River Watch Restaurant & Marina

User Rating: 2 out of 5 stars

The best feature of the River Watch Restaurant & Marina is the view, a sweeping vista of the Middle River, in Essex. We recently visited on a warm May evening, and we enjoyed watching the boats coming in and out of the harbor.

Hopefully you are there for the boat watching, because what came out of the kitchen was a huge disappointment.

I ordered a bowl of Maryland crab soup and the "Sully's Salad", which advertised five seared scallops served over a bed of greens tossed with a lime/tequila vinaigrette and finished with a sweet chili glaze.

It was a busy night at the River Watch, however that in no way made up for the extremely slow service from the kitchen. It took at least thirty minutes to receive our soup and appetizer order.

We opted for the seared Ahi (Grade "A" Sushi Tuna, Pan-Seared then Thinly Sliced served Rare with Wasabi Cream Sauce). What they should have advertised was Grade "A" previously frozen sushi tuna. No excuse for not having fresh tuna at a seafood restaurant.

The Maryland crab that I ordered was a huge let down. It was obviously vegetable soup with some pieces of lump crab dropped in to make it crab soup. Completely lacking was any hint of spice. It even needed salt. And it was luke warm, having obviously been sitting around waiting to be picked up for a while.

The others at the table ordered the cream of crab. While thick, and also containing chunks of crab, it was also luke warm and lacking any seasoning.

It was at least another thirty minutes before our entree's arrived. Upon arrival, my salad, containing the five scallops, turned out to be a mess. It was more of an appetizer than a entree salad. The scallops were partly burned, and shockingly, cold. These were placed on top of a bland brown "dressing" that completely soaked everything it touched, yet had an amazing lack of flavor. The "fresh" greens may have at one point been fresh, but I guarantee that was long before they were bagged up and sold to this place. The "sweet chili glaze" appeared to be nothing more then a jelly that was just tossed onto each individual scallop, imparting a sickeningly sweetness that, had the scallops actually been cooked and served property, would have destroyed them.

This will be my last visit to the River Watch. The overpriced menu, long waits, and disappointing food should keep all but the locals and boaters at bay.

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User Rating: 3 out of 5 stars

Alittle Pricey. I have only been there once when I enjoyed their music. The crowd is more 40something. The food is "ok" Some items better than others. The clientele is alittle on the "clicky" side. The music was NOT TOP40 & alot of Gloria Estefan. Very nice inside,bathrooms also nice. Alot of by boat customers & bikers. Safe environment, & in a nice neighborhood.

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