Riverside Inn — Restaurant in England

My first visit to The Riverside Inn and I live locally, so can walk to the venue. Family of 4 with 2 children and our dog. Had reserved a table prior, but took a while to be seated. Not sure why as there was lots of space, it was as if we weren’t expected. Orders for food and drinks were taken fairly quickly. We had to compromise on our main choice as there wasn’t any prawns available for the Surf and Turf, we accepted the compromised replacement element. The bottle of Prosecco that arrived wasn’t what we ordered and it was already open. The usual etiquette is to show a customer the bottle and open at the table. The starters (for 3) took a long time and even the kids commented on the slow service. The main course also arrived late and some hour after we were seated. The food was ok and we ordered another bottle of Prosecco, specifically asking for a certain type. Once again, the wrong type arrived. The staff seemed non-existent to ask for help, ask for the desert menu, get the bill. I’m not sure if they were short staffed or they just aren’t trained/aware to watch the service and to actively attend to guests. Nobody asked us if we were finished and I went to the main till area to pay. I asked why we had been given the wrong drinks twice and no real explanation was offered. The drinks were removed from the bill, I then added the equivalent of half of that value back to the bill. No real apology offered, just a private discussion between the staff who didn’t really treat me with any courtesy, acknowledge the issue or answer my question.

Overall, I was disappointed as I had been looking forward to this meal. The food was ok however, the staff need to actively attend to their guests, speak to guests with courtesy, be present in the room and get the order correct. There didn’t appear to be a manager/ supervisor to lead the staff. Attention to details matter and good service counts, the Riverside Inn lacks the basic etiquette. Won’t be...

It was the worse group meal we have attended, I booked in October for 14 people, it was not an easy experience as I had to pay online, which isn't easy with everyone giving you £10 in cash deposit I went into the Riverside to pay and they refused to take the cash, I had to then drive to Northwich to pay the cash into my account before I could pay! I then payed the remainder before the even.. It was a Christmas Meal but was told there would be no Crackers on the table so I had to buy extra myself! On the day we arrived at 1.30 when it was booked for by 2.30 we still had not had our starter! When they arrived it was lovely, we then waited until 3.25 for the main course, when it came it was not hot, many of us had a very small amount of Turkey, the cauliflower cheese and, all the veg was raw, it was all left in the dish! And we had payed extra for it. Some of the ladies had to leave before dessert because they had commitments, so they asked for them to be wrapped it took nearly half an hour to get that done, by the time the rest of us had our puddings we were not leaving until 5pm... Crazy the service was appalling, it was quiet not even busy, we did complain during the meal at the length of time and was told it was because of allergies. But I had written the allergies for one lady on the order so they had known since October! The other lady just had an allergy to garlic, it shouldn't have taken that length of time to sort that out!! The waitress were sitting playing on their phones while waiting to serve us, not interested at all... It was not a cheap Christmas meal, and we are a pain group and had saved and paid weekly for this meal and I was discussed, it was not Christmasy at all.. We will not be coming there again and we won't be recommending...

The Riverside Inn is in a great location, and has a welcoming, modern décor which invites you to spend an hour with a pint at the bar, or spend a couple of hours having a Sunday roast dinner, or anything in between. On our visit, late afternoon on a Friday, there weren't many customers, and we were greeted and seated quickly in a dog friendly space, which was part of the reason we'd chosen to visit. Dogs are catered for very well, with water bowls and treats in a jar available for you to help yourself. They also offer a full canine menu, with options including a roast chicken dinner for approximately £10. The range of choices on our menu was good, with a solid selection of those from the main menu as part of the lunchtime and early evening deal. Also available were sandwiches for around £9.50 each, and so we chose those as we felt best value for money and also for the time of day, a lighter bite would be preferred. 2 of us had chicken BLT, and another had a posh fish fingers sandwich. All were very good quality, piping hot, and tasty. We all commented on how much we'd enjoyed them. We then decided on some desserts, a chocolate brownie and a lemon tart. Unfortunately these were a little underwhelming, and slightly let down the food score. There was very little lemon flavour in the tart, and the brownie was not a slice of brownie, more of square of cake. The prices for the desserts didn't seem to be qualified in their quality, unfortunately. Overall, the service was friendly, but was quite slow. Between finishing the meals and asking for dessert menus felt a significant time, and then between placing the dessert order and them arriving at the table seemed to take even longer. However, generally a positive experience, and I will be visiting...