River Terrace

Average food, atmosphere was ok. We had a mom night out and wanted to book a table where we could see a river but that wasn’t possible because it was a busy Friday night. So they seated us in a corner with an older AC blowing cold air directly at us. This corner has no exterior Windows so we sinned in a tight dark room. The service was rather slower, took them 10 mins to get us drinks water. The entire restaurant smelled like smoke from cooking food not cigarettes smoke. We look through alcohol drinks and decided on Lemon drop, house red wine and my friends ordered other cocktail drinks. They said their cocktail drinks were ok so they tried Lemon drop but tasted funny. We then ordered our main course. I went with Duck A L’Orange, others had, Steak, Hurricane Shrimps and Seafood Trinity. I would start with my duck. This was cooked unevenly, half of my duck was very chewy. Not sure if they roasted this meat or baked it but duck by itself wasn’t flavorful. The sauce in the black cup is the orange dip. Not what I thought it would be. For $25 duck dish, I expected too much of this place. Side zucchini was fine. The duck sits on rice, it was very plane rice, no flavor. I meant No Flavor. Taste like they rinse the rice with water and served. Shrimp Trinity was on a salty side but my friend didn’t mind it. Hurricane shrimps are breaded and deep fried and put them on slice of French bread. Steak was huge and my friend had it in medium. She said she likes it a lot. Over all, I think the price is too high for an OK meal. Nothing was extra ordinary about the food. I’m glad they try to add variety of food here but the flavor wasn’t quite there for me. Dessert wasn’t bad at all. Except they don’t have ice cream. P.S, the creme bulee is cheesecake version.

A beautiful place with amazing food and a fantastic view of the river. The owner is incredibly hospitable and personally checked on us, and was very involved with the restaurant, helping to clear plates, and refilling drinks. The chef Richard even came by to check on us and made sure we were enjoying the food. As someone who is born and raised New Orleans it's great to finally eat at a place that actually does good New Orleans style seafood. Our server Katie was amazing and Amanda took a picture of us to have memories! It was a phenomenal experience!

The restaurant has very good quality of food. This is where you go for special occasions in Columbia TN. The price is in line for fine dining, we love this place, when people come into town, and we want to take them somewhere special this place is where we go. The severs are very friendly, they work hard to make your dining experience special.

I waited until the next day to post this review, hesitating because this is a family owned and operated restaurant, and my review is less than positive. I chose this restaurant for dinner this past Saturday evening as a Father’s Day celebration with my wife. I had read numerous reviews that were extremely positive, commenting on the outstanding food, romantic atmosphere, and describing it as a fine dining experience. I quickly learned that I was overdressed with other patrons in shorts, baseball caps, and generally attired for a trip to Cracker Barrel. I ordered the recommended shrimp and crawfish etoufee topped with fried red fish and it was good, but not great-I felt the sauce was underseasoned. My wife ordered the Creole blackened chicken. It was extremely dry, overcooked (I’m guessing it wasn’t brined), and very difficult to even cut. There was very little if any sauce on the plate, and it desperately needed it. She ate maybe three bites. We didn’t see our waiter until it was time for him to ask about dessert, but there was nothing that could be done at that time other than give us a to go box and a container of sauce. Overall, we were extremely disappointed with the entire experience. I would suggest that the servers always check back with the diners shortly after they’ve had a chance to sample their food so that concerns can be addressed at the time, not at the end of a meal. I don’t think I’ll make the 45 minute drive from Nashville again.