On The River Tavern

what a great place!!! On the River Tavern hit the spot and the food looked as brilliant as it tasted!! We enjoyed a chill vibe and who would of though we'd walk under a Jimmy Buffett sign entering their outside area the day after he passed!! All meant to be!! A paradise and a 5'o clock somewhere can be found here and the live music made the night even better as me and my daughter danced the dinner away!! We enjoyed a burger, the taco salad and boats passing by the marina's as we indulged and we promise to be back for more next summer season!!!

Kate, Brian and Rob were great. The food and drinks were awesome. The buffalo chicken sandwich is the best. The drinks were great and a huge drink selection to pick from. We sat outside on the patio and was very comfortable. We will definitely be back.

The $1.00 wings on Thursday are some of the best in town! You can order 6 per flavor and they have a great variety of choices. During the summer, this is a perfect spot to pull up from the water or land and grab a bite to eat.

My friends and I came from Indiana for a weekend trip and found this awesome little tavern. And it was the coolest atmosphere. We had an amazing waitress who was so quick to serve and so kind! The owner was absolutely amazing considering hearing some locals yell at him for “bad service” and we took him aside to make sure he knew that we have enjoyed our time immensely. If you need a cool hang out spot with great food and drinks THIS IS THE PLACE.

Just had appetizer and beers but sat out on deck. Was great, quick and good service, shrimps were great.

Well, 11 months later, back again. As before "Great food and ambiance". Had the shrimp and perch basket with onion rings. Fantastic. 50 bucks got 4 beers, shrimp appetizer, perch basket and fish and chips basket. All great.

I found great treasure on the St. Joseph River in St. Joseph, Michigan…Tavern On The River.
When you walk in, you get feeling you are walking into a joint in the Florida Keys. It’s freshly painted and cleaned up, and it’s ready to please locals and tourists alike. You’ll find plenty of tables right on the river’s edge. It’s a fantastic spot!
As the 2-man band set up on the dockside stage near the new outdoor bar, we grabbed a couple of brews and started in on the Snack Basket appetizer (Picture a charcuterie basket, instead of charcuterie board.) It had a variety of rarities not found in Southwest Michigan, such as deep fried Shishito peppers, which were not breaded and carried a touch of spicy kick. The house-made garlic Cornichon pickles were also excellent and something I had not had before. The basket had several delightful cheeses, including a fantastic feta that crumbled like feta, yet had a velvety smoothness to it. It’s mild saltiness and creaminess cooled my tongue from the zip of the Shishitos.
Reading the menu to order the Greek Salad, I learned that the delicious Feta cheese is from Kourellas, one the premier dairy companies in Greece widely known for top quality organic ingredients for the Mediterranean diet. I was impressed with the Greek Vinaigrette, which didn’t have a dominant vinegar bite that I often find in vinaigrettes. We added grilled chicken to the salad for only $4 more, but you can also add crispy chicken, shaved ribeye or choose shrimp to stick with Mediterranean cuisine.
For its pizza, Tavern on the River makes a fermented dough that takes 36 hours to ready (according to the owner, Jordan), and it is cooked to perfection. The bottom and edges were crispy, but the center was soft with a little chew. The longer fermentation process enriches both the structure and taste of the dough.
“Do you like spicy?” Check out the chicken sandwich called Nashville Hot. This sandwich isn’t for people who say `I like it a little spicy.’” If you can’t handle the heat, don’t order the Nashville Hot from the Tavern on the River kitchen! It was BLAZZIN’ HOT and I LOVED IT!! It is hands-down my new favorite sandwich in St. Joseph. The chicken was so juicy from the buttermilk brine and had an excellent fried crisp. Sweet Hottie pickles, crunchy slaw, lettuce, tomato, and Louisiana mayonnaise awaited their crown…Nashville Hot sauce made with roasted red Fresno peppers. Jesus himself would order this over the Chick-Fil-A Spicy Chicken Sandwich. Lol
Bring the whole gang, it is very family friendly place.

Can't express how wonderful of an experience my partner and I had here for dinner. If I could give 10 STARS I would! It was my partner and I 4 year anniversary and I wanted to surprise her with a reserved table right along the water. I talked with the owner Jordan and he mentioned they don't normally do reservations as it's a first come first serve place (like all places in this area) but he went out of his was to secure us with a table of our choice so we didn't have to worry about it!

Jordan was such an accommodating host and owner and made the experience one to remember for us. I brought flowers in ahead of time and he stored them in the back for me until we arrived and sprinkled rose petals across the table and even printed out our own reservation sign!! We were not expecting that!

We arrived via dingy boat to the sweet sounds of live music from a 2 person band and immediately felt into the vibe of the atmosphere. We had an amazing waitress who was so friendly and welcoming. We both ordered the Nashville Hot and we're BLOWN AWAY! This place is one of a kind here in saint joe and I will tell everyone I know to come here!

Not only was their service beyond exceptional there food and cocktails we're amazing too!

We will be coming here ALOT!!!Thank

We were at dinner in Marquette a few days ago, and the gentleman next to us mentioned he owned a bar/restaurant in St. Joseph. We asked the name since we knew we would be in the area. So glad we did! Great atmosphere ( even though we couldn't sit outside due to the weather), great service, and fantastic food. We arrived after 8 p.m., so we had a limited menu. The garlic parmesan wings were the best I've ever had, the Bleu cheese was delicious, as were the fried pickles. We will definitely stop here again when we're in the area. Robert was a great bartender and took excellent care of us. We thoroughly enjoyed our time !

Great location on the River in St.Joseph
Great Service
Great Menu choices and spirits and sport bar sitting area.

Best place to go around. Great live band and dancing. Plus a pool table in the back. Prices are good and can't ask for a better atmosphere. Thanks for having live music when it seems like no one else does.

This place has a clean, cool, "boaty" vibe, and it's on the water, but the best thing about is the bartenders. The awesome father-daughter team - Brian and Kate - are the best bartenders I've encountered in a long time. Order a Maker's old fashioned and you'll see what I mean.

Cool little bar. Cold beer, hot food and friendly service. Nuff said.

Very good food! Very fresh and well prepared! Nice, friendly service!
Very good Craft Beer selection (and the house Margarita was the best ive had in years!) Fun, scenic, outdoor seating on the river...Indoors...Simple, but nice and comfortable/clean seating area's...
My new favorite spot in St. Joe.

If you have to ask, you are already late 😍😍😍😍😍

Sacred glances. If you put me in a tomb with Kate, there'll be a whole new eternity 💓

Small menu but consistent quality and probably the best spot to sit on the river and have a quick bite.

We were greatly pleased with discovering this place while visiting town for a short trip! In particular they had a snack basket with spicy pickles, artisan cheese, crackers, jam that had great flavor which was unexpected. I came with my family who wanted to go though I had actually wanted something more flavorful than the ordinary burger, sandwich, fries type of fare -- so this snack basket on the menu really hit the spot. They also made an error with our order that caused a long delay -- but they took the initiative of letting us know about that and giving us a discount (none of which was asked for) - I give them high marks for their professionalism in how they handled it in addition to the tasty food.

The best restaurant in St. Joseph! Went here twice with a friend while on vacation. We only got dinner, but the service and food were phenomenal. Both the hosts and servers treated us with the best respect and our overall experiences were great. I definitely recommend the Tavern to anyone in the St. Joe's area! It's too bad I don't live around here or else I'd visit more often!

The perch and burger were so good! The charcuterie snack basket was perfect! The waitress was very helpful as it was our first time there! Sitting right on the water's edge and watching the boats go by was so relaxing just what we needed! Totally would go back

First time here. From Ann Arbor just exploring the area. This place had great food, service and atmosphere! Being from the UP it’s hard to find good perch but they have it here! The waitress…. The ONLY waitress was AMAZING! We will come back

Went there as party of six on Friday, August 3. We wanted to sit outside due to nice weather. Had two wood tables that could not be combined. So when a couple tables opened up, we were able to combine them. Our waitress who at that point had only served us drinks we able to stay with us and she gave excellent service. Most of us had fish and chips and I had blackened salmon which was very good. Mini potatoes were good along with broccoli was excellent. Great atmosphere with river and boat activity.