The Alverbank — Restaurant in Gosport

We booked the private room for a special occasion meal and were very disappointed.

FOOD 1/5 The food was delivered tepid at best with many of our numbers saying their food was cold. The chicken and burgers were dry, chips were cold and under seasoned, pork belly was so chewy that the crackling was inedible. Overall I don't think a single person was happy with their main course and we had a spread of 6 or 7 items across the menu.

SERVICE 1/5 The girls serving us were very polite but not very attentive. It took over an hour to receive our starters and almost 2.5 hours before our mains were brought out. By the time our puddings were supposed to arrive we were all so tired and ready to leave we asked for them to just be boxed up (which also took almost 30 minutes).

One of our number waited almost 10 minutes for their meal after everyone else had been served. By the time their food arrived, everyone had almost finished. This felt totally unnecessary as we had pre-ordered all of our meals so one would think timing cooking of meals would have been made easier as they knew what to expect.

We were constantly having to ask for water jugs to be filled up as only 2 jugs were left on a table seating almost 20 of us and the servers only offered to take further drink orders after delivery our starters. There was no apology for the delay to our food and it generally felt like we had been forgotten about. I would understand if the restaurant had been very busy and the servers were having to split their time, but it appeared there was no one else in the restaurant so I am unsure why the service was so slow and un-attentive.

ATMOSPHERE 3/5 The hotel and surroundings are well decorated. The private dining room was ok but nothing to write home about. The lighting felt slightly like being in an interrogation room as it was quite bright and right at eye level. One of the bulbs was flashing all evening which was slightly off-putting.

VALUE FOR MONEY 1/5 As previously mentioned the quality of the meals was very poor. The pricing was expensive considering how long we waited and how disappointed we were once our food arrived.

OVERALL I would not return here for a meal and would not recommend you use the private dining room here as the food quality was poor, it was expensive and the service was slow. I would be dubious about booking any kind of catered event here as they appear to struggle to swerve a seated...

The Alverbank were kind enough to host our wedding last month and I cannot recommend them highly enough. From our very first meeting, Claire and the team were incredibly helpful, accommodating, and friendly, and took so much stress away from planning our day. They could not have done any more for us, exceeding our expectations in every single way possible. The chef at the Alverbank (Jack) is incredible - his food is honestly the best around and we have eaten here so many times now it's honestly my favourite place to go. To have him cater our wedding was a privilege and it was the most memorable and exquisite meal - Jack made suggestions and amendments to our choices which levelled them up to such a top tier choice, and it was perfect. The Alverbank went to great lengths to make our day perfect - even setting up the tables and function room completely for us and so much better than we could ever have done! It was such a surprise to be able to walk into our wedding reception and see such a beautiful set up and made it so special for us both. Not only the wedding, planning, meals, and hospitality, the accommodation at the venue is simply amazing. The honeymoon suite is most probably the nicest rooms I have ever stayed in, and that includes our 5-star hotel for honeymoon itself in Devon. It is stunning. The views are incredible, yet it feels private, luxurious, and comfortable. I could have stayed there for weeks!!

Our wedding was absolutely MADE by the team at the Alverbank. From the meal the night before, the breakfast the morning after, and the extra touches they made on the day (I noticed the tea lights and added chalk signs, the gift table, and how you coordinated the day so effortlessly, even though you did nothing to boast about these elements) - we are eternally grateful. The venue and team will hold a special place in our hearts forever more. Thank you...

We married here on 29/02/2024, and we honestly had the most amazingly perfect day. We had a relatively short engagement (6 months!) and Claire and the team were superb throughout the entire process. Living in Gosport, we wanted to keep our wedding local and we are so lucky to have The Alverbank on our doorstop. After we visited for dinner, we knew that we wanted to get married here as the service we received was excellent. When we met Claire, the wedding coordinator, it was the icing on the cake. Claire made everything so straightforward for us, and our 6 months of planning felt so easy. We held our wedding ceremony here and evening reception which is helpful as we wanted everything in one venue. There is so much space for guests between the events when they are turning the rooms around. Even though it rained all day and we couldn't make use of the gardens, it didn't matter as the venue still has so much space. On the day itself, the staff were fantastic, and all of our guests have echoed our thoughts and feelings. The food service was perfect, and nobody waited to be served for drinks throughout the night considering we had 100+ people in the evening. The food was incredible. The food tasting experience was a pleasure in itself and on the day the chef and the team outdid themselves with the quality when cooking for the masses. I think my review explains just how happy we are with how our wedding day went - I could obviously continue! If you are considering this as a wedding venue, or a party venue for any occasion, i urge you to visit to see what a hidden gem this place is! :) Added bonus is that it is dog friendly, so our pooch could be with us on our special day! thank you to everybody at...