River City Grill in Punta Gorda - Phone Number, Reservations, Reviews

Very nice place to have an enjoyable meal & conversation 5-25-2023 The Butterfish is unbelievable and the Filet is as good as any around. Amanda was a very good Server !

You can always see someone you know there. Great happy hour pricing and dinner specials.

Angie our waitress was the best! The food and prices can not be matched! We will be back a lot!!

Really enjoyed the Portuguese dishes added to the menu! Great food with a different flare as well as your main dishes as usual.

We had a spectacular dinner at River City Grill. Angie recommended the Calamari appetizer which was incredibly amazing with chorizo sausage, onions, and a delicious aioli sauce. We both had the Tampa Cracker steak which was cooked to perfection in cast iron with fresh vegetables and mashed potatoes.

Great atmosphere, great service and excellent food! Not your run-of-the-mill, ordinary restaurant. Go! You won't be disappointed!

Veeybgood food. A little pricy. Noisy.

I love this place! I had the meatloaf (delicious) and my wife had the salmon with caper buerre blanc. Great atmosphere and the food was outstanding. We highly recommend this joint!

Genevieve made our dining experience excellent. Her service was top tier. We enjoyed the filet mignon, which was tender,flavorful, and cooked perfect.The fish and chips are always great also. Thank you for such a great dining experience. We will return and request Genevieve again.

Welcoming, cozy with a homey feel restaurant with excellent service and superb food. We were served promptly and our drink order arrived shortly after followed by a basket of warm bread. The appetizers we order was calamari. It had so many favors and sauces that is a must experience if you visit. We had the chicken with asparagus risotto. It was very flavorful and the chicken was moist and well cooked with a nice grilled chard. The food and servuce were top notch, cant wait to go back.

Food and service were good. A little pricey for us.

Our server Angie was amazing! Triple sat and she treated us like her only table...efficient, friendly and knowledgeable about the menu...she recommended the meatloaf, and it was spot on! This is the best restaurant in Punta Gorda. Yay Angie!!!

Love the people that work here, love the food. Enjoyable atmosphere. My favorites are the Portugese steak and the Madonini Chicken. Never a disappointment. Definite go to

Meet friends for dinner. Our waitress was pleasant and made every effort to take care of us and make sure we were comfortable. The atmosphere was warm and quiet enough for pleasant conversations. To top it all off, the meal was well prepared and delicious. We will return.

I got the Tampa Cracker Ribeye, mashed potatoes, and green beans. I not usually a fan of the way the beans were cooked but surprisingly, they were delicious. So were the potatoes. Although the steak had a nice flavor, it was overpriced for the size. I let the server talk me into medium rare when I wanted medium. She said it would continue to cook on the way out because of how hot the plate would be. This did not happen but I made the decision.

We were a party of 18 and in a private dining room with another large group. It was quite noisy with two large groups in the same room but they finished up and left so we had the room to ourselves. Our server was excellent. I had the seared rib eye steak with garlic mashed potatoes and green beans. It was excellent. I also had a chocolate dessert!

Great atmosphere. Nice variety menu. Delicious food. Excellent service.

We were a party of 40. They did an amazing job. Our drinks were refreshed quickly, All our food came out within minutes of each other. Every order was accurate. We had at least 20 separate checks and it was seamless. Kudos to Michelle, Savannah, Drew and the whole team. 👏 👏 👏

Our dinner was excellent.. Totally try this place, it's very good

Maybe the Best in Punta Gorda in Everything!!!

We chose the River City Grill because of the great sounding menu posted outside. It did not disappoint. Our food was delicious and our server, Angie, was amazing. She was attentive, gave great recommendations, and was fun to talk to. We highly recommend this great restaurant!

They changed their menu and it was wonderful. We had stopped coming and now we will be back. The filet was wonderful and the scallops/ risotto were great. Angie was great and served us as we wanted without hurry. She was so pleasant. Really enjoyed our meal.

Thank you Jessica our wait staff for a great evening with wonderful service and food!

Went here for our Valentines date! Excellent food and service. Awesome happy hour also 4:30 to 6

I know you shouldn’t expect anything great from happy hour drinks but the ones we ordered were pathetic! It kind of turned us all off on our first experience at Rivercity grill.The food really wasn’t that great either.you are crossed off our restaurant list!

The food was amazing!! Genevieve was wonderful and knowledgeable of the food

Tonight on 2/3 at 5:30 we came in for dinner as we have for many years except due to health reasons recently it was our first time back and looking forward to our first night out at our favorite restaurant. When we arrived there was a group of noisy people near where we were sitting. Evidently they had reserved a section near the bar. We were seated on the other side of the entrance and it was so loud we couldn’t carry on a conversation. We would have stayed for dessert along with the couple next to us but enough is enough. I would have thought the manager would have spoken to these people to quiet down. So disappointed…. Bob and Joan Bradley.

It can get a little noisy, but the food and service quality can’t be beat. We had a party of 7, all close friends and family from out of town. Two folks are from the Azores and especially enjoyed the Portuguese dishes on the menu. Always our favorite restaurant in PG.

I enjoy the Great selection of food and great atmosphere. However, I noticed a girl making nasty comments and treated one of the kids working there horrible using foul language. I hope the manager takes care of this young woman to be respectful with her coworkers.

Truly the best place to dine in Punta Gorda.

I like River City Grill; however, it is a loud place and conversation can be difficult. The Sunday pot roast is delish.

The Boom Boom Shrimp which doesn't look as appealing when they bring it out, but the taste definitely makes up for it. They do have daily specials so I ordered the Filet Mignon Tips with Risotto & Mixed Vegetables. I was afraid the filet would be dry and even though it was sautéed, it was perfectly juicy and well seasoned. They would get full 5 stars from me if the bathroom floor wasn't so sticky to walk on. The bar surface was also quite sticky which made my OCD jump through the roof.

I like food, and I also like to share my experience. I hope it will be helpful to everyone. I have been in Punta Gorda for a month, and I try different restaurant tastes every day. Discovered this restaurant again today, our first time here, we sat on bar chairs and the bartender was a woman. I just ordered two dishes, meatloaf with garlic, mashed potatoes. and butter, garlic, shrimp and sausage and tomatoes. My Personal feeling is nothing special, just ordinary.

Poor service and quality not what it was it used to be. Called manager after the fact. Non responsive. No wonder place was empty. Not wonder place was empty.

Went here with my Dad and we both ordered a Tampa Cracker (mine was medium rare and his was medium) and Boom Boom Shrimp as an appetizer. To start, our waitress was lovely. She brought us both waters without us asking due to the heat outside then immediately took out drink orders and left us to look over the menu. The appetizer was delicious in my opinion. The shrimp had the smallest bit of heat, but paired nicely with the buttered roll. It was the best thing we ate tonight. On to the main course. I swear I had ordered a ribeye, but what came out had hardly any fat with the texture more like a sirloin. Speaking of, they came out on a cast iron skillet still sizzling. While a fun presentation, it would have been much better on a plate as it continued to cook in the hot cast iron and butter, leading to a tougher and drier steak as we ate. The sizzling butter also made a mess around the table and on my shirt. The house vegetables were carrots and green beans. They were too salty, but the steak was under salted and overly tough. The mashed potatoes also tasted under salted. My Dad’s substitution of spinach also didn’t taste much better than the house veg, though it was also under salted.

Still a great place! good food, best service, and generous owner. Treats his servers as family.

Nice place that's much larger than it looks from the front. I had the strawberry lemonade cocktail which was pretty watered down and my husband had an old fashioned that was good. I had the Mozambique Shrimp entree and enjoyed it, my husband got the salmon bites pasta dish and ate every bite because he liked it so much. Our son got the cheese burger from the kids menu. We considered getting dessert to go but nothing really called to us. Spent right around a hundred for a family of three.

Angie was our servicer and was extremely friendly and efficient. We had the cauliflower with Buffalo sauce appetizer Soo good with a bit of spicy. Shared a Caesar salad, I had the Bolognese which is the best I have ever had, and my husband had the filo crusted Salmon, Yum.. Would definitely recommend .

Good food, great service, quite overpriced I thought. I mean, really, 33 bucks for a basic ribeye, mashed, and steamed veggies?

My husband and I wandered in very close to closing time and had the most pleasant experience. The bartender Drew was spot on with his recommendations of the scallops and the shrimp scampi. The best scallops with risotto and fresh sautéed spinach we’ve probably ever had. The shrimp scampi was scrumptious too and had fresh diced tomatoes and fresh spinach tossed in as well. Drew even put the game on for my husband. So happy we wandered in to this amazing little restaurant on our Punta Gorda weekend. We will definitely be back.

Tldr; bring your own bottle of water and get the steak. My girlfriend and I went here. When we first sat down we noticed the booths felt like that of an old diner. Oh well. We ordered water and waited for 20 minutes before tracking down our waitress to see what was going on. We were supposed to be served by someone else and they forgot. It happens. The water had a slight strange aftertaste so I chose to stay thirsty for the entirety of my meal. We ordered calamari but my girlfriend doesn't eat meat so we asked for the sausage to be taken out as it's how their menu serves it. What we got was a bit flavorless but I suppose that's our fault for going off the menu. We ordered Caesar salads that weren't bad but you could absolutely break a tooth on the croutons. Proceed with caution. My girlfriend ordered butterfish that I had a bite of. It tasted like some microwaved trash fish that came close to ruining how good my food was. I ordered the Tampa Cracker. It was a steak dish that came out spitting everywhere on a cast iron hot plate. I was totally fine with that. It was very good.

Michelle our server was over the top outstanding! She knows what customer service is and how to please her "guests" Foods were great and hot as it should be.

No wonder this place has been number one for the last 19 years in Punta Gorda, it's fabulous. I had the chicken and risotto, very gourmet and very flavorful. The staff was pleasent and the atmosphere was lovely. Jeff S North Port Florida.

Great place to eat with family and friends. The staff was very nice.

You can't "not like this place"!

Great food and drinks. Able to seat large groups.

I loved the atmosphere but was disappointed in both the service and food I ordered. Ordered 2 alcoholic beverages which were extremely watered down so overall it wasn’t a pleasant experience. Not likely to return but you never know.

This place is huge, but still overcrowded with tables. It's split into 2 sides; an American side and an Italian side, but everything is connected. It is so jammed with tables that the waitresses/waiters can barely fit between chairs to serve food. It's also very loud as a result (would not choose it for a romantic dinner). Despite the overcrowding, we didn't wait too long for food on the American side. Everything we ordered was good, but the only raves were about the sweet and sour butterfish. The Bam Bam shrimp appetizer was very good, as was the glazed salmon and shrimp scampi. There's a good selection of wine, but I was disappointed to find that most of them were offered by the bottle only. Our waitress was attentive and very friendly. Parking can be challenging, so expect to walk and cross a street or two unless you get lucky. The restrooms are only single toilet rooms, and one of them was out of commission so we had to wait in lines each time. Some women started using the men's room.

The hostess was very pleasant and accommodating. The bartender was too busy to give better customer service. I think they needed another person to help. The food was prepared as ordered and was very good!! I had the beef tenderloin filet. Very tender.

I work as a sous chef. Got off early and went to river city for dinner. Ordered a salad and a chicken app that were done well. I ordered the Portuguese steak for my entree it was 30.99. I could not cut it with the knife it was so tough. It was supposed to be beef tenderloin and maybe it was, but was not cleaned properly and it was inedible. I took one bite and notified the bartender (cause I sat at the bar) she asked if I wanted something else and I politely declined. When the bill came the entree was not removed from the bill, despite me not eating it and her offering me another meal. I simply paid and left. Being in the industry I don’t like leaving reviews like this but that experience was beyond unacceptable.

The staff are pros! The kitchen pros! The bartender drew….killer!!!!!!

Great food ,great service Fantastic time

Thanks for making our News Years Eve a wondering time. Salmon Wellington was off the hook ! Genevieve was a great waitress!

We go out to eat 2 to 4 times a week to try different restaurants and I have to say this is the worst restaurant we have eaten at the food was really bad and couldn't even chew it. The shrimp were not cleaned and had the vain in them, a filet should be tender and was not at all. We will NEVER go back to the river city grill again

Lively atmosphere. Enjoyed the good. The martinis were a little on the smsll side. Overall very nice and will go back

Excellent dinner spot. The food was on point as well as the service. We will be back. Thank you!!

River City has been one of my favorite for the past 20 years.. tonight I had the meatloaf it was delicious!

Over priced and not much flavor. Wine menu was decent but that was it. Decor needs updating carpet is a bad look for 2022.

Over priced food and drinks that you can taste are cheap

The turkey dinner was horrible! A turkey loaf with mostly dark meat. It tasted horrible with little gravy.

Delicious food and great staff! I would recommend the Beer Battered Fish and Chips!

Thanksgiving dinner was Turkey loaf, it was terrible?!

The table waitstaff is wonderful, but the bartenders are certainly lacking. Definitely not friendly. I was not greeted for quite some time, and when we were recognized, it seems like a bother to even pour us a drink. Just down right rude. Even worse to the couple sitting next to me. So much so they leaned in and said it has been this way for a while. This was not the first time. Horrible. Keep in mind it was not busy. Same two bartenders. Male and female. So sad for such a great local restaurant to have these two individuals representing River City. We hope they make a change soon. This is my first review ever but I felt compelled as being a past restaurant owner myself. Sometimes as owners we get caught up and don’t realize the very face of our establishment is being ruined.

Great food, busy staff and a little loud.

The best steak I’ve had in a long time! Liked it so much we all went again and had the Tampa Cracker!!

Comfortable cafe atmosphere. Friendly staff. Varied menu and wine list. Offer gluten-free food choices. Prices are moderate for the most part. Great place for a birthday ...as celebrant receives a complimentary slice of cake topped with candle! Fortunately, Happy Birthday is not sung! Check it out!

Excellent food reasonable price.

Celebrated a friend's birthday having dinner last night, and it was fabulous! Food and service were great! Small business in downtown Punta Gorda we'll gladly support!

Jessica was so nice and was very attentive! Food was great and atmosphere was good.

Great decor and great menu. I can't wait to try more items and get more awesome service.

Excellent food and service. Nice steaks and reasonably priced!!

Definitely the only place to go for pizza.. Now there were in Florida we have to order it.

Good food! Shrimp scampi was yummy!

Ist ein Deutscher Restaurant. Wir werden für 3 Jahre schon ein mal dorthin und nu auch wieder.

Went here once. Found a whole living roach in my salad, so they're clearly not washing their produce. The manager only offered to comp a single beer. Will never go back... If they're not washing the lettuce, I don't want to know what else they aren't doing.

Absolutely love it!!! It was my first time visiting Punta Gorda and River City Grill made me feel so comfortable especially being so far away from home. The owner and bartender were Awesome !!! Please stop by soon....and enjoy the southern hospitality at River City Grill. OMG I fogot to mention food was yummy and music 🎶 was point.

Great atmosphere, service, and food was great! Zero complaints in our crowd

Always excellent food. Great variety! Nice efficient servers.

Pork chop under cooked, chicken bite undercooked,stale bread reheat in a microwave,are you trying to get some one sick go here,looks nice though

From the time you sit down to the time to leave, service ,food , and ambience were great. we can add another restaurant to our list for restaurants in Punta Gorda.Diverse menu ..

Takeout shrimp scampi was outstanding! Calamari was very good as well, different twist on the dish!

I have never had a bad meal there. The atmosphere and service are top notch.

Extremely busy and didn't have reservations but they were very nice and seated us. Service was great and our server must have read our minds to bring beverage refills at the right moment. Food was well prepared and served with a flair. The shrimp scampi was perfect. The dish called not your mama's meatloaf was outstanding. Passed on desert but from seeing other guest's enjoy theirs told you desert was great. Looking forward to another visit.

Food was okay but nothing to write home about.

Quite nice restaurant with a great staff who knows what they are doing and do it well. It was a Friday evening and very busy. We had the shrimp scampi and Not Your Mama's Meatloaf. The dinner rolls were warm and crusty and thankfully served with a large portion of soft butter. Although a bit loud due to the high ceiling you could still have a great conversation.

Great service. Good food. Lovely inside the restaurant. Reservations needed during peak season. In downtown Punta Gorda.

Excellent meal and service! Sitting at the bar watching their bartender mix drinks faster than anyone we have ever seen, was best pre-dinner show ever! Great time!

Waiter acted as if didb not exist. Hardly came back to us. My plate had a live ant on it...indoors.

Spectacular dining event! Great service, good times w/family, & fantastic food! Thank Sherry for the pics

Very good. There on St Patrick's day and it was crowded but the staff handled it very well! Good food , service and prices. I would definitely recommend giving it a try.

Food and service were excellent

Had a wonderful time with relatives. The staff is friendly and caring. All of our food was great.👍👍

Great Service!! Food could be a little better but still not bad.

Very fresh and excellent food! The scallops were perfectly cooked and melted in your mouth! Boom boom shrimp was full of flavor and surprisingly not breaded! I’d recommend trying the place for sure.

Has quite an extensive menu featuring Portuguese fare. Delicious food....steaks and meat well prepared. Not abundant portions....but doesn't leave one overly full. The service was very good and friendly.

Great to see a friendly host, and staff...then..wow! Food was amazing from apps to dessert..blown away,we will definitely be back!

Awesome food, awesome service and awesome atmosphere.

Every time we've been their the food is excellent, attention to detail and presentation was great 👍

Service and food is always great.

From the moment we walked in until we left My husband and I were completely satisfied with every single thing. We have 3 small kids and they warmly welcomed us and were extremely accommodating with a great kids menu, putting our kids order in first, and coloring things. The food was delicious and they were exceptional working around my food allergy. The server was attentive and just so warm, nice, and helpful. We go out to eat a decent amount and this was thr best service we have had in a long time. This is 30 minutes from our house but we most definitely will make the drive to make this a regular spot.