river cafe

romantic, romantic, romantic.... what more can be said about about the cafe?

i suppose that if you ever wanted to define what fine canadian cuisine, as many canadian's do, this will be your best start on your journey.

my wife and i of ten years spent one of our first valentine's day supper there. i still remember the warmserviceand fabulous food as vibrantly as i do the short lamplit stroll to and from this quaint rustic canadienne cottage on the bow. fresh game and fish - perfectly seared. lovely people and ambiance. forget an anniversary? make a reservation at the cafe.

lovely spot for brunch. nice brunch in the park,servicewas great food was even better and can't beat the ambience. will be back for more!

beautiful and divine ambiance and surrounding but.... the food is bad.serviceis great. this place is a great place to impress your date because the ambiance is very romantic and you'll forgive the river cafe for bad food.

since you do not respond to my inquiries via e-mail.. diners beware - horrific experience for the price i paid. they have not responded to my emails i hve sent them regarding this experience so hopefully they will see it here.

i recently took my mother and grandma to your restaurant to celebrate a belated birthday and early mothers day. they are new to western cuisine and typically stay within their realm of comfort when it comes to restaurants and they recently told me they feel intimidated and afraid to try new places with limited proficiency in english. i promised to take them to a restaurant with impeccableserviceand great food which is what i thought i was getting when i suggested to visit your restaurant. i was wrong, very very wrong. we sat at our table on the patio for 35 minutes with dirty dishes and not one visit from our server (the table beside us was visited frequently by their server and they even turned on the heat lamp for them and offered them blankets which was unfortunately not offered to us as it was getting cold.) my guests inquired as to why we were not waited on or offered such services and felt simply ignored, neglected, and ultimately forgotten about. when i inquired with the manager he simply said he will bring dessert menus over immediately which he did but with no follow up. we sat a while again in the cold awaiting once again for curtservicefrom our server. what infuriates me most is that my guests felt ignored and treated unfairly and ultimately self concious of the fact their english is poor and that is why they are receiving such poor service. i am writing this not to accuse our server but in hopes your management are aware of theserviceyou are providing to people and the guests persepcitve in such situations. to treat all guests the same and ensure their experience is consistent with what your brand and restaurant stands for. i for one will now stop bringing family, friends, or clients of my business to your establishment in fear that they will be treated poorly due to their appearance or what you perceive them to be.

i've the views and the ambiance of having a sunday brunch here on a good day in the park.serviceis excellent. the food was good just a bit on the pricey side for it's worth.

considering the price, the food is not that great, but good. food presentation is not up to my expectation for an upscale restaurant. my husband had "hog wild boar" and i had halibut, i prefer his dish to mine.servicewas good.

we went to river cafe for big taste gourmet menu and it was really good. the dishes are well thought out. the fusion of sauces, vegetable and protein was very smart. some dishes i enjoyed more than others but none were terrible. i particularly enjoyed
course 3:
pacific ling cod, fairwinds goat feta, apple, endive, spruce & herb emulsion, walnut
course 4
naturally raised beef, wood grilled delicata squash, stone-ground cornmeal, buttermilk
course 5
preserved okanagan cherry parfait, crystallized cocoa nib, lemon balm

these were well infused dishes so i commend the creative chef(s).

atmosphere is beautiful, you feel like you are in the mountains. you get a blanket to cozy up with. the place is clean, washrooms are nice,servicewas good, coat check gal was great...i'd go back!

our friend who lives in calgary was really excited to bring us to this special restaurant. we wanted to go for lunch so i could try a bison burger (bison isn't available in south africa), but we ended up going for dinner instead and sadly the dinner menu was totally different to the lunch menu. the options were quite limited but there were a few options that looked lovely. my mom and i had the wild boar and our friends had the trout and the sharing board. to be honest the food was pleasant, but not mind blowing and definitely not worth the crazy expensive prices. $45 for a pork loin with vegetables is really exorbitant.
the setting is gorgeous though - stunning decor, views of the river and island. and theserviceis very good. i'd recommend coming here for a light lunch and i'd come back for that.

i am born and raised in calgary and travelled extensively in europe, united states, china, japan, taiwan, etc. sampling different type of restaurant and cuisines.  
going to the river cafe was the biggest disappointment in my life.  i went into the restaurant at lunch, hungry and ready to dine on some fine local cuisine.  instead, the waitress told me that there was a two hour wait time and there would be no room for 1.  she didn't offer to waitlist me or ask me if i wanted take-out, she pointed me to the door.  

if you go there, prepare to be as disappointed as i was.  worstserviceexperience ever.  i have left feedback with management on facebook a year ago - no response.  calgary tower, catch, saltlik, anju, etc. are all restaurants where i've received better service.  can't rate the food because i didn't get in the door.

it wasn't bad!servicewas a little lacking the food was presented well but needed more flavour. great dishes on the menu! the atmosphere was cluttered and we weren't quite sure what it was they were going for with the decor.

i have been here twice now. once for lunch and then once for dinner. theservicewas slow both times, so if you were in a rush i wouldn't recommend it but if you had time and wanted a meal to catch up with someone with this is the place to go. the food they make is absolutely amazing. i have had entrees and desserts both amazing. their wine list is great as well. also their food presentation is incredible too!

we came to the river cafe yesterday after hearing many great reviews of the food, service, and ambience. the location is beautiful and the restaurant itself is lovely and inviting. however, that was the only selling feature for us. even though the restaurant was not close to being fullservicewas incredibly slow. our waiter never asked how the food was until we finished, and we waited 45 minutes before being offered the bill after our desert was cleared. unfortunately, my food left little to be desired. i ordered the halibut and had to sub for the pork belly as i don't eat pork. the staff was accommodating and replaced the pork with salmon roe. sadly, the dish was extremely salty and the vegetables felt very under cooked. i left more than half of my food and there was no effort to determine why i didn't enjoy my meal, or how this could be rectified. my boyfriend had the pork loin and enjoyed it very much. it looked very tasty. we then had dessert. i was thrilled to see rice pudding on the menu (one of my favourites). however, it was cold, covered in a hard sugar crust and the best part was the uncooked blue berries.

finally, the ladies bathroom was a mess. there was soapy water all over the counter and the paper towels were over flowing from the bin. it looked like no one had checked on it in quite some time.

great views, mediocre food, poor service, high price tag.

we dined at river cafe for big taste. the restaurant offered an exquisite fine dining experience with exceptional food,serviceand hospitality. the $15 prix fixe lunch featured ground lamb, seared tuna and oatmeal cookies. each was prepared with fresh, locally sourced ingredients. the meal was not only a great deal but also the perfect introduction to seasonal canadian cuisine. we loved it and no doubt we will be back to river cafe in no time!

i have always enjoyed my visits at river café. a major part of the experience is the short walk through prince’s island park just to get to the restaurant, enjoying the view of downtown and the river (or the bright lights strung at night). in this case, it was a late evening (8pm) on a thursday night, and the restaurant was in full swing. the restaurant was packed, exactly what i expect a popular restaurant in calgary to be like during big taste yyc week. i came for dinner with my family, and theservicewas exceptional, our server was attentive, and the food was great! though the portions may be smaller and the regular prices are on the higher end, river café is great about sourcing seasonal and local ingredients of great quality.

we were there around christmas time and honestly the place had a magical fairytale feel to it. it is located right in the park, so be prepared for a short walk from your car.
once you are inside you are treated to the atmosphere of the cosiest kind with stone and wood walls and beams and real wood burning fireplaces.

theservicewas impeccable and the waiter told us that they make everything from scratch right there on the premises.

this is a real calgary gem, and everyone should have the privilege to experience it.