We stayed at this inn for a night at NOTL and it was well worth it. From the hospitality of the staff (including free shuttles to select wineries), to extremely clean & spacious rooms and a great patio for guests, I highly recommend staying here. While I didn't catch everyone's name at the front desk, I did get Zoey's - and she was also a great shuttle driver and was very prompt. We can't wait to be back! read more

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This review is from July 2022. I accidentally left this review in drafts and forgot to publish! Our dinner here was absolutely amazing! Our server was sweet. They had a prefix menu and you ordered one thing from each section (either 2 or 3 things) My husband had a Norwegian, salmon appetizer and I had the crab in leek tart. They were absolutely delicious. I can't remember the exact name of my dish, but it was a short rib served over mashed potatoes with green beans. My husband had a homemade pasta dish with a pesto and vegetables. They were both outstanding. We both decided against dessert because we were too full but we saw others with wonderful looking desserts . The sunset from our table was absolutely breathtaking, and the overall scenery really made our dinner special. I had wished our dinner had started with a bread basket of some sort, and I wish our server had refilled our glasses without being requested. Other than that, we absolutely loved our experience and will totally return the next time we are in Niagara on the lake. read more

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Riverbend Inn is a beautiful place, located just outside the main town of Niagara-On-The-Lake, surrounded by vineyards and right next door to Peller Estates. The rooms are large, with a comfortable seating area, enormous bathroom and ours even had a working fireplace. Decorated in classic English Country House style, furnishings are refined and elegant. We were welcomed with a glass of house bubbly and every request was handled swiftly. There is a fine dining restaurant on-site that features a terrace with lovely sunset views. A wonderful spot for a getaway. read more

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So if you just look at the star system you will be deceived because this place is pretty spectacular. They are a hotel who also caters to events, and dabbles in food. We stayed in a room while visiting the area. Our first impression was a pleasant one. The front desk agent was super polite, and gave us a glass of Trius champagne while she checked us in. Our room was very large, and classic. Lots of art, and a fire place. All the rooms have a view of something. The bed was very comfortable, and pillows were perfect. After getting into the room I decided to read through the reviews to see why it was so low. There was a wedding event that went bad, and 9 people from that event decided to all post and give it a 1 star. Don't be fooled by these people because even a bad event doesn't warrant a 1 star. Our breakfast was first class, with a first class view which is included with your stay at the hotel. The dining room looks out to Peller estates. It's a room full of energy with lots of windows and sunlight. Perfect way to start your morning. Overall this place is a 5 star experience if you're looking for a hotel. Also, it's strategically located next to some of the best wineries in the region. They have bikes for hotel guests onsite, and umbrellas for the occasional rain. A must stay if you're in the area. read more

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I went here for my birthday and the experience was outstanding Came for lunch with wine pairing. From start to finish, our young server was knowledgeable, understanding and paid attention to detail The food with wine pairing was excellent I would recommend this place to anyone who would like to experience food with wine pa read more

Riverbend Inn - Smoked bone-in pork chop - Hotels Near Me - Niagara-on-the-lake, Ontario

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My family and I visited Riverbend Inn for brunch. The restaurant has a great ambience: chandelier, piano, and marble bar with a view to the winery/patio. The food was average. My family had traditional brunch items: blueberries pancakes ($14), farmhouse breakfast ($15), and omelette ($14). We all agree the best item on the menu were home fries. Overall, it was a very standard brunch. Nothing to write home about. My biggest disappointment was being served mushy fruits close-to and/or expired. I would expect that from the diner and not an Inn. read more

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We dined in for lunch on Friday with my family. We requested a patio that was overlooking their beautiful vineyard. We ordered salmon and mushroom toast for appetizers, burgers and pasta for mains and white chocolate mouse and pear crumble for desserts. The appetizers were beautifully presented, especially the mushroom toast was outstanding! For the mains, both dishes were decent, pasta was a bit under seasoned. The desserts were ok as well. Our server was extremely pleasant. He showed our kids magic and was fun. It was such a lovely dining experience. read more

Dropped in for lunch and when we mentioned we were celebrating my birthday our server Darrion brought us a each complimentary glass of sparkling wine. It set the tone for a lovely two- course lunch. Our server paired the perfect wines to go with mushroom toast and moules frites, as well as potato-leek soup with a burger. Simple food served with lovely garnishes (e.g. roasted brussel sprout garnish for the soup; roasted garlic mayo with the frites) that created a unique flavour experience. Everything was tasty, the atmosphere in the restaurant elegant and tranquil and our server a knowledgeable and friendly sommelier. We will be back in the summer! read more

Riverbend Inn - Moules frites, hamburger and fries, wine paired by sommelier - Hotels Near Me - Niagara-on-the-lake, Ontario

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Glad the storm didn't stop me from coming to NOTL because it was beautiful! The food at Oaklands Restaurant at the Riverbend Inn was delicious and can see the Chef Midgley put a lot of thought into each dish. Short rib was tender, but with a bite. The Wild Cod was nicely seared with the fat keeping the fish moist and a crisp skin, however personally not a fan of the wild rice. Duck confit rillette and the chocolate semifreddo were both so balanced in flavours! David gave great recommendations and tended to our needs! @riverbendinnnotl @pellerfamilyvineyards @pellerwines read more

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We dined at Riverbend Inn, reserving the outdoor patio overlooking the neighboring vineyard, and it was such a disappointment. Where to even begin... If you're looking for a romantic atmosphere but simple food and mediocre service, this might be your spot. The setting itself is truly picturesque. The Riverbend Inn is a beautiful house with lovely gardens, vineyards, a gazebo and covered patio. It's no surprise that weddings take place here or that many people were particularly unhappy when they discovered the patio was closed for a private event. We had however made a reservation for a late (2:00pm) lunch for 27 so that the kitchen could accommodate us comfortably after the lunch rush. They gave us two servers, one of which barely talked and the other made some inappropriate sexual comments to my 89 year old grandmother [horror!]. On top of that, the items that were served were very disappointing. From having missing items on the plates to just truly lacking in culinary skills (who can mess up a cheese plate so extraordinarily?!). I ordered a burger with a substitution of sweet potato fries and thought it was okay. Unfortunately, there are temperature requirements in Canada, and meat cannot be cooked lower then medium. The fish and chips, which several of the guests ordered, were also okay. But those were the only passable items. My uncle, who has been to the Riverbend Inn a handful of times, said this not a normal experience. All I can say is that if you know a large party is coming in, please prepare your kitchen and make sure you have enough staff on hand. I know that large parties are not always easy, but sometimes it is better to turn down a reservation rather then present a poor side. read more

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Even though this restaurant has gone to a choice of three or four course prix fixe menu, the choices were tasty and filling. I'm not sure any place is worth the outrageous prices they are charging these days but the value for the price here was better than other establishments we tried in the NOTL region read more

Got married here in August and have to say they have absolutely horrible service. We booked the entire venue (every room) for the whole weekend and were told that it would be closed to the public. Several times during our rehearsal and wedding day random people were observing our celebration. Random people on the patio during our ceremony. Due to pour communication and coordination our celebration was cut short. It did not appear as though anyone was in charge the entire weekend. Following the wedding the horrible management has continued with slow responses to our identification that they over billed our bar tab by several thousand dollars. Overall the property is beautiful, rooms are a little run down and not worth the price. Most of the staff was great! I definitely would not recommend this place for anything other then great pictures! read more

I attended a wedding here and I was really upset with the reservation process. First, I called several times to try to make a reservation, even though the bride had given my information to the front desk and each time they were super confused and unable to process my reservation. I had to speak on the phone with 3 different people on more than four occasions to finally process my booking, and when they finally figured it out I was unable to obtain any type of email confirmation. The room itself was cute, and the grounds were pretty too but they were super disorganized when it came to executing the event, and left my friends, the bride and groom, extremely stressed out the entire weekend. I couldn't believe when the bride told me that the tent her family had rented and paid for was used by another party prior to the event without her permission. During cocktail hour, the cocktail servers were pretty rude and it was difficult to get an appetizer from some of them. Another major issue had to do with the food/serving of the food. Our table did not receive any wedding cake, and didn't even know there was a wedding cake. This is a huge miss because couples pay SO much money for their cake! Following the event, my friends have received no support, response or customer service in response to their legitimate complaints, so I would strongly suggest you not plan an event here, or even stay here as this area has many other gorgeous spots that you could go to instead. read more

Had my wedding here. No issues at all. Was a fantastic day, everything was managed and taken care of for us. Then again, my wife and I are simple people who wanted a simple yet beautiful wedding for 80 people. Our choices were basic, not over complicated and everything turned out perfect! My wife and I regularly visit there restaurant from time to time to reminisce on our day. Thank you Riverbend for your hospitality and efforts in making our day so special and worry free! read more

*Update October 2017, the manager responded to my review on TripAdvisor. Riverbend did not make any effort to make contact or respond to our concerns. I had to put in a dispute with my credit card because the communication was non-existent. My husband and I booked Riverbend Inn & Vineyard for our wedding in December and within a few months, there was a new wedding coordinator. From then on, I worked with Samantha and everything seemed as though it was going according to plan, but come our wedding weekend, everything did not go according to plan, starting with our welcome BBQ on Friday. Even though my husband and I compiled a timeline hour by hour of the whole weekend, the weekend was poorly managed. This is the worst customer service we have ever experienced, but the staff was great. The property was beautiful, but unfortunately too many things went wrong. Friday, August 4th, 2017: We had a welcome BBQ instead of a traditional rehearsal dinner at Riverbend: * We rented the entire venue for the weekend and we were confused as to why the venue was still open to public (restaurant open during BBQ)-all weekend. We were told the restaurant would be closed. People were in the middle of our pictures, tried to come into our tent, and dined in the restaurant while our events were going on. My son and groomsman had to direct traffic because buses kept coming in * We rented a tent, but was used by a random wedding. There was no notice on this wedding * There was no veggie option for the BBQ and this information was listed in a word document with food allergies sent prior to this weekend. My husband had to pay for 2 dinners * The food quality was poor for the money paid One of my good friend's room had no power in his room for the entire weekend. No one was around to rectify this situation Saturday, August 5, 2017, our wedding date * Floor plan did not exist * My husband had to buy own coffee, no extras at all, all we received was 2 chocolate rings and a generic card that said Congratulations from Riverbend in the bridal suite * Breakfast was late for my husband and his groomsman * Samantha the wedding coordinator was nowhere to be found and did not say goodbye or congratulations * No introduction was made to her assistant/bartender who my husband worked with during the wedding * Left over cake not served at brunch as requested * No one in charge-woman at desk had no idea. There was never a person in charge that could handle any issues with the hotel or the wedding * No coffee or tea was served at wedding, not everyone received cake * Undercooked food was served for some guests * Late night food should have been in the tent * Wedding shut down at 11:30PM, should have been 1AM-this matter was discussed, and resolved since we rented the entire property. However, this was done behind our backs and our wedding was cut two hours short due to Samantha's word. Sunday, August 6, 2017: * No one there to coordinate our departure-taking the left over cake, cake stand, ceremony items (sand) * Samantha was nowhere to be found and could not be reached by her cellphone for the next 5 days. *My husband and I were midway coming home from the wedding on Sunday and realized we left the cake. We had to spend the night in Niagara on the lake (August 11-12th) to pick up the cake. When we arrived, a person behind the desk could not find Sam and couldn't leave her post. Another wedding was going on at the venue. My husband and I waited 45 minutes to retrieve our cake. Again, Samantha did not say congratulations or any other words, or any gestures to express her gratitude. The staff came up to us when they saw us and said congratulations. Overall, I would not book a wedding here or stay at the hotel due to poor management. It is a shame because the property is gorgeous and has enormous potential. read more

What a lovely, calming venue for a Saturday lunch! The menu was simple but creative. The house wine, a Sauvignon Blanc, was chilled and crisp, a perfect wine to go with a delicious fish and scrumptious in-house pickled vegetables. I had to order more veggies, they were mouthwatering! The chef enjoyed the compliment and sent us a dishful with our charming waiter..."This is on us!" Niagara-on-the-lake was having its annual peach festival and was swarming with peach lovers from near and far. A young couple even decided to get married at Riverbend and, as luck would have it, we were witness to a beautiful wedding. The day was perfect and we drove back to Toronto with peach juice dripping down our chins. read more

I attended a wedding on August 5th and was quite unimpressed overall. During the rehearsal BBQ, I found the meat to be quite dry and over cooked, and frequently pans remained empty. We also had to mingle around other diners in the restaurant...both unfair to the diners who were trying to have a quiet dinner and for the entire wedding party/guests whom were trying to keep space for the unsuspecting diners. During the dinner, I had to repeatedly ask for food courses for my 3 year old son to eat and even with the plate nearly full, the staff kept trying to take the plate away. They finally managed to remove it still half full of food before my son was done eating. The food was also mediocre at best. Our wedding dinner steak was quite undercooked as it was still cool in the middle but the shrimp were quite over cooked. We only received cake because we asked for it and we're not even given an option even though there were different flavours. We were also missing an entire set of sheets in our room and had to put them on ourselves. For a $300+ wedding rate room/night, I wouldn't expect to need to make my own bed. The grounds are beautiful, the venue is also very lovely. The bar staff both Friday and Saturday were the shining point of the weekend...they were quite lovely and efficient. As I was checking out, I was behind another guest who was unable to have his concerns/issues resolved because the front desk staff was left absolutely no direction regarding the issues that were apparently addressed prior to the wedding. that's not a good thing for another guest to overhear if you're looking for repeat business. Overall, I would not recommend Riverbend for any event. I found it quite overpriced and only chose to stay there instead of offsite because I had 2 small children with me. It's unfortunate because the grounds are stunning and some of the staff are outstanding. read more

We ate at this restaurant on 6/22/13 to celebrate my M.I.L.'s birthday. The pics of the restaurant showed an elegant high end dining room. Upon arrival, they had placed a 2 person table and a 4 person table together (this would normally seat 5 people) and wanted our party of 7 to sit here. The restaurant was not busy, so we asked to have a larger table. 5 minutes later, the table was ready. We then were waited on for our drinks. The waitress had no knowledge of the wine menu---mind you we were in Ontario's wine country. She seemed awkward and unsure of herself. She was quickly replaced by a knowledgeable older gentleman who was well spoken and mannerly. He was informative about the menu and went out of his way to turn our experience around which had not gotten off on the right foot. The setting of the inn and restaurant is very beautiful. It backs up to one of the largest wineries and has very green surrounding grounds. There is a large patio that is set up with tables and had people dining al fresco. The biggest problem with servers going out to the patio was the number of flies that entered the elegant dining room. There was a extraordinarily large crystal chandelier hanging above our table that was covered by flies---they were attracted to the glistening lights. The food was wonderful at the Riverbend. Our party had the pork, salmon, and chicken. The presentation was elegant and the flavors were well prepared. My one "complaint" was that our server did not remember our orders and felt the need to call out the dishes for us to have to claim which ones were ours. This was the same gentleman who took our orders--not a runner. In a high end dining establishment, the waiter should remember who got what. Over all, I would recommend this restaurant based on the quality of food for the price. It appears as though the quality of service might be hit or miss depending who you have waiting on you. I would attempt to come here not during the summer as to avoid the flies. read more

I should have paid attention to prior reviews. A beautiful summer evening and we are the ONLY people on the terrace. Wine--very mediocre and over priced. Food -- mediocre. By the piece de resistance--a side of green beans for $6. But there were only 9 green beans. Save your money and go elsewhere read more

Was here for a wedding in August. Overall, the setting and location are beautiful - but a lot of things could have been done differently to make the experience a better and more memorable one! When I arrived for the wedding ceremony, I was distracted by nearby workers hammering away on a tent that was being used for the event. In addition, it was a bit tricky to get around (kind of felt like a bit empty house) the facility and I felt lost throughout my stay. When the reception occurred, there were dueling events taking place, and the distractions continued! While the food was tasty, the transition into the post-reception was a bit haphazard and it seemed as if some of the guests were confused. Riverbend has so much potential to be a great place, I hope they take advantage of it and provide an organized and fully-staffed service experience to their patrons in the future! read more

Excellent food ...... although when booking the day before, we were quoted half the actual price of the fixed price menu. This put us in a spot of leaving or having a very large bill. 3 courses, 3 choices $65.00 per person (plus wine, coffee, taxes, tip) read more

If I could give this restaurant 0 stars I would. The wine was the best part of the meal unfortunately. The appetizer was sub par. The entree lacked flavor and any kind of taste. Our server Karen seemed to be less then impressed to be at work. When asked to describe the meals she had no clue. One guest was given a meal with an ingredient that she had an allergy to. She did not check in or ask how dinner went. Dessert was stale bread soaked in cinnamon nothing to be impressed with. Will not be returning. Will be telling Grape and Wine tour to not use this establishment as a meal option. Definitly unimpressed and upset. read more

Riverbend Inn - shitty pasta - Hotels Near Me - Niagara-on-the-lake, Ontario

Beautiful place for a romantic dinner, patio looking out the vineyards. Excellent food and wine at affordable prices. A rather fancy place, so dress up a little before going there. read more

We are staying here so decided to have dinner here on night #1. It was excellent. Not cheap but really good lobster risotto and bread. Dessert of creme brûlée and lemon tart shared were the best we have ever had!! read more

I was at this hotel for a wedding the entire weekend of Aug 4-6, 2017. I attended an event every day here that weekend and was shocked at the service that was provided at what appeared to be an outwardly perfect venue. Friday I arrived with the bride and groom and when we arrived the Bridal Suite was NOT ready and she was waiting! HELLO!!!! The bride is THE MOST IMPORTANT! I thought that was VERY tacky. Also I quietly observed that NONE of their guests were greeted when they arrived or directed by hotel staff to check in. The bride took note that there were a few details in the tent that were not executed as discussed and when she brought it up to the wedding coordinator my observation was that she was quite unapologetic and argumentative simply stating that "it was the standard" and she made no effort towards a solution rather the bride herself offered a solution and NO apology was given. One of the guests, a good friend of mine had not 1 towel in his room and had to ask for them. Friday night for their welcome dinner the food quality was extremely poor and there was not enough meat for the guests that attended and very little dessert. At the wedding dinner-my ENTIRE tables food was undercooked and had to be sent back. Sunday at the breakfast we had to ask for the food to be refilled as well as our coffee and no condiments were offered or suggested. Overall, the front desk staff was absolutely clueless to any questions or concerns anyone had and I was disappointed not only for myself but for the bride and groom and their special day. Unfortunately I would NOT recommend this venue. read more

Beautiful setting. Boring menu. Average execution. Service really fell off as it got busier and had trouble getting our check. Really disappointed. Tasted like banquet food. All 3 entrees were dull. Chicken wrapped in prosciutto, ravioli, risotto. read more

I gave it a second chance but the problem remains that the restaurant is understaffed. Be prepared to refill your own wine glasses, wait for your plates to be cleared, and you should be so lucky to order dessert and pay for your bill without running late to the theatre. While the food is good, the small dining room is far too close to the bar area and the noise is overwhelming. read more

Very pleasant hotel with beautiful view overlooking their vineyard and Peller Estates however the restaurant is sub par. The overall experience is not worth the price of the meal. Nothing special about the food. Would stay again but eat elsewhere. read more

Have come here in early January for anniversary cebration last 3 years. Great place, good room prices, absolutely wonderful restaurant, friendly sevice, great food. If you are looking for a nice getaway in the NOL vicinity, I highly recommend this place. I gave it 4 stars only based on our last visit with a broken fireplace. read more