James D.
Yelp
There's nothing worse than having your high expectations of fine dining dashed by a simply mediocre meal. Recently, my fiancé and I decided to give Riverwinds a try. The reviews looked pretty good, and some of our friends even recommended this as a dinner spot. So on a quiet Tuesday evening we ventured over to West Deptford hoping for the best.
We arrived just before sunset. The place was pretty much empty save for a few patrons at the bar; there were only two or three parties in the dining room. Upon entering the building, the strong odor of Pinesol greeted us in the lobby. We were then greeted by the hostess who took us to our table by the window. By the way, a grand piano sits in the lobby, but I'm told it's only played on Fridays and Saturdays.
After being seated, our server was quick to welcome us and take our order. She was, for the record, the highlight of this visit, and we made sure to tip her well. Friendly, professional, and on task. The disappointment soon began as our bread was brought to the table. In my opinion, if one is expecting to spend upwards of $100 or more on dinner, the bread should be freshly baked in the kitchen with homemade butter and olive oil on the side. Reality soon began to set in as a small loaf of not-so-freshly baked or warmed bread was placed on the table. Nothing special about it or the butter. Just average.
The French onion soup came a little bit later, and to be honest, it wasn't all that bad. But again. Nothing special about it either. Just average. We also ordered salads with our meals; I had the Caesar side salad. So many opportunities to make something special out of this, but again... those opportunities were squandered. Just basic salad with a touch of flavor. We would have expected something like homemade croutons, scrumptious dressing, and even anchovies for the Caesar. Instead, it was just as appetizing as one of the salads from any of our local diners.
Our mediocre dining experience continued as the main courses arrived. She had the crab cakes; I had the chicken marsala. Just one word to describe the whole thing - underwhelming. The portions were good, but just like the rest of our meal, it was nothing to write home over. Very little flavor and a truly basic presentation. Not at all worth the $100 that we would spend that evening.
Dessert was a basic bowl of vanilla ice cream. Most likely Hershey's or whatever the Sysco food truck might have delivered earlier that day.
My last complaint is directed toward the management staff. I have been to a great deal of "fine dining" restaurants. In almost every case, I was greeted warmly at my table by the manager on staff. In some cases, it was the owner themselves that made the rounds every night. There were at least two or three managers spotted talking with each other in the lobby. Not once did they come by our table, and they said not one word to any of us as we entered or departed for the evening. One might understand if they were busy with a rush of customers, but as I have written earlier in this piece, the place was just about empty. As with the food itself, I would have expected so, so much more. Instead, just an evening full of disappointments and wasted opportunities.
If there is one other bright spot, it would be the sunset view of the Delaware River. The truth is, however, that you can enjoy the same view for no cost at all - just by driving down to the riverside park by Riverwinds.
Will we be going back for dinner? Absolutely not. It is just not worth the cost. Save yourself the time and money by going to your neighborhood diner. Who knows? They might even have a good view of the water, too.