river rocks

deep fried good & bad. the menu is relatively short and that would be okay except that nearly everything is deep fried. i'm not the typical eater, i prefer the finer things in life, and they do not come out of a deep fryer.

our service was great. the place was packed and they valeted my car for free. there was a guy playing guitar and was okay. overall i gave this a thumbs up because it's a good example of what arestaurantcan be. too bad the previous ownership (chowders) didn't figure it out in time.

just improve the food...

easter brunch. our family went to river rocks for the easter buffet. service was just okay. plates were cleared but coffee refills had to be asked for. the food for the most part was good. however, desserts were very disappointing. store bought cookies and brownies from a box mix did not seem suitable for arestaurantproud of their reputation. given the price of the buffet, with coffee and tea extra, we would not return.

again another wonderful experience! great view, lots of choices, always consistent. good relaxed atmosphere unlike the crowded noisy place just to the south!


-----07 jul, 2013-----

amazing views to go with the fresh ingredients. real veggies too! gourmet quality. not your typical " bar food" that is the same everywhere you go. thisrestaurantis unique and dies not compromise on quality! there is a reason the parking lot is full every day!

very good food ( a couple bumps), excellent service and nice view!. we went here after a long hiatus just because we live farther away. we had been here about a year ago for the 10am to 2pm sunday buffet and it was very good. today, we had sunday afternoon lunch. our server emily was excellent, 5 stars! emily kept our drinks full, was very friendly and efficient, and addressed all our requests quickly. we had the lobster dip, fried oysters fair (shells and sweet tomatoes pizzeria are better), and fried trawler. crab cakes were fresh and tasty, shrimp crunchy and fresh, grouper fish white and mild. oysters were a bit soggy. the clams were a bit soggy due to them being frozen and breaded. tartar and cocktail sauces are homemade, fresh and tasty. our coffee was hot (emily made a fresh pot for us) and the key lime pie was very good. my diet coke was great syrup and carbonation perfect, not all restaurants get this right. our table had a beautiful view of the river. therestaurantis nice inside and upscale. recommended.

river rocks started a great wine tasting on wed starting at 4 pm. you get 4 great wines (3oz) matched with a tapas for each wine. for $20 it's an awesome price for a night out with friends. thanks kyle for your delicious tapas.


-----24 mar, 2012-----

having a great time at river rocks the food, service and music are awesome.


-----09 mar, 2012-----

another great time at river rocks. the shrimp and grits were awesome. if you have not been here, you have to come by and try the food and enjoy the music dockside.


-----26 feb, 2012-----

enjoyed another great sunday brunch. although it was a cool day, the patio was very comfortable with the gas heaters. bartender dan was awesome


-----11 jun, 2011-----

another great experience!!. river rocks is awesome!! customer appreciation day was the best!! thank you mike and tracy!! if you have not been to river rocks you are missing out!!


-----29 may, 2011-----

superb restaurant!!!!. river rocks offers a fine dinning experience!! the menu is awesome and no otherrestaurantin town can beat the location!! sunday brunch is the best in melbourne!! having spent over 20 years in the military and traveling the world, i consider myself a great judge of fine dinning!! come visit river rocks, you will not be disappointed

sub-par service and its a shame.... we've taken out-of-town guests to brunch at rr three times in the past four months and, while the food and view is impressive, the service is always bad. its almost comically bad.

its so frustrating because this place has it all when it comes to sunday brunch... a panoramic water view, delicious fare, fresh seafood and great desserts (the buffet food could be replenished more quickly, but overall thats not the problem.) having to ask for silverware, salt and pepper, coasters, place mats and to have plates cleared off the table tarnishes an experience that would be otherwise exemplary! one time, half our drinks were served in glass while the other were served in plastic. there is no rhyme or reason. therestaurantjust doesn't seem to flow properly.

i hope they can improve on this since, really, there aren't many places in melbourne with this much potential.

phenomenal. i attended a business dinner there and can tell you that therestaurantis not only beautiful but the food is phenomenal, they have a vast wine selection and the views are superb, all around a great experience..i liked it so much i took my hubby there (he loved it too)...

thisrestaurantwas just okay. we had the cheese plate for an appetizer which was good. for the main course, i had the lobster ravioli and my partner had the prime rib. my ravioli was good but nothing special. the prime rib was better. i say thisrestaurantwas only okay because it was very over priced for what we got. with two glasses of wine we paid $80. if the price had been $50 i would have said this was a very good restaurant.

terrible experience. the service was terrible!!! we waited 30 min. for a drink and after 1 1/2 hrs wait went to a realrestaurantto eat.. the mgt. was snooty and it appeared that if you weren't from the right clique you didn't get served... do not reccomend this place

you can't trust online reviews!. hmmm, well looks like there is a 50/50 split for reviews. i myself have never had a bad experience there! quite the opposite actually! i have dined at river rocks many times and have taken friends who claim it is there new favorite place to go. the only thing i can say is you can not trust the internet review sites. people giving negative feed back may have valid reason to do so, but they also may have alternative motives... competition possibly??

anyone who thinks thisrestaurantis too expensive, you need to go out or travel more. there are some other local restaurants here that charge much more for something i could make at home with ease! travel to orlando and visit kres. you will find you are paying $30 for a 6oz fillet and everything else is a-la-carte! also again nothing i couldn't make at home. there you are paying more for the atmosphere than for the food.

if you live in the area or not river rocks is most definately worth the visit! i recommend the scallops, pork loin, or if they have it the cobia special with olives, capers, and tomatos over squid ink pasta is really yummy!

not again. heard mixed reviews, thought i'd try it for myself. won't be going back. view is wonderful, ambiance stellar, service good. prices are high for food received. overheard management speaking of bar staff as "eye-candy". sexist and rude. seems like there is tension within the staff and management. buzz(?) never came around to the table, just looked like he was a warden over the staff. thisrestaurantdoes not need this as it appears it is struggling enough in other areas.

poor food, bad service!. visited thisrestauranton july 31st, 2010 for lunch. the facility is very nice but the meal was very bad. the service was just about equally bad. they didn't even bring napkins. we had to use our coaster napkins. bought a bowl of soup that i paid $6. wife bought a small sandwich. she couldn't finish the small sandwich due to having an "aftertaste" to the seafood. bottom line here is the food is expensive, service is poor and location is excellent. too bad they have such a poor kitchen. i will never use thisrestaurantagain.

it's about time!!!. truly! it is about time we get arestaurantof this quality and courage to "live a little on the edge". we've been dieing to find a place that finally caters to the younger crowd moving into the new viera... as most places in town that are in this range stick to familiar and "safe" .. and truly cater to an older crowd. but at the same time, has a whole other menu and future dining area for more casual and familiar fare.

the combination are exciting and very well executed! the chef seriously knows what he/she is doing! even the whipped cream was home made! no short cuts here folks!

we stopped in just a little before they had started serving dinner, and graciously offered us a seat at the bar and drinks, along with an "in-between" menu... but it was only 15 minutes til dinner so we just enjoyed ourselves at the bar with their excellent bar tender mike. most will remember him from the chowders days, he says he came with the building ;-d he was even nice enough to let us sample the local beers before deciding on which to order.

for starters i ordered the seafood bisque.... rich creamy and very smooth. no chunks but was oozing with the scent and flavor of shellfish.

for my entree i ordered the duck, i was happy with it, however i personally thought the bacon was a bit overpowering. the duck was cooked beautifully though and it was tasty.. i mean... everything is better with bacon, right? ;-d i was thinking while eating it how it would have been insanely awesome if the chef had left the skin (cause duck skin just rocks)... and maybe fried it in rendered bacon fat for that bacony smokiness... i dunno.. i'm no chef... but i like duck... and i like bacon.... but... i like to taste my duck over the bacon ;)

and to wrap it up i ordered the oregon rogue's cheese plate. i am a dork for cheese. and what nice pairings the chef did here.... 2 different cheddars... one with figs and some sort of reduction that i cant remember... but it was yum and figgy... and nother paired with a whole chunk of blissfully gooey honeycomb that almost felt like a sin to eat. but i did anyways.

all in all we were very very happy with our first visit to river rocks... friendly accommodating staff. not stuffy atmosphere... beautiful view. and omg what an upgrade from chowders!!!

this will definitely become a regular stop for us... being only 10 minutes from the "new town" of viera.

river rocks!. my wife and i visited this evening for the first time since the change over from the previous chowders to the new river rocks. this is not simply a re-branding, but arestaurantwith new owners, new menus and a fresh new direction. for now, you are presented with a bar menu and a separaterestaurantmenu. both of which seem well constructed and pricing appears to be about right for the market they are targeting. future expansion which is well under way will see the addition of river rocks - dockside, an outdoor dining and bar experience scheduled to be open in the september time-frame, so am i told. sounds ambitious but possible!

anyway, on to the food and service.

the service was warm, friendly and welcoming. we arrived mid afternoon between brunch and dinner and were felt most welcome. the new bar area has a very cool looking wine cooler with separate temperature zones for red and white wines and is proudly on display against the back wall. the bar also stocks a number of locally brewed beers which add to the authenticity and feeling of a true local, rather than chainrestaurantin my opinion. why import when you have it locally available. the food that followed was nothing short of excellent! the conch 'pot pie' i had was well constructed, delicious and to my delight had ample slice of conch inside rather than the minced up variety you find elsewhere. for my main course i chose the asian-inspired hoisin glazed eggplant dish that was simply a explosion of different flavors, incorporating hoisin, black bean, hummus, garlic and kimchi, overall this dish was a lot of food! for dessert i chose the coconut creme brulee which was delicious too.

overall this was a delightful dining experience and being only 10 minutes from our home we will definitely be going back!

as a side note, they are currently providing 10% discounts for return visits (on the whole bill) valid for the month of august.

a wonderful meal. we heard mixed reviews about thisrestauranton urbanspoon, however, those people must have been looking for chilis food at frozen food prices. we didn't know what to expect, and at exceeded all expectations! we started with the flatbread which was really well executed with nicely melted cheese and crisp greens. then we got the seafood bisque which tasted fresh and had great flavor. for our entrees we got the seared tuna and my date got the soft shell crap and scallops. the dishes were perfect in size and our waitress (a young brunette) was very well educated on the menu and wine list. we finished with the creme brulee our entire meal was under $80 and we enjoyed the view and the food. we will come back anytime