The River Downtown

Angel Korte

2 months ago · ★ 5

The Food, Atmosphere, History… Really blew our expectations away! We ordered Taco sampler, Asparagus Puff pastry & the Pea, Blood orange Salad… OMG delicious & delightful! The Waiter gave us a 5 minute hospital tour of the thought put into this iconic little Restaurant that IS FABULOUS!

Marthe Rana

a month ago · ★ 4

This place was really cute and had outdoor seating. The food was decent. Ordered the Mediterranean tacos, sub corn tortillas. It was corn tortillas with beef smashed and then a bunch of lettuce/arugula on top. The feta and pickled onions fell off. I just don't think two tacos is enough for a dinner entree. It should be three. I saw photos of the Southwest tacos and definitely looks heftier. Had their wine spritzer akin to aperol Spritz. It was okay, kinda light, lots of ice. I love that they have outdoor seating but frankly they have too many people crammed in to the size of patio that they have. It does not work for bigger bodies to be crammed into the corner. I will say that the menu concept looked great, they had a decent amount of variety on there and they cater to vegan and gluten-free diets. And their photos online look really good, I would try it again but close to a five-star rating, I just don't think so based on the food I received. Service staff was amazing and friendly.

Surbhi Verma

9 months ago · ★ 5

Great vegetarian food, friendly service, nice ambiance! Pick the spot at the back with the brick walls for seating. Tried the Mediterranean smashed tacos and Mac n cheese and both dishes tasted good. Great selections of drinks as well including some nice kombuchas. The server was pretty kind in providing a sampler to make a decision on the flavor. My favorite - lavender lift kombucha from the local brewery in Grass valley!

Randi Beasley

2 months ago · ★ 5

Wanted to try somewhere new, pleasantly surprised to find this quirky hole in the wall right in downtown. It’s actually goes back quite a ways offering three very different seating areas. Loved sitting in the cave like room with the glass ceiling and the green velvet arm chairs its a cool vibe. The ethnic variety on the menu was a bit overwhelming at first but they had a unique way to suggest sharing courses and staying a while. The fresh cucumber thyme spritzer was cool and refreshing start and the pea salad with a goat cheese fritter was a great first course. We had the meatballs two ways but the chicken with a creamy spicy sauce was the winner. Wish we had room for a third course! We will be back

Marion MacGillivray

2 months ago · ★ 5

On 7/16/2026 we celebrated with another couple my husband's birthday at The River Downtown. This turned out to be a stellar choice. We are an omnimore, a vegetarian, a veganish & a vegan who all found exactly what they desired. Each dish was excellent - very cleanly flavourful - the three tacos sampler, the pea salad, a Western and a few other also delicious tacos. Very broad and very satisfying choice of kambuci & ale. We LOVE the Yuba river, and LOVE Nevada City so we're delighted to feel that love having created this restaurant. Our server, Mariano was delightful and we were thrilled to discover that he is looking forward to flying to Buenos Aires to watch football.