The River Grill — Restaurant in Malacca

I can't believe this is a 5 star hotel because their standard of service is anything but.

When we made the reservation over the phone, we requested a table inside (i.e. the River Grill section) and were told that was fine. Upon arrival, they seated us outside at the River Cafe section. It later transpired that under their current SOP, the River Grill is only open for private events. This was not mentioned to us over the phone nor is it stated on their public website. They didn't even say anything upon arrival and instead just pointed us outside to a table that had not even been set.

They kept switching the fans off outside as they were taking pictures for their social media. We had to ask them to turn the fans back on given how warm it was.

They got one order wrong and when notified, looked quite puzzled before reluctantly bringing it away. It was like they did not know what to do with the dish. No apologies for their mistake.

Food was mediocre at best and very salty (evident from the pizza, pasta and fries).

There was also lack of communication between staff. At the car park, we were told by the guy to pay/redeem our parking ticket at the restaurant when settling our bill. When we tried to do this, staff at the restaurant looked confused and said we would have to go all the way to the front desk to do this.

My elderly parent went to the bathroom but it was locked. He asked staff for help but no one could show him where an unlocked toilet was for some reason. One of us had to look around for another one (which was far away from the cafe).

Our bill had an item we did not order so when we pointed this out, again there was a look of confusion. We were eventually told that the dish on the bill was the same price as a pasta dish we had ordered and because their system did not have that pasta dish to input (which is strange because the pasta dish is definitely on the menu) they usually use that dish for bills. They should be trained to explain this to customers when they hand the bill over.

While the staff were not rude, they clearly lack the level of hospitality training required of a 5 star hotel. The food has gone downhill, we would have gotten better food elsewhere for the same price.

Friends had warned me that under the current management, Casa del Rio's level of service has not improved since 2015.

Note to management: don't just live off your good location in Melaka, put some effort into training your staff on how to provide a good level of service that should be expected from a 5 star hotel (this includes training your kitchen staff to not...

Please don't come in a Sunday - does not live up to Sajian del Rio feast.

We walked past on a Saturday and we were tempted by the sights, sounds, and smells of the buffet from the river.

Walked in and promptly made a reservation for 7.30pm the next day.

We were utterly disappointed by the difference in food availability especially at the live stations. By virtue of a Sunday there were less guests. Station cooks did not bother lighting up the tealight warmers. By 8pm station cooks did not bother replenishing the roast lamb (pictures to prove). Satay was over cooked, sauce cold. Tempura was soggy from the low turn over. Basically, food sitting at live the love stations were pre-cooked; nothing live about it.

However, table service was excellent. Plates were cleared promptly. Kudos to the bus boy Syafiq, who took pride in his job. The maître d' was good (or rather the person who took our reservation and processed our payment). For these two staff I'm leaving the establishment a generous two-star review.

Message to The River Grill, it is easy to do a good job when things are going your way. The test is how you perform when the guest flow is not consistent. Not cool to let leave your guests wanting when they travelled all the way. Shame on you. Do better.

*Adding on - stations were switched off about half an hour before last...

Took a chance on River Grill as there was strong breeze(which doesn't happen often) while we were strolling along the River Walk...and if you dine outdoors you get a good view of the bustling river. There were hits and misses with our food but it still makes a decent meal nevertheless - The Nyonya Laksa broth was alright and it comes with a lot of seafood. Beef Meltique was tenderly good and it was prepared mid-rare on point(had the mash replaced with vege and love the variety of fresh vege). While the Prawn Aglia Olio was garlicky amazing although it could use a little lesser oil. Overall our food were a delight to have and the river view...