River Fish On The Bay

River Fish on the Bay has changed ownership since the previous review. The new owner is Marco, and I can not rave enough about our experience there. Last Friday, October 9, we had a wedding rehearsal dinner for approximately 35 people. In early July, we had made arrangements with the previous owner, but Marco was the one who fulfilled the contract. The food could not have been more delicious, and the service more attentive! We had three appetizers: fried calamari, which was tender and flavorful, served with lemon and a delicious red sauce, a superb mixed green salad with an outstanding dressing on the side, and a very fresh Mediterranean antipasto. The appetizers were served family style, and were plentiful. Everything was served at the correct temperature. The main course selections were chicken Marsala, lemon sole and tomato basil salmon; everything was moist and tender and was served with just the right amount of sauce. The portion size was generous. Delicious family style mashed potatoes and sautéed mixed vegetables were also served; the vegetables were cooked perfectly. The bread was hot and fresh, and the basket constantly refilled. Dessert was a selection of either chocolate mousse cake, tiramisu, or cheesecake; the desserts were an equal rival to the dinner selections. Every guest raved about the food. Our wait staff was friendly, and attentive. Marco, the new owner, was a ready presence.
We were more than satisfied with our selection of River Fish on the Bay, under the guidance of the new owner, Marco, for the location of our wedding rehearsal dinner. We look forward to future meals there!

By far, the WORST restaurant experience I've had. I normally wouldn't give a review this detailed but this experience was so unpleasant from the time we walked through the door on a Sunday night at 6:30PM that it needed to be told in its entirety. We had a reservation for dinner for 4 on the patio deck but were seated inside, that was the first thing. Next, we ordered 2 Bloody Marys,1 Rum Runner, 1 Funky Monkey. They arrived 25 minutes later . The rum runner was terrible and sent back & the Bloody Marys were only mediocre. We then ordered the appetizers.The young lady who brought the appetizers to the table, different than the waiter that took the order, started to take the bread plates away despite having never brought the bread that we had asked for when we ordered the drinks. When they did bring the bread it was hard and the breadsticks were stale. So now at least a 1/2 hour has gone by and the long awaited appetizers are eaten - the fried calamari (not served with chimichurri sauce as stated on menu) was ok; the baked clams were undercooked and tasteless; the "Grandma's Meatballs" were nothing spectacular; and the greek salad was actually served nicely and was very big so that was about the best of the 4 items ordered. As we waited at least another 1/2 hour for the entrees to be served, when they arrived there were only 3 entrees - 2 of us ordered the special of filet of sole stuffed with spinach and feta cheese; 1 order of stuffed shrimp and 1 special entree of Salmon. The salmon was not served with the rest of our meals; the mashed potatoes I asked for as a side with my filet of sole was instead a baked potato and all of the food was served warm at best, though when I cut into the stuffed sole it was steaming inside...indicating the food was likely nuked in the microwave. Minutes later a man in a red chef's jacket came to our table and asked us if "everything was OK" as we all simultaneously answered with a resounding "NO" he asked us why and when he heard all he wanted to hear he very rudely walked away despite our having not finished telling him our concerns. As we continued to wait for well over another 15 minutes, as he chatted with other diners on the patio, it was decided that we should tell them to forget the salmon and take it off the bill, and so we did. After about another 5 minutes the waiter came back to the table very apologetically stating that all the drinks and dessert would be comped as a gesture for the bad service we had received throughout the night. Thinking the worst was over we decided why not have dessert compliments of the house, we all chose one thing from the dessert menu along with 4 Cappuccinos. Two orders of apple peach cobbler (very tasty); one slice of key lime pie (also very tasty); and one order of coconut sorbet that was served with a very small, but VERY SHARP PIECE OF PLASTIC in it. Having had it at this point I then asked the waiter to find the manager...10 minutes later he returned stating that the manager was not at the restaurant ( I guess he didn't know that until he went looking for him/her) but that the owner would be coming to the table to address our concerns. Well who do you think shows up at the table but the man in the red chef coat who is apparently the owner of the restaurant. Once again he starts the conversation off rudely by asking "what's the problem now?" as I started to reply by listing all the events that went poorly during dinner, he was clearly agitated. When I got to the end part about the plastic in the sorbet he got angry and said..."I dont know what you expect me to do" then "I really don't know what you want me to say"...I can tell you this much, neither of those responses were what I expected to hear. When I got the chance to get a word in edgewise, the owner got angry because he didn't want to hear the list of complaints nor the level of dissatisfaction we had all had by this dining "experience" so he walked away, again. As he walked away I told him that in today's world given social media and Yelp...he'd be sorry. PS - we didn't pay!

Great food, great bar, great prices and a great crowd if you like mature, sophisticated types. My favorite place in Port Washington.