The Waterside — Restaurant in London

Three stars because you can't really go wrong with a waterfront pub - here, you've certainly got the views, location and tranquillity which make you forget you're in the middle of London. However, this was one of my first trips back to a pub after the easing of lockdown restrictions and it was not the most pleasant experience. We'd booked well in advanced (2 months) for my mate's birthday, to secure a "nice" table in the rush of bookings after lockdown. There were only three of us, so we weren't expecting a banquet table, but we were allocated to a small metal table and chairs, shoved up against the building, unprotected by the large umbrellas and adjoining heaters. We watched on jealously and drooled over the much nicer, more comfy tables with plush armchairs and sofas, that were being enjoyed by much warmer customers, benefiting from the outdoor heaters (on what was quite a windy chilly day - although, I'd never drop stars for something that's out of the establishment's control, such as weather.) We enjoyed our first few drinks, watching as tables of two, three, four and more enjoyed the more premium drinking spots. After an hour or so, we were getting a bit too chilly, and we'd seen a number of different groups come and go on a number of different (apparently booked) tables. Don't get me wrong, I'm not heartless, I can fully sympathise with a fully booked schedule, queues of people and the general shock of having customers back after nearly two years not working, which understandably took some getting use to for servers, waiters and bar staff - fair enough! However, as I say, we sat drinking for an hour or so, at which point we politely requested if we could be moved onto a vacant table where we would be a bit warmer/comfier. This is when things started getting a bit "unpleasant". We were first fed the spiel about a fully booked schedule etc (again, which we could understand). However, we couldn't understand why we couldn't be given one of the booked tables of two or three, and when they arrived, they'd be put on our not so nice table (especially if they were only booked in to drink). Particularly as we'd "put up with it" for long enough already, and we were paying customers (maybe on our 4th or 5th round at this point). That's when we were told those who'd booked it had done so long in advance, I personally challenged this, stating they couldn't possibly have done so before we did two months ago (but I didn't argue the point adamantly, it was mentioned, and we went back to seating at our sorry table). We then tried to ask again about half an hour later, as more and more of the nicer tables became vacant, again to be told "they're booked in thirty minutes" - again, us not understanding why guests couldn't be moved around. On this note, I'd understand if it was a large restaurant with hundreds of covers and it was difficult to do so, but as large as this pub is, it was outside seating of about 50 covers, not the most complicated reshuffle. We got really annoyed when we then asked again and someone told us "those tables are only for groups of 2, 4, or 6" - at this point, we'd sat long enough to see groups of three (like us) squeeze onto a two, as well as a groups of three who sat at a tables of four on multiple occasions. When one of the servers said this to me, the closest table to where we were having the conversation at the time was a table of two, with three people on it... As she was saying it, and I looked over to the table in question (that was contradicting the point she was in the middle of making), she rather sheepishly looked back at me and suddenly had to "run to get some drinks" in favour of addressing the issue, owning up to her mistake, or seeing to a customer's needs. On a positive note, food was decent! This experience won't prevent me from going back to Waterside, but let's just say I'll be returning more for the location and nice pub setting (and convenience) rather than the customer service and overall experience - definitely room for improvement here (especially at those prices for a...

I’d been looking forward to checking in at The Waterside after viewing it from the train crossing the river. I’m sorry to say the experience was a huge disappointment, mainly due to the poor quality of the food we were served. The calamari starter was average although the pieces of calamari were tiny compared to what you would come to expect in other establishments. Ho hum. On to the mains and I had ordered the steak. The menu states 8oz but what arrived was very small. It felt like there was something missing from the plate. The steak was nicely cooked to medium rare and the béarnaise sauce was tasty although it had a skin over the top and had been sitting around by the look if it. I asked for fries instead of the chunky chips as listed on the menu. Apart from a few 'normal' sized fries on the top of the bowl, the rest were tiny little 1cm pieces, like the broken leftover bits from the bottom of a bag of frozen fries. Not good. The so-called 'tenderstem broccoli' was definitely on the hard and crunchy side rather than tender. My wife ordered the Waldorf salad. Hmmnn. The main ingredients for a Waldorf salad are: apples, celery, walnuts, grapes and leaves in a mayonnaise dressing. I think most people would expect to find these in a Waldorf Salad if they ordered it. If you're not going to get the basics right, please don't call it a Waldorf because this wasn't. This salad was a 'mains' and not a side dish so what arrived at the table was a big let-down. There was no sign of any celery and no mayonnaise dressing for a start. There were walnuts and grapes but this just looked like someone had opened a packet of walnut halves and chucked them in with a handful of grapes. On the menu it said 'toasted' walnuts, which they weren't. It would have been nice if the chef had at least halved the grapes and chopped the walnuts but hey-ho, why bother? The menu also stated 'chicory leaves' but no sign of any of those either. Aside from the food, the whole time we were there we had to listen to a couple of children who insisted on screaming every two minutes, whilst another toddler in a high chair kept throwing cutlery and his plate on the floor. Ok, not the establishment's fault but it added to the feeling that we wished we had gone somewhere else. On the plus side the staff were friendly and helpful which was appreciated. However, the manager didn't seem that interested when I complained before we left. Having spent £120 on two mains, a starter and a few drinks we left very disappointed and doubt if we'll be returning...

We used to thoroughly enjoy this restaurant, not only for the pleasant decor and location, but also the sunday roasts.

I took my son there today expecting the same experience (minus the roast as it was Saturday) but was supremely disappointed.

Firstly, the fake floor manager (pony tail) didn’t not even take the second to look up and greet or welcome us with any decency. He was too busy, sitting down at a table right in front of us, fumbling with a first aid kit. He left it upon his 1st day employee to eventually step in, who then insisted we would could be served at the bar.

So, I took a seat and walked over to the bar frustrated at this point. The bartender, insisted someone would help us, to which I countered with his colleagues instructions.

I insisted on taking menus back to my table and finally our “waiter” arrived. Poor guy, also 1st day I think and really didn’t understand a word I was trying to say.

When I saw my son’s food under the heat lamp for nearly 10 mins, I decided to intervene. The bartender was walking by and I explained I have a young 4 year old hungry and it appears as though everyone is standing around doing nothing. He argued back and disagreed in a an angry tone.

We won’t be supporting this place going forward as blundering employees severely unsupported by fake and arrogant management.

100% do not recommend Maybe under new...