Riviera Dunes Dockside

We had a large party and was able to make a reservation ahead. Got to sit outside on a beautiful day! The service was excellent. The food was delicious for everyone! Parking was easy! We enjoyed the Fish and Chips! Generous portion and tartar sauce was homemade and very good. The bowls were very tasty and very plentiful. The Mahi Mahi was cooked very well. The Jambalaya was very flavorful too. Recommend all dishes!

What a fun and enjoyable place. Outside seating was nice with a band on Saturday night. Service was perfect, very knowledgeable and attentive. Food was cooked well and value is good. This was not an overpriced marina restaurant. We’ll definitely come back.

Surprisingly very good. Portions are big and delicious. Service is great.

This is a waterfront gem! The ambiance is simply delightful, and the cuisine is even more exquisite. I had the Seafood Cobb salad and it was scrumptious! A special shoutout to Gee Gee—request her as your waitress for an unparalleled dining experience. Her service is exceptional, marked by a perfect blend of professionalism, warmth and witty charm! Such a fun dining experience, you won’t be disappointed 😊

Riviera Dunes Dockside is a great place to eat. There is plenty of free parking. You can dine inside or outside. We love to dine outside because the view is terrific. I love it when the server first approaches your table and already has ice water in hand for you. We started with the coconut shrimp and it was very good. For entrees we got the crab cake sandwich and the grouper tacos. Both came with choice of sides. They were both very good! The Jamaican Bicycle drink was fabulous. This is a go to place for us as we always get great service, great food, and all at a very reasonable cost.

Sarah (Greek) was attentive and we waited only a few minutes for everything. She brought us waters without us having to ask. Love that! Food was excellent. We had raw oysters, edge salad and salmon with asparagus/crab hollandaise sauce. Would go back again and again. Night view was wow.

One of my favorites. All the food is mouth-watering!! Drinks are delicious as well. Good musicians. Outdoor seating. On the marina with relaxed & upscale view. Shrimp & grits #1 in town.

Amazing atmosphere, food and service. The interior is decorated just to match the marina and boating style which I love. You can't go wrong with anything on the menu. The drinks are all amazing. All the food and drinks are made fresh to order. Saturday's and Sundays they have a wonderful brunch with delicious food and bottomless drinks until 3pm.

I came to leave a positive review and was pretty surprised to see all the negatives. I guess to put it in perspective, we ate outside so we didn't notice conditions inside. We also came at around 11am on a Sunday and around 11 am on Monday, that being said....the brunch on Sunday we thought was really good and the burgers we had on Monday were fantastic! Not to mention the obvious views. If you found this place while searching for a place to eat by the water, after being twice during non-busy times, we'd recommend it!

Our first time here and it was amazing. We had the bang bang tacos and fish and chips. The staff was great. The drinks were great.and the musician (think his name was John) made for a wonderful date night with my wife. We'll be back soon.

Really enjoyed our dinner here. Service was good. The Crab Louie salad was delicious except it was the first time I had a spicy dressing on it so if you don't like spicy make sure to request a different dressing.

Thanks for the great reviews from my Yelp friends Pat M & Dawne F, we decided to try this place for HH. It was windy & cool out so the outside wasn't open but what a great location on the Manatee river in a boat marina! We luckily got 2 seats at the bar & had wonderful service from Cookie. We shared peel & eat shrimp, wings, & sliders & all the food was fantastic. Our drinks were made well & we liked the environment. Definitely will be back for sure. Great menus! Plenty of parking available!

Excellent as always. Our table had a variety of entrees and two appetizers. Calamari was great, just a but skimpy for price that the only slight bad thing, all else superior ❤️Begin with the seafood stir fry. It was full of seafood huge pieces of lobster, plump juicy shrimp and tender sweet scallops. It was huge and perfect. Hubby had a chicken and shrimp bowl. It was delicious and huge as well. Daughter had cup of chowder w/ corn of some kind. She loved it. She had the seafood Cobb salad, took it home as she was full, it was huge as well, at least two meals. Son in-law had crab cakes with asparagus and smashed potatoes. He's quiet but said was very good. [His birthday dinner].

Randomly chose this resyautant since we were in the vicinity. Food wad EXCELLENT!! I had the Dockside Bowl and my hubby had the Fish & Chips. Both were awesome!! Definitely plan to return and recommend to family and friends!

We were sat quickly, loved the beautiful scenery on the outside patio. Our server was amazing and the food was also very good! We wouldn’t hesitate to come back if we’re in the area!

Yes we are locals to Palmetto, with that being said, there's plenty of options when it comes to restaurants. This by far, is our go to spots always! from the amazing manager Michael to the many staff members and bar tenders. And when it comes to the menu, i can promise you every item on this menu will have you coming back for more. Yes best in town all around.

Food was delicious: well- prepared and portions were generous! Our party of eight enjoyed jambalaya, bang bang shrimp, beef stroganoff, crab cakes, chowder, and we were happy with our choices. Our waitress Gigi was most attentive and seemed genuinely ready to meet our every request. We will be back!

We were seated immediately upon entering the restaurant. The table was comfortable and we weren’t sat directly next to another party which was great. The server was attentive and prompt. We enjoyed our food and didn’t feel rushed.

Very nice atmosphere. Enjoyable place to dine. The food was OK, not great. The fish was good, but for example, the Pico de Gallo had large red onion chunks. I would recommend it as a place to dine but was surprised the food wasn't a little better.

Had a lovely meal with our friends. Their seafood salad was quite big and his chicken & waffle was very good. My meal of French toast was good. The toast was fluffy. There may have been a little too much pepper in the maple syrup but overall very good flavor. The view was very nice & the music wasn't too loud.

Sarah was a wonderful hostess. We made reservations one month in advance but we surprised at 12n we did not have sufficient outdoor umbrella coverage from the sun. The manager rectified that, listened to our concerns and we moved on. I wished they had set up the tables ahead of time together with umbrellas as 3 ladies sat separate from us. But our meals were very good, service was quick, clean. nice view and Sarah always upbeat and smiling. We enjoyed ourselves. We will come back. Just be more specific in your seating arrangements. They do have an indoor private room but the day was nice and we wanted to be outside which had been arranged ahead of time Thank you.

Good place to eat with waiters very friendly and polite. It is hot inside even though it was 7Pm with air conditioner on. Outside they had live music and a bar with a great view of the marina.

We visited Saturday April 15, 2023 at 1pm. We asked to be seated outside and were given a choice of tables. We ordered fish and chips and a lobster sandwich with two classic margaritas. The margaritas had a fruity flavor that we did not expect, and not a classic lime taste. Fish and chips were great. Lobster sandwich was mostly shredded meat and not chunky, served on a hoagie roll. My wife thought the lobster filling was a bit salty, with an almost crab like flavor.

Visited a Friday afternoon & it was nearly empty. Marina and water view, quiet venue

Riviera Dunes Dockside../ yacht broker location. With a promising outside and outdoor seating area with an appealing marina full of luxurious boats and numerous piers, the atmosphere was everything, but the food appeal was inadequate. A menu with a vast variety of seafood options was appealing at first but the flavor on all dishes ordered was not present. Out of my party of 5, and all dishes ordered, only about half of the dishes were eaten completely. The shrimp and scallop scampi had underdone pasta with overdone scallop and almost no shrimp and the scampi sauce was broken. The fish and chips were extremely oily and the fish was overly silky. The crab cakes with mashed potatoes and fries were overly fishy and out of the 2 on the plate, 1/2 of one was enough.. The burger was and salad with a filet of fish seemed to be the best plates on the table along with the bang bang shrimp. The calamari had too many bodies instead of rings The best app of the night was definitely the buffalo chicken eggrolls. Those would keep us going back to this location. Overall, the atmosphere and strong drinks were the highlight of the night, but the food was definitely not the star of the show.. 3/5 for the night.

Tucked away on the back side of building facing dock. Not a pretty view of the water or skyline. Great view of a bunch of fishing boats and day cruisers if you enjoy that. Food was generally good. Not fantastic. Solidly average that you would expect with no let downs, but very overpriced for what it is. Tourist pricing.

Overall, my experience at Riviera Dunes - Dockside was good. The restaurant itself was relatively quiet, we were all able to have a conversation without shouting at each other. The food was good, I got the Mahi Mahi salad. The salad, despite being beautifully plated, had very intensely sweet dressing and an unfortunately overcooked fish fillet. I loved the taste of the fish, but the texture was tough and the fish was a little dry.

The 4 of us wanted to try something new along the water. We chose to sit outside on the deck next to the marina. It was nice to look at all the boats sitting in the water. Loved the atmosphere. They had a good band playing. If you’re looking for romantic, you won’t find it with the loud music. The others in my group went with beer but I decided to try the Hawaiian. It sounded good, looked pretty, but had no discernible flavor. It almost seemed like they put a splash of Hawaiian Punch in seltzer water. For starters we shared the Calamari. The breading was good and crunchy. The Calamari had a nice taste but was very chewy. We also shared the Coconut Shrimp. The shrimp was cooked perfectly & the coconut breading was delicious. The dip was delicious, had a nice bite to it & perfectly complemented the shrimp. For our meals I had the Crab Cake Sandwich with a side of Coleslaw. The coleslaw was mushy but had a good flavor. The Crab Cake was mostly filler. It did have a nice flavor, but I prefer more crab meat to filler ratio. DH had the Blackened Grouper Tacos. He said it was just ok. The highlight of his meal were the delicious fries that he got with cheese & bacon on them. Our friends had the Bang Bang Shrimp Tacos & the Surf & Turf Tacos with a side of fries. They were not impressed with their meals. They said they wouldn’t get them again. Will we be back? Nope.

We were so excited to pull up on our boat until we saw how mammoth everyone else's were hahahaha The place was packed. A band was playing do that was awesome, but that's were the positives end. The drinks were ok--nothing great. The Buffalo egg rolls were OK. The burger was kind of dry, tasted like a frozen burger. And the side risotto was not great. The Bang Bang Taco was alright. It took over 40 minutes for our dinner. It was also pretty expensive for food that was just mediocre at best. As fun as the scenery is, we probably will not be back. 9/25/21 went back for a second visit, and the experience was slightly better, so I changed the rating. The atmosphere is very relaxing. They had a band playing again, which is always a plus. The drinks were ok. During this visit, we ordered the porkchop with risotto and mashed potatoes..... The meat was cooked perfectly. We also ordered shrimp tacos. The food came out hot. 3/7/22 went for dinner since my son in town, and what a disappointment. No one was here.....which should have made us turn around being the dinner rush hours. We've had mediocre food here before, but tonight was subpar. The calamari was raw. Like, I'll never eat it again raw...... My husband actually spit it out, and he never complains. We told our server and still had to pay the $14. I ordered the grouper tacos, and it's just ok. I couldn't eat it after the calamari. The pork chop was good. The risotto eh.... cold. My husband's jambalaya was so hot he burned his mouth. The featured cocktails weren't anything special. It's beautiful here and the water is amazing but we've given enough chances... We won't be back.

I went there and ate outside, the outdoors was nice large beautiful boats parked in the marina. Their menu wasn’t the most vast, but when I saw wagyu online there isn’t every day you see or eat that. So we went. I asked the waitress if we could see the steak and they refused and the manager actually came out and yelled at me saying they couldn’t accommodate the request (that was a polite way to put it he was very rude). Regardless of seeing the steak or not I ordered it. The steak was tough they brought me a butter knife to cut it with. The crab cakes were extremely fishy 1 bite was more than enough. There twin lobster 🦞 tails were certainly the star of the show though that was phenomenal. There kids Mac and cheese was 2 grades lower than Kraft but 10xs more expensive. We had 5 people and one of my daughters got an appetizer and my other daughter ordered off the kids menu and we still paid 180$ for our meal. It was over priced and the managers attitude was trash. The waitress was kind but the food was subpar. Overpriced and yelled at, that’s how I feel they only get the extra stars for the lobster tail. Wouldn’t recommend

Disappointed with the fish (grouper) tacos and provided a picture of how little fish and slaw was in the tortilla. I pushed what was in the taco to one side and it left half the shell empty. I was able to eat the taco in 2-3 bites. We prefer to eat outside in this establishment due to the noise and lack of acoustics inside.

I had the blueberry lime margarita, fish and chips, and chocolate mousse cake for dessert. Overall a decent meal. The drinks were okay and the fish and chips were a bit tasteless. I almost never need to use the salt and pepper in restaurants but this meal definitely needed it. The best part was the cake for me. It was very delicious. The service could have been better. When I first arrived, I had about 5 people that worked there just staring at me before I was able to get a table after some time. Although it was not a busy hour. Waitress was nice enough but I felt as is she disappeared for a too long at times. The views were great as well.

This was our first time eating here. First of all we had the fish and chips. The beer batter had no seasoning at all and was very bland. The breading was doughy and not fully cooked all the way through. The fries were ice cold and had to be remade. We also had shrimp tacos and grouper tacos. The shells were hard as in old and crusty. The grouper was flavored great but was like alot of scrap pieces. The fruit I got was rubbery and room temperature. We also had a slow and inattentive server. Overall, this was a very bad experience. For being a nice location they used poor quality product and poor service.

Warning: immediate stomach issues suffered. One star for the live singer and keyboardist. Will not return due to subpar service and food for which i immediately had to buy stomach aids. One ply toilet paper (can't remember the last time i encountered this) with low toilets and dirty bathrooms. Will never return.

I submitted a simple online reservation request for a group of 18 — not a moon landing, just dinner. I was told it would be easier if I called. Spoiler alert: it wasn’t. I called, spoke with someone who said the manager “Joe” would call me back. Three days later — still no Joe. So I called again. This time, a very polite young lady put me on hold, then returned to inform me that Joe was “a little upset” because he’d been on the phone for an hour. (I guess customer calls are quite the burden when you manage a restaurant.) About an hour later, Joe himself calls and starts the conversation with, “Yeah, you wanted to book?” No hello, no “This is Joe from Rivera Dunes,” nothing. I had to play detective just to figure out who I was talking to. When I asked if there was some issue with me trying to make a reservation, Joe replied, “You know, we don’t have to do this — we can just cancel this.” Cancel what, Joe? The call? The concept of hospitality? After three days of chasing down a manager who clearly didn’t want my business, I decided to take his advice — and “not do this.” If you’re looking for a place that actually wants customers, maybe look elsewhere. Rivera Dunes seems to be fully booked... on patience.

My wife and I were seated but never waited on. After we sat down, a family was seated at the table next to us and was waited on immediately. We continued to wait without acknowledgment. If I could give zero stars, I would.

We took my aunt and uncle to this restaurant for a special birthday celebration. After our food arrived, we observed multiple large cockroaches crawling around our table. We immediately reported this to the manager; however, all he did was send the waitress over. The waitress apologized and offered complimentary desserts, which we declined. One of the waitstaff stepped on a cockroach and left it on the floor next to our table. Due to the unsanitary conditions, we were unable to eat our meals and lost our appetite entirely. Our dinner celebration was effectively ruined. We informed the staff that we no longer wanted the food, yet the manager still required us to pay for it. He told my husband that if we did not pay, he would call the police. To avoid causing a scene, we paid $100 for food we could not eat. Several nearby tables also left the restaurant because of the cockroach issue. The manager, Rob, demonstrated extremely poor customer service. We will be contacting the Department of Health regarding this matter. This establishment is not sanitary, and we strongly advise others to avoid dining here.

On Sunday, November 2, 2025, 12 noon, we had one of the worst experiences we’ve ever had in a public setting. We were humiliated—first by our server, and then, shockingly, by the manager. We accidentally entered through the patio instead of the main entrance. Our mistake—but instead of kindly redirecting us, the waitress spoke to us in a loud, condescending tone, making a scene for everyone to watch. It was embarrassing and completely unnecessary. When we approached the manager to calmly explain what happened, things somehow got even worse. He was sitting with a guest, drinking, and before we could fully explain, he became *extremely* rude and aggressive. His behavior was loud, dismissive, and downright hostile—far worse than the server’s. And coming from a manager, it was completely unacceptable. We left feeling humiliated and stunned that a beautiful venue could be run by someone with such poor judgment and lack of professionalism. We didn’t stay to eat—and judging by other reviews, it sounds like we didn’t miss much. Everything that glitters is not gold.

This place is completely mismanaged. The sweet bartender cannot maintain a smile on her face because she is completely slammed; meanwhile a snotty waitress and manager are just standing around flirting (it was a little uncomfortable as he-manager- appeared much older than the waitress). Its a shame..beautiful views give this place such opportunity, however we will not be back until there is an overhaul of management and staff- there are too many other good places to go across the bridge..Pier 22 has amazing views AND great service.

The food and atmosphere is good.. However, while eating , MANY Very LARGE ROCHES appeared in the dining room. The owner was calling the police because we felt like not paying the bill. Customer service was quite poor. Many other customers started to leave. Calling the dept of health tomorrow