The Embankment in Bedford - Phone Number, Reservations, Reviews

looked fwd to Sunday roast beef lunch. Had drink then informed no root veg available! Then we were offered extra roast potatoes or yorkshire pud! iI opted for extra roast potatoes. 3 small roasted potatoes arrived. And then meal was mediocre.

This was our third visit to the Embankment hotel and pub among many visits to our "hometown" of Bedford in the UK throughout our lives. Brenda was born in Bedford and we met and married here many years ago. Our son booked our first visit here in 2018 for an anniversary. We loved it right away and will only stay there now. Our August visit was just to relax in the hotel. We didn’t venture away at all, other than walks along the river and trips to the town. I can truly say that the embankment is ideal for an extended vacation; and it is also perfect for a working holiday. The food and service are first class. We will be back when we can. The website is very good in describing vivid detail of the embankment features. It seems to be busy morning to closing, but the staff never loses their smiles; and it is dog friendly! Many thanks especially to Michelle, the hotel manager for our memorable stay

Lovely food but eye wateringly expensive breakfast. Staff attitudes were not great either. I won't bother again! Way too expensive but we were hungry!

Fish was nice but frozen chips? Caesar salad was disappointing and tasteless , £6 for a small piece of chicken was a bit pricey as was £10 for a glass of wine .Add to that to add service charge to the bill .. Will certainly not be back.

The Embankment is my favourite place for food and drinks. The food quality is great and feels like it is made fresh. Tomato & pepper soup was very delicious 😋. Service is good too.

Having seen this place from the outside,we decided to try the food inside. Well took ages to get served at the bar to seek to get a table, then the barman said "you'll be waiting as you didn't book a table (even though there was only four other tables being used out of 14 we counted inside. Eventually our drinks arrived and the barman/waiter avoiding eye contact as my beer slopped as he put them down, My wife's white wine seemed to have evaporated somewhat. Having ordered the Sunday roasts, we waited and waited , and you guessed it waited some moe, 45 minutes out they came. Oh dear colour faded vegetables like warm, roasts to run from and cuts of beef looking pretty sad, all in all pretty awful. The whole visit was tiresome and down right insulting,we are warning our friends from Hollywood to give this place a miss.

Stopped by this place to have lunch. The waiter was very friendly and the food was ok but really overpriced. I will think twice before coming back or recommending this place - they need to review their price formation and make it reflect their offer. It is still to cross the bridge to fine dining.

Nice and courteous service staff. Unfortunately, my espresso was inedibly sour and bitter. The interior is a bit old but clean. Everything else was good to very good.

We had a cuppa tea could not sit down inside the bistro so we sat outside

Had a sharing board only.. But very nice..

Hmm. Seems like this place once could have been great. The plastic glasses outside for drinks are just not for me. They have a good position, great views, and location. It would be an excellent place if their food and drinks improved

Early dinner at Embankment bistro today, an absolute delight. Our waiter was amazingly knowledgeable and attended to our needs. Food was exemplary. We also met Kosta who was charming and attempted to help with getting a taxi back, we so wanted to stay a little longer for drinks but alas, we couldn’t stay. Really don’t want to leave this enchanting place. Very best wishes Stephanie Pooley 🩷xx

We ate lunch at the restaurant, on the terrace overlooking the river. The Sri Lankan curry was pretty authentic and the staff helpful and efficient. With a stunning setting, this is an ideal place to while away the afternoon.

Great location for a drink near the river but £11 for a pint and can of coke is a bit steep and definitely overpriced.

We’ve always loved coming to dine here but this is the first time I’ve felt compelled to leave a review as we held our wedding at this hotel this weekend which involved a lot of pre planning aswell as use of the hotel and restaurant for both ourselves and some of our guests. Rachel was our main point of contact from the start and I simply cannot praise her enough for her professionalism, a year in the planning she was so accommodating and helped to coordinate our ceremony, our meal and many room changes as our needs changed throughout the day. The food was perfect, all our guests loved the banquet style we chose, which also took some adapting of the standard menu and was again never a problem. The staff here are genuinely passionate and so hard working and made us and our guests feel so special throughout the whole process. We could mention everyone but unfortunately we don’t have everyone’s names! But Tom, Steph and Natalie have to be mentioned. I wish I could give you all more than 5 stars, keep doing what you do, you made our wedding so special.

Sea Bass was very well prepared and very good

A small Fish and chips cost £10, an exceptionally small portion and the chips are frozen product not fresh made, (I am a professional chef I know the difference). The fish appeared fresh though and tasted fine but seems very poor to charge so much for so little and not even proper chip! Had we not walked someway away to eat them we would have gone back for a refund.

Absolutely blown away by the whole experience! Out of this world food & the staff wore incredible! Very friendly polite & helpful. Breathtaking views & a cosy atmosphere. I will be recommending & returning!

Chaotic, disappointing and don’t celebrate anything there. When I booked we said it was a celebration and when we arrived they checked. But nothing happened, it was completely ignored. Our drinks arrived at different times and i mean like 10 mins apart. When the main course arrived the pie was lovely but the potatoes were cold, one of us asked for more gravel to pour over to warm it up the other wanted it hot. So the waiter came with a bowl and scooped up her potato and took microwaved it and plonked it back on her plate !!! I kid you not - Faulty Towers. We had ordered extra vegetables which they forgot about so we got raw cold cabbage. Desert - disaster continued. One person got her tea and she drank that - 15 mins later her cheese arrived - they should have been together. They forgot about the rest of the deserts until we complained and then when they gave us the ice cream it had melted in the bottom of the glass. Oh yes the birthdays - well they had no interest in them at all, completely ignored. Thanks guys - get yourself organised. You were totally disorganised.

Was told breakfast was over at 10:55 on A Sunday.

Do not come here if you want good service. Stopped to get a cider on the river. The manager was busy micromanaging his staff, and subsequently, nothing was getting done. Got my pint after a 5 minute wait, with me being the only person at the bar. Was then told I had to sit outside, despite their being a dozen or more spare tables.

Any establishment who has fallen in to the misguided belief that "trendy" businesses don't need cash customers need to desperately rethink their future. Unbelievable they can turn cash carrying customers away

Had a superb meal service was excellent. Have been here many times but today was very enjoyable. Very pleasant staff thanks Chelsea. Sat outside for a while splendid river view.

Had a wonderful time at The Embankment. Service was excellent… thankfully, our waitress ? Ruth, told us the dessert on the specials board was Baked Alaska! All 4 of us had it, with a raspberry jui. Absolutely delicious! Dinner was great too, between us we had the beef & Ale pie, chicken schnitzel and Haddock & chips. We were sat in a lovely booth to the side rear of the bar, it was private and we were wonderfully attended by Ruth. Thank you for a memorable meal, in an amazing building.

Nice outside cafe in Dartmouth.

Lukewarm Latte, dry lemon cake and a flat white which was just awful.

Had sharing platter of cheese poor for the price 1 small round of cheese more like a starter for one. cod starter was not very nice very disappointed service was the best but did not not approve of service charge add to bill and £13 per small glass of wine over the top

Delicious meal and lovely staff

I went here with some family members and had a really enjoyable time. The service was fab and the food delicious. We shared the camembert with balsamic onions (I could eat a starter of just the onions!) and I had the beef cheek, which was very tender and delicious. Other members had the lamb, hamburger and fish and chips and loved it. All the food was cooked to perfection and the staff were very friendly. They even had dog treats for our pup! The view can’t be beat either. It doesn’t matter where you sit because the views out over the harbour can be seen and enjoyed. I highly recommend.

Gorgeous little stop for an indoor coffee right by the river and not over priced. ☕️

Like several other reviews on this, the waiters are just downright rude.

Just had a cream tea before we caught the boat for the river cruise . Very nice .

Good food but sadly very expensive

A great lunch. Served my lovely people and the food was delicious.

Nice meal to be fair and the muscle starter was fab. However plaice came in 2 small pieces and then you had to.pay for extras. Service is hit and miss and I expected more to be fair...not leaning over you to take plates and place cutlery. Also need to check with you before offering you certain wines in terms of.pricing. Will.consider a return in the future

Unique bistro that looks like an old railway station on the outside but feels quite French on the inside.

We ate at The Embankment as a group of 8 over the weekend, to celebrate an achievement, and really loved it. Fabulous evening views of the river and lights, really lovely food, great service (they couldn’t have been more attentive or accommodating) and friendly. So impressed we went back for coffee the next day. Ignore the negative reviews… we highly recommend!

We had a really lovely lunch on Monday! Food was delicious, customer service was 5 stars! Can’t fault it

We have been here twice. The outside hasn't changed much in 25 years and there has been a succession of cafe type places in this building. It has recently had a change of ownership and is now owned by the company that operate The Angel (the very upmarket and expensive restaurant opposite). The inside is now very tasteful and there is a menu with something for everyone. The cooking is first class, but you can still get a pint with your meal (nice touch). Very much a brasserie. The only reason it dropped a star for atmosphere is that it tends to be rather empty in the Winter evenings. Actually a big plus if you fancy a quiet meal!

Went to Bedford for my Friend's 50th .stayed at the Embankment for a night but ended up staying an extra nite because the staff are friendly and attentive. The breakfast was so good . . I like the architecture and deco in not really my style /thing but liked it . All the staff were good to us but thanks to Katie for. I reco this place and will definitely be staying there again.

Great location, lovely food and fantastic staff. One of our group had a medical emergency (thankfully all OK in the end) and the staff were dealt with it so well - totally calm and professional. I can't praise them highly enough.

I can't comment on the food, as only popped in for a hot drink, (pot of tea) but a beautiful place, overlooking the River Dart, with amazing views. Very friendly staff and reasonable prices.

Mothers day roast for £20 was not that good had much better service was a bit slow my daughter had chicken bit was pink dessert and drinks were nice granddaughter had fish which didn't look to good either she didn't eat it

5 stars all the way, booked a table for Mothers day unfortunately I couldn't make it as I was working 😢. But my wife & children was looked after so well by all the staff, the food was amazing ( even our fussy 6 year old son cleared his plate! ), staff lit a candle for my wife, wished her happy mothers day & gave her a small bottle of gin! The only downside was the tip our 20 year old gave the staff i gave him a speaking to when they got back! Thank you so much to the staff at The Embankment you made my wife's day even more special, definitely will be back, hopefully with myself :) & I'll give you guys a proper tip next time 😆

What a great place! Fantastic location, attentive staff and lovely food! Lovely menu and drinks choice ! Definitely will be back !

Sad to leave a bad review. The person I went with said they had a bad experience recently too but benefit of the doubt as it is such a lovely location etc. But the starter arrived with half the dish missing, cocckles and a foam sauce which was something I wanted to try. After asking she came back with those items in a small bowl for us. I also thought the monkfish was raw in the middle but the chef said it was ok I was worried about it though. This was a nearly £10 starter. I had venison which was a £30 dish the cabbage was really slimy and the meat was very chewy. We were put in a situation where we felt we should query the bill but didn't want to have to fortunately, the waitress took off the desserts so that was positive but it's a shame it was needed. I would not return and I really do think the prices need looking at as you would expect better, something really special at that high expense.

A very pleasant birthday lunch with great service in a lovely atmosphere. Our food was very good, and served in a timely way so we all ate at the same time. The people serving us were very busy, but nothing was too much trouble for them. Recommended for families and groups celebrating any occasion!

Lovely atmosphere and really friendly and helpful staff. Good value for money, too. Unfortunately I had to reorder my main and pud, as they had run out of both! I was limited in what I could eat due to an allergy. I went for the burger, minus the bun. Very tasty burger, would recommend. Lacked presentation however. My partner had the mushroom risotto, which he said was lovely. Again, presentation could have been better. Our waitress was really helpful when it came to the pud choice and adapted to suit our dietary needs, as our first choices had both run out. These were also given free of charge to apologise for the inconvenience. Had a lovely 'date night' and will definitely return 🙂

Phoebe was an amazing waitress! Such lovely food too.

A very average breakfast.not impressed with the quality or the amount. And more expensive than other places nearby.

Easy parking.Good welcome and service quality . We were seated in what seemed to be the family room at the back but the several children surrounding us were well behaved. We decided to go straight to main courses . My wife’s sea bream was well cooked if not a particularly large portion. Her vegetables were fine. I had the free range pork which was 80% pink, or not very well done . I know there is a trend to cook meat this way , especially beef but this was not good. Waiting staff were apologetic and brought me a slightly better cooked piece of pork . I think this had just been fried rather than roasted. We just asked for the bill. Disappointing. I gave “average” because apart from the pork everything else was OK. Not the most expensive of restaurants but we were expecting better.

We spent a lovely relaxed 4 hours at The Embankment on Tuesday having a tasty lunch and chatting to friends. Our waiter Connor (I think that was his name) was very helpful and friendly. All the staff were very welcoming. A lovely atmosphere in a beautiful building. This was our first time back since the onset of Covid. It was good to be back and will be meeting friends there again.

The room was clean, comfortable and warm. Good value. Staff very welcoming and breakfast delicious. We'll definitely be staying again. Thank you.

We had a great meal with our friends ..food was very nice ... the server Noah was amazing fun, efficient, friendly he made our whole meal so much better . I ment to post this ages ago but it s stayed in my head and his name as he was great so sorry for delay in posting. We have been back for lunch since and other staff lovely too. Highly recommend

We visited the Embankment over Christmas and were very disappointed. Decided to give it another try this month. Never again. Table of 12 booked for a birthday. £100 deposit paid and food pre-ordered. Arrived at 7.30pm. First round of 4 drinks took 25 minutes. Poor bar lady was left making cocktails on her own for the first time on a busy Saturday night! Forgottten about in the back, dark & cold room. Nobody took a drink’s order and we were forced to use the app. Main courses didn’t arrive until 9pm and one persons food has cheese on when in fact she was dairy free! No apology and half an hour later once we had all finished dinner a new salad arrived. The Embankment is a lovely setting and great inside. The food is average and over priced and the staff are terrible. Avoid.

Lovely restaurant/bar with vies of the scenic river. A great local spot for a relaxed Sunday lunch. Lunch was delicious with all the extras. The service was friendly and attentive - all with a smile and dog friendly too so everyone was happy!

Lugar agradável, para ir com tempo e sem muita fome pois fazem a linha slow food. Fica em frente a um rio lindo, cheio de cisnes. Oferece café, drinks, sopa do dia, refeiçoes. Um cardápio bem completo. E o principal, dogs são bem-vindos dentro do estabelecimento.

Under delivered. Overpriced, underwhelming food, slow service. Had a family group meal, we were 2.5hrs for 3 courses. Multiple orders of Ribeye with peppercorn sauce off the specials (£32 or £34 odd). Steak was ok, nothing special. Peppercorn sauce didn’t taste of peppercorn (pretty basic thing to get wrong). I would say it’s good for half the price, but they are charging a premium and really not delivering. Sunday Roast is £20 but would rather a Toby Carvery. Staff were pleasant enough but not very attentive. Everything took a long time. We waiting about 30mins for puddings which are normally very fast.

We stopped here on a visit to Dartmouth for lunch. It has a French feeling. We had chicken breast with a lovely garlic and herb sauce, and Braised Lamb pie. We also ordered a mixture of sides - Brussel Sprouts with roasted chestnuts and new potatoes. For dessert we had an Affogato and Almond and Pear Cake. All the food was of a very high standard, cooked on the premises. If I had any complaint it would be the lack of Devon ciders, of which we have many good ones.

Lovely staff, lovely location and the best Crème Brûlée ever

Sehr gemütliches und klassisches Hotel! Sehr netter und zuvorkommender Service! Die Betten sind komfortabel. Frühstück a la carte mit gutem Kaffee!

Arrive at restaurant was able to be sat quickly tables was really sticky and the table wobbled while eating and time we moved

Easy to find and easy to park outside in the street. Quite busy when we walked in bit we were shown to our table quite quickly. Good service, very friendly and great food. The ambience was nice. If we're in the area again we'll eat here.

Great staff and atmosphere. Really nice place. Good food

We ate here as part of a group having a Christmas meal. There was an appealing selection on the menu. The food was well presented and tasty. Overall not bad value, edging towards being a little expensive for what it is. Would eat here again.

Staff couldn't have been more accommodating, food was tasty, really reommend

Came in the other day for some lunch with a couple of friends. Can’t fault the food and drink. If it wasn’t for the staff behaving like animals I would have given this review 5 stars. I was served by a tall man with glasses at the bar who was extremely rude for no apparent reason. He even went as far as to spit in my drink. For this reason I would not return and I would advise others not to go.

We came here mid week for a little drink after a shopping trip. As far as I could tell, there was only one member of staff on the bar. A big table must of ordered hot drinks meaning it took over 10 minutes for someone to take my drinks order at the bar. Apart from that, lovely place and fantastic food.

Really love staying here. Its warm and homely and the beds are really comfortable. We keep coming back. There's parking to the rear and the views of the river are stunning. Everyone is great and there's a wonderful vibe.

Had a group booking for the festive menu which was all pre ordered! Not sure if it was the system with the error but lots of peoples names were doubled which caused lots of confusion with the meal selections and one person had been missed entirely! Priced at £37.50 for 3 courses, I expected the food to live up to the price but unfortunately it did not. The courses were very basic and underwhelming, My pudding was dry (I had been given the edge of a sticky toffee pudding). It’s not what I would expect from a place like the Embankment. I will not be recommending anyone to go there for a meal as my last few visits have been underwhelming. The staff were very friendly and attentive however at the end of the meal we were rushed to leave as the room was booked for another party. If this was the case they should have realised that the time allocated for such a big group was not long enough

The food - both taste and choice, the friendly and welcoming service and the ambience were all excellent as always

Tbh I hesitated booking lunch at The Embankment as I’ve been to this place a few times in the last year and the service has often been pretty bad. Up to now, the quality of the food has generally compensated for this. Not today however. It didn’t augur well when we arrived and suddenly my surname had changed even though I had only confirmed my first name, which they already held, when the booking was made. We were offered drinks straight away but as we hadn’t had chance to peruse the drinks menu we declined this kind offer so that we could look at the choice available. Bad move! No one seemed the least bit interested after that about whether we wanted to eat, drink or anything else, as we were simply left alone. Eventually a smiling server came to take our drinks order. We ordered our food too for fear of being left alone too long again. This interaction was the only positive in an otherwise awful food, drink and service experience. Not sure there’s enough room to list all the disasters that we experienced today nor do I want to bore everyone so some of the lowlights were: First drinks order was wrong - Guinness arrived instead of Amstel and no water! Water chased a few times but continually failed to arrive. Waited over an hour for food to arrive. Someone came to apologise at one point to say they knew we’d been waiting a long time but our food would arrive very soon. Not sure what their definition of soon is but it didn’t match ours as we eventually had to get up from the table to chase it. We were eventually told that one of the dishes had not been cooked properly so they had needed to make another one. They didn’t explain what they had done with the other two dishes whilst this cooking took place but when all the food arrived it was overwhelmingly disappointing. I had ordered the pork with mash,cider sauce etc. it was bland and the vegetables were overcooked. The whole thing tasted as if it had been cooked some time ago and kept warm for a long time and was a huge disappointment. My brother had ordered the fillet steak - medium rare. You needed a magnifying glass to find any pink meat. Was this dish kept warm whilst the shallot tart was cooked I wonder? It looked like it and at over £30 for that meal alone - it was a huge let down. Guys, you really need to take a long hard look at your service, organisation and food quality. You are failing in every level!

I ordered the chicken ciabatta - comes with a generous portion of chips and salad. I also had a side of bread with dip and it was great quality, the bread was the perfect temperature and crisp. The atmosphere is cosy with a lovely river view and welcoming service.

On a family holiday in Dartmouth, we went to the bistro for food. We went to sit outside as we have dogs. We asked if we could order the main menu food and eat outside as per the website advised. We were told that they don't serve main menu food outside, but if we wanted snacks and hot drinks, we could order from their hatch. I'm really disappointed with this bistro and the service. Wouldn't recommend it if you have dogs unless you want a ham and cheese sandwich and a coffee. We went and found a lovely sit-down hot lunch elsewhere.

Very good service with comfy clean room with free coffee, tea, water, biscuits and more. Free parking on site. I would recommend adding breakfast to your room as it was delicious and any drink or food from the menu included so very good value for money. Right on the river and easy walk to the town centre.

Excellent Sunday Lunch! All 4 of us had a very good roast - 2x Gammon and 2x Vegetarian. Many thanks

The breakfast here was delicious along with the views. The order was in a timely manner and the staff were extremely friendly. Definitely worth trying the breakfast and the interiors of the place were beautiful.

Booked night at the Embankment because it was close to Bedford town centre. Didn't realise how great a place it would be. Fantastic room, great food, wonderful friendly staff and in a good place.

Extremely expensive for what you get. Two tiny pieces of incredibly fatty beef with the roasts. We went for a late Sunday roast and were left waiting after we had eaten for over 35 mins before our plates were cleared! It was almost 2 hours...

Lovely Sunday roast, warm cosy atmosphere and all the staff were friendly. We both had the beef and it was beautifully cooked.

The food is simply exquisite - beautifully presented and cooked to perfection. Very delicious! Topped with the excellent service, the Embankment Bistro is thoroughly recommended.

We enjoyed lunch at the Embankment Bistro in Dartmouth. The menu was interesting, the food was tasty and the service was good. Obviously there are fine views over the river Dart. We particularly liked that smaller main course portions were available.

The service is absolutely appalling, I waited at the bar and was ignored twice, no wine glasses serving in gin glasses, asked to speak to the manager, none available. Will never go here again. Shocking service and a terrible attitude of the staff!

Generally love this place, but won't order steak again, it's very bland

Just bought a supposedly large cod and chips. Never seen such a small portion of chips - I feel ripped off.

The food at the Embankment has always felt overpriced but my last visit was just awful. The mushroom risotto was no more than one spoonful smeared over a massive plate. The mushrooms were not cooked. I had to order chips and then had more to...

Have eaten here twice during the last week, and the service was excellent on both occasions. The menu was different on both days, with lots of appetising options including some modern takes on old favourites. I had the treacle roasted gammon for Sunday Lunch today,...

Nice food but very over priced for what you get. Plates overloaded with cheap fries to try and bulk the meal up

Pretty poor service and attitude from one of the waiters. We came in to the restaurant to ask about dining later in the evening, which we were told we need to book for, but absolutely no effort was made to attend to us. A few minutes later when we asked if they were able to make a booking, the response was "yes but I'm busy at the moment", and we were made to feel like we were an inconvenience to them.

We had been here before and had a lovely meal but this time we went for a Sunday roast, service was good with the waiter being attentive and additional veg and gravy were offered, however, the food was very mediocre for the price. It wasn’t very hot, the Yorkshire was very dry and the roast potatoes did not taste as if they had been freshly cooked, the texture was similar to the ones I do at home sometimes that have been frozen and reheated. We won’t be going again.

Lovely lunch, service from Bethany was fantastic… very highly recommended and definitely one of our favourites!!

Food over priced and portions extremely small. Nearly £20 for a chicken caesar salad which was less than basic. Disappointing considering the lovely location.

Not a bad word to say. The location overlooking the Embankment, our jewel in the crown, is unbeatable. We sat outside in the shade. All three of us had the crab and salmon starter which was light and very tasty for such a hot day....

One of the best Beetroot and goats cheese tarts ever eaten

Excellent meal and location. Would recommend to my friends and family

A quick late lunch made all the more special by Kay, Phoeby and their manager, Jason. A pint of Korev and a cool glass of rosè to accompany cod fritters & frittes along with a very tasty cauliflower dressed with a salsa verde style sauce. VERY, dog friendly, bustling atmosphere with great views over the harbour. This was our second visit, the first was drinks only. My wife and I were very impressed with how attentive the staff were. The moment we arrive and were seated, they gave our dog a biscuit before attending to us - great touch. I had a great view of the service pass and could see the kitchen staff working flat out. Complements all round to all their staff. We will be back.

Lovely staff, great seafood and at a good price. Nice location overlooking the water

The Embankment offers a relaxed ambiance, friendly staff, and a fantastic selection of drinks that guarantees a great time.

We stayed here for two nights initially but due to circumstances we needed to extend by another two nights. The hotel were able to accommodate this without any fuss or us having to move rooms. The staff are friendly and helpful, the setting is beautiful...

fantastic view , delicious food . friendly atmosphere ,, deffo well worth visiting