Riverview Inn

We ate there this weekend and you can't beat the price for a seafood buffet. Only $13.95 for all you can eat. The seafood is fresh and is mostly fish, shrimp (calabash, boiled, etc), deviled crab and oysters. This is a fish camp, so don't expect china plates and cloth napkins. One of the owners was on site and the staff has been working there for years. There is a kid's menu, and they will enjoy standing on the deck and looking at the lake. Be sure to order a Little Pirate for the kids. The attached bar is great and looks like it probably did back in the 70's. We will definitely go back. more

My family has been coming to this restaurant since before I was born. I grew up eating here. I'm slightly offended for the restaurant by some of these reviews here. This restaurant is a 'Fish Camp'. Please look up this definition before you go. It is not a 'Seafood Restaurant', there are lobster, no crab legs. There's no Mahi Mahi, or yellowtail or grilled albecore kebabs. The restaurant mainly specializes in deep-fried freshwater fish (perch, catfish) with hushpuppies, french fries, and slaw. There are a few other items, fantail shrimp, clam strips, calabash shrimp, baked potatoes, chicken wings and strips, plus others to round out the buffet. Yes, you will be eating on paper plates, with plastic utensils, and drinking from plastic cups. Its always been this way and if this somehow interferes with your aesthetic enjoyment of a meal, then you might have an issue here. The restaurant is largely unchanged over 60 years, so you will be sitting on wooden benches in the booths. Personally, while there may be some flaws, I wouldn't have this restaurant any other way. It is a part of the history of Charlotte, as well as my history. Come to the restaurant informed and I believe you will have a much better experience. more

After more than 60 years in business, the Riverview Inn seems well past its prime and on life support. The food isn't bad but everything else is very wrong and very outdated. The worst thing about this old restaurant is that meals are served on paper plates, eating utensils are plastic and beverages are served in plastic disposable cups. This may save money on proper dishwashing equipment but it is hardly the way a sit-down restaurant is supposed to be. And the prices are no bargain so it's not as if the owners are making up for the lack of basics by providing cheap eats. The buffet is messy looking, the dining room is dark and ugly, the booths are outdated and cramped and the service is distant and somewhat brain dead. While this place may have been the cat's meow in its heyday, it seems to be on its last leg now. Very disappointing, somewhat depressing and not worth the drive to the far western part of Mecklenburg County. You don't even get a decent view of the river from this outdated, run-down joint.By the way, even its website is way out of date, so don't pay much attention to the menu prices it displays from December 2008. Alas, everything about the Riverview Inn seems to be suffering from extreme neglect. If the owners aren't willing or able to reinvest and modernize the place, they should shut it down. My guess is that the public will take care of that sooner rather than later. more

Use to be great. last 2 times a couple of months ago and last night the buffet food was cold and hard. The walls around the booths and floors was so dirty I was shocked. There wasn't many people there and it looked like old grime. Not just my booth I noticed on the way out all walls and floors was dirty. Still had a 97% rate thought. Where am I going to find great fish now? Pros: Been going there ofer 45 years Cons: I hope it gets fixed fast more

The all-you-can-eat buffet is hard to beat. Lots of old fashioned fish camp favorites. If you're looking for broiled or baked fish, the choices are limited. Does have a major draw back. The buffet line is located in the main dining room, which is ALL SMOKING. It can be very annoying. The non-smoking area is in a room off to the side. Service isn't always up to par in this area and winters can be uncomfortable as they often neglect to turn the heat up ""back there"". Pros: Great Food Cons: Smoking more