Riverside Pizza & Pub serving up large, delicious portions

The newest eatery to open in Oswego is serving enormous portions, and it’s a hit.

Riverside Pizza & Pub recently opened on Douglas Road in Oswego, filling the spot formerly occupied by Scoreboards. It’s part of a family of restaurants with the same name, with locations in South Elgin, St. Charles and Batavia.

In the Mystery Diner’s house, we’re just not there yet for indoor dining, but thankfully Riverside’s delivery service is prompt and simple to navigate.

For our first order, we chose the 14-inch pretzel appetizer; a burger with American cheese and a side of waffle fries; a 10-inch thin-crust pizza with sausage, onion, and mushrooms; and the chicken bruschetta pasta dish. For dessert, we got Oreo cheesecake.

Our order arrived exactly when the website said it would, which was a huge bonus in my eyes. And the portions – wow, those portions are huge. We had plenty of leftovers from each of our meals.

The burger had a thick bun with plenty of cheese and a large patty cooked to perfection. The waffle fries, however, were a standout, cooked to perfection with plenty of flavor and a crispiness that comes from the best kind of fries. Seriously, I could go on for ages about those fries.

The pizza was was a highlight with a thin, crispy crust and plenty of cheese and toppings. There was plenty to go around, with enough for some delicious cold pizza leftovers.

My chicken bruschetta pasta was filling and flavorful, with fresh and tasty bruschetta and balsamic glaze covering a healthy portion of chicken and pasta. (For those who don’t know, bruschetta often is made of tomatoes and maybe other vegetables with seasonings and balsamic glaze. It’s delicious). Again, the portion was so large I had plenty for lunch and dinner the next day.

We finished off our meal with a delicious Oreo cheesecake, large enough to be shared by more than one person, but small enough to eat by yourself if you’re in that kind of mood.

I’m not always the biggest cheesecake fan, but this was light and fluffy, creamy and delicious, with plenty of flavor and Oreo crumbs to enjoy as both topping and crust. The three of us were able to enjoy it easily without hogging or anybody missing out.

We’re getting closer and closer to whatever “Back to Normal” is, and I look forward to dining in person at restaurants throughout Oswego, including Riverside Pizza & Pub.

If You Go:

Address: 1100 Douglas Road, Oswego

Hours:

Sunday to Thursday: Kitchen 11 a.m. to 11 p.m., Bar, 11 a.m. to close

Friday and Saturday: Kitchen, 11 a.m. to Midnight, Bar, 11 a.m. to close

Phone: 630-636-6888‬

Website: oswego.riversidepizzapub.com

• The Mystery Diner is an employee at Shaw Media. The diner’s identity is not revealed to the restaurant staff before or during the meal. The Mystery Diner visits a restaurant and then reports on the experience. If the Mystery Diner cannot recommend the establishment, we will not publish a story.