Stein's Richmond — Restaurant in London

The food is still good, which is great. However, this is no longer a friendly and welcoming family restaurant. My advice to management: go back to the no-bookings system, and stop requiring customers to place orders via a website that forces you to register.

My first complaint refers to the fact we waited more than 1h to get inside today (26/06/2021). However, there were empty reserved tables while we waited. We could have eaten three times using one of those tables while waiting. I don't think the reservation system is making you more money on this basis.

My second complaint refers to the fact you are directing your customers to order through a website that requires registration. I come to your venue because I want to enjoy your food, and because I want to disconnect from technology and enjoy the river view. I do not want to deal with [QUOTE]Your password must be at least 8 characters long and must contain letters, numbers, special characters and one capital letter. Cannot contain whitespace.[/QUOTE] in order to eat. Sure, I complained, and then I was able to order from the good old-fashioned printed menu via a human being, but the mood of the evening was spoilt by that point.

I can understand on-line ordering because of the pandemic... but at least use a system that doesn't require me to register (like other restaurants do). You are not allowed to waste my time with that. It's bewildering that you expect people to just get along with it in order to get food. Not to mention your system also asks for gender and date of birth. Ridiculous.

And by the way, given that the pandemic is pretty much over and there was no social distancing whatsoever (there was a group of 30+ visitors celebrating something across 3 tables) just discontinue the online ordering system altogether. Have a friendly human take the orders again. Allow questions, welcome a chat, etc.

And for the final piece of nonsense, they make mains that come with some (amazing) potato salad. However, the potato salad can no longer be ordered as a separate/extra side. Why? You are clearly still making it! Why would you literally refuse to sell me something that you make? Sigh. The answer was "We have shortened the menu and removed some side dishes". Awesome management.

The only person that showed empathy to us and came to check on us was the security guard. Thank you, you are a great...

Stein's is a lovely little spot by the river where you can get some delicious German cuisine and sample the German hospitality. Unfortunately, the service and experience can fluctuate heavily depending on how busy it is or the weather at the time.

When first seeing Stein's as I walked along the river, I was surprised at how quaint it all looked. Merely a shed accompanied with some benches, there is more to Stein's than meets the eye.

Pick your own seat (you can either find your own secluded area or join someone else's party and be sociable), and flick through the delectable menu to try and decide what to go for. When you're ready, just go to the aforementioned shed to order your food and pay - and help yourselves to cutlery and condiments. I loved how relaxed the atmosphere was, and how easy the process felt.

Now, it is called Stein's for a reason and it does not disappoint on that front. Order Paulauner (or refreshing Radler) by the Steinful - great on a sunny day by the river! And the food is as tasty as it is filling. On our most recent visit, we braved the Die Große Bratwurst-Sause (The Giant Sausage Feast) and enjoyed every bite. The sausages were plump and juicy, the potatoes were crispy and of course, the Radler helped it all go down.

We will definitely be heading back, but only once the weather warms up. Make sure you phone beforehand if you're planning to head out on a rainy day - they're prone to closing without notice - but it will be...

Perhaps the idea of a Bavarian food experience in England is a bad idea in the first place.

Where to begin. There is no Eisbein or Haxen on the menu, rather limited to wurst und schnitzel. That is like having an English food experience in Bavaria that serves bangers and mash only.

Then the manager-waiters utters "Eisbein is disgusting!" and walks away when asked whether or not it is available to order. This is unprofessional on so many levels.

Then the beer selection is limited to Erdinger and a second German beer.

The food itself (limited choice) was served quick and food quality was not bad - which was about the only positive but a positive at least. At almost £30.00 a plate of food, the portions could be bigger.

The "comprehensive" menu is via a qr code, but is quirky and the Wi-Fi and GSM is very poor, luckily a waiter assisted with a manual order. The waiter however did not understand the difference between Weiner and pork schnitzel on their menu.

The price tag is ridiculously high, and combined with all the other negative elements I don't see why this establishment is in existence, other than to perhaps give German food and Bavaria experience a bad name and misconception.

This is definitely far from a Bavarian experience.

A solid 2 out of 5.

Avoid and find...