Old Man River

Nice location right near the river, decent food, and fairly good prices. Good vibes and environment to eat at…

Second review from here last one was bad too. Three stars but completely downgraded to one star now. I went to the seafood shack. «Best clams in town». Little do they tell you that after eating three clams casino I would have to make my way to the bathroom to throw them up. Now I have a strong stomach, I could eat a cheeseburger from a dumpster and not get sick. Would you believe when we told them they made it seem like we were criminals. There is nno quality or value here. The table next to me got a $ 4.59 cheeseburger that was comparable to a McDonalds .99 cent special. Corn was old and cold. Do not waste your money here. Mississippi muses is a block away and there are five different choices in the area. We will not be back again. Two thumbs down.

I used to love this place but will never go back anymore. The cashier I had tonight was absolutely horrible. I was trying to put information in the rewards program which is right in the middle of the order line. I moved it a little out of the way so other people can order food and I wasn’t in their way and I was yelled at. She then yelled at me because I was taking forever to type my information in but their iPad had froze up. A little girl was in front of me standing nice with her mother and was gently playing with the rope, like any kid would do and this cashier proceeded to tell the mom to control her child! I went to Mississippi Muds instead. You don’t treat customers that way!

Love this place ! Good food, prices, and ambience. Great place for clams, especially; they are very large, and on Thursdays they are buy one dozen, get a a half-​dozen free!

Been here many times in years past. It’s not the same. My chicken sandwich was ok. Sweet potato fries were awful. I swear they dumped a bottle of honey on them, plus they were way too chewy. My dinner date did like his river burger. Whole meal for two people, burger, chicken sandwich was $ 30. Kinda over priced for what you get. Though, the view of the water was great.

Old Man River was one of my favorite places to go when I was younger. My friend and I decided to head to Niawanda Park yesterday to enjoy the beautiful day.
I was so happy to see that Old Man River is still doing well! It looks like they completely renovated and restored the restaurant. The fences, walls and decorations are all painted with bold, brilliant colors. The entrance is so cute. There is a large colorful whale sculpture on top of the restaurant.
The menu is even better than when I was younger. They offer such a great variety of food at reasonable prices. The main restaurant stand offers all sorts of specialty hot dogs, burgers, chicken sandwiches, corn on the cob and milkshakes/​ice cream. There is an additional seafood shack at the outdoor seating that sells clams, shrimp, ribs and full dinner platters!
My friend and I ordered a Poutine Weenie (delicious!), chicken sandwich, coleslaw and cheese fries. The fries were perfect and the cheese was delightful! We each got a vanilla milkshake and agreed that they were heavenly.
We took our tray of food outside to the back of the restaurant by the Seafood Shack. We ended up caving and getting a dozen raw clams. They had a «Clam Jam» special going where you get an additional half dozen for free when you order one dozen. The clams were very good!
I will certainly be returning to Old Man River before the summer is over. The restaurant has such a nostalgic childhood feeling about it. You also can’t beat the beautiful view of the river on a sunny day.

Nestled on Niagara Street, right on the waterfront. great views! Menu consists of different hot dogs, burgers and sides. There is also a seafood shack that shares part of the patio for another food option.
Once you place your order you slide down your tray and one by one get served your order… from a short order cook. Self serve fountain drinks… unlimited free refills.
The seasonal restaurant has inside and outside seating, but its all really open with the summer weather flowing in… rain or shine…(also the flies and bees)
I do like the bright paint and signs through out. reminds me of a tropical vacation that should have jimmy buffet blasting.
There is a outside stage area where they have live music Mondays, Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays from 6−9pm.
Also every Thursday they have Clam Jam… Get a ½ dozen clams free with a purchase of a dozen!

Went for lunch with some co-​workers. This place makes you feel like your somewhere tropical with its bright colors and outdoor seating. Its across from the Niagara River. Its on the corner of Niagara st and looks out at Grand Island. This is a great spot in the summer.
**NOTE: This venue is seasonal.
Pros:
Outdoor Seating w/​lots of umbrellas
Live music on certain nights
Milkshakes (I didn’t order one, but they have them!)
Poutine (for those of you who like it, but I didn’t order it– sorry)
Alcohol
Cons:
Bees
Condiments the staff built my burger with kinda had that funky fridge smell
Private parking lots has about 10 spots total

A fun casual place to have a good hamburger, hot dog or BBQ. Open air, but a covered area allow for enjoying the wonderful weather along the river. Try the Sweet Potato Fries. I had never had them with a huge scoop of butter and honey before — glad I tried this version as it broaden the dimension on what the locals like to eat around here. The bright, vibrant colors of the shack add to the atmosphere and make it suitable for families, or good friends who want to enjoy each others company. Live music available weeknights. The kitchen staff was friendly, efficient and helpful in making my dish exactly the way I wanted it.

Came here with a group to listen to good Blues music outside and have a meal. The foods is good. Some have half BBQ ribs, shrimps, steam mussels and hamburgers and hot dog along with fries and corn on the cobs. No complaints. There plenty of tables here. Old Man River dont look like sa mmm e 20 years ago. The new owner did good job fits its up. But I missed the old Old Man River. The Blues band played Tuesday night is good.

We have been going to the other restaurant… just down the street for years. Though both are owned by the same company, Old Man River is waaaaaaay better! The menu is far more extensive, and includes a bit higher-​end items (like the chicken avocado sandwich) and off-​beat items (like the grilled portabello). Overall, Old Man River is far more calm and orderly than other restaurants in the area, and not so dumpy. I strongly prefer it to other choices on the strip.

The food is school cafeteria-​quality and WAY overpriced. For a steep $ 7 each, we received fish sandwiches comprised of what was basically a double wide fishstick on a roll. It was square and prefab and yet still somehow took 20 minutes to cook. We also ordered two $ 3 sides of fries. Those were cold the first time, tossed back in the fryer, rejected again and finally cooked fresh. All told 45 minutes to get our disappointing $ 22 meal, one piece at a time. I even tried to return the untouched fish sandwiches for burgers and was scoffed at. Never again.

Old Man River is the Buffalo I know and love. I took my wife here on Tuesday, May 26^th while visiting my hometown. As a Ken/​Ton kid, I used to frequent this establishment quite a bit in the 80s and 90s; a few things have changed since then.
They now have a seafood shack and serve clams and mussels! I ordered steamed clams, my wife ordered the steamed mussels. My brother (still local to Buffalo) and his family went with the more traditional OMR fare… hot dogs, burgers, etc. The food was good — the clams and mussels were fresh and tasty. The hot dogs and burgers, were… well, dogs and burgers.
With Old Man River, it is much more about the experience. The location is great — the restaurant is primarily outside tables adjacent to a trail that runs along the Niagara River. Patrons are treated to a nice view of Grand Island, boats on the river, and really nice sunsets when the conditions are right. They have live music… I was able to sit riverside, have a couple Labatt Blue (Buffalo’s de facto hometown brew), and enjoy some Kid Rock covers.
They used to serve ice cream out of the back of a Volkswagen Beetle back in the day. Alas, that’s gone now :(. As is the old wooden pirate ship playground… not surprising in today’s tort-​happy legal climate (I think it actually had a plank you could walk that led to skinned knees on aphalt…)
Anyway, OMR is still a fun place to visit. It’s relaxing, informal, and a good place for kids.

I wish I could give no stars tables very extremely dirty, people singing and trying to play guitar and very loud audio, service was awful very rude I’m remember coming here as a kid and it was great but now it’s just awful

This place could be something better but whoever runs, owns or manages it is not doing well.
I am sitting on the toilet, where I have been most of the night – 24 hrs after I ate at this dump. I was questioning whether I should have gotten seafood (clams) but I did.
So, the steamed clams are fine. The rest was disgusting. Clams casino are not supposed to be sloppy, wet, greasy mess. I literally picked one up, turned it over and water and grease poured out. Really disgusting.
The raw clams were rubbery. Not fresh. Possibly spoiled.
The only thing that was not worth complaining about was my 4 beers and two corn cobs.
The outdoor kitchen – that little shack – was a bug ridden disgusting mess. I looked over at the grill and caked on it was old charred bacteria filled meat and whatever else that gets tossed on there. This thing has never been cleaned IMO.
I noticed the hamburgers appeared to be frozen patties, so correct me if I am wrong.
This place is right across from the Niagara River. Beautiful view. But it is obvious the owners and managers could care less about this place or the customers. If they did, the bathroom wouldn’t look like it did and there would be fresher products with a much more clean kitchen.
Still on the toilet, you jerks!!! I want my money back!!!

I have not been to old man river in at least 3 years. I used to love it as a kid, but as an adult, it could be better.
We came here on Sunday around noon, it was not too busy. I ordered a piggly wiggly dog which is a cheese stuffed hotdog wrapped with bacon then deep fried! It was delicious! We also ordered the sweet potato fries and onion rings. While the hot dog was good, that’s where it stopped. It was pretty chaotic, the line did not seem to move smoothly. The staff seemed all over the place and they were also behind on fryer foods so after getting our food from the grill, we had to wait for our sweet potato fries. The fries looked good, but we’re not cooked long enough so some of them were still hard potatoes.
We were looking forward to an ice cream cone for dessert, but when we looked at our options… They only had about 6 different flavors to choose from, all 9 of us decided to pass since nothing was really exciting.
I guess I would return, and hope for it to be better:/

Old man river started having breakfast! Had the papa rooster which is fried chicken egg and biscuit! So delicious! And their own signature brewed coffee.

«Old Man River» by Walking Sticks n’ Chrysanthemums.
Take me down to the Old Man River
Where you drink so much that you ruin your liver
Oh won’t you please take me home…
Actually that infamous song by the band that made Axl Chysanthemum and the guitarist «Weakstream» famous, is very misleading. Yes it was about this place, but this place doesn’t even serve alcohol. It’s virtually the same place as Mississippi Mudds, with a similar menu but slightly less crowded and less teen-​y.
Personal Experience: When I lived right by here, I’d come here in summer, and to nearby Mudd’s, which I preferred. It is a fantastic location, and for that I recommend it. The food though never pleased me, and the service was just okay.
The atmosphere is amazing in the summer. It’s such a beautiful place to go. This whole strip is the crown jewel of the Tonawandas and one of the best places to see in the area. Looking across the river to Grand Island, the smell of the water and the summer, it’s wonderful.
However the food here is mediocre at best, and that’s what this review is for… hence the low rating.

I suppose it is a strange time of the year to be discussing Old Man River, being that it is closed for the winter, and the cold breezes are blowing outside. However, it will be warmer one day.
A few points about Old Man River:
1. The food is fairly pricey for what you get. You can get a hot dog, hamburger, chicken sandwich, and /​or fries at Ted’s for less money. However, you don’t have the view of the Niagara River and the cooling breezes at Ted’s.
2. Having said that, I must say that the basic food listed in point 1 above is decent. And being by the water on a warm Buffalo summer and spring day seems to add some flavor to the food.
3. They have some more sophisticated food such as barbecued chicken and seafood, but you are better served to stay with the basic foods. One strange finding on the salt potatoes, which is a common dish in western NY. They are basically potatoes cooked in salt water. For some reason the ones at Old Man River are served with garlic and don’t taste that good if you are expecting normal salt potatoes.

Nothing… and I mean NOTHING beats sitting outside on a glorious evening during the first week of May, looking out at the water, and enjoying a hot dog! And, «Old Man River» is the quintessential hot dog stand.
The menu has been spiffed up… lots of interesting choices of dogs and burgers… ones with coleslaw and hot sauce and peppers and veggies… But, call me old– fashioned. Give me a regular dog (a bit extra charred, thank you very much) with «everything and extra pickles». It’s meaty, gloppy, and oh so satisfying. And an order of sweet potato fries (no butter or honey for this gal) and I’ve got the perfect warm weather meal. HAPPY SUMMER!