Awesome!!! Â Beautiful view of the Ohio River and it is as the name says, a true Cabana on the river. The atmosphere is light, fun and very laid back. the service is just a little on the slow side, but no one seems to care. We just want to sit back and relax even after we've finished our meal.
The menu has a nice variety to choose from and the food really is very good. I have tried several different items on the menu and all have been delicious. But no matter what I order, I always add a bowl of their awesome white chicken chili. It is a treat! We live an hour away but try to go at least a couple times a summer just to eat there. Â Only downside is that they are only open spring, summer and into fall.
Before I get into it, let me say that this has been one of my favorite restaurants since we moved to Cincinnati. Â Expensive, yes, paper plates, plastic table ware, and table actually, yes, but good food and you cant beat the view and the atmosphere. Â Over looking the Ohio River, sitting outside, eating one of their world famous burgers, or salads. Â the best. Â Today was my last however.
Here it goes. We went to Cabana's on the River this afternoon for lunch. Our waitress was sooooooo bad. She messed up our order and the order of every single person around us. People were way mad. we weren't so happy ourselves. The table next to us asked to speak to a manager. She told them that there was no manager. They asked to speak to the owner and they were told that the owner won't get involved. This waitress was having a horrible day, but up until then I was doing ok. When the owner won't get involved and there is no mgt to speak of, what the heck. I ended up feeling sorry for the waitress, the people were pretty mad, I left a decent tip. It will take a lot to ever get me back. If the owners care so little, that they won't get off the bar stool to come and just talk to people who are paying $55 for three salads, then there is a major issue and I'm insulted.
BTW, we did not ask for, but the waitress gave us a small discount. Â It was a nice gesture.
I live across the street from the entrance to the Cabana, and yet I only recently went there for the first time. My friend and I sat out on the patio, which has a nice view of the Ohio River and Kentucky hills.  I had the Norwegian salmon sandwich, which was super good. I also had a piña colada, which was tasty (although the presentation left something to be desired - in a plastic cup - I get it though), and a draft summer shandy. Â
Overall, great meal, great atmosphere, and the fact that I can - and did - walk to such an awesome place puts it over the top for me.
I love the Cabana. My in-laws live on the west side of town, and so we go here semi-often. The food is great; my personal favorites include (but are not limited to): the pulled pork, the chicken-chili (which you must try), the burger, the fish, and the fried chicken. The drinks are great: if you like red ales try the Cabana red...solid beer. The view is great (sit outside if you can).
The hostesses suck (be assertive...they usually don't know what's going on). The service can be really good or not depending on the luck of the draw. I've had great service here, and I've had pretty horrible service here. I think there are some solid waitresses who really know their stuff, and then there are new ones who know nothing and don't last long. Hopefully you get the former, but if you end up with the later order a beer and enjoy the view. :)
LOL No BOAT DOCKING -- and it is on the river?!
weird if you are a river restaurant
try Drew's six mi upriver or Bromley-Ludlow
Note: Â We called from boat to confirm--they said, "sometimes marina next doir says ok. We looked but large whiteboard sign on dock said no restaurant parking." WHAT THE???
What's to love?
1. Â Great patio
2. Â Great river view
3. Â Yummy drinks
4. Â Relaxed atmosphere
What's not to love?
1. Â In the middle of nowhere - it's like a 35 minute drive from anything
2. Â Parking lot is a disaster
3. Â Food is only alright - I suggest the pretzels though.
4. Â Servers always seem...new
Cabana on the River is the place to go for the summer! Not only do they have amazing food but they have live bands on the weekends! Did I mention a great view of the Ohio river ( really great at night) it is a perfect place for families, a great place for a night out or if you just want to come solo that is okay too the staff is great and you will feel right at home so come on down to cabana on the river it is the perfect place to be on a summer day or night!!
Review Source:Ate here for lunch today with a group of about 10 people, Beer selection was pretty good. We had the soft pretzels with cheese appetizer--great. And then I ordered their CAB burger (Certified Angus Beef)--omigod, it was the biggest burger I've had in 10 years--cooked perfectly and I couldn't even finish it all. It was a perfect day to sit outside in the shade and enjoy the experience. Their menu has something for almost everyone. Service was great and didn't skip a beat.. For large groups like ours, 18% gratuity is added.
Review Source:Decided last minute to have some dinner with a friend at Cabana. I always seem to forget just how far away it is for me *20 miles*. My friend arrived before me and there was a wait, she gave her name and we waited about an hour for a table. We ran into a friend of hers so the wait was not a big deal and it was Friday night and one of the first nice nights here in a long time. We ordered the fried pickle chips...very tasty but a small portion. She ordered the filet kabob, she liked it and ended up taking some home. I ordered the boneless wing appetizer..and apparently I missed the part on the menu where it stated that the wings were dry and came with a side of hot sauce. I asked for a side of ranch and was given a packet of ranch, ok no problem. The portion was a nice size, but the "boneless wings" were so dry. I tried to salvage them by dipping them in ranch and that seemed to help. I know now to NOT get the boneless wings. I ordered the orange dream frozen drink and it was delicious, so I would definitely recommend that. I usually visit Cabana during the week when its dead for some day drinking with friends, but will also come back for some fun on the weekend.
Review Source:The food is OK but not amazing. The drinks are pretty good to make up for it though especially the frozen party drinks. SO pick a good weather night. Grab a few friends. Get a table by the river and get plowed. That's really the whole point of this place.
They get crazy busy in the summer so expect long waits and struggling service staff. Sometimes you just can't beat that view though. A pina colada in your hand and a mahi sandwich in the other while the sun sets by the river and you are laughing it up with your best friends. That's where it's at buddy.
I like to read other reviews before I try a new restaurant and Cabana on the River has very mixed reviews. I expect bar food when I go to this type establishment so from a culinary standpoint I lower the bar. The comment about no music I thought was a petty comment. Yesterday was a beautiful Sunday afternoon and their website said they had live music starting at 2p. We arrived a little before 3p and thought it interesting that the band was playing in a bar area away from the river. Since it was so beautiful we wanted to sit as close to the water as possible and from our table we had a beautiful view of the river and Kentucky. While the band played by the parking lot the covered area between the band and the riverside dining was playing music also. Pretty annoying - I would have enjoyed no music over the battle of the "band". We also read that the Cabana burger was big enough to share so my husband and I shared an order of Cabana Wings that their menu labels "best wings on the river." They were fatty and the sauce that is served on the side was very salty. We went to Drew's on the River the previous weekend (I'll do a review on it also) but a comment consistent to both - can you de-string your celery? It's really not that hard or time-consuming and then place them in ice water to give them a nice crisp crunch. The burger was big and served with Husman's potato chips. It was nice she brought us 2 bags of chips since we were sharing the burger but both went unopened. In my opinion Husman's potato chips are the saltiest chips on earth. I didn't like the texture of the beef in the burger and the bun was just so-so (a bun can make or break a burger in my opinion). 4 star rating for cleanliness, atmosphere (with no live band) and wait-staff. 2 star rating for food.
Review Source:I really don't understand why so many people flock to this restaurant. I have been here twice and both times the service was slow and the food is nothing special. Two people with our group did not get their food until 30 minutes after we did and their orders were nothing complex, in fact, one was a salad. Oh, and drinks needed to be requested twice before the server remembered to bring them, same 2x for refills. Unless you are seated right by the river, you might as well go to some other al fresco dining establishment.
Review Source:Strawberry Daiquiri #1 - The daiquiri was not to bad - it was very refreshing and hit the spot that we were looking for. Â Not too strong though.
I'm pretty satisfied with this place. Â The atmosphere is the best part - it has a nice deck overlooking the river. Â It's far enough a way from the city that there's not noisy distractions. Â It's a very chill place! Â I've been there twice and been so fortunate to have a crystal clear day while the sun is setting and I was right on the edge of the deck. Â It was perfect (perhaps why I think it's so great). Â The food was pretty decent and the drink we're decent. Â But the place itself is just awesome. Â I'm hoping to spend a couple more evenings out there this summer!
And I thought I was the only one that was only so-so on this place! Â And I look on yelp and apparently I am not the only one.
On a beautiful spring, summer, fall day it is wonderful to chill under an umbrella while the river winds slowly past you. Â But honestly.... that is really the only thing I like about this place. Â
Drinks are WEAK and EXPENSIVE! Â Food is only ok, but reasonably priced. Â Service is usually very good though. Â
I recommend any number of bars/restaurants with river views downtown, Covington, or in Newport. Â Don't go out of your way for the Cabana.
Even though I'm originally a Cincy east-sider (therefore a trip to Sayler Park equates with one to the moon), all it took for me to decide to trek to the Cabana was seeing FRIED PICKLE CHIPS on the menu. Â All too often, "fried pickles" turns out to be drained slivers in tasteless batter. Â "Chips" was the magic word that sent me barreling out River Rd on a sunny afternoon. Â Mission tastily accomplished! Â Someone there knows their way around a Fryalator. Â I hated sharing, but everybody at the table started clamoring for one when they saw how quickly they were disappearing as I crooned with every bite. Â
The grill cook also delivered nicely with the French fries and onion rings. Â Even the "mostly vegetarian" member of my group was grabbing at 'em as she virtuously consumed (and enjoyed) her big portabello mushroom salad. Â Not an intelligible word could be heard from the teen with us as he ecstatically wolfed down his CAB burger, until he polished off the last bite. Â Then he leaned back, loudly exhaled, and gave a grinning "YEAH!"
My mistake was ordering fish n' chips, 'cause the piscine portion of the meal was undeniably frozen filets (Gorton's?) Â But the awesomely crunchy taters, and of course the fried pickle chips, made up for that.
Service was excellent - fast, thorough, and friendly without being obsequious. Â
What better place in the area could there be to scarf down some hot goodies and cold beer at? Â The expansive dining area offered sweeping, unobstructed views of the sun-dappled river and the wooded hills of the Kentucky side. Â Cabana could probably do a booming business by installing some hammocks to rent by the hour. Â We could've stayed until past nightfall just taking in the scenery. Â But...one look at the other customers while hearing country/pop tunes had me remarking that it was the "Whitest" spot I'd been to in a long time. Â Just sayin'.
P.S. Â Anybody else here tired of getting hit by the glare from anti-smoking nuts' polishing their halos? Â Most of Cabana on the River is an OPEN-AIR PATIO. Â That's why they're only in business seasonally, duhhhhh. Â It was great for me to be able to fire up a coupla cigs during a restaurant visit without having to leave the table for a change.
This is the letter that I sent to the Ohio Smoking Ban folks:
Sent to <a href="mailto:NoSmoke@odh.ohio.gov">NoSmoke@odh.ohio.gov</a>
Last night I had the disSTINKt pleasure of visiting the Cabana on the River at 7445 Forbes Rd. Cincinnati, OH 45233 on Cincinnati's west side. As I sat down, someone started smoking at the table beside me. Â I went to front and asked a couple of the wait staff about their smoking policy and was told that they allow smoking.
I visited your website and saw the exclusion line that said "Under certain conditions, private residences; family-owned businesses without non-family employees; certain areas of nursing homes; outdoor patios; and some retail tobacco stores are exempt."
I can assure you that these folks are flouting the law as this place is not an outdoor patio but a completely covered restaurant with limited walls. See <a href="/redir?url=http%3A%2F%2Fscreencast.com%2Ft%2F3Mwf4Sjj&s=407edcba98c56728c997d471799a1d7fe18f970e0d705332c4d2b71f5107e55e" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">http://screencast.com/t/…</a> for a photo from Bing. Do you see an outdoor patio? I sure don't.
See <a href="/redir?url=http%3A%2F%2Ftinyurl.com%2Fdestinkt-pleasure&s=bd32c072835ec98175e4e7089881c35acdd56119d292fd8f50b9e9992191cc2a" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">http://tinyurl.com/desti…</a> and a bird's eye view to see this outdoor patio?
Cabanas on the River is just a few minutes from my house, so definitely extra points for that! Open only in the summer months, they have been serving up west siders on the banks of the Ohio River for many years.
It is basically an institution over here and so the crowd is always varied. You have all the seniors that have been coming since it opened, all the families with kids that are starting the tradition with their offspring, and the young 20-30 age group looking for anything fun on the westside.
The food is served on paper & plastic and plastic utensils, but anything with their steak is dynamite! The steak kabobs, steak pita, and steak salad are my go to items!!
Bands on weekends, right on the Ohio River, and friendly service make this one of my favorite summer spots!
So why only four stars?? They rarely have any background music playing which somewhat lowers the ambience for me. Usually only if you ask them to turn it on and then only if someone remembered their ipod to play and even then it is so quiet that you can barely hear it!
Rather than spending this past weekend on the east-side of town with my parents (who are actually on vacation) we spent the last week of our homelessness at my in-laws house. After work Friday my wife and I decided to head out for dinner and settled on Cabana on the River. When she first mentioned it I thought that I had been to this restaurant before, but I was confusing it with Fore and Aft, a floating restaurant on the Ohio River that actually sank a few years back. I wasn't a fan of my dining experience there, so I was glad to realize that I would be trying something new.
Cabana on the River sits adjacent to where Fore and Aft once stood. However, the Cabana is not actually on the river, it just overlooks it. We arrived before six and were able to get a table on the outside deck right away. The popular west-side restaurant became increasingly crowded throughout our visit. The views of the river are pretty nice and the weather was nearly perfect outside.
While waiting for one of my wife's cousins to join us, we decided to split an order of baked spicy cabana bread, French bread baked with bleu cheese, hot ham, hard salami, bacon, onions, banana peppers, jalapeños, and topped with provolone cheese. A cup of marinara sauce is provided on the side for dipping. At $8.95 it was one of the priciest appetizers on the list, but was a good amount of food for the two of us. All of the toppings are finely chopped and blanketed in cheese. I didn't detect any bleu cheese while eating, but I did enjoy it.
For dinner I decided to try the chicken salad sandwich. Unfortunately for me, I was not all that happy with this selection. The chicken salad was really generic in taste and overloaded with mayonnaise. The sandwich cost $7.95 and was served with a bag of potato chips. My wife had the grilled chicken breast with summer vegetable kabob with seasoned rice for $10.95. The chicken had a great grill flavor and the vegetables were pretty tasty as well. Once again it seems to be a tad on the expensive side, especially when served with plastic silverware and paper plates.
My wife's cousin had the CAB Burger, which was gigantic! (Sorry I didn't get a picture) CAB stands for the Certified Angus Beef that the burger is made from. Again it was served with a bag of potato chips for $9.95. I'm not a burger eater, but that also seemed a little on the high end of the price scale. Perhaps the cost is due to the riverside location. With that said, it must balance out right for most people since the restaurant is large and the tables were full. Perhaps there just isn't much else to eat on this side of town.
I have heard from SO many people that Cabana is a perfect place to happy hour it up during the summer. So, my curiousity got the best of me and last Friday, Tony C. and I decided to go. It is a bit of a hike for us coming from Hyde Park. But, the drive is beautiful along the river and it's pretty much a straight shot with minimal traffic lights. So, its a nice drive.
When we got there the parking lot was packed- good sign.
The band was setting up outside- good sign
And the bar facing the river looked like a tiki hut and had the Celtics game on- great sign.
I was getting excited. I liked it already and I hadn't even ordered a drink yet.
Because of the volume of people, and oh, there was plenty of people watching to be had, we had to wait. Birthday parties for little ones, an all ladies night out at another table and a huge table of people our age sipping on abnormally sized margaritas. (Hmmm, taking notes). Our wait was minimal and seemed to go by quickly with all the people watching, Celtics game and live music.
We sat out on the deck facing the river. It was a gorgeous night and it being summer, we had to take advantage of the perfect, warm weather!
The menu had something on it for everyone. The appetizers ranged from calamari to spinach and artichoke dip. We were so hungry by this point, we had to try one. The Spinach and Artichoke dip was our first order along with another round of drinks from the bar. As we waited we were thouroughly entertained. This is such a fun place. Tons of beachy feel, cabana music, resort feel. It was a great place to unwind from the week and start the weekend off on the right dancing foot.
When the food arrived, it was served on plastic plates with plastic ware. It was all pretty good. I had the Asian Salad and Tony ordered the Chicken Sandwich. I would say with the quality of the food and the plastic ware, the food was a bit over-priced. But, the atmosphere was awesome, the live music was perfect and it was just too nice outside to care!
I am defiinitely going to be bringing the group out to Cabana the next chance I get.
Not bad for summerfare. Â it's a place where kids are running and playing a bit freely so if you arent a fan of kids, you may want to choose a quieter place, It's ideal for eating with your preteens where you can enjoy a drink without the critism of people without children. Â Warm atmoshere, good food, great servers for the kids.
Review Source:So I took a weekend trip out to Cincy from Chicago and stopped in at Cabana On The River for lunch. Â I must say that despite the volume of families with screaming kids here, the place is actually semi-cool. Â First off, they have a ton of outdoor seating, which seems to be at a premium in Cincy. Â WTF?? Â It's impossible to find an outdoor cafe in this city. Â Second, the food was the bomb! Â I mean, don't get me wrong, you can certainly order something entirely horrendous like the tuna salad with slices of Kraft cheese, which looks absolutely disgusting. Â But hey my burger was gia-normous and cooked to perfection. Â They have some serious Grade-AAAA+ beef out here in the country and damn is it tasty! Â
Now to the drinks...it seems they have an endless supply of drink specials, especially on beer. Â When you walk in it looks like you high school homecoming football game with endless posters advertising $3-something beer. Â My 16 oz Mic-light drafts were just $2.50 (and that even regular price!). Â No way in hell will you find that in Chicago. Â
Again, if the ridiculous kids weren't screaming their heads off I would have had a blast here. Â I hope someday these families would just go to McDonalds instead and leave the serious beer drinking specials to those who deserve it!
This is one of those places that unless a friend told you about it, you might not know that it existed. Open seasonally starting in April and located next to Mariner's Landing on the Ohio River in Sayler Park, Cabana on the River is a great place to wile away an afternoon sipping beers and just  watching the water drift by.
It's a Queen City version of one of those beachside Caribbean bars, and you can get some pretty decent grub here, too. But don't expect white tablecloths or even dishware for that matter, this is a paper napkin and plastic plate kinda joint. Sandwiches and salads are the primary fare, and they serve one of the largest burgers in town (it far exceeds the size of a standard bun). It's better than average food, but the ambiance is what gives boosts it from three stars to four.
If you are on the west side of town and looking for a great outdoor bar and grill, Cabana on the River just might be it. Especially since the only place you can sit here is outside.
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