Details

10 / 10

I visited the Riverside Restaurant in Blackwood (also known as the Rock and Fountain) for the first time this week and was pleasantly surprised. The menu is impressive and the service was first rate. I had the haddock to start which was beautifully cooked and presented followed by the duck which was also very good. I did think that the food was quite pricy to start with but after enjoying my meal so much and not being able to find fault with it, I concluded that it was well worth the money. I was too full for dessert but the menu looked equally as appetising; I can’t wait to try the vanilla cheesecake with mulled wine when I go back in a couple of weeks. I also notice that they have just set up a website which has various special offers for groups so take a look at that before you go - www.riversideblackwood.com.

9 / 10

We visited The Riverside on a quiet Thursday evening. The restaurant itself is quite stunning and the food unpretentious and well cooked. A small menu and perhaps a few more fish dishes and chicken dishes could be available but that is a small aside. They have an extensive wine list catering for all pockets. We were delighted with our choice of food... for starters, scallops & chorizo, chicken and red pepper pate with red onion chutney - absolutely delicious! The steaks were divine and melt in the mouth and cooked to perfection. A charming & courteous waiter added to a lovely evening. Will definitely be going back there again!

10 / 10

our 1st time at the riverside , we were not dissapointed . lovely restaurant , staff and our meal was fab . soup to start mmm lush , then steak cooked perfect with a pepper sauce to die for , no room for dessert so i cant comment on that . all in all a lovely evening . well worth a visit . picked up the xmas menu on the way out that seems good value for money £22 for 4 courses .

9 / 10

Visited here for the first time and was shocked to think something as nice as this was in Blackwood. It is clearly head and shoulders above everything else in the area.

Menu was well thought out, as it gives you a mix of good traditional cooking and some of the pretentious meals you see on some menus. The balance was perfect. The wine selection was good, but could do with a bit more new world wine by the glass.

The setting was beautiful and the staff were very kind and obviously were pleased to be there. Could not fault the service.

Give it a try, you won't be disappointed. If you are, then go to a fancier restaurant in Cardiff or go to a Harvester, where you belong.

I had heard mixed reviews regarding this restaurant, my wife and I still decided to try it out, biggest mistake ever!!

First impressions are really good, the owners have done a fabulous job on the decor, it does look very classy when you walk in and see the furnishings.

Then it goes down hill, the menu is very limited. Having eaten in some seriously good restaurants all over the U.K. the fish course was poor, no trout, sea bass rather curried monk fish!!!

Having decided on what we were having we both ordered I was then told the starter I wanted was gone. Thinking that it had been busy I asked if that was the case and was informed it wasn't. We were two of six people inside at the time. In the long run I had a lucky escape. My wife had a crab and prawn salad. It was tasteless (tried it myself) all you could taste was mayonnaise the crab was non existant. I on the other hand had a chicken parfait with a sweet onion marmalade and it was very very good.

We both ordered steak due to the limited choice and as we finished our starter we were surprised to see them bringing it to our table. As a result we sent this back, far too quick. When it did arrive it was obvious that they had just stuck it under the grill. I asked for a medium rare and got well done, my wife wanted medium and got overdone!!

The people behind us had to send their food back as the Chef couldn't get their steak right either. Not great. We complained to the owner who apologised and informed us that it was the Chefs first night. We eventually got two freshly cooked steaks and having eaten the food to be honest it was o.k. but not worth £17...

In conclusion is it worth eating at this place, answer No, the food is mediocre, the Chef was poor and the prices charged far to expensive. As my wife said she could have eaten a better meal at 'The Bumblebee' which is part of the Marstons chain, it would have also been buy one get one free. Blackwood does need a restaurant that is a bit special where you do pay a bit more and get well cooked food, The Riverside is not it. If they continue to serve up substandard food they wont be around next year.