Sneak Peek: Riverbend Restaurant & Bar Now Open in Richmond Heights

Battered-in-house onion rings are clearly superior.

Fried shrimp plate with hush puppies and pasta salad

Fried seafood is part of any Cajun menu mix. The old Riverbend had makeshift fryers; the kitchen at the new location (the former Harvest at 1059 S. Big Bend in Richmond Heights) is much better equipped.

Crawfish Margaret Pasta: fusilli, crawfish, a spicy cheese sauce, and a blend of four-cheeses on top

Crawfish Margaret: ready for her close-up.

The Riverbend Po-Boy: hot ham, roast beef, gravy, and Swiss cheese, on

Right neighborly of Riverbend: the flavor of the day cheesecake (the double chocolate with raspberry sauce is shown above) comes from Hank's Cheesecakes next door.

Yes, bread pudding is still served here. This version is house-made in the New Orleans-style and served with a whiskey sauce.

Harvest's former upper level now sports New Orleans-themed artwork.

The view of the bar at Riverbend Restaurant & Bar.

There's plenty of light in the easternmost room.

Authentic New Orleans food calls for authentic products.

One bite of the fried catfish po-boy at Riverbend Restaurant & Bar, fully dressed with Creole mayo, lettuce, tomato and pickle put to rest any sad thoughts this diner may have had about its recent move to Richmond Heights. The menu sparkles with the new regular offerings of fried oysters, soft shell crabs, shrimp and catfish, available every day. Once a weekly special only, owner Sam Kogos now offers red beans and rice daily.

The seafood gumbo fulsome with shrimp, oysters, catfish and okra in a dark roux remains a Friday-only special. The good news is NOLA crawfish, corn bisque, and chicken and sausage gumbo appear on the menu daily. A cochon de lait and black-eyed pea gumbo (right) came on the menu just in time to soup-up the newest lunch offering, Pick Deux.

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Pair half a po-boy, your choice of chicken, smoked sausage, roast beef, cochon du lait or gyro with gumbo, soup or a side salad for a quick lunch. You won’t waste precious lunch time searching for a parking place because Riverbend now offers on-site parking.

Some things haven’t changed, however. The vibe remains casual and comfy, despite the upscale address. Sam Kogos still stops by each table and introduces himself. His dad Ted hangs near the bar and chats up the customers. His cousin, chef Steve Daney, continues to invent new items and oversee the cooking and the kitchen as always.

There’s an informality the family fostered at the original Riverbend that characterizes the new location as well. Pat Kogos, Sam’s wife, designed the new space to preserve the traditional look and feel of the original Soulard location. The mirror from Soulard now hangs above the lovely fireplace in the main dining room.

The flags and banners from Loyola and LSU hang in the sunlit front dining room, a sharp contrast with the darkly intimate Soulard space. As the sky darkened opening night the space settled into an agreeable coziness this regular appreciated.

Change isn’t easy when favorite restaurants relocate, but the move to a larger space and a well-designed kitchen affords room for real growth from the little restaurant that produced so much with so little in Soulard.