Roll into The River for good food, drink

One constant at The River in downtown Independence is its friendly staff. Pictured, left to right, are bartender Scott Lamphere, lead bartender Darsey Fender and restaurant manager Janeth Dimas. File photo by Lance Masterson.

The River in Independence, though already featured on the Great Oaks Food Trail, isn’t about to rest on its laurels.

Instead, the Gilgamesh Brewing restaurant is working hard to get even better. And this effort starts with a new and improved menu.

“We’ve added many more sandwiches, and are doing lots of specials throughout the week,” said Colton Stephens, The River’s assistant manager.

Among these specials: Taco Tuesdays, along with a $2 discount off the listed price of menu items on Wednesdays, Stephens added.

“We’ve also got a brand new happy hour menu, which is totally different. Ahi rolls. Veggie rolls,” he said. “We’re trying to amp it up here.”

The weekend buffet underwent slight revisions.

“We won’t be having a chef out there, but we’ve added to the buffet to make up for that,” Stephens said.

Scrambles go nicely with the buffet’s more traditional servings. As does other offerings typical to a breakfast menu.

“Bacon, sausage, biscuits and gravy,” Stephens said. “People really love our gravy. We make it with some of our beer, so it has a really nice flavor.”

It turns out Gilgamesh beer makes it into other food items and garnishments as well.

“Our barbecue sauce is made with Mamba (beer), and then we have our Pacific Crush IPA aioli, which goes on most of our burgers,” Stephens added.

Other favorites, such as pizzas, remain as tasty as ever.

“Our pizza crust is hand-tossed. It comes out thin in the middle and fluffy for the crust. We cook it until it’s golden brown,” Stephens said. “We haven’t updated a ton on the pizza menu. People seem to like the fresh toppings that we already offer.”

Fresh veggies come from Aloha Produce.

Each pizza is named after an Oregon river.

Some of the changes have been made with aesthetics and comfort in mind. A new roof makes for a shadier outdoor dining area. Sides, which are up during winter months to preserve warmth, are taken down during the summer, thus allowing better air flow. Fans are used as needed.

An upstairs dining area is available for group events and parties.

Gilgamesh Brewing also owns The Campus in Salem, the flagship restaurant and brewery, and The Coast, which is at the outlets in Lincoln City.

Hours are 11:30 a.m. to 8:30 p.m., Monday through Thursday; 11:30 a.m. to 9 p.m., Friday; 9 a.m. to 9 p.m., Saturday; and, 9 a.m. to 8:30 p.m., Sunday.