Riverside, Ely

Although billing itself as a bar and kitchen it’s really a restaurant, entering you find all of the tables set for dining, all empty since as you can just drink here all the drinkers were outside enjoying summer sun and riverside views. No one dining as it was maybe too early (6pm). The building may be modern tosh but the location is superb, Ship Lane with the Maltings and Georgian houses to one side and the river on the other; the view spoiled only by the marina car park and the odd train passing by.

A good sized pub in a prime position alongside the river, there’s plenty of glazing to make the most of the outlook as well as a decent amount of outside seating in the garden which is immediately adjacent to the walkway running alongside the river, and this was pretty much full to capacity on our recent sunny weekend afternoon visit. Unfortunately though, that’s pretty much where the positive points end. Internally it’s extremely bland and totally bereft of any atmosphere, and with a large carvery counter off to the left and a chilled desert cabinet opposite the bar, it feels more like a cheap café/restaurant than a pub. The colour scheme is almost entirely grey, with grey faux wood strip on the floors and grey paint on the walls. I suppose in fairness there may have been the odd splash of pale green and some faux brown wood panelling on the pillars, but it really wasn’t at all inviting. A few generic landscape prints were on the walls, but other than that there was nothing of any note. Seating was mostly café like tables and chairs, along with a Chesterfield style padded bench seat off to the left. The clientele all seemed rather chavvy, there was some rather bad language from some of them and there was a lot of litter around the garden. Predictably there were no real ales on tap, just Sharp’s Atlantic on keg. Even worse, there was no cider. Overall, I can really see no reason to visit here, other than I suppose to sit outside and admire the view on a nice sunny day.

Official site of Riverside - rbkely.co.uk

Official site of Riverside - rbkely.co.uk