Riverfront Grill & Bar

We got the bruchetta and it was absolutely amazing! All the things you love about bruschetta but with a greek flare! Definitely recommend giving it a try!!

Food is very fresh and tasty! I will be back!

Food was very good and service was not bad. They just opened and you can tell they have some kinks to work out. But overall was a good experience and we’ll definitely be back. It’s great to have a place in town to have some great food and a cold beer. Once the wait staff gets some more experience and get some finishing touches done in the restaurant this place should be full every night. I hope it thrives. 👍🏼

Went there after funeral for my dad at Iowa veterans cemetery. Service was very slow taking our order & after 45 min. was told could not have what I ordered. Others in our group also did not get their meals after nearly an hour & decided to leave & eat somewhere else. I will not recommend this restaurant to anyone. Wanted to talk to owner/manager & was told the cook is owner. So no joy there either.

This will unfortunately be my first bad review that I have written. As a resident of Van Meter, the anticipation of Riverfront Bar and Grill opening was high. I could tell a lot of time was being spent on renovations and even updates to the parking lot.

We were first greeted by whom I’m assuming to be either the General Manager or the Restaurant Owner - His half buttoned dress shirt was in poor taste as this is supposed to be a family restaurant.

Some of the renovations on the inside looked cool as there was a lot of the reclaimed wood. We picked a corner table and there was only two other customers in the restaurant at the time sitting together at another table. They had a limited menu which was fine as this was opening night. 4 options to choose from. Drink options were two kinds of beer, 3 soda options or water. It took 10 minutes to get our drinks.

My wife, sister in law, and soon to be brother in law ordered the chicken Alfredo and I ordered the pork chop. All four meals come with a side salad which also has a small piece of bread.

Salads came out after 40 minutes. My sister in law didn’t get bread, but I guess that’s okay since she was being mindful of her carb intake. The server must be a mind reader. Did I mention we were only the second table? The GM/Owner made his rounds between the two tables and his attempt at conversation was uncomfortable and forced. After a third party of customers entered, he greeted them and took their drink order. He didn’t know the names of the female servers and proceeded with, “hey what’s your name? Make me these drinks.” He than carried the drinks to the table with his unbuttoned shirt with one of the glasses pressed up against his chest. (Gross and cmon man, ever heard of Covid-19?)

Our food finally came out. It was presented well, tasted okay. My pork chop was overcooked but had good seasoning. My side pasta was good and I liked the spice. Steps of service were not being followed and there were many empty glasses awaiting the offer of a refill and empty plates needing to be cleared.

When we asked for refills, they asked if we wanted our check. I payed and tipped around 17% which was more than generous considering the bad service. Most people would have tipped zero. As we were picking up our belongings, one of the servers apologized for the bad service and said she hoped she would see us again if we ever decided to come back. She than proceeded to say, “what do you expect when a restaurant is being ran by a bunch of 16 year olds.” Keep in mind this is a very small restaurant and everyone can hear.

I’m very disappointed. I wanted so badly for Van Meter to have a restaurant that we could all enjoy. With over 4 years of experience in the service industry and several years of experience dining out, this was the worst run, underprepared, and worst service I have ever experienced.

This restaurant will fail.

This is the type of restaurant that you would see on Kitchen Nightmares. One order was said that they didn't have the ingredients for one dish before it arrived, yet it took over an hour to say that another one is not available because the chef can't make it. Unacceptable. Why have something on the menu when you can't even make it? Plus, the burger I has was way too greasy and I had to reconstruct the meal several times in order to consume it. FYI, the chef in the back is the owner so if you have any grievances with your experience, good luck.

Waitress didn’t know the menu when asked what came on the burger. They were out of bacon for the bacon burger and out of the rice we ordered and had to come back and tell us after we ordered. They said they just opened for the first time but the place is pretty dirty. They place is a grill and bar but they don’t have any beer. Food wasn’t that good.