Riverside Tea Rooms Reviews Summary

Service

Pros:

• "Staff absolutely wonderful food cooked to perfection."
• "Staff were welcoming and friendly."
• "Excellent Service, beautiful coffee in lovely surroundings."
• "The service was A1+ (very polite young man) the food was great, and all the staff we spoke to where very warm and friendly."
• "Absolutely the loveliest staff I’ve ever met! Polite, thoughtful and super helpful!"
• "As with every visit I've made, the service was warm & welcoming."
• "The staff were all lovely and chatty it made the whole experience great."

Cons:

• "The staff are slow and useless."
• "Waited for our orders for almost an hour, although it wasn't that busy."
• "Didn’t give us a bill that showed we were being charged service so we ended up paying £6 service for shocking service and terrible communication."
• "Booked for special afternoon tea for our friends 50th anniversary, arrived at booked time, only to be told 40 minutes wait, even though it was pre booked, 55 minutes later our food arrived bearing in mind nothing needed cooking this was terrible service."
• "Service is catastrophic."
• "Two staff chatting there and generally faffing about, I kept looking their way but ignored me totally."
• "Waiting staff need to learn etiquette of clearing table once one has completely finished."

Location & Scenery

Pros:

• "Lovely location on the river and excellent mountain bikes for hire."
• "View stunning from where we were seated on riverside."
• "The location is beautiful. You couldn't ask for a nicer view and the building/garden itself is lovely."
• "The location is absolutely stunning with views of the river, bridge, and south downs."
• "A stunning view of the downs and well worth going too."
• "The scenery is beautiful."
• "These tea rooms overlook one of the most picturesque settings in the area."

Cons:

• "We paddle boarded to the tea rooms on recommendations on the internet and were bitterly disappointed to not be allowed to moor up."
• "However the location is pleasant but the parking is very sparse."
• "Hard to park at the venue (you can drop your kids and partner and then drive the other side of the road to park more easily)."
• "A welcome refuge along a very dangerous and unpleasant place to walk."
• "To keep wasps away (only saw 2) they place a pot of old soldering coffee grinds. Absolutely disgusting."
• "What can be beaten are the swarms of wasps that suddenly appear the moment your drinks/food arrives at the table."
• "After closing on Sunday, we strolled through the car park to take in the view and get some information about opening times. We were immediately challenged by a staff member from inside the building shouting, 'We're closed! Did you not see the cones?'"

Food Quality

Pros:

• "We had a lovely full English...great quality and well prepared and served."
• "Between us tried the rhubarb scone, the fruit & the gluten free. All absolutely excellent."
• "The 'fully loaded' hot chocolate is always worth considering."
• "The food at the tearooms was exceptional."
• "Portion sizes are very generous!"
• "The food, all locally sourced is fantastic."
• "We all had fish and chips which was delicious and freshly cooked."

Cons:

• "For a midday lunch the food wasn't that fresh and one of the dishes had a spider leg in it!"
• "Tea and a piece of millionaire shortbread. It was disgusting..greasy and couldn't get the layer of chocolate any thinner."
• "Cooked food is not served after 3pm, whilst nice, I think it was overpriced for what it was."
• "Ciabatta was dry."
• "I ordered the beetroot ciabatta and it was not good."
• "Caramel salt cake was just awful, dry & heavy."
• "The food is overpriced and substandard."

Value for Money

Pros:

• "This has always been one of our favourite cafes, and well worth the journey."
• "The sandwiches were great and the cakes were delicious at a reasonable price."
• "The food was lovely and the service we received from Sam was fantastic."

Cons:

• "The boat hire was extortionate also. £48 per hour."
• "I would normally expect to pay £5 max for a sandwich of that quality but it was £12.50!"
• "The menu items are very expensive."
• "Over £30 for two drinks, one breakfast and one sandwich, which I thought was a tad pricey."
• "Way too expensive and small portions."
• "Overpriced and won’t ever return."
• "Feels like a roadside cafe trying to be a pricey modern restaurant but decor food and service not up to the prices imo."