The Waterfront - Burton-on-Trent

Food_views and_reviews

Just had an amazing afternoon at The Waterfront at Barton Marina! From the moment we walked in, the ambiance was perfect—a lovely combination of cozy and stylish, with stunning views of the marina.

The food was top-notch, but what really made our experience stand out was the exceptional customer service. A big shout-out to Tash, the assistant manager, who went above and beyond to ensure everything was perfect. Her warm and friendly demeanor, along with her attention to detail, really elevated our night. She made us feel like valued guests from start to finish.

Highly recommend The Waterfront for anyone looking for a great meal, excellent service, and a beautiful setting. Can’t wait to go back! ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Modelangel

The venue is nice and has great views, especially the summer. The staff are always welcoming and friendly. First time having lunch here, as we always had drinks. Baked Camembert for starters.
Mains we had Sunday Roast and the Steak and Ale Pie was delicious and cooked perfectly, highly recommended.

Matt Hayward

Watch out for hidden up-selling!

I no longer recommend or endorse The Waterfront for dining, for several reasons noted further below. Casual drinks ordered directly from the bar and enjoyed outside of the restaurant are beyond the scope of this review.

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Date of visit: 13 September 2024
Purpose: Birthday meal in the main restaurant (4-persons)

TL;DR: An expensive, premium vodka brand was added to our dining bill by default, without being given a choice of brands, unlike the wine/other drinks at the time of table-service order.
The three double Black Cow vodka measures (total 150ml) came to £22 on its own. For context, a 70cl bottle of Black Cow vodka retails at £29.50 (15x doubles @ 50ml each).
Total restaurant bill for 4-persons was £153 including the meals.

This issue was addressed at the time, directly with the staff member, and with the duty manager, who advised that the staff member was known to be great at up-selling, but agreed they should have asked which vodka brand was preferred.
We followed up the next day with an email to The Waterfront, yet no response had been received by 24 Sep*.

I will not name any staff in this review; however, I will strongly recommend that you ask for the drink options from your table server if none are given at the time.

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Review:
A long-standing relationship between us and The Waterfront has sadly been ruined by a seasoned member of staff who up-sold a drinks order.

Being sat down at our reserved table on time, the four of us were there to celebrate my birthday. The Waterfront venue was chosen as it holds special meaning, I won’t go in to here.
As an all-adult family, we don’t often come here, but as a couple, we are [were!]. A lot.
It wasn’t busy, and after a few minutes a drinks order was taken; The usual medley of wine, soft drinks and a spirited drink.
The double vodka and diet cola drink did not arrive with the others, so after a few more minutes watching staff zipping by with drinks for other patrons, we asked our server if it was on its way. They returned after checking and apologised as it hadn’t been put through.
At the original time of order, we were given a choice of wine, but not the vodka. A choice still wasn’t offered with this follow up request, but we naively weren’t expecting to pay for a premium branded spirit that was going to be used with a mixer either.

The food arrived, looked lovely and well-presented, however it was noted that the portion sizes seemed to have been dramatically reduced in size over the past 6 months, especially as some dishes were repeat offenders on our table.
Two double chocolate brownies with honeycomb ice cream (£7.25 each at the time of visit) were ordered for dessert, but when they arrived the whole table was taken aback.
Simply the smallest slice of chocolate brownie, accompanied by a small ball of ice cream.

It was at the point of receiving the table bill, it was realised the up-sell of three double Black Cow vodka measures (total 150ml) came to £22 on its own.
This issue was addressed at the time, directly with the staff member, and with the duty manager.
Total restaurant bill for 4-persons was £153.

The food is well seasoned, vibrant, and presented well. However, it’s certainly not value for money in today's high expectations of any respectable hospitality establishment, so simply not worth the pretentious prices The Waterfront are charging.

Of course, all of this is subjective, but it’s very much objective for us, and why we will no longer dine at The Waterfront, or endorse it as a great value for money eatery.
The atmosphere and location are great, but for us it will be just for drinks outside of the restaurant area now, thanks to one member of staff that chose to up-sell drinks without our knowledge.

*Update 26-09-2024: The Waterfront Team requested 24 hours to fully respond to me directly (25-09), then simply thanked me for my feedback.
A subsequent call to the duty manager thereafter didn’t highlight if the staff have been made aware our next steps could be to Trading Standards if this has not been addressed.

Abigail Field

Had a lovely meal there. Staff were really good and made everyone with allergies feel safe. I had the beef stroganoff gluten-free for my main and it was really nice. I had the baked cheesecake for dessert, which I really enjoyed. There's lots of gluten free options and there's options for every taste.

Alberto Guzman

Good English breakfast. With the 2x1 offer is such a great deal!
I have to mention the coffee, overpriced like in most places in UK but here at least you pay for quality. Best expresso I've had in the last few weeks.

Claire Dragon

Amazing food & very friendly staff who were very accommodating when I customised the salmon! It was a lovely afternoon out & very picturesque being literally on the waterfront!

Miles Hewitt

Was invited to a wedding here, lovely room upstairs with a balcony.
Downstairs was spacious with a large bar and plenty of selections.
Outside was very beautiful with seating looking over the marina. Shops and places to eat are behind the "waterfront", plenty of parking and well lit up at night. Very nice place.

Andy Nikki Bowden

A very pleasant experience. Not having a reservation was not a problem and we were seated promptly. The service was superb as was the food. I had a pan fried seabass which was delicious. Would highly recommend.