Top O’the River

Went here for dinner last night for a family birthday. Food was OK… but I got the impression they were too busy to maintain superior quality.
We were sat in one of the upstairs banquet rooms that had tables moved in to accommodate extra people… but it had too much negative space… No ambiance what so ever… it really takes away from the dining experience.
Server was pleasant and friendly, however.

Great atmosphere, great service, wonderful food. Window seats overlook the lake and the reflection of the lights and traffic is breathtaking. Wasn’t too crowded so I guess the service was a little better than usual, can’t recall the waitresses name but she was friendly and professional. Cornbread is brought out in a 8″ (+/​-​) skillet and slaw comes in a miniature bucket which were both outstanding! The pickled onions tasted merely like onion chunks in vinegar.
I ordered the bone-​in fried catfish which was advertised on the menu as one fish but when it was served there were actually three on the plate! Very tasty, not greasy and fresh.
Ordered a side order of onion rings that were outstanding. Not frozen, fresh and HUGE. Iced tea was perfect, not too sweet and also fresh.
Way too much food to eat in one sitting so there was enough for another meal. Total bill (incl. tip) was $ 48. for two, considering the amount of food we were served, was quite a bargain IMO.
Small downside, butter is the tasteless «spread» in the little peel-​open containers you would expect at a Waffle House, etc. No alcohol on Sunday. Paper towels and plastic glasses which was OK.

Always WONDERFUL customer service and the food is consistently DELICIOUS! Highly recommend ordering entrees to share because the cornbread, slaw, pickled onion, and greens will fill you up before it gets there (and you can’t resist them, they are soooo good). Parking is tough on weekends because spots are limited but the atmosphere, view, and customer service are well worth the parking hassle.

This place is truly a joke… it may be because I’m from Louisiana where we have real seafood, of this is what people think real seafood is supposed to taste like all I can say is Bless your hearts :(. I even went a 2^nd time to give the steak a try and there was so much fat on it, it was disgusting. Service is good and it has a pretty view but the food is TERRIBLE

So awesome, the place was jam packed. Ask the staff spoke to us. We had absolutely no wait to get a table. Drinks came promptly. We ordered and before our appetizer of cornbread and slaw was done food came, food was hot and fresh. Waitress Haley super nice.

The Catfish was ok, not great. The Gulf shrimp was frozen and small. The Onion rings while tasting good were gargantuan in size (they cut a Hugh onion in half and fried the sections) and did not come with dipping sauce. The corn bread and coleslaw were good. They did not serve real butter with the corn bread or baked potato. We are from the Gulf of Mexico (Pensacola) and are used to fresh seafood. Not fresh here. For the price, we were expecting better.

This place is a must when visiting Lake Guntersville. The restaurant sits on the lake and has awesome views — ask for a lake view booth when you get there.
My companion and I shared the huge seafood platter. We substituted the crawfish for the crab meat and it was worth the upcharge. What’s great about the restaurant is the opening cornbread, slaw and pickled onions. Yumminess! I also recommend the greens to add to your meal.

We love this place, and eat here every time we’re in town. The cornbread, slaw and pickled onions are excellent.

yes a good place to go

The chicken was is really good here our server Brianna is awesome. I am not a seafood lover but my dad and sister love the riverboat meal and said the catfish is really good. You get a lot of food for a great price. I will be back.

We always come here when we’re in the area… They have the best catfish I have ever eaten. All their dishes are excellent, even the chicken (my wife doesn’t like seafood or fish). We love boating up to here, and tying off. No matter how many friends we bring over, they always get us seated quickly, and are always friendly and professional.

Great atmosphere and service. Food is good, but not Five star quality. The fried seafood was a bit over cooked and seemed frozen rather than fresh. My friends felt the same about their seafood fare, but said the ribeye was really good.
The draw of this restaurant is the lake view atmosphere. Definitely worth at least one trip.

The view from this restaurant is spectacular I highly recommend the sunset. The food isn’t bad but there really isn’t that much of a selection. You basically get the same sides with all the meals.

I’ve been here once and another outlet once. Both places were packed and I wonder why? The food isn’t that fantastic. I had the combo of fried catfish fillet and broiled crawfish tail. The catfish fillet was salty. The crawfish tail was drowning in garlic butter and that was all I could taste.

I came to this place to celebrate my parents 80^th birthday and boy do we ever regret coming to this place. It was the absolute worse and I for one will never return. Unfortunately on the afternoon we came, the lights in the restaurant went out. Now one would expect a business to have a generator for such occasions, but NO not this low rated restaurant. So the lights were out and yet the wait staff still brought out the food, now a couple of people in our party ordered the whole catfish complete with bones. Of course they could not eat this meal in the dark. The management was no where to be found and the wait staff would offer no solutions. There were people trying to eat by using their cell phones for lights. It was completely insane.
I will end by saying the management was completely rude and handled the situation very badly. Jeff the manager was a complete jerk and has no idea of the concept of customer service.

Visited Top of The River for the first time with family and I had the catfish dinner with a baked Potatoe, 3 pieces of fish and hush puppies. To start we had the turnips greens & cole slaw with pickled onions and corn bread. Just delicious!

My boyfriend & I had dinner here Friday night. We went around 830, so it wasn’t too busy. We were greeted with smiles, & promptly taken to a booth by a window overlooking the lake. Breathtaking view! For an appetizer, we got the pickles & rings combo. It was ginormous & delicious. For dinner, we both had the river boat special: ½ lb catfish with a side. Pretty good! Our server, Lacy, was the sweetest thing ever. She got us everything we asked for and more.

I have eaten here twice to many. Still SALT and GREASE food. The illusion of looking out the window at the beautiful view of the water that makes the seafood tastes better obviously works with a lot of people. Being from a coastal city, I have a general rule if the restaurant seems to be too far from the ocean or gulf, stick with land animals to eat !! You will never be disappointed. As long as this restaurant keeps packing them in and training there taste buds for the substandard taste of seafood you can expect the quality to continue to drop.

The view is great the place is large and service efficient. Prices are reasonable and everything was okay. The cole slaw was some of the best I have ever had along with the pickled onions. Hush puppy’s were average but okay as well. The corn bread is a jalapeño one which has never been a favorite of mine even though I am from Texas — jalapenos in my opinion belong on the side not in bread so I did not eat that.
Now for the catfish and shrimp — I am pretty sure the shrimp is frozen prepackaged and then fried — it was okay but on combo platter I got 5 medium shrimp and they once again were okay. The fish — I like mine cornmeal based and crispy — while this seemed limp and probably a bit flour and cornmeal mix or warmed up maybe I am not sure. maybe a heat lamp Not crispy at all which is how it should be.
Drinks are in large cups and refilled often so server and view were the best part.
Would I go back no — not bad, not good. Just okay — kind of meh!

Service: Excellent, accommodating
View: Breathtaking sunset from lakefront window booth
Food: Deeelicious and filling (so expect to take home leftovers)
Attire: Surprisingly casual (then again, it’s quite casual here in the south)