The River — Restaurant in Margaret River

went to a fundraiser music concert in the back courtyard, meanwhile they were hosting football in front and backbar. but ordering a meal was a stupid idea, should have known better because the lady who served us said "put your number on a table, but if someone else gets your food its not our fault and you won't get a refund." After putting our number on someone else's table (consensually) because there wasn't enough, they asked us to move along because they were trying to watch the football so i leave and i am standing around with my number. After over an 1 hour waiting for food i decided to ask where our food was but then a female with blonde hair in a ponytail came rampaging out of the kitchen yelling at us that it was our fault and they couldn't find us and the had put our food in the bin. She then got so annoyed that she said she'd give us a refund. When i requested if i instead could have the order, she stormed off back to the kitchen. And then another 20 minutes passed and when i asked again whether i was getting a refund they said the food was coming. What arrived was a cold burger (likely pulled out of the bin) and a mediocre fish curry with raw cauliflower. Tried to get over it and eat the meal but it was inedible. Asked for refund and i was offered less than 50% of my money and a "free" beer. I took the offer. I was disappointed by the service. I understand they might be short staffed but thats no excuse for this...

Wine for Dudes recently hosted their 15th birthday in the private function room at The River. It's the perfect space for a corporate event with its own separate bar and guest facilities, along with massive indoor and outdoor spaces which flow well. From the first meeting, through to the evening itself, everything was extremely easy and their entire team was on point with every detail. Being a wine tour operator, it was pretty important that we included some of our favourite and unique Margaret River wines, which we were welcomed to provide for our drinks menu with a very reasonable corkage. And anything else we needed was no problem at all. On the day of setup, Event Manager, Isaiah was personally on hand ensuring all the boxes were ticked, staff were briefed, assisting with rearranging of furniture, and ensuring the entire evening ran smoothly. The bar staff were fantastic, using the initiative for one bar maid to walk food around when the bar was under control, even though we had a table for people to help themselves to food...this was a nice touch to ensuring some of our staff who were on the door and at the blind tasting competition table were fed too. The food was delicious and I'm sure there was more than we ordered. Overall it was the best move we made choosing The River to host our party and all our guests were very impressed! Thank you team! Amazing service!! Photo credit: Driftwood Photography...

I’ve been to this place before and had a good experience, which is why I decided to come back. I don’t usually write reviews, good or bad, but I feel it’s worth it this time. We ordered at 6:45pm and were told the food would take about 35–45 minutes. I work in hospitality myself, so I understand what it’s like to be short-staffed or very busy (though in this case, the venue didn’t seem particularly busy). After an hour, our food still hadn’t arrived, while other tables who came in after us were already being served. By “after us,” I mean they actually walked into the venue later than we did. When the food finally came, it was very average — and in my case, it was just a salad, which feels quite ridiculous to wait over an hour for. To be fair, our waitress was really kind and did her best to make up for it. She offered us free drinks, but I wasn’t drinking and my dad still had half of his beer. She then kindly suggested giving us a dessert instead, but in the end no one came back to follow up, so we just left. This isn’t about the staff personally — they were polite and considerate — but there should always be someone checking in with customers from time to time, to make sure orders have arrived and everything is on track. Unfortunately, the overall experience was disappointing, and I don’t think I’ll be...