I have to admit .. I wasn't too sure about this place from the looks on the outside. I've been living in the area for 5 years and I haven't thought once about going in here. My friend and I decided to give it a shot yesterday while we were in the area. The place absolutely has a "local dive bar" vibe to it. The place was empty when we arrived (late lunch: 230pm). We were seated right away. The hostess / waitress was sweet and put up with our sense of humor. I ordered a cheddar cheeseburger and my friend ordered a rueben sandwich. After reading reviews on this place, they seem to be known for their burgers and steaks. I have to say that I wasn't that impressed with the burger. The meat was okay - nothing special but the bun was weak. It was very soggy on the bottom and tasted like a frozen bun from Burger King. My friend enjoyed her rueben. Also, my water tasted a little funny (like a chemical / soap-like taste). The iced tea was not bad. I don't think this would be a place that I would frequent, however, it is not terrible. If you are in the area and need a quick bite to eat - this may be your spot. read more

For me, Cliff's is just okay. Maybe it's because I'm not a huge fan of steak and always order pasta or a sandwich. I've never had a bad experience, but I've never had a particularly great one, either. I like that Cliff's is casual and feels very North Fork, because it's such an institution out here, and I'll definitely be back, but it's just not my favorite. The service is always perfectly pleasant, and I like the separation of bar area versus restaurant area. Definitely come to Cliff's if you're a big red meat lover! Otherwise, maybe not. read more

My wife and had dinner at Cliff's Rendezvous in Riverhead on July 12th. We are compelled to alert prospective diners to one of the most disappointing dining experiences we have ever had. We each ordered the restaurant's signature porterhouse steak; one marinated and the other without the marinade. The steaks arrived in two wildly different shapes, one thick with a good filet and the other extremely thin and with a tiny filet. The steaks were inedible, riddled with fat and white impenetrable veins of sinew - two grisly, flavorless and shockingly cheap cuts of meat at premium prices. The steaks were of lesser quality than you would expect to find in a supermarket. We attempted to eat these atrocious steaks, but after a few bites and a pile of inedible gristle on our plates, gave up and took these uneaten steaks home for our neighbor's dog. Compounding the disappointing quality'of the food, the service was a combination of indifferent and clueless. Our server was oblivious to the dramatically different cuts of meat place on our plates, and, after it was clear that there was a problem with our dinners, just stared at the uneaten steaks on our plates, smirked and walked away. Perhaps the sorry, wilted iceberg lettuce in the house salad should have alerted us to the mediocrity of this restaurant (or the centerpiece of lottery tickets for sale bizarrely placed on each table should have raised a red flag), but we held out hope that the steaks would be of reasonable quality. We were wrong. It is difficult to understand how a restaurant which specializes in steak can serve such a mediocre product and do so at premium prices. The dining public is warned. read more

Love this place! The food, service and prices are the best in town!

Neighborhood gem with great marinated steaks. Locals seem to love this spot. Comfortable and casual. French fries cooked perfectly. Service is good too. Five stars because this place far exceeded my expectations and I enjoyed the food so much. read more

Lunch - Excellent homemade New England clam chowder, salad, flounder, prime rib steak sandwich. Very good value for the money. Highly recommend. read more

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I love this place...it's got old-school charm. It probably began operating around the same time Swezey's opened on Main St. in 1970...the staircase leading to the lower dining area has the same moulded steps and handrailing as the Swezey's store had between its two levels. Service here is slow...VERY slow. The last time I dined here was almost a year ago. My mother and I waited 50 minutes for our entrees to be delivered after we ordered them. We were starving...they give you a basket with bread sticks and butter and we waited so long and were so hungry that we devoured the whole basket of bread sticks. The waitress was unapologetic when we finally got our food. HOWEVER, I love their steak. I live in Nassau County now and my mother still lives in Eastern Suffolk; and for awhile, the Rendezvous was our "meet half-way" point so she and I could have dinner together. In spite of the terrible service, I would still eat there, but my mom refuses to go. I suppose I am a bit more tolerant of poor service when the product is good. My mom doesn't share my view on this. There were two very lovely, mature and attentive ladies who used to be waitresses at the Rendezvous when we would go there all the time, and they seem to be gone now. What happened? read more

Nice homey atmosphere. Waitstaff very pleasant. BUT at all costs avoid the Elbow Room Chicken. It's a tasteless entree that's over powered by the goat cheese and will upset your stomach all night. read more

This place is a " go to" for the locals in the Westhampton Beach, Quoge and River Head area of eastern Long Island areas. It's constantly packed! Provides quality food and great service. I had the marinated Sirloin steak Which tasted wonderful. It was a bit cold and a little undercooked as I asked for medium and it turned out to be more like medium rare. The sweet potato was very good. If you compare this place to most other places in the Hamptons this rates very high up on the scale! I took off 1 point because the marinade on the steak was a bit salty but it made the meat soft and tender. Totally recommended! I heard they have great burgers for Lunch if your in the hood! read more

Excellent steak, cooked perfectly. 5 stars on the food. Staff a little slow. I'll be back. read more

Had dinner before the 3 Dog Night concert Sunday evening. Excellent service, great food and drinks. The start to a perfect night!

Great atmosphere, great service and awesome music! For someone from out of town, this joint is very welcoming and comfortable! I will be here every time I'm in town ( and that's often) read more

Delightful experience.attentive staff and delicious broiled seafood platter, porterhouse steak and fried seafood platter read more

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Been here a few times now for lunch and both times were great. Hamburgers are actually cooked to temp not like most places where you order it medium rare and it comes out well done. Fries are great nice and thin and crisp. the artichoke dip which was also great. Waitress was great very attentive and helpful always had a full glass of iced tea and water read more

Some people like steaks burnt & crunchy on the outside, but I really don't like crunchy on the outside of my steak. I even got it medium rare but the whole outside of the steak was extremely crunchy. The whole restaurant is very old and is very dark inside. The service is friendly most of the time. I definitely wouldn't recommend any of the cliffs steakhouses if you don't like crispy, burnt, & crunchy on the outside of your steak. If you do like crunchy steaks, I would recommend going there. read more

Place was so disgusting and the person who said the owners are racist are so right, received horrible customer service the establishment is so dirty and the food is so mediocre. Many better restaurants close by... definitely pass on this one read more

Consistency, Consistency , Consistency .... the same efficient , affordable, hospital and delicious service and food since I was a kid with my mom and dad in the 70's ...an institution !!!! read more

Food was decent but our waitress was completely oblivious. I think she may have been drinking. Again, the food was decent but because of the service I probably won't be going back. read more

Went here for lunch with a friend from out of town and they were really disappointed with their food. I tried their food and agreed it was really bland and had an off taste to it, like something that has been sitting out and reheated. The bread the meat was on was completely soggy and it was supposed to be a sandwich came with only one piece of bread. We were tempted to tell the waitress we were not happy with it but she hardly seemed interested in being there, so I gave my friend hafe of my sandwhich, was just deli quality so not worth the price. Why is elbow room in laurel so much better but this restaurant and the Jamesport one is always bad? I figured how could they screw up lunch during the week when only few people in the place. I know there is a pandemic but hardly anyone in the restaurant and i had to get the waitress to give us utensils. as a local just go else wear! This is clearly a tourist trap. The two stars are for the decent beverages. read more

A total classic place that's simple but awesome!! Been here forever. The food, staff are great!! If you want a great steak & you're out east. Go here or further out at The Elbow Room. The special marinade on the steak is to die for.......Been going here for over 20 yrs!!! read more

Rendezvous with bad food. Tasteless over-cooked seafood at a high price. Bad old school plate drenched in butter with tasteless paprika sprinkled generously on everything. The dinner menu does not include the burgers and sandwiches pictured in this yelp listing. The highlights of the meal were the salads and the root beer. Service was friendly. read more

Great place to eat in Riverhead. Local restaurant and good food! Good service too! I would highly recommend this place!

Greets with a smile ... Casual bar atmosphere ...!server was very friendly and tentative .. Had a palm and Guinness ... And ordered ... Turkey burger / fresh shrimp and a shrimp wrap with peppers.... Over all great experience for lunch or dinner or just a beer . read more

Cliff's Rendezvous Restaurant - Happy Sunday - American Near Me - Riverhead, New York

A step back into the 50s--a good place for lunch. Enter through the bar (retiree regulars: railroaders, fire fighters, police officers, and fishermen--great war stories, VFW caps on, but cautious with strangers) past a cashier's station either to a lower dining room or an extreme right to a smaller dining room in the front. Paneled walls and yellowed sports photos show the age of the family-run place. Lunch clientele includes lawyers, jury members, court officials from the County and Superior Courts nearby, and parson from the UMC across the street. The menu hasn't changed in years--wonderful fresh seafood, scallops, fried clams, clam chowder. Mature, competent waitresses, cheerful but independent, at lunch often overworked. Usually plenty of time for a leisurely conversation before the main course arrives. Child-friendly (booster chairs quickly provided; Atlantis Marine World just a short walk down the street) and larger tables on the lower level can accommodate family groups. On TV in bar, Fox Sports; in dining room, CNN. Easy to include in a shopping excursion to Tanger Riverhead. Tiny un-insulated bathrooms with flimsy doors; don't get a table near them. I love the place! An entertaining curiosity offering good food, but of course, not a gourmet destination. http://www.menupix.com/menudirectory/menu_link.php?mxresto_id=3209189 read more

Took a drive out to Greenport and Mattituck, such a beautiful drive. My friend recommended this place because I said I wanted a burger. Pulled up, this place is literally right across the street from the aquarium. It's nothing to write home about as far as looks outside. Walked in, greeting was a bit slow but they said we can sit where we want. We sat ourselves. Then Janice came over. This chick was the sweetest, she was great. A lot of waitresses could learn everything from her. I watched after she took our order how attentive she was to her other tables. My friend and I ordered burgers. Mine well done and my friend med rare. WITH THE MARINADE and fries. We were not waiting long when Janice came strolling out with our food. My burger was great. I could have prob passed on the marinade, it was more salty than I prefer, but not a turn off, because I bust that burger down. The fries were perfect!! My friends burger I thought was good until she started deconstructing it. She said it was over cooked and dark. Lol. They were dark, but not burnt tasting to me. Anyway she ate most of it so couldn't have been that bad. I would go back to this place to try other things like the steak everyone else is raving about. But I would without a doubt sit in Janice's section. read more

Excellent food. Excellent service. Had to travel a little way to get here. Glad we did. Passed it many times while in Riverhead and always wanted to stop. Glad again. read more

Unpredictable hours. All info states they close at 10pm. Drove all the way there and arrived at 9 to be told they are closed. Unacceptable.

Amazing steaks. Very friendly and clean. Great desserts. Took the kids and they enjoyed their fried shrimp and bacon cheeseburger. Highly recommend it. Will be back for a night out without kids at their bar as well. read more

We returned to Cliff's Rendezvous today, when we heard that Stella, who was the bar tender at Pulaski Street Grille was now at Cliff's Rendezvous. We experienced wonderful service and great food. Personnel change has truly made a huge difference. read more

Come here on sundays and the food is pretty good. Charles the bartender is awesome . You can sit by bar and they also have 2 separate areas for table sitting . The Li clam chowder and steak is the best . read more

ordered THREE burgers. Received three giant patties of overcooked beef, no rolls, nothing resembling a BURGER! How the fuck can u fuck up THREE BURGERS with anything else on the menu????? The server was FUCKING CLUELESS. Next time u r in Riverhead GO TO MCDONALDS...THEY NEVER FUCK UP read more

I finally had to register to Yelp because of Cliffs. I have been traveling straight for 2 years and i must say this was the worst steak ever and i love steak. So lets start, i was reading past reviews of slow service. I found the service to be so so. But i was there befor the dinner rush. My marinated filet i ordered medium. The steak came black burnt and crispy on the outside. The center was red and it was very chewy and fattty. Not happy spending over $30.00 for something i could of cooked better. The bread was good tho. Thats about it. read more

If you want to be berated by a bartender for standing in his way, being told to "go back to whatever state you came from", and get told to get the F*** out, this is the place for you. It wasn't extremely busy, and for him to have been SO RUDE to a group that just tripled the business in the place, it was just a completely beyond me. Not friendly to tourists whatsoever! read more

Cliff's Rendezvous is a great spot for drinks and food. Tim is an amazing bartender and really made us feel at home. This is a hole in the wall kinda spot, but it is very clean and has great staff. We were apprehensive to come in at first because it looked like no one was inside, but the hotel we were staying at recommended it so we came back. I'm very glad we did because this is a great place. We met some great people and had a really good time. read more

My parents have been going here since before I was born, and I've been going for the last twenty five years of my life. The surf and turf here is unforgettable and it's what I get 9 times out of 10. I know some people say they don't enjoy the marinade, but I think its divine. The wait staff is your typical New York waitstaff i.e. they're going to match your energy, so as long you're nice and polite, they'll treat you well. It can get super busy on the weekends. The fried mushrooms and the mussels are excellent appetizers, and the different seafood platters are big but worth it. It's got a local vibe where its not as fancy as other steakhouses but the food is fantastic. I forsee myself visiting here for the rest of my life if possible. read more

This restaurant is not even worth looking at. The baked clams that they make is their " special recipe. they are disgusting, they taste like a pot pie with sour fish in them. The shrimp scampi was a small portion for not a small price. The soft shell crab clearly was not fresh, and the fried shrimp was 90% breading. The service was terrible. There was not one refill of water or coffee given. The food took a half an hour to come out. The server was rude and did not have any interest in helping us. I then ended up with food poisoning. save your money and stomach. read more

Best steaks I've ever had. The service isn't always the friendliest, sometimes the place is packed but the marinated porterhouse is the best I've ever had. I go there quite often and the consistency is varied and the steak is up to $35 but it is still my families favorite steak place. read more

Perfect place. Wanted to take husband out for steak but not break the bank and I had s friend recommend here and it was incredible. I wish I could figure out how they cook their steaks! Will definitely return! read more

Great place for great food! The staff was super nice and the food was awesome. This was my first time here and I am already making plans to come back again. read more

One of my new favorite places to go- the staff is so super friendly and somehow they remember your name?! Prices spot on and their steak is amazing!! read more