River Bend Bistro

Well. Pros:- Local- Pretty good food- Nice hosts and bus folkReality:- Expensive - Entrees are a la carte. No bread or salad or veg or garnish or parsley or anything. - Appetizer portions are tiny. - One vegetarian entree that's been the same for at least a year - Slow service. Entrees took over an hour when we were 1 of 3 tables. - Server was aloof, borderline rude - Salmon was overcooked. - In dire need of ambiance. Chairs are hard, space is too open, no rugs or carpet, music is too quiet to hear and dishwasher drowns it out.

Cute little bistro in Alexandria hidden in a neighborhood strip mall. The goat cheese and ratatouille tart was a perfect lunch portion with a side salad. Wasn't crazy about the soup. It was a little too watery for me. The mousse was alright but did taste good. Nice little off the beaten path place to try out. Their prices are reasonable.

Was in the Mt. Vernon section of Alexandria with some friends and decided to stop in for an early dinner at local favorite River Bend Bistro. Their website suggests making a reservation via Resy, and good thing I did. When we arrived around 5:30pm, the place was 30% full. By the time we left around 7pm, it was packed.Located in the quaint Hollin Hills shopping center off of Ft. Hunt Road, a few people I know have recommended River Bend Bistro as a "hidden gem." Unfortunately, based upon my recent dining experience this place should stay "hidden" until they correct a few major issues with their food and most importantly, service.Dining room tries to evoke California wine country vibes with dark hardwood floors, dark wooden cabinets filled with wines, with semi-uncomfortable rounded metal chairs and booth style seating along the walls. Even with large windows towards the front, the interior space is still dimly lit.Didn't really catch our server's name, but for a place which supposedly specializes in wine, he wasn't particularly knowledgeable about the offerings. Our party ordered three different proteins: fish, duck, and chicken. We asked fairly basic questions about what type of wines would he recommend pairing with each, and he couldn't really give any good answers. "Well, what do you like? White with the fish? Excellent choice. A glass of the house white wine, then?" OR"I can suggest a red with the duck, sir. What type? Oh we have many. What did you see which interests you? Oh the Australian Shiraz? Very good choice."Talk about generic "advice." I wonder if I had inquired about the wines from the "Arbor Mist" or "Charles Shaw" wineries, if he would've responded, "I've heard those are excellent wines, but we do not carry them." We finally settled on a California Merlot and a German Riesling. The table shared a starter of Caramelized Onion Tater Tots with Horseradish Cream, and the husband portion of the couple I dined with, had the split pea soup. The soup was...well, it was awful. The bowl arrived and even across the table, I could tell it wasn't going to be good. The soup was very thin, and lacked the thickness representative of a typical split pea soup. And my buddy confirmed that there were hardly any peas or smoked ham. He only had 1/4 of the soup and let the waiter know, it was very underwhelming. Many reviews mentioned that the tots were "highlights," and they were...okay. To me anyway, mashed potatoes were battered and deep fried; not typical tater tots, but the consistency was good. The accompanying horseradish sauce would be indicative of a constant theme of the evening - lack of flavor. The dipping sauce was neither spicy and needed salt...lots of extra salt. Honestly, it tasted more of mayo with a hint of horseradish mixed in.My friend's wife got the chicken with the house made Tagliatelle Pasta, and I agree that the presentation was a bit off. I'm glad there was a large piece of chicken, but it could've been pre-cut into sections to make it easier to eat, instead of having to perform "surgery" by sawing it at the table. She mentioned the Sherry Cream sauce and mushrooms was good, but again, her dish needs several dashes of table salt. My friend's trout was...again, just bad. It was leathery dry and when we mentioned something to the waiter, he looked at it and remarked, "oh, there is normally a sauce on this. let me take it back for you and have the chef remake it."It came out a few minutes later and the previously dry fish was now soaked in a white wine and butter sauce. He reported it was better, but still, would've been nice if it was sent to the table correctly the first time. When we asked him about this, he seemingly blamed the kitchen by saying, "Oh they are busy and sometimes they forget things like this. I will mention it to them." Well, if the kitchen sometimes "forget things like this," shouldn't you check it then before serving it? I spent many years of my youth waiting tables, and this was ALWAYS something I did.My duck dish was probably the best of the bunch. There was a good portion size, and the Fig and Madeira Sauce was tasty. A few pieces of duck were under the medium rare that I usually prefer, but still tender enough. However, (and wait for it) the dish was super underflavored. I had to use several dashes of table salt and pepper since it was so bland. Potatoes and green beans were tepid, which once again leads me to believe our dishes were sitting under a heat lamp waiting to be served, after they were finished.Didn't want any dessert or coffee afterwards, since we were all feeling a bit letdown by the current 4 star Yelp rating. Dinner for three adults with 3 glasses of wine, two starters, and entrees came to roughly $150 with tax and tip.River Bend Bistro might be popular with the locals, but I'll not be patronizing again if I'm in the area.

The food here is, well, there is something kind of off about each dish. We went with a party of 7 and so we did get to try a number of dishes. I would say the favorite was the tater tots, which I would describe as croquettes. Those should be called croquettes as they were top notch. A tater tot is something fried at a diner, hard on the outside, greasy. These were light and fluffy and crispy on the outside but not hard. Perfect. And the Rockfish gravlax, which I would say is like a cold smoked salmon (but rockfish).Those are the two best items. and the leeks. The ambience is pleasant, but a bit noisy. The wooden chairs were too hard for our 95-year-old guest of honor and he was very uncomfortable by the end. The lighting is lower, although the noise level is acceptable it is still on the noisier end. Probably because of the concrete floor?The service was really good. And the parking was easy and plentiful. The chicken was said by a friend to be the best, but it was dry and the sauce not too flavorful. I think 3 of us ordered the chicken, so it was not a one-off. I would say the same about the snapper. Dry and sauce not flavorful. I wished afterwards that they had asked me for a level of cooking for the snapper. The cream sauce on the leeks was nice in that it was light. The leeks were fantastic. The boston lettuce salad was very fresh but the dressing was all vinegar, harsh. Like I said, every dish is like 75 percent there, like there is something that makes it not good enough to order again. And the pricing is not cheap. At $28 for the snapper, it should come out perfect and divinely flavorful. Not something you debate whether or not to take the leftovers home. We had the apple cobbler and the lemon pudding. I did love the lemon pudding. I thought it would be a cake, because it said cake, but it was not. It was a liquid, warm from the oven with a cooked top. With powdered sugar atop that. The apple cobbler you expect to have a crust topping, because it has the word cobbler in it. This did not. it was more of an apple bake. The apples were really good, but again, if you expect cobbler then you want cobbler...It seems many items on the menu say one thing but are actually another. I don't know what this restaurant needs except someone to come in and go through every dish and modify a bit, honoring the other reviews that have been left here. The lengthy one i read here from 2014 was spot on. 10 years later (now).Judging from the patrons, it seems like maybe many people just return out of habit, a place they have been coming to for over 40 years, before which it was a clothing store.

Nice find! Went to Mount Vernon to check out George' homestead ... a delightful lunch , attentive staff, good mix of good food on the menu. Had a good size crowd for mid week lunch.

Cozy and unpretentious. Nice selection of wine. I had the Berthet, Côtes du Rhône. I was disappointed in their lunch entree menu (lots of sandwiches) but I liked their large selection of small plates (snacks and appetizers), which is nice if you just want to relax with a drink and small bite.

We had a wonderful evening of 8 friends, champagne was perfect temp! Green goddess salad delicious! Veggie option was fantastic and FRESH! Salmon was crispy and delightful. Special treat was the sweet potato biscuits!! Yummy. Great service! Lovely and Local!

Caroline, the chef and owner, updates the menu every season. She also has several specials every day. One of my favorite specials is potato soup. It's served piping hot with pieces of cheddar cheese melting on top. The staff is not only friendly but tries very hard to serve the customers. One of the best points about the restaurant is that you can try foods you have never eaten and be confident that the results will be a positive experience.

I think the quality of food has gone way down :(I went there with my daughter for lunch and got a subpar hamburger . The time I went before this was for a pick up order of short ribs. It's was grisly and inedible. I wouldn't have fed it to my dog . Just tossed it's

Love their warm spinach salad and salmon with lentils. Antonio is an excellent server. Quaint atmosphere too.