Riverstone Bar & Grill is one of the worst establishments I have ever entered.
Tonight was my second visit to this awful place; the first time in, my partner and I merely wished to view a menu but could not manage to capture the attention of a single staff member.
The only reason we returned was that we are visiting from Vancouver (we are former PG locals, but seldom visit these days) and didn't know where best to corral our friends.
The one good thing that can be said about Riverstone is that it is central (it is in fact on Central). If one were passing through town, it would be easy to find, but one would be better off to continue passing through.
On to the food.
My partner and I, as we often do, ordered a few plates to share - at least, we tried to.
Attempting to order a few things from the same page of the menu, we were repeatedly told that they no longer sold those items - not that they were out of the items, that THEY NO LONGER SOLD THEM. The menus were standard faux leather with white paper inserts under clear plastic. A change of menu could quite easily be accommodated by simply printing off a new one which excluded the multitude of items no longer available.
At last, we managed to order some sweet potato fries and vegetarian perogies.
It is here where I must give some credit to Riverstone: you managed to put sliced sweet potato in the fryer and cook it. You managed to pour some premade sauce into a ramekin and put the works under the heat lamp.
Well done.
What you failed to do is note that while your spanakopita perogies are in fact vegetarian, they come buried under a mountain of overcooked bacon and greasy Costco sausage.
Disgusted at this oversight, we sent the dish back and ordered the ginger cashew stir-fry.
We ought to have ordered more fries.
After a considerable wait, far too long given that we were an unhappy table in a near-empty establishment (more than 20 minutes), we received our "food". We had ordered the dish with prawns on the side, and what we received were frozen prawns that had been microwaved to radioactive rubber. As for the stir-fry, there was nothing fried about it. There was a glowing, greasy orange liquid completely enveloping the overcooked white rice - like a rice soup - and on top was a heap of brutally overcooked vegetables, the whole mess inexplicably glowing orange.
This, was a stir-boil, not a stir-fry.
I quite daringly fished out what I believe to have been a carrot at some point and mushed it between my tongue and soft palate. Flavourless and greasy - nice.
I picked up a piece of broccoli (?) and it mushed to nothing between my fingers.
Disgusting, but at least I won't have to pay for it.
We ordered more beer, and waited for our bill. It arrived, and the "server" explained that she had taken off the perogies but we would have to pay for the uneaten stir-boil. I informed her that there was no way that I would pay a cent for inedible slop whereupon I was told that there was nothing she could do and that I would have to talk to the bartender.
Having worked 6 years in the restaurant industry, I was more than slightly put off being told that I had to do the legwork to resolve my dissatisfaction.
After sitting around while the server was on a smoke break, I again inquired about our bill and was told by two servers to take up my issue with the bartender.
They did not go get the bartender, inform him of the issue, and direct him to my table - no. I had to get up, garner his attention, and plead my case to a fellow who addressed me as though I had just pulled a knife and challenged him to a fight in the alley.
Thankfully, another unsatisfied customer (of many, I imagine) came up to the bar complaining far more loudly than I and with much more colourful language about the horrible service leading the bartender to back off on my issue and remove the charge from my bill while the back of house glared menacingly from behind the pass.
Having lived in Prince George for 27 years prior to making a life for myself elsewhere, I am accustomed to the redneck attitude. Nowhere is it more evident than at Riverstone Bar & Grill.
Terrible service, horrible food, and aggressive, under-qualified staff.
Thumbs down on all fronts.
Oh, the bathrooms were also disgusting.
But, of course they were.
Of course they were.
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