Riverside Bar & Kitchen in East Cambridgeshire

While it boasts a beautiful riverside location, the mediocre food served is served by untrained, bored staff. As usual, when a restaurant has a good location, the standards tend to drop.

Excellent food and very quick service. Brought water out for our dog without us having to ask. Will definitely be back.

Stopped here for a quick lunch with my mum. We both had a Ciabatta panini with salad and chips. The chips where ok but the salad was drenched in a vinegar dressing and the sandwich was stale. It wasn't busy but somehow the toilets where filthy aswell. Mum had a pot of tea which had one tea bag, it also came with no teaspoon, she couldn't find one herself when she went to look for one. Just not a great experience really. We won't be coming back.

Gear location bar in a lovely town.

Great atmosphere and lovely location, the sun was shining and it was just surreal.

Lovely food, great view of the river, very relaxing

Well cooked breakfast, friendly staff and reasonably priced. Plus coffee still warm when breakfast eaten.

Great place for a Riverside coffee and slice of cake!

food burnt and cooked too much, stafull. too bad and too nervous, cold people

Just stopped in for a drink, Very busy.

Just ate there 10 minutes ago Horrible food We had sea food platter to share as from menu just battered nothing really, we also had loaded chips Chips burnt and soft, cheese was orange and looked out of a tub Won’t go back Lovely pub such a shame

Always nice to stop here. In fact it's a regular destination. The area is one of my favourites to visit on my motorcycle.

After touring Ely, we stopped by for a drink. The view is beautiful, and we had a great time.

Popped in for some dinner. Warm welcome, lots of space. Friendly helpful staff. Food arrived fast,delicious, and taste devine. Clean restaurant will definitely visit again

We decided to stop by here for our lunch, as we have done a few times. The last time we stopped here wasn't really such a great meal but we always think that, "maybe they were having a bad day" and lightning doesn't strike in the same place twice !!. We decided to have the scampi, chips and peas with tartare sauce. It wasn't delicious. Lots of scampi and chips each but as much as the chips were big and chunky they were very overcooked and hard. Usually you can taste the potato in a chip but these were cooked beyond oblivion without a hint of potato. However, the peas were another matter. Last time we had them they were rock-hard, this time they were cold. Have to say though, the price for x2 Scampi, burnt and overcooked chips and cold peas, a coke and a lime 'n' soda was an eye-watering £42.90 !! £17.95 each for the Scampi and Chips and £7.00 for a glass of Lime & Soda and a glass of Coke. If I'm paying high prices, I expect high quality food. Your bar is a great tourist-trap and like many tourists, they will most probably only visit you once and I suppose your prices suit them but we are local and don't appreciate bad food at tourist prices. So, in our opinion, value for money, 0/10. I don't mind paying good money for good food but we have been very disappointed with the food on our last two visits so with other eating places to eat along the river, we will be going somewhere else from now on. ** You will have all heard the phrase "Once bitten twice shy", this is us and we won't be back**

Nice area but let down by mediocre food and not great service. Would come back for a drink but not for a meal.

Has lots of potential due to its location. But the outdoor seating is basically lots of wooden picnic benches mainly. Overpriced mediocre food and the drinks are expensive too. Service is fair when you can get it. The only positive is the river location. In the right hands could be a winner.

Beautiful location, lovely atmosphere

this food is not for animals either,a burnt fish in the oil and burnt potatoes and these in the oil and without any substance or taste,I wonder why the people who sit down and order what this store has are eating this, unacceptable as a human being to accept such food that only does harm, and very expensive for such restaurants 17 pounds,

Great place for nice food and atmosphere. Never had a bad meal here. Happily recommend.

Nice cocktails, slightly over priced but you are by the river i suppose.

Awful. I had plant burger which was revolting even before they poured vinegar over it. The only edible things were the chips. £16.50 for chips!

Good place, good service, reasonable prices

Myself and partner recently visited Riverside as a last minute idea with our 3 children. It wasn’t too busy and plenty of empty tables, we promptly got seated by the open doors and lovely view of the river. It took me a while to decide on a drink as there was limited cider to choose from, food was easy to choose and they went went above & beyond for our autistic daughter, 2 of the kids dishes came out mixed up, you only get 2 chicken tenders on a kids meal, I ordered the chicken burger and the chips were really over cooked, the chicken didn’t fill the bun, filling was limited and plastic cheese!!! For a burger that was £17!!! The glasses came out dirty and the toilets weren’t very clean, so my overall review isn’t very high! Quite disappointed really in a meal that cost over £100!!

Very good food, fabulous salad and great chips

Had lunch Monday 24th, staff polite,friendly, ordered scampi & chips plus mac& cheese with garlic bread, 45min wait, when arrived it all looked good, BUT ,garlic bread & chips so over cooked hard as rocks, Mac cheese gd , scampi peas & tartare gd, Had tap water as prices of drinks !!! Waste of money at total £33, Never again ,sorry RBK,

Just held my dads 90th party here. All i can say is fantastic guys and thankyou. The staff were amazing ,first class so thankyou. The food was absolutly fantastic ,well done and thankyou. Amazing place amazing weather . If your ever in ely then this is the must go to place. Thanks so much to you all.

Beautiful setting outside to sit by the river with a drink. Lots of tables and space. Unfortunately the young staff serving are quite rude. I understand could have been a busy shift but a smile, manners and generally not moaning to customers about how bad your job is would be good.

Ordered coffee and cake with a friend. Coffee came straight away, cake 20 minutes later. Staff were rude when I queried it, with an offhand "the kitchen are busy".

Only had drinks and pudding. Service was slowwww. Puddings delicious.

Good near the waterside pub and restaurant. Can be very popular for families.

A drink was spilled beside me by the waitress. She then returned with paper towel and made us clean her own mess. What sort of circus is this and took 20 mins to get a scone.

However, not at all happy to be seated near THREE dogs for a Sunday carvery meal. Think it’s unhygienic for them to be inside Restaurants. Would a dog free section be available maybe for those of us who are allergic or just uneasy about them being nearby🥴

According to the barmaid, the Campari spritz consists of 25ml Campari, 50ml of Prosecco and half a wine glass of soda 🥴

Axreally nice pub and restaurant to visit, right on the river with plenty of boats and wildlife to see. The staff were all really polite and courteous toward us and nothing was too much, the food was absolutely lovely and arrived very quickly.

Can't wait to return to try the food as it looked delicious.

Friendly and helpful staff, excellent coffee along the canal

Lovely setting and good choice on the menu. Nice friendly staff that were very helpful and welcoming. Gluten free choices available. Carvery looked amazing. Thanks

Is busy at weekends and when events are being staged. Right by the river, a relaxing spot. When we went there they had staffing issues. I'm not sure but I would guess that at busy times you may wait longer for food.

Drinks expensive carvery had finished before 14.00 ordered 3 fish and chips only had 2

Nice meal with serene surrounds

Visited today … with my international guests … horrible service , ordered starters and mains only starters come and no main , waited for food more than an hour to be told that I already had it … explained that we did not … at the end I had to leave without food as my parking was about to expire … in the bill they still added the food so I had to ask to be removed … horrible experience with guest left hungry!

We friends been there for lunch. Everything look nice. Beautiful location at riverside for beautiful view. So we sit out as plenty of tables empty. Try to find out menu list so I can choose our lunch and make sure prices. But there is no prices display which is according to law is wrong. When asked get very disgusting serve from very rude staff. Anyhow ordered drinks have it and moved on. Didn't bothered to have lunch here. Shame it was nice atmosphere but didn't go very well.

The staff were extremely polite and helpful

Lovely place to go for a delicious breakfast by the river. I love their full English compared to other places in the area is certainly the best. Friendly staff and a good number of dishes to choose from. Atmosphere by the river is great! I would only recommend improving the table tops on the table outside more often.

We visited the RBK before going to a gig in the music venue next door. The eaterie is very modern and chic with a big picture window looking out onto the river and the marina. The food was great and very good value for money. I had the roast which was excellent. The Atlanta Pale Ale was OK..quite similar to a lager, but I just wish they had some 'proper' real ale. Otherwise, service, and everything else was tickety boo!

Brilliant coffee, bacon or sausage toasties, and treats for the dog 🐕 as dog friendly too

Absolutely disgusting service received. Husband asked a member of staff if they could clear the table so we could order. This was firstly ignored. He then asked another member of staff later who was outside clearing tables and she after being asked a few times said bare with me. Which of course was fine. (This lady was blonde and wearing a dress). Then when she eventually came over to clear the table was very obnoxious and made snarky remarks regarding what we wanted her to do. Not only that she didn't even clear the table fully. Very rude and even our child made a comment on how rude she was. We was aiming to order food but after this experience we are extremely put off and the table still hasn't been fully cleared! Staff member needs a serious talking to, re training at a min! Actually in shock at how rude she was, making faces and remarks is not OK.

Pretty much a delight, the coffees were made nicely and it was a good atmosphere. Had a baby with us and space wasn't an issue inside with it next to our table. Must head back and try the cocktails for a night

We had a tasty meal, great portion size and amazing cocktails. Friendly staff too. Great to sit outside in the summer and watch the boats.

Couldn't get in , very busy, perhaps next time

Update to the below: It was really nice of RBK to reply and it's made me want to go back and try it again so thank you. 😊 Unfortunately our visit was a real let down. We arrived for an early tea on a Saturday around 4.30pm. Firstly we were given a table right under a speaker blasting out music, couldn't hear the person opposite speak. Asked to move and ended up by the window which was better but the music still was an issue. People were talking loudly because they probably couldn't hear each other and it just made for a loud environment. Ordered a couple of carverys, a pizza and a kids meal of sausage and chips. Waited a while for someone to come over and after a bit the pizza and kids meal came. And then we waited and waited with no idea what was supposed to happen with the carvery. Nobody came over and so my partner went to ask and was told they do it for you, someone should have told you to go up... Carvery consisted of turkey, beef and gammon, Yorkshire puddings which had been sitting under a heat lamp for ages and so were rock hard, roast potatoes that clearly had also been sat for a while as it was impossible to cut them, approx 8 pieces of carrot - half of which were stuck to the pan, peas/cabbage fine, roast parsnips fine, stuffing saltier than the sea. The gravy was watery and tasteless. All in all it was a huge let down. We sat right next to the carvery and nobody else went up after us or before we left and at no point did anyone come and give things a stir or make sure it was okay. It's just left to fester. I'm guessing the time of day we went maybe was the reason for the poor food as it's too late for lunch and early for dinner so you're not getting the turnover to keep it fresh, but you can't serve Yorkshire puddings to people that have been slowly turning from nice soft fluffy things to something that you could fire out of a cannon. No staff came anywhere near us so we could mention anything and even when we had finished we sat there for a fair while and nobody came to take the plates or ask about pudding. We gave up and bought a dessert from the Tesco nearby! And no it wasn't that busy. To be honest the kids meal was the best thing on the table, sausages lovely. You are either a bar in which case the music was at a good volume, or maybe for a Saturday night, or you are a restaurant/carvery. I don't think you know anymore what you are and hence why it's not a great atmosphere. Don't get me wrong, it's a nice place to sit outside for a drink in the summer but we would never eat here again. It's very expensive too. £16.95 for a burger and chips which I wish I had just paid for instead of going for the carvery. Hindsight is a great thing!

Large group of us enjoyed a fabulous carvery here, potatoes and Yorkshire particularly good, meat and veg full of flavour. Will definitely be back. Service good and good value for money IMO.

Really disappointed. Unfortunately felt like everything was just below par and less than average. We had a carvery and it was as if all the food had been left from lunchtime under the heat lamps and not much was left. The experience as a whole wasn't ideal either, won't be rushing back. I think this place is suffering from an identity crisis, and needs to decide if it wants to be a bar that serves food or a restaurant.

Great place to stopover for a pint or to enjoy a sunny day. Grabbed a pint as we waited for our river cruise. Overall lots of seating inside and outside with a great position to overlook the river and people watch. Only slght drawback was that service was slow.

Tuesday it was very quiet early evening, Wednesday it was lively. Nice vegetarian options, alongside meat/fish dishes.

It's nice it serves food .. busy for Sunday Carvery food good and fresh didn't like the wait to be called up for food when no one was up there didn't like that chairs not very comfortable for me post opp. So discomfort not nice for me sadly. Also having to pay extra for Cauliflower cheese didn't go down well well either. With so many Carvery places on offer in Ely now overall not sure about this. !

Lovely location and dog friendly too. Food is decent but expected more for the high prices.

Lovely place to relax by the River watching the boats.

tried calling ahead in case we needed a booking. Have only just moved to Ely. We arrived and stood in the doorway for nearly 10 minutes and wasn’t approached by any members of staff, and then overheard two of the staff standing right next to us saying we are only accepting Bookings very bad customer service I found staff to be rude for not coming over to speak to me.

What a disappointment! Noting the Carvery being promoted on-line as being available from 12noon to 8pm on Sundays we booked a table for 6pm for our pre-concert dinner. To our surprise we were greeted by a server advising that all of the three roasts had run out! Unfortunately little else was available on the menu without chips (which we try to avoid), but we settled for fish & chips / burger & chips which were pretty standard fare but nothing special. I asked for a beer shandy (I was driving) and was astonished to be charged £6.50 for it. When questioned I was told that a premium lager was used at £6.50 pint and that a shandy made with this beer was priced the same as a pint. I reckon that makes a half of lemonade £3.25! Come on Riverside get your act together - you may have an ideal location but your customers don't all come for the view.

Great food. Good variety on menu. Situated along the river.

Great spot by the River for a relaxing coffee. Not too busy when I last visited. Dog friendly part of bar available too. Had a Carvery lunch today and it was very tasty.

Had the weekday carvery - great value for money- thoroughly recommend

After about 5 trips around the UK, we chose Riverside to eat my first Fish & Chips. We went in December and it wasn't open outside, which caused some customers to wait for a table. Cozy atmosphere, with excellent service. I ordered the dish and, to my surprise, it was very filling, but I ate all the food, as it was excellent. There was a buffet where customers could help themselves to some dishes.

This was one of my favourite places to eat by the river in Ely. I visited yesterday to find the menu has changed and they no longer do my fav sandwich 😞 my other half also couldn't decide on anything to eat so we decided to go elsewhere

It was mine and my partner's first time in Ely, looking for a warm place to have a hot drink and over look the water. We ended up coming back for a Carvery in the evening because we enjoyed the atmosphere. Staff were lovely, answering my many questions and charging my phone behind the bar as I was running low and relying on it for direction. A big thank you for that. And on top of that, the Carvery was lush. All the meat was beautifully done and bug portions.

Beautiful riverside location with ample indoor and outdoor seating. However service is poor, food is average (luke-warm & generally tasteless), and prices are high. Food & drinks are ordered from the bar and service is slow. You will have to ask for cutlery, and any extras (seasoning, sauces, napkins etc) - or go find them yourself. If eating inside, the tinted glass used across the building obscures views of the river, and it is generally quite dark. In the summer, be prepared for long, out the door queues & very slow service. I've tried RBK a few times over the years, in the hope it's improved - sadly, it appears chronically understaffed & to have a constant conflict between the inner-city bar vibe & aesthetic, and the dining menu & experience. Hoping RBK are able to rethink their strategy and staffing to make the most of their location and create cohesive experiences for their customers.

The Riverside Bar and Kitchen is expensive for what it is and has a 3 hygiene rating and I have a system when eating out somewhere, it's as follows: 1-2 - Avoid at all costs 3 - play it safe (no meat or seafoods) 4 - meat but no seafood 5 - order anything I want I always check for the rating site because not every restaurant displays their correct rating. At the time of this review Riverside displays a 2 year old 5. Food - So as mentioned they have a 3 so I played it safe, ordered a margarita pizza and Cajun fries and honestly it was fine, the pizza was cheesy and the chips had a solid flavour. My partner went for chunky chips however and they tasted like old oil. The restaurant however is most known as a carvery. My mother in law and her partner opted for this. It looked fine but there's no chance I'd trust a hot hold in a 3 rated restaurant, they had a small range of veg which looked kind of grey but they seemed happy with it. It was also expensive, the chips where over £5 each and my pizza was £12, I'd pay that if the food was worth it but it really wasn't, I resent paying what I did my experience. Service - It wasn't great, they were a bit absent, both me and my partner had to wander around aimlessly looking for the toilet, which isn't signposted, as the staff just stared instead of offering directions. They tried to clear the table while my mother in law was still eating and I had to flag them down more than once. They left the dead glasses and menus until after we left as well. They did box up the pizza I couldn't finish which was a nice touch. Atmosphere - it's pretty, it's a glass box overlooking the canal and if you just want a drink I'd recommend coming down, just don't bother eating there. All level access but the airlock toilet doors would make access hard to the toilets so bear that in mind, they were also a bit hrubby. Disabled parking is available close by but it is a small walk maybe 3 minutes to an able bodied person.

Nice place to meet up with friends

Its not a foodie place, but an awesome location. Would go back for drinks and to hang out if someone cane to visit.

We visited this bar on Friday 1st December and the service was excellent. We had a bit of an incident with one of our party and the staff were amazing. Special thanks to Reggie and Charlie who made a difficult situation so much better. Appreciate everything you did! Fantastic place. They also make the best cocktails!

Lovely place to relax and have a meal

Nice pub, close to the river with friendly staff and decent food and drinks. Wheelchair accessible and large outside space to take in the views

Loved it here. My first visit November 2023

Awesome staff, the young lady serving us did an outstanding job, all staff were super friendly and the food was really good with a good portion size would recommend highly 👍🏻☺️

Really good first impressions; we mentioned that we were tight on time and drinks and food came out really quickly and were very enjoyable. It then unfortunately went downhill as we were I think one out of two tables in the restaurant at that time, yet we sat with our finished plates of food for 25 minutes watching the waiting staff paying far more attention taking selfies on their phones and making loud comments about other parties that had prebooked than their current customers. We would have really liked to see the dessert menu but we had run out of time. Ended up having to go to the bar to pay just to get someone’s attention. Staff training is definitely needed!!

We went along to try there new Sunday calvery as it had been highly recommended and was not disappointed

We called in to sample the recently added carvery and were very impressed. We had booked originally for 4 people but only 2 of us could make it but this wasn’t a problem-we were seated promptly by Chase who was really friendly and took our drinks order and brought us the menus & also explained how the carvery worked. The carvery looked and smelled amazing so we both opted for that at £14.95 each. There were 3 meats-beef, turkey & gammon-I had a slice of each & my husband had 3 slices of beef.-both had a large Yorkshire pudding then helped ourselves to roast potatoes (lovely & crunchy on the outside & soft & fluffy in the inside), roast parsnips, stuffing, honey glazed carrots, peas, cabbage & leeks. We also had the optional extras-cauliflower cheese & pigs in blankets ( large portions of both) . There was plenty of gravy & all the expected sauces ( mustard, cranberry sauce, horseradish etc) . It seemed the vegetables were replenished regularly, and the meat was tasty & tender and in no way dried out under the lights as sometimes can happen in a carvery-in fact the beef in particular was beautiful , pink & tender.We were both very impressed with the quality & quantity-in fact we couldn’t finish all the cauliflower cheese. The only thing we could say wasn’t 100% was that although the parsnips were thoroughly cooked, they were not as caramelised & crunchy as we like them but that is down to our personal preference. The atmosphere was really friendly and a beautiful setting by the riverside. This is a great addition to their menu and we would not hesitate to recommend to friends & family, and we will definitely be returning.

We had a very short amount of time to get in to Ely and to the train station, we got held up and even thought they were very busy managed to accommodate us. I must say the experience was excellent from start to finish and I am making sure the next trip we will allow more time to savour the wonderful surroundings aswell.

Horrible place surviving on its location. Obnoxious staff. Average food

Very nice restaurant right by the river with lovely views. Plenty of seating inside and out and varied menu ranging from cakes and coffee to substantial meals with a well stocked bar. Friendly staff and nice atmosphere.

Stopped here for lunch, lovely day so sat outside, nice views over the marina, food was OK but we only had chips as a snack. Nice place nice people 👍

No idea if the food is any good. What I can tell you is the staff are rude; well at least the one I met. I ordered scampi and chips and fish and chips only to be barked at that there was no scampi. Quite an obnoxious blonde woman at the bar. Then there was no coke. I was told there was only coke zero after standing at the bar waiting for my drinks for 10 minutes. No apologies, no courtesy. Very rude service, so we left .

They don't offer a lunch menu but you can have coffee or tea with a cake. One of the ladies at the bar need to be more polite or careful with her words as she was perceived as rude by my pensioner parents.

Food was expensive ,not much in the way of snacks like sandwiches light foods ,paid 18 quid for a salad mostly salad leaves and a coke ,lovely setting by the river , service ok ,plenty of seating outside, and inside .

Great location & Nice place but ket down by a "pop & ping" menu served by less than enthusiastic staff. Pleased I went but wouldn't recommend.

Only had coffee so did not see what the food was like, service was very good, and a great setting by the river side

Had dinner this evening,started not so good young girl just put our starters in front of us without asking who was having what,then we saw the young girl with black hair on her mobile phone and not smiling once very off putting especially when our first visit here,BUT Jessica was lovely and couldn't do enough for us very smiley and chatty.food was lovely and we will be back.

Everything about this place is magnificent trust me.

Lovely place ot eat and drink. Great location, lovely staff (especially Lola the manager, always smiling and chatty)! 5 🌟 🤩

I lost my hat on a visit to Ely but didn't work out where until we were back at home in Nottingham. The staff at the restaurant located my hat and kindly posted it back to me. That was really helpful. On top of this we had a really good lunch with a big choice (pizzas for us), with efficient and pleasant staff in a beautiful location . I'm delighted to recommend rbk.

Nice relaxing spot next to the marina.

We enjoyed relaxing whilst sitting in the sun and watching the world go by. Lovely spot by the river. Enjoyed the drinks and food. A little pricey but it was lovely. The nachos are amazing.

Lovely food, great atmosphere by the river and 2 for 1 cocktails. Food came a little slow but was busy

We're been to Riverside Bar in Ely several times and had a lovely meal and drinks. We come here once a year with the Cambridge Deaf Association for the annual Christmas meal, and it's been excellent, and the staff are always lovely to us. It's pretty spacious, too, with access for all disabilities. It has a great view of the river and is easy to access via bus or train, and I would recommend people to visit if they want to have a quality meal.

Only had Gelato which was proper good. Looks like a very nice place.

Large pub with Riverside garden, efficient service and varied menu.

Problems with staff explaining the menu at point of ordering a meal. We ordered light bites as starters but they came with the main meal. Staff tried to tell us it was our fault as we didn’t specify they were starters! Situation became stressful and conflicting as staff not understanding we didn’t want olives and bread with steak and chips! Came down to an abrupt do you want it or not? We’d already paid - over £100 in total - so we dithered. This clearly annoyed them as they wanted to get on. After manager arrived money for starters was offered and food taken back. Hate food waster. No apologies but cash flung on table. Maybe some customer service training needed? And an explanation on the menus so that people understand to ask for light byes to be brought first if they are starters. Our experience was spoiled though and sadly we left as soon as possible with a sour taste in our mouths.

Riverside Bar is a modern-style bar beautifully located by the river in Ely, directly adjacent to The Maltings and close to the town park. That said, this is not a place for people fancying anything but national and international lagers, like overpriced Staropramen (which I chose). Service was professional and fairly efficient, in good weather it was nice to just relax looking at the river. But the bar itself is nothing truly special.