The Otter Reviews Summary

Food Quality

Pros:

• "The meal I had from the festive menu was delicious."
• "The food was all really good and we all had clean plates."
• "Food was faultless. Lots of nice flavour and cooked well."
• "With both, the meat practically melted in our mouths."
• "The food was excellent, not overcooked, well presented."
• "The food is extremely good and well priced."
• "Both meals that were ordered tasted absolutely delicious."

Cons:

• "Three meals were excellent, but one was not very nice (unfortunately). Beef rib dish was very fatty and did not come with much potato."
• "The food however was somewhat underwhelming and over priced for what it was."
• "The kids pasta was over cooked and served in such a watery sauce that it looked like minestrone."
• "The food wasn't anything special, dry meat, over priced sides."
• "The meal was very average and very expensive for what it was."
• "The food was over cooked in all cases, the sharers platters for starters had really small portions."
• "The only problem was the food, I had to send the roasties back as neither of us could actually cut into them, they were hard as stones."

Service

Pros:

• "The service was great, the staff were efficient, friendly and helpful."
• "Mel’s knowledge of the menu and ability to present the menu, specials etc was fantastic."
• "Great service, staff were very attentive without being overbearing."
• "The atmosphere was great and the staff at The Otter were responsive, helpful and lovely."
• "Service was atentative yet very relaxed and friendly."
• "Service was ace."
• "Great customer service."

Cons:

• "Back to the service again. Once we had got someone's attention to have the fat brick replaced with some meat we finished our meal and was left sat around with plates in front us."
• "Meet and greet was non existent, despite being passed by several staff no acknowledgement took place for several minutes."
• "The service here is not good. It wasn't really busy in there at all."
• "Service felt very rushed and not very helpful."
• "However, they need to warm the plates. The food was a bit tepid and needs to be piping hot."
• "Unfortunately our main feedback is we were very rushed."
• "The service was slow and the zero g and t was so watered down it didn't taste like any g and t we'd ever had, awful."

Ambience and Location

Pros:

• "Setting looks great, the river and the fields are stunning."
• "Lovely location and ambience."
• "It’s riverside but also roadside so grab a table in the middle interior if you want quieter, sheltered experience."
• "Upon pulling into the carpark, I was immediately impressed by the beautiful exterior of the building as well as its stunning location (right on the riverside)."
• "Attractive refurbishment, the Otter looks very smart and welcoming with plenty of separate dining areas inside and outside alongside the river Soar."
• "It's in a beautiful setting by the water, very relaxing watching the birds."
• "Lovely location - right by river."

Cons:

• "It was a dark and dingy pub but also the food had gone downhill."
• "One major negative for us is how bright it is now! The charm of the place was the atmosphere of cosy firelight and candles, now replaced with spotlights."
• "Car park was a dead end which made it impossible to park in the dead end spaces."
• "Parking was awful. Spaces are too narrow and people were parked randomly where there were not spaces."
• "The only negative was the amount of spider webs and insects on the lamps on the terraces which look as though they had not been cleaned for weeks."
• "Atmosphere was odd and lighting was flickering giving it an old fashioned vibe."
• "Only one waitress on even though the place was packed."

Value for Money

Pros:

• "I think the bill came to £51 (incredible for 2x pints, 2x main meals, 2x desserts and 2x hot drinks!)."
• "Great value for money here!! Very good service from the moment we arrived and the food was very high quality for the money."
• "Although slightly higher priced than some places, this was worth it."
• "It was quite expensive but good for a special occasion. Food quality good so it was value for money."

Cons:

• "This restaurant is so expensive!!! £21.50 for a main course and £7.50 for a starter!"
• "As a meal for two priced at £40 we expected better."
• "Definitely a good £5 more expensive for the same thing else where (think the crisps are on the expensive end)."
• "It is expensive for what you get food wise but the food is good quality."
• "The forestiere chicken was tiny for a main and considering the price you really do expect more."
• "After spending over 150 pounds I would expect something better then Witherspoon's but you didn't make even that mark apart from the setting."
• "Overall not worth the money and a poor choice for my wife's local birthday meal."