My husband and I took our 3 children there for dinner. The food was absolutely terrible. I had the fish tacos; overcooked fish, pineapple salsa that was a scoop of gelatinous mush in a plastic ramekin and oily brussel sprout/broccoli slaw. The tortillas were served wrapped in foil. When I unwrapped them, the outer tortilla was a slimy sticky mess and the inner tortillas were stale and hard. I asked the server for new tortillas, which were even worse than the previous batch. 2 of my boys had the kids burger. My oldest gagged when he took a bite. My husband tried it and said it reminded him of grade school cafeteria burgers...you know, when the old lady with the hairnet reached into a pan of water and pulled out a cheap piece of ground beef, added a piece of government cheese and tossed it on a mealy stale bun. Abysmal. My youngest had the fish and chips. He made it through 1 piece of fish which required 3 napkins to wipe the grease off his fingers. The rest went into the trash. The only reason I gave 2 stars: they have a great beer list, the patio is clean and the view is nice. If you want to have a few drinks and hang out, it's a great place to go. As far as the food is concerned, my dog wouldn't eat there....and I've seen her eat her own shit. read more

Great ambiance: I always feel like I am on vacation when I eat at The Cabana. The servers are friendly and the food is good, too.

The food was just ok. Service was very slow (they may not have been able to control that). Everyone working there looked miserable or their smile muscles were sprained. Gnats swarmed us while we tried to eat, ants on the table. Food allergies are not a thing there. We made the best of it. read more

Always has great food! Perfect little spot along the Ohio. Like that you can join the waitlist ahead of time as this place can be packed at times. read more

At 1st it started off bad they sat us right in the sun but after checking we were able to switch seats I had the cod fish basket which was good but it wasn't the real cod and they were small and Came with 2 pieces my 3 year old daughter kids meal was bigger than my grown person cod dinner but the chicken tenders were good and the big kids tenders came with alot and my husband had the chicken wings and cheese sticks they were good as well I was just upset how small my fish dinner was for $14 the drinks were ok not that strong but the food was good read more

Love this fun venue; right on the river with outstanding views and atmosphere! Bar food is the specialty, and the service is friendly and authentic. Don't over-reach; just enjoy. read more

Love the food! Beautiful view of the river!!! We visit often, like at least 5 times in first two weeks they open each April since they have seasonal hours. Wait times of an hour or longer during peak times is normal. During covid, waits were 2-3hours. Noone complains cause its just a great place with delicious food and reasonably priced. read more

Great lunch spot. Had the fish tacos which were delicious and the service was friendly and attentive. On a pretty day, you can't beat the atmosphere and view. I'll be back! read more

Try the spicy cabana bread absolutely deliciousWaitresses are very good beers cold Strawberry daiquiris are to die for the food is great burger was huge potato skins tasted like homemade nice breeze blowing off the river we used yelp apt was seated within minutes of our arrival will definitely return again read more

Long wait.. Party of 4 was 64th in line.. But don't let that turn you away! Once you are assigned a spot in line.. there is a bar area everyome drinks at prior to going in the restaurant.. sand volleyball, and cornhole is also set up! Along the river, as well as great food! Reccommend the grilled chicken sandwich! 5/5 read more

Have been coming here for years. Absolutely one of our spring/summer staples. The food is delicious and the staff is lovely.

Very friendly and the staff are wonderful! Always fantastic service! 10/10 would recommend to anyone!

Love the outdoor seating and all the food is delicious. We look forward every year for them to open!

My favorite outdoor restaurant! The staff is always friendly, food is great- especially the steaks.

Yea great place nice atmosphere good people. Good food, drinks. Servers are the best

Great view of the river and pleasant outdoor dining. I ordered the burger and fries. Both were probably pre-frozen. The burger was undercooked and greasy, also had that fake grilled taste. It was way too big for the bun. The fries were warm when served and even if they were hot, the taste would not be improved. I did not finish any of my food and will not return. read more

Ok burgers. Quality has gone down the past few years. Needs some updates and more seating. View is great...that's the main appeal

I will always love the cabana! Great views while you drink and eat! Wish there was more like it around! Good food and decent drink prices! Long waits on busy good weather nights though! Recently added more seating and bar space and parking too! read more

We love this place! Food is really good. We usually have a salmon salad & black n blue steak salad. It's food, bar music (band on weekends) with great service on the river so it has a fabulous view & great vibes!! And Family friendly. It's usually packed so expect a wait but worth it! read more

Wrote a review on Mothers Day after the debacle my family experienced. Got on the waiting list at 2:50 pm from this website. Our reservation was for 8 people including a high chair. Completely understood that the wait could be up to 2 hrs. Arrived to the restaurant at the appropriate time for check in. Was seated at 4:35 pm. The problem was we were seated at separate tables. At no time did the hostess alert us of this or ask us if we minded. When we got to the separate tables I asked the hostess why were not seated together like some of the other big parties. The hostess replied that we would have to get back on the waiting list if we wanted to sit together. Posted the review here later that evening. The charge for dinner was taken out of our checking account. About a week later we noticed the balance of our account was higher then what it should be. Checking online we noticed the charge of 201.02 was no longer showing in the online log & our account was 201.02 higher. Assumed we were refunded the 201.02 because of the debacle. Waited a week & felt since we were refunded the 201.02 we would get on the review & advise yelp that we were going to remove the review because we were refunded for the dinner/debacle. This morning while doing online banking we notice the charge for 201.02 was pending again. Not sure why this happened but we are clearly not impressed. Another lesson learned. Be specific when making your reservation that you want to be seated together & do not remove your review when you believe the establishment rectified the debacle. Very shady maneuvers! read more

one of my favorite places! always expect it to be busy, but it's worth it. we just join the waitlist ahead of time, helps a lot! i LOVE the cabana bread. read more

Omg this is a great find if you want great food and the coldest beer and service was great for how busy they were around and the atmosphere is awesome but the view of the river is breath taking this is a must try for sure two very happy customers. read more

As a group of 9 people we all enjoyed delicious dinners without any issues! The grilled Mahi Mahi fish and tacos were flavorful and moist. Other things ordered were grouper fingers, fish and chips, and steak hoagies. The Moscow Mules were refreshing and made with Crabbies Ginger Beer. We are already planning another summer return! The River view is so nice while enjoying great food! read more

Every time I go here I'm reminded that it's nothing special. It's nice sitting on the river but the food is overpriced and nothing special. Also the space is cramped and last time I went they got my order wrong. I ordered the fish dinner and got a fish sandwich- not at all what I wanted and the waitress didn't care. The place seems to rely on regulars and it has been around for awhile. Needs a revamp in my opinion. read more

First time to Cabana and we had a good experience, food and waitress. Kristen was friendly and welcoming; she said she loved her job and it shows. We were seated quicker than quoted even with the social distancing in effect. Our food was fresh and good. Our only negative was wiping off the table and chairs with a dry paper towel is NOT sanitizing properly so it needs to be addressed. read more

Cabana On the River - Riverview - American Near Me - Cincinnati, Ohio

Cabana is always nice, great atmosphere, nice servers and the food is good too! Unique place on the west side that I recommend

Pretty good food, you get a lot, big portions, great view on the Ohio River, prices are very reasonable. It's not fancy, no need to dress up, shorts & sandals are good enough. The only problem is the wait during peak hours but they text you when they're ready. read more

Love Cabana on the River!! Great atmosphere, great service! There is usually a wait in the evenings, but while you wait, you can watch boats go up and down the river, or catch a volleyball game. It's always entertaining at Cabana. read more

Their food is really good and staff has always been helpful. I love the fish tacos, and the mango Piña colada. Love the views. Super busy some nights and that's when it becomes a nightmare to wait but no complaints on the food or service or adult beverages. read more

Best haddock sandwich you'll get anywhere! And it's HUGE. Great scenery and service but you can bet you'll have to wait on a table on the weekend but that's anywhere good in town read more

Great ambience, music, and view. We ordered a little of everything. Was most impressed by the steak on a stick. Literally the best steak I'd had. read more

This place used to be decent but we haven't been back since the very beginning of the season because the service was atrocious (we used to go probably at least a dozen times a season). Please invest in polite wait staff who don't very rudely shoo guests away from tables. Food is a bit overpriced for the quality. Great view when it's nice out but that's not enough to get me to come back. read more

My wife and I were on a 2 month long boat adventure from the Florida keys. My wife and I found the Cabana on the River and were so pleased we did. Adam the owner was one of best we have met on our journey. His hospitality, friendliness and most of all, his restaurant. A great place to stop at would be an understatement. Our waitress was the best. It is a perfect stop, especially if your on the water. Great staff, friendly courteous and a pleasure to have met. We go on long boat trips all the time, we will certainly be back. A hidden diamond in hideaway. Sincerely, Colonel Nickodemus Damalio U..S. Army read more

Cabanas on the River is just a few minutes from my house, so definitely extra points for that! Open only in the summer months, they have been serving up west siders on the banks of the Ohio River for many years. It is basically an institution over here and so the crowd is always varied. You have all the seniors that have been coming since it opened, all the families with kids that are starting the tradition with their offspring, and the young 20-30 age group looking for anything fun on the westside. The food is served on paper & plastic and plastic utensils, but anything with their steak is dynamite! The steak kabobs, steak pita, and steak salad are my go to items!! Bands on weekends, right on the Ohio River, and friendly service make this one of my favorite summer spots! So why only four stars?? They rarely have any background music playing which somewhat lowers the ambience for me. Usually only if you ask them to turn it on and then only if someone remembered their ipod to play and even then it is so quiet that you can barely hear it! read more

And I thought I was the only one that was only so-so on this place! And I look on yelp and apparently I am not the only one. On a beautiful spring, summer, fall day it is wonderful to chill under an umbrella while the river winds slowly past you. But honestly.... that is really the only thing I like about this place. Drinks are WEAK and EXPENSIVE! Food is only ok, but reasonably priced. Service is usually very good though. I recommend any number of bars/restaurants with river views downtown, Covington, or in Newport. Don't go out of your way for the Cabana. read more

Strawberry Daiquiri #1 - The daiquiri was not to bad - it was very refreshing and hit the spot that we were looking for. Not too strong though. I'm pretty satisfied with this place. The atmosphere is the best part - it has a nice deck overlooking the river. It's far enough a way from the city that there's not noisy distractions. It's a very chill place! I've been there twice and been so fortunate to have a crystal clear day while the sun is setting and I was right on the edge of the deck. It was perfect (perhaps why I think it's so great). The food was pretty decent and the drink we're decent. But the place itself is just awesome. I'm hoping to spend a couple more evenings out there this summer! read more

Cabana is an interesting place indeed. On one hand I want to give it five stars and on the other I'd like to give it three stars. It's certainly not a place to pass up for summer fun, but go in knowing a few things. Atmosphere/Amenities: Cabana has so much going for it! They have live music almost every night and they've installed a separate bar for the performance area, which does a fantastic job of keeping the main bar in the restaurant manageable. There is also a huge sand volleyball court with its own bar, again, very good idea! The restaurant itself is open/outdoor and you can sit on the lower deck that overlooks the river. As I sat here recently I actually felt a little like I might be in Florida sitting on the ocean. The fact that the atmosphere here can trick a weathered Cincinnatian into thinking they're anywhere other than Cincinnati is nothing short of a miracle. Food/Beverages: Cabanas food is decent. It's certainly not bad, but the fish can come out tough and its a bit overpriced. The drinks are terribly priced, I'd say they're in accordance with most places around Cincinnati. They have a pretty decent beer selection as well, which is always a huge plus for me. Service: Service is a little hard for me to judge, because I've been a server and I know how difficult busy nights are. We waited about half an hour when we arrived on a Thursday, which I didn't mind at all. Anyone with a brain can tell if Cabana is going to be busy as soon as they catch a glimpse of the parking lot. Other customers were complaining to the hostesses about a party of two being seated before their 12 person party and I felt pretty terrible for the hostesses taking the brunt of the complaints all while trying to politely explain. After being seated we were immediately asked what we wanted to drink and when we said we needed a moment we were given about ten minutes. The same happened when we were asked about dinner, at that point we were given about twenty minutes. Once finished we sat for about half an hour before waving down a server for our check. The servers were very kind and polite, but I would definitely say they needed more on staff that night. I think it would have eliminated a lot of wait time. All in all I would certainly recommend Cabana, but go in with a full understanding that this place is a little West Side gem with a big following and you might have to wait in line. Just grab a drink at the bar and enjoy the atmosphere; that's what you're here for. read more

If you are looking for riverside dinning on the west side the place to be. But the service is horrible. If you want better service and a river side dinnign try Kremmer's on Rt 128. read more

This is the letter that I sent to the Ohio Smoking Ban folks: Sent to NoSmoke@odh.ohio.gov Last night I had the disSTINKt pleasure of visiting the Cabana on the River at 7445 Forbes Rd. Cincinnati, OH 45233 on Cincinnati's west side. As I sat down, someone started smoking at the table beside me. I went to front and asked a couple of the wait staff about their smoking policy and was told that they allow smoking. I visited your website and saw the exclusion line that said "Under certain conditions, private residences; family-owned businesses without non-family employees; certain areas of nursing homes; outdoor patios; and some retail tobacco stores are exempt." I can assure you that these folks are flouting the law as this place is not an outdoor patio but a completely covered restaurant with limited walls. See http://screencast.com/t/3Mwf4Sjj for a photo from Bing. Do you see an outdoor patio? I sure don't. See http://tinyurl.com/destinkt-pleasure and a bird's eye view to see this outdoor patio? read more

This is one of those places that unless a friend told you about it, you might not know that it existed. Open seasonally starting in April and located next to Mariner's Landing on the Ohio River in Sayler Park, Cabana on the River is a great place to wile away an afternoon sipping beers and just watching the water drift by. It's a Queen City version of one of those beachside Caribbean bars, and you can get some pretty decent grub here, too. But don't expect white tablecloths or even dishware for that matter, this is a paper napkin and plastic plate kinda joint. Sandwiches and salads are the primary fare, and they serve one of the largest burgers in town (it far exceeds the size of a standard bun). It's better than average food, but the ambiance is what gives boosts it from three stars to four. If you are on the west side of town and looking for a great outdoor bar and grill, Cabana on the River just might be it. Especially since the only place you can sit here is outside. read more