RiverBend Restaurant on Caddo Lake

What a gem! This was the best meal my husband and I have had since moving to Texas 2.5 years ago. The atmosphere was great. It sits on the water so it was nice seeing the water and watching the boaters. The restaurant was serene and relaxed. Our waiter was prompt and attentive. I couldn’t have asked for better wait staff.
We started out with Fried Green Tomatoes. They were the best I have ever had. The remoulade sauce put the finishing touch on it! The «set up» was quickly brought to the table. The beans and cole slaw were excellent. In fact, this cole slaw was the first that I have ever liked. And let me say, I really liked it. The jalapeño hush puppies were a good concept but I felt they lacked a little «umph».
My husband and I both ordered the catfish. Soo good! The batter was genius. Best catfish I have eaten in years. My husband raved about the onion rings. Again, the batter was spot on and he loved the thicker sliced onions that were tender but not over done.
I only give this restaurant 4 stars because I was wanting a little more from the jalapeño hush puppies. Other than that, I can’t say enough about our experience. We can’t wait to come back and bring friends and family next time! It was a great experience and excellent food!!!

Great location and loved the catfish and hushpuppies. For the location, you can’t get any better than this. Will return for sure!

My husband and I were in Wednesday for dinner. He loved the steak and service was great. I ordered two catfish fillet dinner. I was disappointed in the size of fillets, very small! The two pieces were almost the size of one fillet if put together, literally 3“x2″ pieces. Steak great big fish was not worth the price.

My friend says our appetizer sampler (shrimp, frog legs, alligator) and our catfish dinner is the best meal she has ever had. I won’t go that far, but it was the best catfish I have ever had. Every menu item we had was outstanding. And the staff, especially Kelvin, were immensely friendly. The place deserved six stars.
The location is confusing. My Garmin shows the address to be: 647 County Road 2414, Karnack, TX 75 661

We were here last night Grilled shrimp was overdone however the Caddo filets were really good. They were out of sweet and baked potatoes and i never received my salad. Clean place but over priced. We usually cook at the cabin but wanted something different. Give it a try.

If you order catfish and/​or shrimp you can’t go wrong. It’s fried, but not greasy at all. Just delicious! The pinto beans and jalepeno hush puppies were excellent. I won’t like coleslaw no matter who makes it, but it comes with the meal. My side was seasoned rice, I was not expecting much but it was tasty.
I’m giving it 4*. We were in the area for a weekend getaway, it was Saturday night, we had a table on the enclosed patio where we could admire the mystique of Lake Caddo and the gorgeous sunset. The minus one star is because frankly, it’s not 5* food (but it’s good) and prices were a little high if you were going to feed a family. We had to wait over 30 minutes in the heat but it was Saturday. And they don’t take a reservation unless it’s a party of 6, so it’s just gonna happen. Once we were seated the service was very good, attentive enough.
It’s tucked away, in the bayou so pay attention to that GPS if unfamiliar with the area. (Which is very close to Uncertain, TX!) Worth the drive out there for a meal with an unbeatable view.

My party of 3 ate here on a busy Saturday night. We ate in the screened upper deck outside and had a great view of the lake.
We started with alligator eggs — these are jalepenos stuffed with cream cheese and bacon and then baked not fried — they were very good. We also had onion rings. I am a bit of an onion ring snob and good ones are very, very hard to find. These were outstanding! Lightly battered and the onions were the star.
They served cole slaw and beans family style along with jalepeno hush puippies. All three of these were really good. My wife thought the cole slaw was the best she has ever had.
My wife had the blackened catfish with creole sauce. She is not really a fan of catfish but thought this dish was excellent. My step-​son had the grilled shrimp and was equally satisfied.
I had the fried catfish and it was good, but nothing special and did not live up to the high standard of all the other dishes. This is the only reason I am giving them 4 stars instead of 5.

I vacillated between three and four stars, but ultimately couldn’t give the restaurant the benefit of the doubt. As much as anything, I wanted to give it four stars because of the spectacular location. But the inconsistent food and slow service just wouldn’t let me do it. River Bend is on a bend in the lower reaches of Cypress Bayou or the upper reaches of Caddo Lake, depending on where you think the lake starts. It’s a spectacular setting, relatively speaking, and eating on the upstairs porch is great in good weather.
The food can be good to better than average, but you have to pick carefully. The simpler the better is good advice at any restaurant, but particularly here. Stick to regional staples such as fried cat fish and steaks. Once you wander into more creative territory, it’s hit or miss. And in my six or seven visits, more often other dishes miss. And even the staples aren’t spectacular. In fact, were it not for the view, I doubt they’d still be in business.
The service is very friendly and accommodating, but not very polished. And in a place like this the lack of polish is understandable. But the pace dawdles even more than it should for a leisurely dinner. They’re just not on the ball, quite frankly. But if you don’t mind sitting and talking for 10 minutes before they get your tea, and wait another 10 minutes to order, it’s fine. But it’s the sort of place that cries out for three and a half stars.

Excellent food. Great service! I thoroughly enjoyed the RiverBend Special: Blackened Catfish with Creole Crawfish.

This place has EXCELLENT FOOD (home made coleslaw, and hush puppies). Yes, what you said Scott S. We too sat in the upstairs screened in porch over looking the water. We ordered the Chilean Sea Bass, gator, etc. VERY VERY GOOD! Best place to eat on Caddo Lake.

Enjoyed this restaurant and this place was amazing!!! So relaxing and the food was great. And I got to see this with the most amazing inspiring man I’ve ever none.

great food, service and prices! i cannot say enough how much we love this place, thanks!

Probably the best restaurant on Caddo Lake.
We sat in their large upstairs screened in patio overlooking the river. The ambiance is perfect. Love the dock they have where boaters can pull up and have a nice meal. We were originally looking to just have a few beers and relax but after seeing some of the menu items and looking around at others dishes, we had to eat something.
Our waitress (never got her name) left a lot to be desired. I don’t know if she was extremely busy but she wasn’t the most friendly person we ran into in East Texas. Short, in-​personable and not very attentive. Lackluster service aside, the appetizers were wonderful. We had the Jalapeño Hushpuppys. They were light, fluffy and crispy with just a little spice. They were not your typical round, hard hushpuppys, they were cylindrical, about 9 inches long. Very tasty. @ 3 bucks an order, they are a must!
We also had the blackened alligator. 8oz for $ 9. It was good. Slightly over-​seasoned but very tasty and tender for gator.
We plan to go back and have supper sometime.

Our party of four drove from Longivew, Tx. This was our first time to visit the restaurant. We checked in and were told there would be about and hour waits for a table. We were seated in about hour out on the screened in porch. The view, atmosphere and food were great. My suggestion to the restaurant owner would be to seat fewer people or hire more cooks. After being seated it took another hour for us to receive our catfish. We ordered the pitch till you win of whole and fillet catfish. We ran out of fish and after another twenty minutes of waiting for more fish we ask for or check and left. Maybe will try this place again when it’s not so busy.

Our party of seven arrived by boat on the majestic Caddo Lake. Two of our friends in our party had already visited this place by automobile three or four times by their own estimation and absolutely swore by the place. Even on a 100-​plus degree day, the boat ride over from Mooringsport, LA. was fantastically beautiful, and the purpose of this ride was to try this new place. We were all very excited and hungry! I, and we, like many others that have posted here have mourned the tremendous loss of the once proud and great standing Big Pines Lodge. We arrived at approximately five o’clock on a Saturday in early June and it seemed at that very moment several other parties arrived at that exact same time via waterway and road. There was an immediate wait, and there isn’t much room to wait on the inside of the restaurant. They need to invest in some of those buzzers to give to people who have to overflow outside onto the deck and wait. In the heat, the wait can be tough. On the inside, with little seating for those waiting, you stand in one large human mass primarily getting in the way of the entire but very efficient waitstaff. Look, this place is new (a year old) and it’s popular, it’s also one of the very few restaurants in the area, so you’re gonna wait more than likely. Just be patient because it is soooo worth the wait. I was starving and fading away but after about 30 minutes we got a seat out on the back deck, in the screened-​in outdoors. With fans blowing and the heat of the day coming to a close, and our extremely-​on-​top-​of-​it waiter keeping me fully stocked in Arnold Palmers (half sweet iced tea mixed with half lemonade) and others in our party in wine and beer, we were not hot for a moment. It was very relaxing to sit out there and watch all the activity on the water, people jet-​skiing, boating, tubing and whatnot. Okay now, the food! Finally, the food! It was spectacular! We all ordered the same thing, the three catfish filets (so light and fluffy and not greasy at all) jalepeno hush puppies (made just like Big Pines used to make, texture like fried-​soft serve ice cream and spiceeeey and tasteeey) OMG! If I closed my eyes I woulda thought I was back at B.P.L. The filets come with delicious and I mean deeeeelicious western-​style beans, creamy-​creamy coleslaw aaaaand you get to pick a side (I picked the homemade onion rings) but didn’t even finish them due an overdose of fish, slaw, beans and mmmmmmmmmm-​mmmmmm jalepeno hushpuppies! The rings were spicy and good, just no room, as there was no room for their cobbler and ice cream :(Maybe next time, because there will definitely be a next time. I’ve already informed other lost paramours of the Big Pines Lodge about this place and we are coming! I have heard the BPL is being rebuilt and I cannot wait for opening day, but I will say this… they now have some stiff competition in the form of the RiverBend Restaurant. I will say this for River Bend, they need more places for people to dock their boats and more, comfortable options for those that have to wait for a table. It would also be a great place to catch an LSU, Texas or A&M game on a Saturday, so maybe in the future they get get some large flat screens for such viewings. Other than that, the place is fantastic!

I’m going to give this place the benefit of the doubt and assume that we followed a huge rush that the waitstaff had not yet recovered from. We were seated in the back corner. My husband had to track a server down after 10 minutes to take our drink order. Beverages were served in styrofoam cups and well, if you’re used to filtered water order something else.
Once we got past this, we had a better experience. The view was beautiful. And the food was quite good… of course everything fried. The beans, Cole slaw, and jalapeño hushpuppies were delicious. I ordered shrimp and salad. The waiter forgot my salad but threw in a complimentary pecan pie which was delicious. My husband raved about the catfish as well.
If you find yourself hungry for heart clogging delicacies with a view… this is your place.

This is one of the BEST restaurants in East Texas! The food is great, service is always amazing and the views are beautiful. I highly recommend a sunset dinner.

This place does fill the void. The food is great… i don’t even like alligator but i do now. It’s a great appetizer! We went this past weekend and really enjoyed it. The shrimp is excellent and so is the fish. We also had the fried green tomatoes and they were great. Keep up the good work!

FINALLY — a restaurant that’s doing it right on Caddo Lake!
With the demise of nearby Big Pines Lodge, finding a decent meal on the most beautiful lake in Texas was next to impossible.
Luckily we stumbled upon RiverBend Restaurant thanks to a sign placed on Farm Road 2198, just past Caddo Lake State Park on the way to Uncertain.
We were delighted to find a newly constructed (May 2010) building right on the lake. In late January they had just expanded the outdoor dining deck out over the water. We happened by on a clear, 75 degree day. Perfect!
Because of the time of day, we weren’t that hungry, but ordered a dinner salad and fried green tomatoes. Both were outstanding.
We noticed other diners ordering fried catfish and side dishes. It all looked and smelled delicious. The portion sizes were generous.
Their menu offers steaks, hamburgers, seafood, alligator and other lake fare. Beer and wine are served. Our server was efficient and nice.
Big Pines Lodge will be missed, but RiverBend Restaurant is definitely filling the void, and doing it without the cleanliness issues that plagued BPL.
The owners apparently don’t believe in advertising. A Google search turned up nothing, but they are on Facebook as «RiverBend Restaurant on Caddo Lake»
These folks deserve to be supported for bringing such a nice establishment to Caddo Lake. Check it out!