River Café

After a long walk through the shopping area we came across River Café. Staff was super polite and invited us in. I went with a party of 11 and was a bit nervous about the price. For a party of 11 the total came out to 96 dollars. I had the mango margaritas and a hamburger. It was delicious! My niece had Avocado stuffed with ceviche. She said it was delicious. None of the people in my party had any complaints about their food. Nicer restaurant in the area.
On a side note it’s open air with no AC. PV can be a bit hot and humid. They have plenty of fans though.

The River Café turned out to be an ok place to have lunch after walking around town in the muggy heat of the city. The cool breeze was wonderful, and as we were sat by the trees overlooking the river, we felt as if we had been transported to jungle setting far away.
The servers were all very helpful and timely. They got us what we ordered and brought it at the right moment.
The quality of the food is where this place is a bit lacking. Not that it’s terrible, but rather that it is not that great either. It’s what you’d expect from a generic ‘Mexican’ restaurant back in the US. But we’re in Mexico! It should be much better.
All in all a nice jungle experience, but not so great a dining one.
— Cheers!

Un restaurant que debes visitar cuando viajas a Vallarta. Excelente para desayunar y cenar. Ambiente relajado y romantico. Cuidado en epocas de lluvia porque no hay estacionamiento cercano e incluso wn taxi es complicado llegar.

My wife and I love this place. GREAT drinks and live music. We will definitely be back the next time we are in PV.

Love them and their staff! Try the shrimp/​pinnaepple quesadilla– yum! Our waiter was great, too.

The setting was lovely and romantic. The food was delicious. The portions don’t appear too big but I was STUFFED!

Great place for a meal. Festive music and a great atmosphere. We had a party of 7 with one very picky eater, a vegetarian and an allergy to wheat. To our delight they had a special vegetarian and gluten free menu, and they were able to cook up some plain pasta with cheese for the picky eater. Good wine selection and a great menu with many fresh options to choose from. The quinoa salad is amazing. Others in our party had the flank steak, chicken, grilled shrimp and catch of the day. All were prepared to perfection. Our favorite part of the meal was dessert. We had crème brûlée, chocolate cake, and deep fried ice cream which all were delicious. The highlight was the bananas fosters which was served with great flare!!! Love this place and we will be back on our next trip!

Went for dinner tonight, had an adorable table off the main area, above the river. Had the Mexican quesadilla sampler, the bean/​cheese ones were good. Asparagus soup was delicious as was the quinoa shrimp salad. Main course was tenderloin and mahi mahi was the catch of the day with mussels, squid, octopus… he ate it all. No fishy smell at all. The steak was huge, larger than 8 oz for sure and the sauce on it was devine, couldn’t finish it all. Skipped dessert so no comment on that. Tried the piña colada and a strawberry margarita, gave me a headache… maybe cheap booze. Would definitely go back again.

This restaurant is wonderful! The atmosphere is beautiful, it’s right on the river, and the food is great! Oh, and the service is spectacular as well! Hernando was so attentive. He gave us his recommendations AND he dazzled us with his card tricks. Really amazing! He’s a really great server and great at the card tricks. We will definitely go back when we return to Puerto Vallarta!

The atmosphere is quite nice as we went for a special event. We were a big group so perhaps it was difficult to accommodate everyone, as food came at different times. There was a 2 for 1 special for margaritas and daiquiris, unfortunately I was not aware that my drinks were 2 for 1 until the end. Their juices and coffee were very tame; so nothing special. The food was decent but nothing too special I ordered the calamari and fish tacos. The food took a while to come; but I am guessing the atmosphere made it for most of the lunch as it was nice and quiet.

Here we go, first time in Puerto Vallarta & Mexico, checked in the hotel, concierge recommended this place. The place had great ambiance, it’s built rite in the river. The food & prices were above average, a meal for two cost same as much as it would cost back in USA. Overall a good place to try hid their location.

Food was standard. There are sooo many places to eat, the food was so-​so when compared to all the other places we ate. The 3 stars are for our waiter, location and ambiance. The restaurant has an abundance of seating areas, beautiful views of trees and river, a nice bar area. Go for the drinks and view not the food.

We came to this restaurant on the first night of my 30^th birthday trip. The food was delish and the atmosphere was perfect! Our server was great too! The only downfall was that I had made reservations to sit on the balcony over the river about two months prior via an email conversation (through their website) with one of the restaurant members who actually had the same birthday as me, but when we got there they said that I had no reservation and I even showed them the email. It was pretty disappointing since it was our first night and I was concerned all the restaurants would do this. Overall, the food was great but if you reserved a table on the balcony I would make sure to contact the place once you arrive in PVR to confirm.

Hands down favorite breakfast in all of PV land. My in-​laws have been coming for the past 20 years and it was everything they always described it would be. It’s not far from the main street but tucked away enough to give it the most tranquil dining experience. The ambiance feels as if you’re in a jungle tree house with the sound of the river flowing, iguanas in the trees and birds chirping. They offer Mexican and American breakfast items with the freshest ingredients and diverse flavors.
I couldn’t keep my hands off the freshly baked goods. So good. Especially with the cinnamon infused coffee they serve. It’s the perfect way to start the day. I also recommend the Motuleños eggs or machaca. Prepare for a full belly and heart.

This place is great. The river and trees create such a nice tone. Additionally, the various LARGE iguanas slowly climbing around, seemed very accepting of our presence. They give the café an amazing feeling.
I had the Shrimp Crêpe, and it was outstanding. Piping hot, and perfectly rich, it was covered in melting mozzarella cheese. Killer.
My partner had the veggie/​guacamole wrap, and she absolutely loved it. It had a great lime zestiness.
The orange juice was freshly squeezed and was the most delicious I’ve had. The coffee was pretty good as far as drip coffee goes, but also had the Mexico spiciness to it.
Seating is great, under the awning or on the open part of the patio, with an umbrella.
The staff were all very nice. We’re staying close to the river, and am sure we’ll be here often during our trip.
River Café, highly recommended.

Heard about this place from some fellow cruisers. We loved it. The service was great, the food was tasty and we couldn’t beat the price. Very happy! Will be back for sure.

So we have been trying different places for breakfast while in PV. We finally tried this place which happens to be the closest to our hotel. It took us a whole 10 minute leisurely walk to get there. We were immediately greated by a beautiful young lady who was fluent in both English and Español. Since we were a party of 8, we had to wait a few extra minutes to be accommodated. Let me tell you that the food was well worth the wait. This place is set up buffet style but instead of having reheated food, everything was fresh and even made to order. We sat just below the tree line that bordered the river and watched the iguanas and birds also enjoy their morning meal just as we did. There were hand made Tortillas that complimented the made to order omelette bar that boasted fresh ingredients. Your choice of regular or egg white. The buffet offered the best Hawaiin style pork ribs that just melted in your mouth. The beans were fresh and the chilaquiles are to for for. I will say that they were a little understaffed on the waiter side but their hard work and attention to their customers did not go unoticed. The restrooms are a little crammed but very clean. The artwork on the walls are beautiful but seemed a little tacky being that they had price tags under them. I would recommend this family/​kid friendly place.

Otro Unilocaler me recomendó venir aquí en mi estancia en Puerto Vallarta y no se equivoco, el lugar está muy bonito (espero siga así después del huracán), pide tu mesa junto al Río y disfruta tu comida junto con el paisaje, la atención es increíble, tiene gran variedad de comida para desayunar, comer o cenar, los domingos hay brunch a buen precio, yo probé el pan francés relleno de philadephia con fresa y café, después unos ricos chilaquiles verdes con pollo y mi hijo quiso unas enfrijoladas que se veían muy ricas con un chocomilk por que el jugo no le gusta.
Si van a Vallarta no duden en venir aquí, como a mi se que les gustará a ustedes también.

Wish I would have came here for dinner instead of the 1 star review that cost me $ 140 american dollars.
We came here for a late lunch/​snack. We had a drink and ceviche, and a quesadilla and some nachos with guacamole and salsa. We got to sit out on this little dock that went right above the River Cuale. Service and food was awesome. Puerto Vallara and this little gem are definitely in our future travels.

Cada que vengo a Puerto Vallarta me encanta venir sobre todo a desayunar este lugar es increíble la comida el lugar pedir mesa junto al río es tan tan tranquilizante que me pone de buenas y la atención es muy muy buena por parte de los meseros lo que he pedido me ha gustado y el pan recién hecho es fabuloso los invito a que conozcan este lugar yo lo conocí por el internet y cada año vengo sin dudar pocos lugares como este en Vallarta y no deben dejar de venir

Beautiful relaxing open air ambience along the river. Excellent choice for brunch. Unique flavors of quesadillas to choose from with home made corn tortillas. Service attentive and entertaining.

Best night of our entire stay in PV!
One word: Hernando!
This gentleman, a waiter at the River Café, made our visit that night nothing less than magical (literally, he’s a magician by trade, we later found out). My girlfriend & I stumbled across this charming restaurant almost by accident, and it became the best meal and experience we had on our first stay in PV.
The dinner was excellent, but Eduardo’s service was nothing less than stellar. He truly made us feel like old friends he hadn’t seen in a while, while performing occasional magic tricks at our table. We even went back for coffee the next day and he greeted us both with hugs and a huge smile. We’ve already promised him we’d return a year from now!
Muchas gracias Hernando, and the rest of the staff at the River Café!
–Marco & Erica

I honesty can’t recommend this place. I fully admit that it is in a lovely spot kind of draped over the edge of the Rio Cuale at the bridge into the Zona Romantica. A very lovely spot indeed matched by the equally lovely service and general romantic, tropical ambiance.
If you can suspend any anticipation of culinary excellence you’ll be fine but I have yet to have a great meal here and I’ve had many. Usually, not always, the service is top notch and there is often live music. During high season with folks dressed up for a night on the town and the professional staff doing all the bowing and scraping that you expect in a place like this it can be a great night but you won’t be recalling what you had for dinner for your friends back home. Just forgettable more often than not.
For this you will pay as much or more than you’ll pay at the other high end tourist destinations (La Palapa, Vista Grill, Café des Artistes, etc.) And just like these other places the food is often ordinary but extra-​ordinarily over priced. If you must see it I’d recommend brunch or lunch for a more reasonably priced look-​see.