Riverside Bistro: A Familiar Spot With a New Twist

If you want to dine while looking out over the river, you have a few places to choose from. There's upscale , homey and friendly , gourmet magnet  and French-inspired . Across the wooden bridge, there’s with a comfort food menu plus home brew. And then, there’s .

Riverside Bistro?

I couldn’t visualize it either, and then I remembered. It used to be J.M. Rosen’s of cheesecake fame with the romantic Frank Sinatra room in the back. Then it was Flippers and now it’s Riverside Bistro. Has been for a couple of months.

And while it might seem like there’s been nothing but change happening at the restaurant located in the Golden Eagle Shopping Center, actually a lot is still the same. You still walk in through the kitchen and see Billie Suder, who worked with the Rosens’, greeting guests.

“Sami called me and asked if I’d like to come back," says Suder, who manages the restaurant. "Even though I've got college-aged kids and I’m going to college now myself, I still wanted to find a way to be here.”

Owner Sami Nazzal bought the place from Jan Rosen years ago, following the passing of her partner Michelle Rosen. He has long appreciated the great location and loyal customers.

“But I ended up selling it to the guy who opened Flippers and then I bought it back again. It’s a great location and we’re doing everything fresh and reasonable and people are starting to become regulars again,” Nazzal said as he showed me around the place. “We do a great $8.95 lunch. Where else  are you going to find that?”

Nazzal, who grew up in East Jerusalem and immigrated to the States with his family as a twelve-year-old, has been in the restaurant business all his life. A lover of music, he has invited Petaluma jazz legend to play jazz each Friday night from 6 to 8 p.m.

“People are already reserving the best tables to enjoy the music and the food and the river,” said Nazzal.

On the day I visited, I ordered a sandwich called The B.E.L.T. It’s Riverside Bistro’s non-traditional take on the classic BLT, with two eggs on top any way you like ‘em. I like mine poached and – you know what? It was delicious flavorful food. The tomato tasted like a tomato, the bacon (the candy of meats) was gorgeous and the eggs where cooked firm exactly how I like them.

My server was Joanne, the type of girl you wish you were friends with already, she's that nice and witty. As I paid my bill and clicked a few extra photos I spied through my camera lens a genius walking along the top edge of the Theater District parking structure.

"That's not good," Joanne said as I pointed skyward. But Billie Suder is a mom. She immediately dialed 9-1-1 while this Einstein gave a few patrons heart palpitations before he hopped back to the safety of the rooftop parking lot. Crisis averted and I pray never to be repeated. But good to know that the Riverside Bistro staff is good in a crisis.

Riverside Bistro offers an extensive breakfast, weekend brunch, lunch and dinner menu, including soups, salads with homemade dressings and fresh seafood dishes. The restaurant has a small outdoor uncovered patio and a larger riverfront shaded patio.

Their brunch menu includes four types of Eggs Benedict and three, three egg omelets, including the Riverside that includes crab claw meant, bay shrimp and avocado with melted Monterey Jack cheese for $11.95.  Beer, wine and Italian sodas, too.

Hours: Mon - Thu, 11am - 8:30pm; Fri, 11am - 9pm; Sat, 9am - 9pm; Sun, 9am - 8:30pm

Handicap Accessible: Yes

General services: Eat-in

Parking: Free lot

Cuisine: American

Price level: $$

Features: Brunch, dinner, lunch, riverside and patio seating with Peter Welker playing jazz Friday evenings during the summer (except July 1).