The Riverside, Lechlade

I've always wanted to visit the place as it looks so inviting on a sunny day; how looks can be deceiving....! My partner and I took our recently born baby for a wonder by the river and popped into the Riverside for a coffee (it was midday on a Sunday). We had the misfortune to sit on the table opposite the cavery, watching the landlord go through the motions, and cuss his staff; it was as much as he could do to acknowledge his patrons. My partner ordered a 'Sticky toffee pudding' to share which turned up 2 minutes later, so hot (and over-microwaved) that it's probably still too hot to eat even now. Not that I would eat it.
What should be a Jewel of the Cotswolds is a sad disappointment. Arkle's are happy to invest in refurbishment but fail miserably on staffing (there's a Landlord in Fairford, Arkles, that would be better suited to running a prison, he's that inhospitable).
We had been warned, and found the whole episode rather amusing; �12 for 2 coffees and a pudding was only made worth while because of the absurd entertainment value. Avoid

22 Feb 2010 14:18