Riverside Cafe

still miss this place!
I live in the neighborhood and grew up eating here, I would go here all the time with my parents. The key lime pie was definitely the best thing on the menu. It was a cute place that everyone in the neighborhood loved and frequented. No restaurant that stands in its place will ever be able to fill the shoes of the tiny Riverside Café.

We drove up… drove away. It scared me.

I like finding small restaurants and this place was real nice. In a good area, with great food!

NOW CLOSED
Great little neighborhood fixture in the Burbank Rancho area. Frumpy, eclectic joint that has been a favorite among horse and bike riders in the area and also frequented by neighborhood folks for years. Went there today by chance with friends only to have the owner tell us today was the last day… they are closing for good, to be allegedly replaced by a burger joint. This area is in much need of a good café, I’m sure many folks will miss this kitschy little joint.

OK, I admit it — I’m one of THOSE dog owners. Chloe comes with us most everywhere, sleeps with us, exercises with us, I cook for her, and she is — in fact — my baby girl!
So we were delighted to find the Riverside Café when we ‘googled’ dog-​friendly restaurants on afternoon in Burbank.
We’ve been to Lazy Dog in Thousand Oaks, Blue Dog (great beer!) in Tarzana, and a handful of other restaurants & fast food joints that reluctantly allow the animals on the outdoor patio… but the Riverside Café had a compassion and consideration for animals that far exceeds all others. Immediately, they brought out a nice stainless steel bowl of water for Chloe.
The service was tops! You can’t beat having the kind & friendly owner taking care of your (and your dog’s) every request. I got the Ahi spinach salad and my hubby got the spicy chicken dish. Oh-​mazing. Looking forward to trying that French onion soup next time!
Just know this, the Riverside Café is all about the food & service & not your typical trendy, posh, and upscale restaurant, and not too sure if they serve booze. But don’t be fooled by the plastic lawn chairs & easy-​ups of the outdoor patio… this place is worth the stop!

What can I say, I love the Riverside Café! I live on the complete other side of town and bear the traffic every time I get the itch for some French Onion Soup. Hands down the best I’ve had. I’ve been for Brunch, Lunch, Dinner, you name it, and always had a good experience. I love the daily and weekly specials as well. I’ve honestly never had something I didn’t like. On top of that everything is very fairly priced.
The staff is always pleasant and helpful, and I’ve never spent much time waiting for my food. Aside from that I love the area, it has a very Mayberry feel to it, which having grown up in the midwest, I love. You definitely don’t feel like you’re in LA.
The patio is pet friendly & you often spot people riding by on horseback :) Very charming, family owned place.

Very disappointed. Overpriced and just plain sad. Save your time and money. This place has the potential to be something great. Maybe it once was and that is where the good reviews here come to play. My experience was less than enjoyable.
I got a salad — It looked like a bag of iceberg lettuce mix that was about to go South.
My boyfriend got what was supposed to be an omelette with hashbrowns. The omelette looked very unfresh and the hashbrown was one of those fried fast food-​like patties. The side of fruit he ordered never even made it to the table. At least they didn’t charge for the fruit they forgot to bring. He spoke up and told the waitress that he wasn’t going to eat the meal. She took it away and never once returned to the table. I watched her walk back and forth and never once did she stop to check on us. Finally I asked the other waitress for our check.
Sad food. Sad service. This place is so close to my house and I was hoping it could be my breakfast joint. I guess the hunt continues…

Awful. Terrible. Overpriced.
Was so sad to have spent a CENT at this place and we even had a groupon.
Never have I ever been steered so wrong on Unilocal.
Food was pathetic & overpriced. Homemade veggie burgers? I sent it back… cause it tasted like… well, NOTHING. Those burgers are the reason why people aren’t open to being vegetarian. I ended up with the Salmon burger which looked like it came from a giant Costco box… enriched white flour buns… iceburg lettuce… most of the food was fried and looked like it had been sitting out.
The ambiance is plastic chairs on uneven dirty cement. The whole experience made me wonder if anyone had sent in a video to Gordon Ramsay’s Kitchen Nightmare’s for an overhaul. I would be terrified to see the kitchen considering the cleanliness of everywhere else.
Only redeeming quality was that our waitress was super sweet & kind.
Ugh. Just UGH. DO NOT WASTE YOUR TIME or $$$$$.

A solid four star experience. Definitely appreciate the no corkage fee, and that they brought real wine glasses. We went on a Saturday night at 8:40, close to closing time, no issues with being rushed or feeling un-​welcomed. Our waiter was very friendly and welcomed us graciously on our first visit.
The French Onion Soup is in every review for a reason — it is good!
Wilted spinach salad — oh, now this is a gem of a salad. Love the nice super crispy bits of bacon throughout the salad. Delicious. I suggest a little less red onion, chop it all up and enjoy!
Maître D — 12 oz. with vegetables. Cooked a perfect Medium Rare, just needed a minute to rest. Vegetable went a slight touch too long, but a nice serving and selection of green beans, broccoli and carrots.
Chicken Dijonaise — nice dish, and yes, you should order it with fries. — In fact my tip to the owners, play with that sauce and create a chilled dipping sauce for fries and a chicken sandwich! Trust me, it is good and would be worth being charged for it.
No qualms, with this place. I appreciate the kitsch. The Riverside Café is an excellent value delivering a family friendly casual dining experience.

I liked the food, but I wouldn’t go out of my way to eat here.
We had a groupon for french onion soup, 2 entrees (roasted lamb/​garlic steak), and dessert (opera cake). The thing that struck me about the food, though, was how plain it was. I could probably make something like it at home if I felt like taking the time to do so because the food was so straightforward.
I don’t live near here, so you can take my words with a grain of salt. It’s out of my way, I enjoy foods with more complex flavors, and perhaps I accidentally ordered some of the more boring entrees. In its defense, Riverside did offer friendly service. We loved our server, and the food tasted just fine (barring the somewhat bland steamed vegetables).
But in the end, I’d give this place a ‘meh.’

Pleasantly surprised by the menu. Sort of a strange combo of French, Cajun, American, but at least there’s a big enough selection and it’s all decent enough to come back. The french onion soup was pretty good (very very hot!). I got that with a half veggie special sandwich which I probably wouldn’t get again. Their patty melt looked good, and some other items like the fried oysters looked intriguing. Nothing mind-​blowing, just a little café that you really should only go to if you live or work nearby.

Oh how cute this little hut-​looking, rancho district café appears. So quaint and so very «One of these days we just have to eat there, darling.»
Without a doubt, the worst meal I’ve ever paid for and quite possibly the worst overall dining experience in my too-​young-​to-​die life so far. I really don’t like giving negative reviews and usually keep them to myself, but this place…
Everything that could go wrong, did. In no particular order, here are the issues we experienced. Keep in mind that we had just come from an 18 mile bike ride in 95-​degree heat and were so hungry, we weighed the benefits of snacking on the cranes vs. the stray dogs we passed along the L.A. River. What appeared to be an oasis, a sanctuary to our famished husks, was anything but…
There were flies everywhere. I can usually get past this, but they were literally everywhere: the door, the doorway, the menus, the tables, my face, my lover’s face, the staff…
Sticky and somehow ALSO oily menus, tabletops and seats. Touching sticky things has it’s time and place, sometimes even involving food, but that place isn’t in a tiny restaurant on a hot day where everyone is expected to have their underwear on and hands atop the tables. The Riverside café should’ve been an icy break with sensation-​less menus on this day.
Everything is expensive here. I have no idea why, really. Pathetic, spineless, $ 4 ore-​ida fries that you can see through.
Although we didn’t start counting until at least five minutes in the place, we waited over ten minutes to have our order taken. The entire time, only two other tables had bodies at them, this is good as it’s probably capacity for this place.
My yoga instructor’s sandwich had the stalest bread I’ve ever had the displeasure of biting into. It was like a mean prank. She mentioned it to me and I declined to taste it but after a few pouts to confirm her sanity, I did. It was the taste equivalent of playing 52-​card pickup. Not nice.
I ordered some type of salad, only because it included seared ahi, and while I may be the only one who craves raw fish in 90-​something degree heat, it sounded perfect. Buuuut, I should’ve asked a few questions about the other contents of my salad, since at this point, I knew it came with seared ahi and flies.
THIS WAS THE MOST FUCKED UP TASTING SALAD I HAVE EVER HAD. Sorry for the mouth, but it turns out the «vinaigrette» was actually brine. Yeah, just brine from a jar of roasted peppers mixed with lemon juice. I wish I were kidding. It was salty, bitter and all over every green ingredient. Suspiciously, not on the ahi, but since it was old and sour, perhaps like –1 x −1=1 somehow, it could have been an improvement had it blended with the brine? Oh and the greens were cutting up my delicate throat! Stale, wilted and sharp greens that made the few bites I chewed a painful challenge to get down.
So, by now, my lady-​of-​the-​evening has reached chicken within her sandwich, emerging victorious by defeating 4″ of rubbery-​crumbling adversity, only to discover that the apparently boiled fowl slab, didn’t boil long enough. This is a really gross experience that causes your brain to go into panic-​mode instantly. The color in her face vanished, but the rest of that sandwich stayed right where it was on her plate.
Those poor, soggy, prison-​quality french-​fry-​esque potato-​product sticks didn’t stand a chance. Suddenly, like a freshly-​discovered-​by-​the-​homecoming-​king wallflower, they were the most popular thing at the table and we promptly consumed them, each of us eyeing the basket manically throughout our conversations.
The water tasted like soap residue and considering how sliced up my throat was, washing that down with soapy water? Always fun. Especially on a hot day. Now that’s like a practical joke on your body!
And last, nobody came by our table for twenty minutes after we had concluded our visit with this make-​believe restaurant. So aside from the punishments we already endured, we were not allowed to leave.
Needless to say, the only way I will eat here again is if I’m in a semi-​vegetative state and all my friends and family decide to form a ‘gathering of jerks’ and wheel me here for their own amusement. Very seldom does the rank taste of a meal last in your mind for months afterward.
I am tasting this meal in my MIND right now!

On Riverside Drive: check!
Dog-​friendly: check!
Extensive menu for small establishment: check!
Riverside Café is one of those places that is truly «out of sight, out of mind». I remember reading reviews for it some time ago and it didn’t jog the memory until a friend suggested it for lunch on a lazy Sunday afternoon.
The Café is small and cute. The interior is mostly the kitchen with a few tables set up plus is had a sunny exterior for those who want sunshine and fresh air (across the Equestrian Center… you’ve been warned). It boast that it serves British food however and blue/​white patio cover suggested Greek.
First off, once we were seated and had water brought to us there was quite a wait to have our orders taken. On that day, it seems like there was just one person manning the patio. I estimated about 15 minute wait… on the verge of getting «antsy».
The very nice waitress finally made a pit stop at our table and took our orders. The food arrived within a reasonable time so all was good. I had the Cajun Chicken Breast with Grilled Veggies as my meal and unbeknownst to me, both the chicken and the veggies were swimming in excess oil. Plus I wasn’t told that the chicken was pan-​fried (I assumed it was grilled).
The chicken didn’t had much of a Cajun flavoring to it. Nothing spicy or anything close. The veggies were tasty and had perfect grill marks but I couldn’t get over the oil that pooled at the bottom of my plate. It was horrendously way too greasy. Portion size was just the right amount.
Pricing is on the high side for a little café; my meal cost $ 9.75. I’m sure the Café serves good food but it wasn’t my day.

I am giving the Riverside Café 5 stars based on their breakfast burrito. In my opinion this is a gourmet burrito.
This breakfast burrito can go up against that popular breakfast burrito place in Burbank that we all love.
The burrito is packed with flavor. Roasted potato’s, caramelized onion, egg, spinach, sausage, cheese, and what ever else you wish. Its also served with a side of guacamole, sour cream, and salsa.
Some people may gripe about the the price of the burrito (about 10 bucks) but you get what you pay for. I even split my burrito with my honey because it is totally enough for two.
The service is great too. The waiter is never shy about giving refills on the coffee.

Love this place. Nice place to relax and have a good meal. I love sitting outside with my dog and watching the horses walk by.
The food is always good, and a wide variety of items. Each with a unique taste. The egg salad sandwich is to die for!
The service is wonderful. Can’t say enough about this place.

The Riverside Café is a really nice and relaxing place to have a great meal. I have had the Shepard’s Pie and Fish n Chips and both were really tasty. But what I enjoy most is sitting outside and relaxing in a nice setting and seeing horses walking by as you eat. That’s pretty cool.
The service is always very helpful and cheerful. I like The Riverside Café because they have an interesting and unusual menu which makes a casual outdoor dining experience that much more special.

Do you need fancy, fancy to have great food — go to the Riverside Café and find out.
The place was small and intimidate but guess what — plenty of parking!!! It was so convenient to the shops on Alameda that I had to stop. For a small, diner-​esque looking place — I had the venison burger… yum, yum. The potato skins were crispy and well cooked and the service was incredibly attentive.
My experience was so positive, I had to share!

It honestly wasn’t anything special…
went there last night with a friend.
not even going to complain about the wait to get seated because I understand this was a fluke…
it took like half an hour for the French Onion soup to come out, and it have to admit, it was pretty good. But for $ 7.50 for a small bowl… I don’t think I’ll be getting it again.
I got a «Riverside Salad»… it was below average… the tuna was tasteless and the salad wasn’t the freshest. Worst of all there were big peaces of black pepper which totally killed it for me :(
My friend got the Steak Casserole… that was really really good! highly recommend it. The garlic mashed potatoes are to die for.
overall, I’m sure it COULD be worse… so not 1 star worthy…
but for the price you pay… this place isn’t worth it…
1 salad, 1 dish, 2 soups… our total was around $ 50…
overpriced…

Cajun Calamari Sandwich.
If they are out of the above… then Cajun Chicken Sandwich.
And once in a while… Ortega Cheeseburger.
Place looks like and is a shack, but service is nice and a nice place to sit down if you’re near the Equestrian Center or Pickwick Bowling/​Ice rink.
BTW, the side salad with balsamic dressing complements all of the above quite well.

First, I gotta say, I am the FIRST person to write a negative review (see my other reviews if you don’t believe me) so I am mystified about the (albeit very few) negative reviews I’ve seen here. Look: it’s not trying to be a Michelin Star restaurant. That’s not what this place is about. So, for all you folks who are upset that it was hot inside in August, or that there was no A/​C, or — gasp — the restaurant is not hermetically sealed and therefore an errant fly got in: please, go to McDonald’s. Or Denny’s. Clearly, you need some sort of corporate structure to feel comfortable. Surprised that people can get so worked up about table cloths.
Here’s why it get five stars: it is the only place I know of where I can show up after a hike or hanging with my horse or whatever activity makes you otherwise not presentable to many other L.A. establishments and get really awesome food. Don’t really care whether they present themselves as a French bistro or an English pub, which also seemed to bug a few folks on here.
Look, the menu is large; I’m friendly enough with the staff to have said more than once that they need to slash it in half — perhaps the folks who didn’t like the food just didn’t know how to order (I am talking to you, Salami Sandwich lady). Here’s what to order: the French Onion Soup, the wilted Spinach Salad, any of the steaks, the Shepherd’s Pie, the Veggie Burger, and my favorite: the Veggie Cous Cous. The baked potatoes are also a nice standby when you don’t want to eat much — and they definitely let you play around with the ingredients. Never had the salmon burger, but a friend recently raved about it. They have a nice Buffalo burger. And finally, you have not lived until you have eaten Paula’s chips. You will need to run a marathon afterward though; beware. Oh yeah, fish and chips are a big thing too.
It’s just an extremely friendly place — the owner’s wife comped me my lunch after she found out my boyfriend and I had broken up. (Don’t’ try this though — new ownership now). My dog loves this place (they have a dog menu) since he is always presented with dog bones, fresh water and a lot of love from the staff. I may have gotten too friendly with the staff, actually: most recently, the chef came out from the kitchen to beg me to order something than my usual (the veggie cous cous). We worked out a deal: if I ordered the spicy chicken once, I could order the veggie cous cous forever without incident. I did, and although the spicy chicken is indeed really good — if you like white wine especially — I am now free to eat my veggie cous cous in peace.
Thursday nights often have amazing specials: last night was Bouillabaisse. The chef seemed crestfallen that my friend and I weren’t going to order it, but that’s what I love about this place: a lot of emotion going on. If I have to say anything negative, it is this: the chef has been making some wacky desserts lately. No worries, there’s a workaround: they have a lot of desserts on the menu that come from off-​site (Boston cream pie; Vesuvius cake etc). And don’t get me wrong: I have been with people who have gone nuts over the new desserts — seriously eyes rolling back in their head, food orgasms. I’m a little less adventurous in this department. .. all in all, a very special, friendly place.