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Detail Pages
The Riverside, Vauxhall, SW8
SW8
SW8 2LE
Reviews (Current Rating Average: 5½ of 10) see review guidelines
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Malden man left this review about The Riverside
A new build is always unlikely to appear to be traditional, especially when it is part of a development of exclusive riverside apartments and also run by the Young's brand. It is however very bright and airy, benefiting from lots of natural light and having decent river views. A large interior with an off-centre island bar, mostly boarded flooring with a pair of carpeted semi-separated areas towards the front. The rear has an open to view kitchen and an adjoining area with set dining tables but there are seating options of all kinds elsewhere. Framed local photos plus a few based upon bowler hats form the decor as well as IKEA style shelving units with bits and bobs and a wall mounted boat of the style used in the University Boat Race...is it a skiff?
Youngs Bitter, Special and London Gold plus guest from Truman's, Hoptoberfest which was uncharacteristically disappointing being far from hoppy and rather bland and £4.40 as well.
It all feels a bit corporate, too "nice", shiny and modern, I can think of many people who would like it here but I'm not one of them.
On 6th November 2016
- rating: 5
[User has posted 1708 recommendations about 1681 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Quinno _ left this review about The Riverside
Located in the Blade Runner-esque St George’s Wharf development, this is a modern plate glass Youngs pub and all that entails, though it could be worse and it does indeed have a riverside location with decent views if you can nab a decent seat or brave the outside. Vast open interior with the usual corporate modish stylings that will no doubt be ripped out and replaced at great expense by 2030 but as noted below at least some effort has been made to break up the interior a bit using a mix of wood, copper and stone materials. Four ales on from the CW stable – Youngs Bitter, Special, Gold (pedestrian) and Bombardier. A couple of interesting kegs, including the Stout. Expensive, as expected. I can’t see myself returning now I’ve done it.
On 26th October 2016
- rating: 5
[User has posted 5089 recommendations about 5072 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Pub SignMan left this review about The Riverside
Set in the St Georges Wharf complex, one of many similarly bland, modern developments along this stretch of the Thames, this is a large riverside Young’s pub, easily reached from Vauxhall station. The pub comprises a vast open space with a sizable rectangular island servery and numerous seating areas throughout. The side of the pub closest to the river obviously offers up the best views (you can even see the pier from which the River Bus departs, should you need to keep your eye out for the next service), and so the seating here is unsurprisingly the most prized. The rest of the room offers a good mix of seating options and the volume of seats means there should be enough to meet everyone’s preferences. The pub suffers from an unpleasant, corporate feel that is endemic across the entire complex, although efforts have been made to mitigate this. For example, there are numerous interesting pieces of contemporary art dotted around the room, bookshelves have been set up to act as partitioning and house a few interesting items and there is also some essential outdoor seating with patio heaters for the colder months, providing somewhere to escape to should the interior fail to lift the spirits. We visited for a bite to eat and found the food to be pricey, which wasn’t that much of a surprise, but the seafood board that we sampled turned out to be pretty decent value when you considered how much food was on it. On arrival we were met by a member of staff who offered us table service, but they have no problem with customers coming just to enjoy drinks.
As with most Young’s pubs, there aren’t too many decent drinks to enjoy and we found a decent row of handpulls offering Young’s Ordinary, London Gold and Wooden Spoon, with a Wells Bombardier clip reversed. Keg options included London Stout and a few of the less obvious continental lagers. My pint of the Wooden Spoon was okay but not really inspiring enough to make me want a second.
This is a good example of how all pubs would look if they were all run by big business. The plus points are the location and the decent food, but the usual downsides of bland interior, uninspiring ale range and premium prices mean that this place is better left to the suits.
On 25th November 2015
- rating: 5
[User has posted 3114 recommendations about 3114 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Just a quick pint, then I'm off left this review about The Riverside
Smart, modern pub with excellent riverside views (not only from the extensive seating outside on the terrace but also from within as the place has large floor-to-ceiling windows). The main problem seems to be the atmosphere, which can be as chilly inside as it may be windswept along the riverbank. Beer-wise, there are four handpumps dispensing three or four Youngs/Wells beers - Ordinary, London Gold Hummingbird and Bombardier on my latest visit, but sometimes a guest instead.
On 25th July 2014
- rating: 6
[User has posted 8117 recommendations about 8117 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Rex Rattus left this review about The Riverside
This is a modern purpose built bar on the ground floor of a new build block of flats overlooking the River Thames. Being a nearly brand new Young's pub it's uber modern inside, with arty spotlights, a curtain screening off one area for some reason, and an area at the back which had all tables laid for diners with the obligatory "wait to be seated" sign doing sentry duty in front of it. But the majority of the place was available for drinkers and furnished with fairly normal tables and chairs.
The ales on were Young's Bitter and London Gold, Bombardier and Brain's SA (£2 a half). There are single sheet menus on all the tables, with some pub grub favourites such as fish and chips (£10.50), bangers and mash (£11.00), and "Riverside prime British beefburger at £10.50. These are not cheap prices, but I guess you a premium for eating and drinking in a prime riverside location.
The best thing about this bar is its riverside location, so it's well named. As you would expect, there's plenty of outside seating on the riverfront. This is not really my sort of place as I prefer the far less impersonal traditional pub, but I guess it's OK for somewhere to sit outside on a nice day.
On 22nd March 2014
- rating: 5
[User has posted 2606 recommendations about 2520 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Steve of N21 left this review about The Riverside
As previously mentioned a Youngs new pub, built pub / bar as part of the St George Wharf project.
I don’t tend to be a great fan of these glass new builds and this one cemented all the reasons why.
Firstly it’s more a wine bar/restaurant than a pub, and secondly it’s so devoid of character that if you take away the punters then there’s not a lot left.
The big positive of this place is its riverside location and very pleasant views of the Vauxhall stretch of the river and I probably would have been a bit more appeased if I could have sat outside underneath the large Jumbrella and watched the river go by, but as it was frickin freezing and very windy on this particular Saturday I had to sit inside. And then it looses its key selling feature and is not dissimilar to drinking in a modern décor barn and I was convinced the other couple of people in must have been NASA astronauts getting used to a place with no atmosphere.
It’s main focus certainly seemed to be on the food side rather than the wet side and perhaps it’s a better place on a week day when the nearby office crowds may give it more life than what you usually find in a bowl of soggy rice crispies, but it certainly was sole less on this Saturday afternoon..
Beer choice at least is the usual Youngs range and for the record my pint of Youngs London Gold was perfectly fine albeit expensive at the higher end of London prices and served too cold.
On 13th June 2011
- rating: 5
[User has posted 2110 recommendations about 1992 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Philip Carter left this review about The Riverside
New pub, built as part of the St George Wharf project. Overlooks the river at Vauxhall. Expensive though, probably hopes to cater for the occupants of St George Wharf. Sells Youngs Bitter at £2.80 and Guinness at £3.40. Has a garden/patio area facing the river, but can get a bit windy, so your meal may end up floating down the river. Now has deckchairs facing the river.
On 27th July 2009
- rating: 6
[User has posted 757 recommendations about 720 pubs]