Beautiful quality food and wine, excellent service everything was perfect spent a lovely evening here with my partner and we both came home non stop talking about how much we enjoyed the place ! I highly recommend this place to everyone beautiful location, fab owners/staff amazing food/wine what more could you ask for :) !
The River Rat has recently made over its ground floor to a wine bar with tapas menu and a superb selection of gins, which we've been merrily working our way through - beautifully served with appropriate tonics and garnishes. Went there last night and had a superb rum punch, courtesy of Richard the bartender. We'll be back!
Beautiful restaurant, lovely welcoming staff , amazing food & drink . Went on our very first date there and returned 5 yrs later for birthday surprise... had a wonderful evening would highly recommend to everyone....
This is such a lovely restaurant and the perfect place to have Christmas lunch, lovely atmosphere created by very welcoming staff, food was amazing.
First visit for my 88 yr old father, who is not easily pleased! came away very happy and keen to visit again.
Thank you River Rat, see you in the New Year :)
We had a fab Friday night sat in the garden in a pod drinking fizz with family , the staff were just amazing will def be returning 😊
Amazing cocktails ��
Fully recommend trying!! Thank you Francey and mike!
We arrived for our meal last night and had a table in one of the huts outside. It had a heater and was very toasty. The garden had fairy lights which was beautiful. We had some lovely tasty food and even better drink. The service was excellent. This was our first time at the River Rat and my partner asked me to marry him while there!! It truly was a wonderful night! We will def be returning xx
Returned for a second visit . Excellent service , amazing food . Great atmosphere. Would recommend definitely . Nice intimate dinning with good quality food
Gorgeous food and an excellent wine menu, even better service. Great atmosphere. Can't fault it.
This was our 1st visit to the River Rat, it was our anniversary, the whole evening we were made to feel very special, the waitress was lovely, the food and wine was faultless, then after our meal to sat in garden to finish off the evening, looking forward to returning
Accidental find and a real gem. Excellent food and friendly service.
This is our favourite place to eat and we will be back in 2015 for lots more good times and great food.
I can't fault it. The service and food were excellent .
Great food, good booze and run by nice people. Simple.
Visited for the Halloween quiz night. I had an absolute blast, well worth coming. The place was full of friendly patrons, atmosphere was great. I enjoyed the quiz great mix of rounds and questions all at a good pace. I enjoyed a couple of things from the a la carte menu. Ribs were tender and tasty, chips were fat crispy and hot. I had a baked apple for desert which was delicious, autumnal and reminded me of a modern version of the baked apples my mum would make us for pudding on a Sunday growing up in the 80s/90s just wonderful! Staff were friendly and attentive did a fantastic job serving all the tables as everyone was there at the same time for the quiz. Yes it wasn't a cheap place, but harvester this it is not! Given the picturesque setting, quaint cosy building good food & drink and welcoming service I feel this place deserves a top spot. I would look to visit again just a shame they are not open more lunch times as I normally have little ones in tow.
First time here as were camping up the road. On arrival for the Jazz and Fizz at lunchtime Daniel was warm and welcoming, nothing was too much trouble. The beautiful secluded garden is a delight with thatched pods. We decided to dine here in the evening and sat in the upstairs restaurant. Again Daniel was very welcoming. Our waitress was Grace who was lovely, a very knowledgeable young lady. Both lunchtime and evening you couldn't fault the food, first class. Good wine selection, one small criticism a shame they do not have beer and lager on tap, bottles only. Can't recommend The River Rat highly enough. Will certainly be returning.
Lovely Sunday lunch at the River Rat. The garden out back is a hidden gem and it was dog-friendly so our little Spaniel could join us. Would definitely look at coming back for an evening meal next time. The apricot and amaretto trifle that was on the specials board was also very yummy.
Nice place and very welcoming staff. The food was great and delicious. One of my favorite places to visit.
We'd never been to Hamble before and literally booked a Sunday lunch at the River Rat on a whim as the reviews and menu looked encouraging.
We were not disappointed.
We had two dogs with us so we're situated in the 'bar' area. Well the bar area was really very comfortable and not really like a bar at all.
The service was quick, efficient and friendly.
The food was excellent.
The dogs were given water bowls and treats
The atmosphere was very relaxing
We had a lovely time. Worth every penny.
We will be back.
In our view the experience was excellent.
We stopped by for a Sunday roast.
We tried beef, lamb and the vegetarian option, which arrives without potatoes but was quickly rectified.
We didn't try the cocktails as we thought they were a bit on the expensive side, and the selection of desserts of the day didn't push us enough, but the meat was juicy and tender, and we are sure that in summer the atmosphere will be much more enjoyable than winter, especially in their outside area/garden that was very nice.
It would be lovely to go back in summer.
Rowena Bailey (RowenaBailey2004)
+4
Had a lovely dinner here on father's Day, the service was great from start to finish and so was the food everything was fresh and looked and tasted amazing. The 8oz ribeye steak was very nice unfortunately my steak was cold but was quickly changed with no hassle and was nice and hot the next time. Will definitely recommend to family and friends and will be back again soon.
I took my Nan to River Rat for a Sunday roast as a birthday treat and had a really lovely experience. The food was brilliant and the service was quick, with polite staff.
When the staff served our desserts, they even brought out a lovely board with 'Happy Birthday' written on it in white chocolate with fresh raspberries and blueberries. What a bunch of legends!
Can't wait to come back :)
Lovely evening meal in the garden area. Limited menu but that's not always a bad thing. Husband had fish of the day and I had vegetarian option, both were lovely. Our waitress was very nice but couldn't open the wine even though it was a screw top 😂 Quite expensive but nice for a treat.
We had a great evening, the food was excellent and staff were very nice. I'm looking forward to my next visit. Its a lovely little restaurant.
I couldn't wait to try this restaurant which is 5 weeks into new management. It was a beautiful sunny evening in Hamble so headed to the garden to eat. WOW what a lovely surprise, it was beautiful, several different eating areas with twinkly lights and great planting. So on to the food. I had stuffed courgette, pine nuts, goats cheese, with roasted new potatoes and green leaf salad with passatta, my friend had sea bream fish cakes and we both cleared our plates. Rhubard crumb and brownies to follow which was really good. The hosts were really friendly and service was really good. I will definitely be back in this restaurant/bar in the next week or two.
We participated in the River Rat's Friday night delivery and were delighted to have their Moroccan Tangine Djaj Bil Mishmash. It was beautifully made, deeply flavoursome, with generous chunks of chicken and veg. The cous cous was delicious and fluffy. Delivery was fast, friendly, and the food was piping hot. Nice one guys - looking forward to our next meal!
Lovely food and setting. Outdoor area is fab at night
Had a lamb Sunday roast followed by a pudding. All was fab except the lamb, which was a bit fatty. Good service!
Wow! The garden area is the most amazing place to eat - spectacular. There's only a small selection on the menu, but it's all fantastic - the steak was sublime. Slight negative with young staff still learning their trade, but not enough to lose a star. Great place for a romantic meal or treat for a special occasion.
Great location, decent food, all attractive arranged on the plates. [Training level of servers could be improved]. A "must visit place" when staying in Hamble Le Rice.
Delightful. Staff exceptional - friendly, reliable, attentive and really nice. Food (even vegan cheese) was delicious. I’m happy.
I booked in with the River Rat for my gender reveal meal with 10 of my family members for food and drinks. They accommodated all of us (especially my dad who is very fussy when it comes to his food), the menu had a great selection of veg meals and meat dishes and my god they delivered. The peppercorn sauce was the best I've ever had and the mushroom starter smelt and tasted incredible.
The drinks menu had everything and anything and because I am pregnant they even made me mocktails all evening which tasted delicious.
Staff was incredibly professional and accommodating. Shout out to all the kitchen staff for the beautiful food and Dan and Elliot our servers. Very clean and beautiful establishment and would recommend to anyone looking for a hearty, tasty meal.
Thank you for making our day extra special.
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