The Riverside

I don’t normally write reviews but I was so disappointed with a recent belated Christmas work meal which was pre ordered food for 18 of us. (Originally 20) We all arrived by 19:30hrs on Friday January 26th. There were not enough table places laid on our arrival to be seated. That wasn’t a a great start and some of us felt crammned next to each other. Some had a starter which looked very nice but the rest of us who didn’t eventually were served our main meal at 9pm. Clearly it was busy full Resturant and far too much for the kitchen to cope with on the night. I was looking forward a Christmas meal with all the trimmings. What arrived shocked me….on a cold plate too! Two slices of turkey, one small cocktail ‘pig in blanket’ sausage, one ‘smaller than a golf ball sized’ dried stuffing ball. A roast potato cut in half plus only 3 Brussel sprouts as a vegetable and no other vegetables with it. All of us received the same for the Christmas meal portions. It was smothered in gravy with a dollop of cranberry sauce mixed into it which made the gravy very sweet….! Whether we wanted cranberry sauce on our plates or not..! The service was very slow and no one in particular seemed responsible to serve our table. When we did request something it seem to take ages before being served. My other colleagues were also shocked at the small servings on their plates for both their main and desserts dishes too. Most saying they felt hungry and disappointed but ate it anyway as we were so hungry, due to the small portions served. One member they had to eat a sandwich on thier return home! It truly was not worth the cost and I will not be recommending this ‘A’ listers restaurant to anyone. Rudely, It was more like a ‘Z’ lister. I am afraid to say! Frankly public houses service and meals better meals at a fraction of the cost we all paid. On reflection I should have said I wouldn’t pay but didn’t want to spoil the evening get together on a sour note. Hence why I am writing this review now. I would not give this resturant any stars if I could.Therefore I will not be recommending this resturant to anyone. Woodbridge tends to have a good reputation as does the cinema.

I thoroughly enjoyed the Hancock's Half Hour production on Monday, 30th October at The Riverside, Woodbridge. It was the nearest I will ever get to experience the brilliance of the Galton and Simpson original which had the legendary Tony Hancock, supported by Sid James, Kenneth Williams, Bill Kerr and Hattie Jacques in the best episodes. Full credit to the cast for playing extremely well the parts of the aforementioned legends, and all others concerned for an exceptionally entertaining evening.

Such a nice lady now running the ice cream stand at The Riverside who is really friendly and gives great portion sizes. We had stopped going for a while because the guy who was running it last year gave extremely small portions which didn’t justify the above average prices. Definitely worth going now, especially before a nice summers afternoon walk along the river bank!