep like Sophie over a Choice including the Jungle Cat, a barrel aged Martinez, the rhubarb-​tinged Sorrel Smash, the… oh, f*ck it — just order whatever. The personable keeps will ensure complete satisfaction.
«But Damien,» you ask, «what about that fusion menu of small plates with Asian flair?» Hey man, I’m at home right now, and you’re being awfully invasive. Couldn’t you wait until I’m, like, checking the mail or something? Anyway, the edibles are fun finishes you could find on Chopped: shrimp chips and togarashi almonds, roasted Brussels with spiced yogurt and sochujang sticky wings, off-​the-​cob elote and bacon spring roll topped bulgogi burgers? RB, you cray.
When it works, the plates are excellent, but unlike their bar, inconsistency plagues the kitchen to the point when a previous favorite tastes like a totally re-​imagined dish on the next visit. Best bets: the corn and wings. Roll the dice with anything else fried and the Brussels. I did not enjoy the grass fed burger — the bacon spring rolls drenched the overcooked patty with grease.
The outdoor seating runs through the winter, Saran Wrapped and ready for your frigid butt, while a second section is less season-​proof, but features an open fire. Toasty.

Drinks are good. Food is okay.
It was night before the big 3 – 0, and my biffle suggested River Bar. Took a peek at the menu and decided that it was cool. Got there and put my name down for a table as I had peeps showing up.
Ordered a Moscow Mule (not on the menu — I had to ask because it’s my cocktail of choice). The waitress was more than happy to accommodate me. I don’t like to veer off the menu, but if it’s okay, then yay. My friends’ drinks were good too.
Food. We ordered the boiled salt potatoes and pickles to start with, and they were okay. Potatoes were tasty with the drawn pomegranate butter, and the pickles were very pickly. Tasty but very strong on the vinegar.
Not a bad way to start the night. I think the menu could use a few more additions perhaps? This place gets busy and they do not take reservations.

The location is pretty good, not too far off from the river. The patio is not next to the river though. You still have to walk across the street to see the river so it’s not really an awesome view as you are not next to the boardwalk.
The service is subpar. The server was friendly but doesn’t seem to hear me when I want another round everytime she asks how are we doing. I never thought I would have to wait over 10 minutes for a drink when there are 2 working bars in the establishment. It was long enough that I wonder if she forgot to ring it in.
The menu looked like a great Asian American fusion concept but executing it was a flop. For the price they are charging, I was excepting unami. For my $ 15 grass fed burger, I was scratching my head. Maybe because of the bolguki marinate, they didn’t ask for burger cooking temp and came out well done. I honestly didn’t taste much of the bolguki flavor. I didn’t taste much beef either. It came topped with 3 mini bacon spring rolls. I actually forgot what type of spring rolls it was when I removed it from my burger and just ate it as is. It tasted like fried egg roll wrap with nothing else in it. I had to look at my photo of the menu to see what I was eating. I definitely did not taste any bacon — and I LOVE BACON! It’s the messiest well done burger I ever ate. It was overly dripping with liquid and made the bun soggy.
For the price point, I would probably not eat here again. It’s not worth the money and aggravation. when I can spend the same amount of money for a burger at Arogosta (Fairmont — North End), be literally next to the harbor and actually enjoy the food and service.

OK, I give this place a lot of props– you’ve got an awesome large outdoor patio space, with plenty of room for eating or just drinking with a great view of the river and lots of space, plus an intriguing cocktail list, solid beer list, and really unique/​weird (small) food menu.
But. Sometimes weird is just weird. The ramen bisque caught my eye, and I thought to myself, OK, half lobster bisque and half ramen — I like the two halves seperately, so maybe I’ll like the whole? Answer: nope. It actually took me a while to form an opinion on it, I kept eating the parts seperately (a sip of just the broth, a bite of just the pork) and thinking oh, that’s tasty… but then I’d have a bite of it all together and it just didn’t work for me. I applaud them for trying something cool, but the result was kind of gross IMO– some things weren’t meant to be put together.
The boy’s burger was decent though, and the salt potatoes– although ironically they needed more salt– came with a weird but yummy pomegranate butter. No complaints with service either. So, come here for some drinks, but just be ready to gamble if you’re ordering food.

Love the firepit and lay out of the restaurant but the food was just meh. Overpriced and small (I ordered an entrée from the «large» plate section). I was surprised that we didn’t have the option to have the meat cooked the way we wanted. The burger came out well done and dry. When we requested for ketchup, server said we cannot because «it will ruin the chef’s vision of the entrée» The spring roll was a weird combination in the burger. The pie was good and I love the flaky pastry on top. The side salad was drowned in citrus dressing (lemon I think?) I love citrus but it was way too much.
The hostess said the wait was 5 mins but ended up over 30 mins.

Amazing spot! So cute with an outdoor bar and tons of cozy seating with fire pits and heat lamps. The inside looks great, too, with cool, funky lighting and another bar indoors as well.
I had an amazing mulled wine that was equally cozy and delicious and the rest of the drink selection looked nice as well. For an appetizer, I split the corn which came off-​the-​cob (makes for cleaner eating!) but was unfortunately over-​seasoned (too salty) and quite watery (eek). It was a miss, unfortunately. I got the veggie entrée however, which was as good as a vegetarian could ask for! It came with sautéed kale, mushrooms, grilled eggplant (bonus!), balsamic peaches (a bit too vinagery, however), and some wonton strips (nice little carb crunch!). It was seriously good and I was totally pleased with my meal, despite the miss on the corn.
Whether for drinks or just a nice meal with friends, this is an awesome spot and I definitely plan to go back again. You don’t even notice you’re in a shopping plaza– whoever designed this place did a stellar job!