The PumpHouse Riverside Restaurant and Bar — Restaurant in Victoria

I rarely leave reviews but I felt like our experience needed to be shared. I just moved to Victoria. Based off reviews this place seemed to be the nicest place in town for dinner, but it was far from fine dining. We made reservations for 7:45pm on a Saturday. They were very busy and we had to wait a little bit, so we got a drink at the bar. They only had one bartender FOR THE ENTIRE restaurant. He was overworked and it was sad to see. Once we were seated it became clear that we weren’t waiting on our table to become available, they just didn’t have the staff to bus dirty tables to get them ready for the next customers. We sat by the river and the majority of tables around us were filled with dirty dishes - and they were never cleaned off. Additionally, they were so backed up they were running out of silverware for customers (probably because it was all still sitting on tables lol). The table next to us got their food dropped off and they had to go hunt down the hostess to request some silverware. Their food probably sat for 10min at least before they got silverware and napkins. Our server was very young and inexperienced, but the servers were also understaffed so you can’t blame a young server trying to manage more tables than he should be. We ordered 2 frozen margaritas and our entrees shortly after sitting down but we never got our drinks. After about 30 min of waiting, I went to the restroom and happened to see 2 frozen margs just waiting on the bar counter. We eventually got our food from a food runner so we waited on our server to ask him about our drinks. By the time our server made it around to us we were done eating and just informed him we never got our drinks and we’d go ahead and take the check (and to make sure the margs weren’t on our tab). Our frozen margs were still on the bar counter as we walked out.

I will say the pecan chicken was very good and the view is pretty. However, the very poor service due to the entire place being understaffed takes away from the experience. If you can’t hire enough staff to serve a large restaurant, don’t seat more tables than you can handle. Quality is far better than quantity. The building is so pretty and they have the setup for what could be an incredible restaurant. In Houston we’d easily spend hundreds of dollars on a dinner for two with that kind of atmosphere. But with poor management, I don’t even want to pay Victoria prices for an experience like that. I just moved to Victoria and I’m very sad this is what they consider to be the best place for a nice dinner.

In summary, go spend your money elsewhere. Go to the park if you’re wanting...

We have given this restaurant 3 chances, all experiences were underwhelming. Food is not good at all. If it isn't overly greasy it is bland. The first time we dined here I ordered the cajun meatloaf and it was so greasy it left a coating in my mouth. The second time we came in my husband and I ordered the steak salad and beef short ribs over pasta. The steak on the salad was so tough and undercooked, and the beef short ribs were anything but. They were more like beef pot roast over noodles with the juice poured over as a "sauce" and the beef was so fatty. It was disgusting. The third time we decided to try brunch. This was by far the WORST experience so far. We were seated quickly and it seemed promising. We were seated outside and it was so nice, the live music made it very relaxing. Then it turned, quick. Our service was slow, the waiter seemed to be extremely overwhelmed. We expected a long wait for food, we didnt expect to be told 45 minutes after our appetizer was ordered that what we ordered was all sold out. So we ordered chips and queso which arrived quickly. The queso was more like a gravy though with absolutely no flavor. We then got our food 20 minutes later and as soon as it was put down in front of us we were swarmed with bees!! When we asked to be seated inside they said that would be be possible. My friend that ordered the chicken and waffle had to order something completely different because her food was covered with the bees, and our other plates were all wrong. We were missing an egg, another plate was supposed to have scrambled eggs and they were runny eggs, and the other order was supposed to have a side of biscuits and gravy for an upcharge but had toast instead. On top of all of that our food was cold, our drinks were all super slow, and the busters and servers all seemed to have attitudes. I felt bad for our server because he really was trying but was just too overworked. There needs to be busters outdoors refilling drinks and checking on tables so the servers can focus on orders and making sure customers are happy. Secondly the bees have to be taken care of. You dont need to kill them, but you can have a beekeeper remove the hive and transport it elsewhere. We weren't the only table swarmed by bees, there was at least one other while we were there. Needless to say after those three terrible experiences we wont be back. Terrible food,...

04/06/2024 Lunch. We got there right when they opened at 11:00 am. And by 11:15, there were a half dozen tables of customers with more coming in. What a beautiful restaurant! The menu was great, and the ambiance was better than the photos would indicate.

My wife ordered the Slice Berg Wedge Salad (iceberg lettuce, ranch dressing, tomatoes, bacon, tabasco roasted pecans, pears, and bleu cheese crumbles). I had the Beef Salad (grilled flank steak served medium rare over spring greens, with bleu cheese crumbles, charred grapes, and tabasco marinated onion strings with choice of dressing).

We started the meal with an appetizer, the Braised Beef Empanadas (crispy pastry dough stuffed with slow braised short ribs and Manchego cheese. Served with Blackberry gastrique).

Everything I just described was fantastic! Except for the beef in my salad. The meat in my first salad was cooked well done, and my wife mentioned that it was supposed to be medium rare. So they took it back and replaced the meat. I wasn't in the restaurant bc I had to go to our truck to cool it down for our dog that was in the back seat. Even so, the replacement version was excellent. Then my wife noticed they forgot the sliced pear and blue cheese crumbles and mentioned it to me.

I had just come back to our table when they brought the replaced salad, and I asked to speak to the manager. It was now almost 12:30, and it took an hour and a half to get my salad. My wife was finished eating by now. I asked the manager to discount my wife's meal bc they omitted some of the best ingredients. And I told her how long we waited for our food.

Truth be told, she was awesome! She gave us both a 50% discount and apologized for the errors. A nice gesture that went a long way to correcting the situation. So how do you rate this meal? Great food, terrible experience, and a huge gesture that helped so much. I can't do 5 stars bc of the terrible time management, but the food was crazy good. So I'll say "very good" (4 stars) to at least account for the chef's mistakes.

Take a minute to check out the pictures.

Excellent: Uniquely satisfying. A special place. Very Good: Better than expected. Avg: An everyday experience. Just OK. Fair: Below par. Dirty,...