Five Rivers — Restaurant in Warwick

I am still shaken and appalled by what happened to my family and me at this restaurant during what was meant to be a special celebration for my father’s birthday. We have been loyal patrons for years, choosing this venue time and again for its atmosphere and food for celebratory moments. That history made what happened all the more shocking – it was the worst dining experience of my life, and it has permanently destroyed my trust in this establishment.

From the moment we walked in, the tone was wrong. We were met not with warmth or courtesy, but with a cold, dismissive energy from the staff. After being seated, we asked our waiter – politely and with a smile – if he could recommend something interesting or unique for us to drink. Instead of engaging with us, he stared blankly into the distance, made patronising facial expressions, and acted as if our question was an imposition. This wasn’t a matter of one bad waiter having an off night – throughout, multiple waiters were looking over, whispering, and exchanging mocking expressions. Their behaviour was so overt that it felt targeted, and I could not help but wonder whether it was motivated by prejudice, whether racial, religious, or otherwise.

The situation spiralled into something I never imagined could happen in a supposed fine dining setting. The manager himself approached our table in an aggressive, confrontational manner. He was immediately rude, cutting us off, and speaking over us. Then, to my disbelief, he stepped right into my personal space (I am a female) and moved towards my brother in a way that felt like the beginning of a physical altercation. I was genuinely afraid. I have never in my life had to raise my voice in a restaurant, but in that moment, I felt unsafe and cornered.

Rather than diffusing the situation, the manager escalated it further, shouting at us in front of the entire dining room and ordering us to leave. The humiliation of being treated this way – in public, during my father’s birthday, after years of supporting this restaurant – is something I will never forget. The other diners watched in stunned silence as the so-called manager of a “fine dining” restaurant behaved in a way that would be unprofessional even in a casual café, let alone an establishment that charges premium prices and claims to offer a refined experience. There is nothing “fine” about this restaurant.

This was not a misunderstanding. This was a pattern of hostility from the moment we arrived, culminating in a public scene instigated by the manager himself. It was aggressive, intimidating, and entirely unacceptable. I left shaken, upset, and utterly bewildered by the sheer lack of professionalism, basic courtesy, and human decency. My family were also deeply upset by this.

For anyone considering dining here: be warned. If this is how they treat loyal, polite customers, you can imagine the contempt they have for everyone else. Fine dining is not just about food; it is about respect, hospitality, and creating an environment where guests feel welcome. This place failed on every possible level, and I will never set foot here again.

Ewwwwww don’t ever go here. Leamington and Warwickshire in general have amazing Indian restaurants so go elsewhere because this place is...

TERRIBLE FOOD, NOT FIT TO EAT SO WE WALKED OUT.

We decided to try this place when visiting a cousin who is at Warwick university, big mistake, almost ruined our evening. There were 3 of us in total, all of us often eat Indian food, we have Indian neighbours and friends who often give us proper home cooked food. I also have been trained to cook myself over a long period, so most so called Indian restaurants do not meet my standards, most do not serve remotely authentic food, it's fake rubbish invented in this country for white people. I looked at the restaurant's website, it sounded most promising, diners were to be respected and treated as gods, I quote, "Our chefs have been brought in from India to ensure that the dishes that we serve are of the highest quality and prepared to authentic Indian recipes. Our chefs will be using fresh herbs, spices and ingredients that are free from artificial colouring and flavouring." So what exactly went wrong, in a nutshell, the food was not fit to eat, it really was that horrible, even my poppadum was soft, so I though, bad sign that, what will the assortment of starters be like, I soon found out ! Only 2 of us were dining, so we had the banquet meal, which sounded really good. So after the soft poppadum, we had a tray of assorted starters. Pakoras, like a round onion bhajia, almost tasteless and very oily, no spices or seasoning were detected. Potato tikka, a small round fried lump of mashed potato, no seasoning, no spices and again horribly oily. Chicken tikka, edible but again, no spices, just plain boring grilled chicken. Seekh kebab, well it had some spices but was astonishingly dried out, making it almost impossible to swallow. Punjabi samosa, had nothing to do with the Punjab, I have Punjabi friends, their hiome made samosas are wonderful, thios had the wrong pastry mix, which absorbed the fat when fried,full of oil, stuffed with mash and peas, but no seasoning and no spices at all, The food really was that awful, chefs from India, you're having a laugh, they may be from India, but chefs they are not. PLAIN OLD ENGLISH FOOD AT LEAST CAN HAVE SALT AND PEPPER IN IT, THEIRS HAD NOTHING, JUST EXTRA OIL, YUK ! I suggested we cancel and leave, no point in prolonging the torture. I called the waiter over and explained what was wrong, he did not seem bothered in the least, so I asked to speak to the manager, he was equally ineffective, he gave no explanation, no apology. I then politely said that I wished to cancel the meal and leave as the food was of such poor quality. We got up and left, went for a Turkish kebab, which was very tasty. TO SUM UP, I CAN'T REMEMBER THE LAST TIME I HAD SUCH REVOLTING FOOD If you want a curry in Leamington, then why not try the Curry Night at Wetherspoons, it's not that good, but it isn't revolting either, plus it's cheap and you get a...

Extremely Disrespectful Staff and Unacceptable Treatment - AVOID AT ALL COSTS

We visited this restaurant to celebrate my father's birthday, but the experience was nothing short of appalling. The staff — both the manager and the waiters — were shockingly rude and unprofessional throughout our visit.

From the start, our reasonable requests were ignored, and we noticed the waiters exchanging smirks and giving us funny looks, which made the atmosphere uncomfortable. When we asked a simple questions about a dish (a sheekh kebab we had last year that was different from what was described on the menu), we were lied to. The waiter claimed to check with the manager, but it was clear they hadn’t. When we politely asked whether they still served the same dish or not — just for clarification — the manager took offence for reasons we still don’t understand.

Instead of answering our question calmly, he became aggressive, raised his voice, and began interrogating us about why we hadn’t raised the issue last year. Shockingly, he got in my husband and father's faces, using a confrontational tone, and even squared up to my husband as if trying to start a physical altercation. This was not just rude — it was threatening and completely inappropriate, especially in a family dining setting.

The situation escalated to the point where the manager shouted at us to leave and said they would not serve us — for simply asking about a menu item.

We left feeling embarrassed, shocked, and completely disrespected. This was meant to be a special evening for our family, and instead, we were treated with hostility, dishonesty, and mockery. We will absolutely not be returning and would strongly advise others to think twice...