It was a key venue for folk rock music and singer songwriter music made famous for featuring high-profile acts, and is considered to be "the best-known coffee house in Canada.

Located in a basement, its decor was modelled after the interior of a boat, featuring port hole windows and intimate booths.

[2] Legend has it that American protest singer Phil Ochs wrote one of his best-known songs, "Changes", on the back porch.

[3] Numerous Canadian artists, including Lenny Breau, Joni Mitchell, Neil Young, Ian & Sylvia, Gordon Lightfoot, Bruce Cockburn, Murray McLauchlan and Billie Hughes, played the Riverboat.

[4] A frequent stop on the touring circuit, many American artists, such as John Lee Hooker, James Taylor, Tim Hardin, Simon and Garfunkel, and Phil Ochs, also appeared there.