Reviews of The Riverfront Bar and Kitchen

Earlier this evening I ate at the restaurant attached to the front of the BFI. I have now written to the BFI suggesting that if they have any control over who runs that restaurant they should do what they can to get it changed.
I ordered fish and chips. It arrived quickly - no wonder given (as the waiter later explained) it is prepared in the morning and just dropped in the fat on order. And dropped in the fat is right. It was delivered to the table covered in an incredibly heavy batter oozing with oil. Awful. I picked all the batter off and ate the fish.
The waiter was kind enough, despite being able to see the pile of oily batter on my plate, to ask me if I had enjoyed my meal. I asked him to tell the chef it was the worse meal I had ever eaten, that the batter was too think and dripping in oil. He went away and didn't come back.
I was so amazed that I asked him, after I had paid full price for the meal, what the chef had said. He shrugged his shoulders and said "he took your comments on board".
Needless to say I was pleased.
Riverfront Kitched - you won't be seeing me again !!

Tried out the new Benugo Riverfront on a Tuesday evening. We went early, before a film, and it was comfortable when we arrived at 5.30. Service and food were fine. But by the time we left at 7.15 it was really busy so if you don't like crowds go early!

We were regular drinkers in what was then the BFI bar on the South Bank and is now the Riverfront Bar and always enjoyed the opportunity to have a drink outside and often something pleasant to nibble on too. The recent 'improvements' to the place have not improved a great deal, to say the least. The service at the bar is possibly the slowest we have ever encountered, even when the place is empty. However, our recent dining experience in the restaurant section has sealed the fate of this establishment for us. We went around 9pm last night for a quick bite to eat following a film. The menu looked promising, nothing special but acceptable options for such a venue. I ordered the cheeseburger and chips (priced just under £10) and received a raw burger. Not pink but raw (the blood on the plate was the give away). I sent this back via the puzzled waitress and then waited, and waited and waited. After two enquiries (receiving the same standard it's on it's way) I became less than amused and told them that I thought this was unacceptable. They agreed but no more than that and once again disappeared. My dining companions finished their meals by the time the rather poor burger arrived. Eventually the manager appeared (only after telling us that he was about to turn the coffee machine off at 9.45pm and that we needed to order now if we wanted anything) and reluctantly accepted that I would not pay for the burger. The other food was also pretty poor and decidely over-priced. Such a shame as this place has such potential and has always been a favourite with us. Oh, and it would be nice if the manager wore a belt so we didn't have to enjoy the pleasure of his arse when eating (or indeed complaining).