riverbar & kitchen

came to riverbar for the second time yesterday. i went in the first week and it was mental so i decided i'd wait till jan for it to quieten down.
got down at around 7 with some friends for drinks and dinner. was pretty packed-the place had a great atmosphere and its pretty awesome watching the lights flick on the bridge.
i had the steak sandwich which was awesome-juicy and tender plus with a great chunk of beetroot! also had the prawn cocktails...were excellent-way better than when i came last time.

got a great vibe down there...i don't really get this nasty reviews below...it'd be pretty hard not to love this spot...we now have a cool place to take out of towners anytime of the day!

although there is room for improvement on the service, the atmosphere of riverbar and kitchen makes it a great place for catch-ups or casual dates and for a big name like matt moran, the prices at this place are extremely wallet-friendly.

someone say, the bunnies have found their new hangout spot?

it's not a bucket!!. phony bucket of chicken - if you can count the pieces of chicken, it's not a bucket!! it's the only place on earth where chicken costs more than prawns! matt moran has put his smarts together and figures that he will sell more chicken than prawns, simply based on what the masses would order. 4 buffalo wings @$5 per piece = $20!! the bucket of prawns is more generous with 6 or 7 for same price $20. not bad use of the 80/20 rule. more $$ in his bucket! i expect to pay, but don't call it a bucket! poor quality, housey type, cheap tasting wine list too with the exception of a glass of veuve @$20 p/glass.
entertainment..lack of!! only the bucket show! website says, live music..sunday session? nope!...so when is the perfect time for some tunes? at least if there were some beats kicking out we wouldn't have to giggle each time one of those undersized, "buckets" fell off the tables, full of cutlery. now, i realize matt moran has taken a liking to "buckets" but why not be practical and place larger buckets that can hold the weight of cutlery on every table! $2 shop must of ran out.

great place by the river!. my girlfriends and i have been there a few times now. food is reasonably priced...and we love the cocktail jugs. this is a pretty, female friendly place.

everything looked and tasted fresh and as opposite to venice breakfast – we didn’t leave hungry. the portion size was very reasonable.

poor value. lovely restaurant but the food just isn't worth the price. the quality is just okay. expect the staff to be a bit cranky if you complain about the quantity for the price. such a shame really.....it's a lovely, convenient location but i won't be back.

omg ...where to begin ..the appalling non service..the surly waiters..the cold food that came out faster than the drinks..
if turnover is what matt moran wants he will get that .what he won't get is repeat business.shockingly average .better food at any local cafe in melbourne.greasy over cooked pasta,cold fish and chips, under cooked pizza ..horrible..horrible horrible...did i mention the rude staff..stay away..stay very away

an absolute joke of an establishment. my girlfriend and i have been twice now (that's right, i was willing to try it again to be fair) and were disappointed on both occasions. for gods sake, if you cannot poach an egg as a chef, best to reassess your career aspirations! both my eggs were solid inside and they left the tomatoes (which were part of the dish) off the order completely. and as someone else has already suggested, the staff are straight out of the backpackers and completely inexperienced and awkward!! if i were matt moran i would be distancing myself from this place as fast as i could!! what a waste of a fantastic locale!

lunch review. really enjoyed this restaurant. very nice location, fast service and the food and drinks were very nice! we all enjoyed it and will definitely go back.

also, while i'm on my rant; if you're going to charge $20 for 4 small pieces of chicken and $30 for a cocktail jug (read $50 right there) perhaps:
1. take their orders at the table. waiting for your name to be called at the dingy end of the bar with 20 other people (like you do at boost juice) isn't my idea of a good time out.
2. serve drinks in a freaking glass. your patrons are not 6 years old nor are they at a bbq in the park. when i order a $30 jug of pimms i do not want to drink out of a plastic tumbler. christ, for $30 you can afford to give your patrons their cocktails in a glass (and note, i said glass, not jam jar).

the hipsters may find paying $50 for a piece of chicken and one cup of cocktail drunk out of a silly cup cool, but i, a normal person do not. the more i think about this place the more i realise what a rip off it is. matt moran must be giggling himself to sleep each night! he must be making a mint serving brisbane patrons low end food & drink in little pails and in plastic while charging exorbitant prices!!!! gahhhhh!


-----28 dec, 2012-----

ok, the food here was delicious & anywhere that offers jugs of pimms & cocktails is going to be a winner, but far out, talk about overpriced! how matt moran can get away with charging what he is, is beyond me!

when i saw a $20 bucket of chicken on the menu, i assumed the "bucket" would be a reasonable sized bucket holding 10 or so pieces of chicken to share. couldn't be anymore wrong; 4 pieces of chicken - at $5 a pop. delicious? yes! but $5 for a chicken wing?! you've lost me.

and as for the prawn bucket, you'd be lucky to see 5 prawns. actually the term "bucket" should not be even used. false advertising.

the cocktails were great & yes the food was good, but seriously save yourself the $$$ for this overpriced bar food and the cost of parking and head to a bar somewhere in teneriffe or paddington instead.

if the prices come down, sure, i'll head back, but there's plenty of other bars in brisbane serving the same food & cocktails for half the price! and i don't even think the place is air conditioned!

i should have checked everyone's opinions on here beforehand. i ordered the bucket of prawns and chicken as well and was very disappointed about the quality and quantity. the jugs of cool beverages are
90% ice!!! service was friendly but very inexperienced and random. it felt like the staff were hospitality students or overseas students on a working holiday. we all left dissatisfied and continue to grimace at the thought of the place.

terrible!. there are much better places to eat along the river front and i suggest you check them out before you go here!
there were 14 of us for breakfast. to start with you are not able to book. then there is no table service, not even for a large group. the service was appalling! they were rude, obnoxious and clearly don't give a damn about the customer.
half the menu wasn't available, only we didn't find that out until one of our party went to order with 14 breakfasts and beverages written on a napkin, then had to come back to the table to advise of the choices that were not available - much to the disgust from the lady taking the order as she now had to wait to finish the order.
coffee was awful, meals were wrong, meals and drinks were forgotten and when the muesli finally came out (after being asked for twice as it was one of the meals forgotten), we were told we would have to wait for the cutlery, then were given a knife and fork!!! we were given one too many coffees and baked eggs with no explanation, just dumped in the middle of the table!
food was definitely over rated. service was non existent
save your money and go somewhere else along the river front. many more places to go!

need for more care of customers. staff seem to be expert busboys/girls. no added value! great ambience! lousy service! who is the owner/promoter?

for $28, i expected the flat head and chips to be better than average. the batter was burnt, oily and the chips cold. four small pieces the size of whiting. don't waste your time on the food - it's an absolute disgrace for this price. the location is stellar and the vibe is cool, just don't order the food and you'll probably have a great time. bit of a shame really given the previous incarnation of this location (boardwalk) was affordable and had decent, good value menu offerings. bit of a flop really given the big name behind it.

very very disappointing. this place is a rip off, and the food just isn't that good. no table service, and for $18 a pizza and $20 for 6 chicken wings you expect service. this place is ripping off consumers, not recommended - try aria instead.