please note - reviews on this site are purely the opinion of site visitors, so don't take them too seriously.
Oh dear. just un....... unwelcoming, unhygienic, unprofessional, underwhelming, unmanaged, underutilised (we are crying out for a decent boozer in Tucton), unsavoury and unsightly (the bogs!), finally, uniquely ungood.
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Can only say I have to agree with the last reviewer.
Given the potential of such a fantastic riverside setting, what a real shame. The place is a damn mess, and it has filtered this 'feel' into a lot (not all) of the staff.
At the bar it seems you need to be a local, or personally known to whoever deems to notice you. All in all quite an odd place!
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This place needs a complete re-vamp,that includes the Management ??.
It,s filthy the toilets are even worse.If you are thinking of dining check the Loo,s first,ONLY GOOD THING DRINK,S are sensible prices
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I love Harvesters - but not this one. Salad Cart food warm and tainted strong tasting potatoes and coleslaw.
Missus very disappointed. Chicken meal and veg were cooked to within an inch of their life. Chicken cooked so much was bone dry and fell off bone, corn and chips soggy/luke warm. Chose a busy time, staff didn't seem happy - will not return - just stick to my favourite Harvester where consistent service and food standards prevail. I thought that was consistent across the chain !! wrong......
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Having read the bad reports about this pub and seeing that the last review was in April 08 I thought i'd write an updated version. I've used this pub on many occasions over the last year and have found the food to be very good on every occasion, the service also very good. The bar has sometimes been slow but only when busy so its to be expected, well done all concerned.
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What a pity this establishment seems to be going down-hill so soon after the refurb. The Bar area is already looking grubby and unkempt. Popped in for Lunch - the Salad cart is always good, and opted for the spit-roast chicken with the salad cart to eat in the virtually empty bar. Only one member of staff on the bar, and even though it was not busy, we still had to wait for a while to be served. After checking, we were informed that there were no chickens and this on a Saturday before the start of a possibly busy weekend! So we left. For somewhere with such a prime site and wonderful outside seating area overlooking the river, it's a shame. Notice on the bar recruiting for staff - not surprised.
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went there last night and had the worst meal I can recall! (1) Specklen Hen served at near freezing (it ain't lager!), (2) starter taken away before we'd finished, (3) lamb steak was dry, tough and inedible, (4) tea and coffee served one cup short and then the cup provided was dirty. Shocking. Table staff were pleasant though, although the 'supervisor' was miserable and smelt of stale fags when she can to see what was wrong with my meal (and then pointlessly prodded the lamb steak as if to try to disprove my theory)...
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Utter bollocks - the bar is a no go area for the management - dusty display of four empty spirit bottles - two Canadian Club and two Vodka. Staff congregating at the end of the bar. AVOID
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We went to the post-refurb Riverside for the first time this weekend,also our first trip to a Harvester.The food was standard conveyor belt fare,reasonably priced but alarmingly salty.
Sadly the old bar which was welcoming,albeit in a grubby,slighty rundown way,has been downsized and replaced by something which has all the bland sterility of an airport hotel bar.
I had never drunk super-chilled Old Speckled Hen before,interestingly when it is served within a few degrees of freezing it tastes of absolutely nothing.
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I have no idea why there are such a number of complaints - perhaps it's easier to come onto a site like this and have a good whinge rather than actually speak to the people responsible at the time?
At all times there is at least one manager working in the pub and, in my experience, they are all perfectly approachable and will deal with whatever problem you may have instantly - it is, afterall, their job to ensure that you have a pleasant experience, especially as it's their job to ensure your returned custom.
I drink in the pub regularly and, despite a couple of delivery issues (which are brewery related and not the fault of the current managers), I find the beer, service and atmosphere of the Riverside Inn to be everything that I would expect and hope from a local pub. Which, when you think about it, is quite a compliment for a pub that is attached to a large chain.
Highly recommended.
Lipsy - 14 Sep 2007 00:13 |
Awful. Great location, which means I will always go back. But as other users say, somehow you always seem to queue for ages, even if there is no one else at the bar. And the place feels very grotty.
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Went here for dinner the other day.What a terrible meal and service.My wife ordered a sirloin steak and I had a burger.How can you get this so badly wrong?The steak was burnt to a crisp(supposed to be medium rare.)chips re-fried, peas yellow and mushrooms black!!The burger wasnt even cooked in the middle and the bun hard.Its not as though the place was particuarly busy.I sent the meals back and all I could hear was the chef swearing loudly.About 25 mins later the food returned still not cooked properly.The steak was near enough raw and the burger burnt.I'd given up by this point.I spoke to the waitress and all she replied was 'bad management'.Not really what I wanted to hear.I asked for so-called manager but was told he'd had to nip out!!!
I'd decided this place was an absolute joke.needless to say I wont be returning and will be writing to head office.
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what a travesty, the new managers have absolutely ruined a brilliant pub. They do not care about their staff, and consistently do not rota anywhere near enough to handle the work load. well if the desperate levels of staff and customer retention are anything to go by soon there wont be any work, any staff or any inn. Sack the so-called 'management'. Yours sincerley, one disgruntled customer
anonymous - 10 Jun 2007 11:14 |
Delightfully crap. If you've got time to kill go and order a pint here, the barstaff are staggeringly bad. With an empty pub they could still make you wait quite a while. Think its probably poor management.
To be fair they did have one excellent barman a few months back, but I think he's left now. Could be a pretty good pub, its got a nice verandah looking over the river.
I sometimes go in just to be amazed.
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I have known the Riverside Inn at Tuckton for many years. I have eaten food in many Brewers Fayre Houses all over the UK. And today for lunch, 20th December 2006, at the Tuckton Riverside Inn, I have eaten the best meal I have ever had at any Brewers Fayre in the country. This was amazingly good quality at an amazingly low price. Real professional management here. Do not listen to those Grumblers.
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m+b note
you need pros to manage a business of this nature.
its currently rubbish im afraid!
the staff,service and quality are totally inadequate.
wont be going back.
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Heineken served in a Carling glass! What's going on?
Cold soup, slow service of coffee and a barman complaining of being bored rather loudly to his colleagues.
A poor show. The young age profile of the serving staff is a disadvantage to the mature clientle.
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we hear its closing soon and reuurbing?
lets hope the manager changes as its not the place to be at the moment.
anonymous - 8 Nov 2006 23:50 |
Having worked at the restaurant for alost two years i can safely say that if anything the Riverside is continually on the increase in terms of service, quality, value for money and about anything else said bearded fellow can complain about. As with any restauant things can sometimes go wrong, but in order to improve the quality of your experience may i suggest firstly not comin in and ordering food 2 minutes before the kitchen closes and secondly showing a little less arrogance and a little more respect for staff, managers and at times other customers. Riverside rules!!!
anonymous - 4 Nov 2006 15:10 |
what has happened to this once great place??
no wonder it is being sold
poor lazy management
real ales frequently not available and food quality has gone beyond a joke.
our family now dine elsewhere.
anonymous - 4 Aug 2006 13:22 |
who runs this place???? called in earlier this evening for a pint or two. ALL the real ales were off!! Even the Carlsberg had run dry. What's the point of a pub with no beer and lousy bar service????
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after 2 years of loyalty to the riverside i no longer go there. the previous management had the place like a well oiled machine and im afraid the only way to describe it now is crap.
no signs of any decent management and the atmosphere has changed for the worst.still i suppose thats what happens when you place a business of that stature in the hands of inexperienced kids!!! shame
anonymous - 13 Jul 2006 19:07 |
Hi, I have been going to the Riverside for three years, twice a week with some friends - there are usually about six of us and we have about three rounds and some food.
Under the previous management the Riverside was superb - ultra friendly staff , well organised and efficient unfortunately three months into the new regime things are slipping - the customer is no longer king - it is a sign that in any business venture you need to manage closely untill your staff are fully trained or a good reputation can be lost.
The beer can be excellent, Ringwood and Wadsworth, but bad planning means that it runs out at odd times and the response is close to "hard luck have some Carlsberg".
The food can be really good and it is beautiful setting; at other times the food is in miserly portions and badly prepared. a lack of consistency.
The point I suppose is that the Riverside has all the attributes needed for an excellent eating/social drinking pub but the new manager needs to be there more often and keep a tighter hold on things.
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Pretty Good Place as a family restaurant... not a drinkers pub.
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The Riverside is an attractive place on the bank of the River Stour. It pulls in the respectable visitors, and they can be families. From there you can view the expensive boats, in their equally expensive moorings. This means, that the customers have money in their pockets. At certain times they get the yuppies and suits in, and there are no boozers - but that is not a bad thing is it? Anyway the ales and service are OK at the Riverside - but the only atmosphere is of boats and money.
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