Riverwalk Cafe & Oyster Bar

I have been eating at Riverwalk for about four years now. The food is always wonderful & the staff is kind, knowledgeable, & always gets my order right down to the side of aioli! The sweet potato fry/​chips are wonderful, perfectly salted some crispy some soft and very obviously homemade. The mahi sandwich, fiocchi pasta appetizer, and seasonal inspired bread pudding are all my favorites. Seriously, save room for the pudding! My co worker is a huge fan of the cheeseburger. I also love the evening atmosphere, ahi tuna nachos, and I usually get whatever the nightly dinner special is! Great for lunch or a nice dinner.

I’m deeply ashamed to admit I’ve worked in Stuart for well over 3 years and haven’t come here until now. But I’m so glad I finally made it. Met some girlfriends here last Thursday night.
Service — awesome. I don’t remember his name, but he was a good looking bald guy. Us girls are yappers and he didn’t push us to order at all. He just brought us our champagne and told us to signal to him when we were ready to order. I’m pretty sure we made the poor guy wait a full hour before we actually ordered.
Bread — wouldn’t know, I don’t eat it. But the girls seemed to enjoy it.
Entrée — I ordered the Ahi Tuna with Soba Noodles App for an entrée. It was fantastic. Prepared perfectly with a delicious sauce on the plate.
The ambiance is so cute, too. I’ll definitely bring Daniel here. I love the wood floors and tiny seating space. It’s so romantic and cozy!

We were looking for a quiet place to sit and have lunch away from all the outside bar crowd and we chose this place. Glad we did! A small historic building, reminded me of a place in Charleston. We sat at the bar had beers and some lunch. I ordered the Fiocchi (small pasta purses stuffed with ricotta and pears) and it was really good. My friend ordered a greens salad, which was quite large and the dressing was tasty. Our husbands ordered sandwiches, both were good, but one was exceptional! The Oyster Poor Boy was delicious! That’s coming from someone who doesn’t like oysters! The sandwiches both came with these really thin sliced, waffled sweet potato fries that were so good I’d return if only to have a big basket of those! All and all a pleasant experience, but now on to the Boathouse (right next store) for some Moscow Mules, because sadly this place only serves beer and wine!

Ok… I found this spot looking for some place to have lunch since we don’t live in the area. SO happy we have it a shot! First off, Fiocchi. Just order it. It’s absolutely incredible. Easily one of the best things I’ve eaten anywhere, ever. So rich and full of flavor. My wife had just left the dentist and was still numb, so she had a delicious homemade Manhattan Clam Chowder. I also had a sandwich, the special today. It was fried shrimp with andouille sausage on an open bun with diced tomato and lettuce. A light drizzle of some delicious sauce on top. Absolutely wonderful in flavor. It came with a delicious cole slaw and sweet potato chips… YUM!!! I honestly can’t say enough about how wonderful the food was. It’s a smaller location so it feels intimate and homey. We arrived just before the lunch rush, and despite only having 2 servers on the floor, we never felt like we were forgotten. Quite the opposite, they checked on us without being too much, while refilling waters without us having to ask. Friendly staff and great atmosphere. We will definitely make the 30 minute drive back to the area just to enjoy another meal here!

I loved it here and we almost didn’t stay as it looked as if the bar was full, however, a friendly waiter asked another patron to move down to accommodate my husband and I. Everything we had for dinner was great, so good as a matter of fact we came back the next night and had just as great a dinner and evening!

SUMMATION: Loud, crowded, Hogfish poorly prepared, but other meals very good. Expensive, but worthwhile.
NAME: Riverwalk Café Oyster Bar
SIZE: relatively small
TITLE: «Semi-​eloquent» [Yelp, Parguera Pirate review #507 [1], submitted 8 January 2016]
PANAMA CANAL TRIP REVIEW NUMBER: 35
MY RATING: Very Good (3.8÷5)
WEB PAGE:
TELEPHONE: (772) 221‑1511
RESERVATIONS: suggested; TAKE OUT: yes; DELIVERY: no; CATERING: no
HOURS OF OPERATION: 11:30 am-​9 pm Monday-​Thursday, 11:30 am-​10 pm Friday-​Saturday
OWNER: Steve Feder
CHEF: Steve Feder
LOCALITY: 201 SW St. Lucie Avenue, Stuart, Florida 34 994
Historic Downtown Stuart, map on their web page
LATITUDE, LONGITUDE: 27°12’0.55“N, 80°15’15.49“W
DIFFICULTY LOCATING: easy
DIRECTIONS: see their web page
OCCASION: Dinner with longtime friends
SUGGESTED ATTIRE: casual
AIR-​CONDITIONED: yes
OUTSIDE SEATING: no
GREETING: none
LAYOUT: Bar on right as you enter, bathroom back left, TV left front, 12 tables, 4 with 6 chairs, rest 2.
DÉCOR: Called «elegant» but is not [2]. Too dark to read menu, table littered with 12 menus (looked like recycling), wood tables, wood chairs with seat cushions, white table cloth and red cloth napkins, prints on walls, 4 suspended ceiling fans, 3 hanging fake stained-​glass lights,
SPECIALS: Limited choices. I ordered Sautéed Hogfish (Key Lime Garlic Meuniere) from the specials.
DRINKS: Only had red wine glasses. Horrible. I complained to the waiter. He got his back up a bit, but reacted well. Willamette Valley Pinot Gris (Oregon) was excellent. More than 120 wines.
BAR: full service

WATER: In large glasses
CUISINE: seafood
FLATWARE: medium-​weight, matched stainless; square, large plates
MENU ITEMS: limited, see on their web page
WAITSTAFF: Tacky pen clipped in blouse of waitress. Good waiter, but no greeting, no chairs pulled out.
SALAD: Girls had a Caesar Salad and a Summer Salad (bay arugula, figs, golden beets, and almond crusted goat cheese over toast points with a summer berry vinaigrette)
ENTRÉE: Hogfish (see above) was mushy. Mushing this firm-​fleshed fish is not easy. Also, the sauce was too intense and overpowered the delicate taste of this fish. This disaster was very disappointing. Maryland Style [3] Crab Cakes (white, hot remoualde), Roasted Maple Leaf Duck (apricot cinnamon glaze), and Ginger Glazed Wild Salmon (marinated in fresh ginger, honey, sherry and soy sauce) were all excellent.
SIDES: Long, green beans were overdone. Carrot slivers and bean sprouts were okay. Rice was not that good and contained grit.
BATHROOMS: Male and female restrooms behind a curtain. Hand rail for toilet, fancy bowl sink, paper towels, foam soap, print, thin toilet paper, clean, nice décor.
MADE IN THE USA: Bread plates were made in China.
NOISE LEVEL: Loud, crowded, happy
AWARDS: Certificate of Excellence (215, TripAdvisor); Featured on Emerils Florida on the Cooking Channel
REVIEWS: rated Very, Very Good, 4.40÷5, 242 reviews (FaceBook); Very, Very Good, 4.5÷5, 73 reviews ( Unilocal); Excellent, 4.8÷5, 69 reviews (FaceBook); Very Good, 4.2÷5, 16 reviews (Google)
FOOTNOTES:
[1] Plus thousands of unnumbered, critical article and book reviews for hundreds of journals.
[2] No place with a TV is eloquent.
[3] Which means it is all crab meat and no crumbs.

I have come here several times and just want to say how great the service and food is! We had a group of 6 the other day and everyone left happy … Had fresh raw oysters, salads … And the best tuna nachos!!! This place never, ever disappoints.

I have considered this as one of the best restaurants in stuart. The wild salmon is what I travel here for although I am not a huge salmon fan. I was there wed nite which was a busy nite asked the waiter if they had the wild salmon. He said yes but when it came to the table it was not the wild salmon. Although it was still tasty, I would have ordered something else if he had told me the truth. I am a year round resident and feel I can’t go back til after season.

Went with the family for lunch and it did not disappoint. Decent wine selection that’s moderately priced. Wife had the tuna nachos which were excellent with the different sauces. The calamari app was cooked perfectly, not chewy at all with great aioli side and marinara. The large Caesar salad was fresh and flavorful. We had some steamed clams which were also cooked properly and the service was attentive. Bread came out hot and the grilled chicken sandwich for the kids was good quality chicken. Décor was well done with brick themed walls and a quaint feel to the restaurant… Which is rather small but didn’t feel congested. Will return.

The food is very good you wont be disappointed, it’s a bit priced. The service is not at the expectation of the food, need customer service improvement.

Went to dinner with a large group of friends last night. The service was phenomenal and the food was good. Everything about my meal was paced just right. Our waitress did an awesome job and was extremely attentive. My Chicken Arbuzzi was very good and a large portion. The meals are pricey but for the service and quality, it’s well worth it. Recommend this small but charming gem in downtown Stuart.

Excellent shrimp salad wrap. Excellent tuna nachos. Very comfortable on the water. Great service. Cannot go wrong here. Cheers

Lovely dinner, Debbie, the server was very attentive. The spot is tiny and we had no reservations on a Friday night. Walked in and asked how long. 45 mins, gave the hostess my cell number (no place to sit at bar either). We left and walked around the quaint shops. They called under the 45 mins and we were seated. Three of us had calamari for app, crab cakes, scallops and pasta, ND salmon. Yummy. Must have the Jameson Bailey chess cake for desert, wow!

What a let down.
The positive: My date ordered the chicken and loved it. They don’t skimp on the food for that dish.
The negatives:
–Slow service. There weren’t many people there.
–There was a gnat in my water after having it refilled.
I ordered the salmon and rice, but the rice was UNDERCOOKED. It was hard and inedible. Very confusing. They ended up apologizing and provided a side of mashed potatoes as a gift. Sadly, the mashed potatoes were overly salted and cold in some spots due to being microwaved last minute and was again… inedible. I felt like someone was pranking me on a terrible restaurant reality show. They didn’t even comp us for the inedible meal due to the rice which was a large portion of the dish.
To sum up the dining experience: extremely disappointing.

What a great little restaurant. If I were to buy one, this is exactly what I want in a location. Great downtown location across the street from the water… its a historic old building, beautiful bar, and is small and feels nostalgic. I love almost everything about this place, even the old squeaky floorboards.
The food was amazing… just take a look at the ahi tuna nachos in the photos and you will see this isn’t your neighborhood greasy spoon. They care about the experience, the food, and they tantalize your tastebuds.
I’ll be back to visit again the next time I’m in Stuart. I saw at least 5 more things on the menu I must try!

I could have gave it five stars!
What a nice place we didn’t have reservations but they fit us in.
Service was fantastic
Had the Caesar salad it was great
I had the yellow tail snapper delicious not to heavy
Shared some crab cakes nice crab not a lot of filling great.
Desert had bread pudding shared with 3 fantastic

Oysters were out of this world and the Grouper Piccata was amazing! Wine list is good and service is top notch. A great place for a romantic evening. Love this place.

Coming here for years. Would give it 6 stars if I could.
The specials are always delicious.
I like the duck on the regular menu. It is always cooked perfect.
The staff and patrons make it a very cozy and inviting place.

Eating at the Riverwalk Café & Oyster Bar is a real delight. However, though the good food may fatten you up, it’s pricey enough to slim down your wallet, but to my mind well worth it.
I started off with an appetizer of their «Oysters Rocka-​feder» which consisted of six oysters topped with spinach, tarragon, gruyère cheese, Pernod and then I believe broiled. The really fresh oyster melded perfectly with the combination of ingredients and at $ 11.95 were, I thought, appropriately priced. Matter of fact I liked this appetizer so much, I then wanted to try another and ordered their «Spicy Cornmeal Encrusted Fried Oysters.» On this dish they couldn’t have done a better job as the cornmeal crust was crispy and firm while the inside oyster remained moist and deliciously flavorful.
For their special of the day, they had a tortilla encrusted Hog Snapper («lachnolaimus maximus» in case we need get technical), which just happens to be my favorite fish of the snapper family as well as one not commonly served in most restaurants. So of course I went for it and couldn’t have been more delighted as the fish was obviously fresh as well as perfectly prepared. The tortilla crust lent a crispy to the bite exterior while the interior fish retained the moist delicate flavor of real hog snapper. Then, at $ 14.95, a bargain of a price not only for hog snapper but for any fish of this quality.
Overall, I haven’t a single hesitation in recommending the Riverwalk Café and giving it a solid Four Stars plus.

You have a wallet, you have a wallet… Yeah, you’ve got a wallet… Bring It!
$ 200 bucks for a couple dozen oysters, 1 app, couple glasses of wine, couple brews… No problem.
What does money mean?
Nothing. Money means nothing.
If you have that mentality, than this is a good place for you.
That said; its a terrific atmosphere, the bartender /​hostess, all that, really good.
The beers and wine — delicious.
The oysters were simply top notch.
If you feel flush with the C-​notes in your wallet, go here and blow thru them.