The Waterside Bistro

Dissappointed, poor selection on menu, lots of meals not available on the day, hardly any selection for vegetarian guests, value for money, very poor, will not be back.

We visited the Waterside on the strength of their steak every Thursday. The bar was friendly and welcoming and we enjoyed a pre dinner drink before heading through to the main restaurant. So far, so good. After this, however, things went gradually downhill. The steak we ordered was of very poor quality, with more gristle and fat than meat. When we mentioned this to the server she acknowledged our complaint and promised to feed our comments back to the kitchen. We waited for the server to come back to our table with either a discretionary drink or money off our bill, however we were to be disappointed again. There was no offer of any compensation nor were any further orders for drinks or dessert taken. While other tables around us were brought the bill, we had to pay at the bar. When mentioning our compliant to the owner we were informed that 20% had been taken off our bill. Great! But no one had had the courtesy to inform us of this. Had we known this we would have possibly ordered more drinks, so they effectively did themselves out of additional sales. In conclusion The Watersise Bistro is a pleasant enough place to go for a drink however I'd give the food a miss in future and wouldn't recommend the service.

great food, excellent service, would highly recommend, thursday night is steak night, ( steak, chips, drink) for £10 so also great value for money too

Food was even better than the last time we were there and the service was excellent. As always, lovely atmosphere and a pub dog in the bar makes it perfect for after meal drinks!

Good service in a first class location, with brilliant views across the river. Not expensive, either. One of the best situated restaurants in Scotland. Recommended.

Beautiful location near the river in Haddington. Bistro has a lovely ambience which adds to the dining experience. Great food. Steak night is brilliant. Love the selection of beers.

Very slow service, rubber band in soup and ended up being charged for free children's meals. Great location and food was very good despite this

The food was quite a disappointment - cold overcooked steaks, burgers without the relishes and accompaniments as stated on the menu. There was no wine list and the quality of the wines that were available were very poor. I wouldn't go back.

Lovely place. Great location - easy to get to, even by bus. Well priced and delicious wine. Tempting menu - could have chosen any starter. Perfect bistro experience.

Unfortunately the head chef was away and both food and service suffered in consequence. I gather from friends that the Waterside is usually very good.

The Waterside Bistro continues to please with its friendly welcoming and efficient service, well chosen drinks offering and simple unpretentious food, all at a an affordable price. Dropped a point for a number of first choice menu/drinks options not being available on the last two times I have been there, but the alternatives were more than acceptable, and yes that is a bit mean of me! Confidently and thoroughly recommended. Every time I go whether with family or friends I think I should do it more often.

Nothing too much effort. Very pleasant staff who made us feel very welcome. Will be back and intend to try the steak night. Recommend to try it.

Very nice place but difficult to park staff very helpful but food very salty which took away the enjoyment but service was good and friendly

We have been to the Waterside several times before, each time the food/service was good. This time unfortunately, there was a staffing issue in the kitchen, the food wasn't good, too ages to arrive and was cold. very disappointing for them and us.

Food was excellent, although there were a few things that were unavailable on the festive set menu, which just happened to be what a chose. Bad luck I suppose. The selection of local decent beers was really good and there is a huge selection of gins. Will be back.

My mum and I both had an upset stomach just after we'd eaten here. The service was poor as was the general ambience. Won't be going back.

Tried "Steak Night" for first time and wasn't disappointed. Food delicious and even paying extra for some side dishes it was definitely great value for your money.

Second visit to this bistros and once again food and service was excellent. only downside was we were sitting next to old fireplace and there was a draught

Where do we start....the restaurant was freezing,so was our starter. The wine glass was shockingly dirty, moreover the waiter brought it in holding it by its rim! Service was OK, but rather impersonal. The mains were alright. Unlikely to rush back...

Lovely night and good food. Considering the manager was under staffed we were never left waiting and were well looked after all evening. It was also nice not to be rushed and we even took a drink in the bar before our meal.

We did not enjoy our lunch and would not return. It was very basic for the price and was not impressed with the presentation. I was not asked if enjoyed meal when paying the bill and there is service charge taken off for tables of over six, which i would definitely not have paid.

Lovely place to eat, not too busy for a wednesday night. Very friendly attentive staff. There was a great menu with plenty of choices, we went for a tapas/meze type selection - the food was delicious!

Went on steak night. Steak was fine. Disappointed with frozen thin chips, expected real potato chips from this venue. No veg served with this only as an extra for over £3 per item ( small dish of curly kale, house salad smothered in vinegar). Waitress was polite but dressed in ripped jeans?! Bit of a let down all round from the reports that made us choose this venue.

Food quality poor. Meat in steak pie not tender and stock not very appealing. Only people dining table beside toilet and strong smell disinfectant. Little atmosphere. Expected much higher standard due to reviews

I enjoyed my meal - made my own board. My husband really enjoyed the cullen skink for a starter. Unfortunately , they forgot that he had ordered a main course as well. We had to ask for it and then wait for it to arrive. Having eaten there before, I was disappointed with the service.

Enjoyed lunch with friends and we all agreed that we'd definitely be back at the Waterside! I had been before and have always had a good meal there.

Staff were very helpful from booking( with several changes) through to the event itself. Staff also played along with surprise element to dinner. Whilst there were a few disruptions to the flow of service due to the boisterous nature of one or two of our guests the staff remained calm all the way through. Staff were also happy to play some of our own music played via an I Pod at the conclusion of the night. All went away happy and I would recommend it to all. The only downside was the unavailability of champagne on the night however that did not dampen our spirits.

Food Was not very impressive and service was excellent but what left a lot to be desired was the menu.s. A sheet of dirty marked A4. The young waitress knew very little about the food that was being served.

A very good meal in very pleasant surroundings. Good service and substantial tasty portions. I would not hesitate to recommend The Waterside based on this experience.

Very pleasant ambience indoors as well as outdoors, wonderful setting by tranquil river and ancient church, good food, friendly staff. What more can one want?

Slow service, forgot about us several times, over two and half hours for one course However food lovely and worth waiting for. Will visit again but not if in a hurry!

Lovely situation and friendly staff. Very nice meal served quickly although restaurant was full with pre concert meals. Would certainly go again. Prices very reasonable.

This is such an excellent place in a superb setting with a very hard working manageress. However the service varies considerably from visit to visit. Appreciate getting and training staff is not easy. We will still visit after a haphazard last visit and advice would be if you hit a poor night it is worth trying again.

Beautiful spot at the river Tyne. Excellent food, friendly staff and cosy atmosphere. Just a few minutes walk from Haddington city center. Best restaurant in Haddington? Probably!

Nice situated at the river Tyne. Friendly staff, excellent kitchen, cozy and warm atmosphere just a few minutes walk from city center. Best restaurant in Haddington? Probably!

Service was incredibly slow, I felt that one key lady had far too much to do and not enough support around her - more customers than staff able to serve quickly enough (30 mins before drinks arrived, order taken, and so on). Food was nice, shame spoilt by the lack of appropriate staffing.

Service was slow and inefficient. The food was disappointing to say the least. One of our guests ordered a whole crab which was not dressed in any way and was delivered without the necessary tools to be able to eat it. These had to be requested. The pheasant was dry and saved only by a well flavoured sauce.

Lovely place in a great setting. The staff are very pleasant, helpful and friendly. Great choice of food at reasonable prices. Food very tasty. Would have given full score but my husbands pheasants for was slightly dry. This did not ,however, detract from the overall good exercise cue. We would definitely go back again.

The tables are too tightly packed in. The haggis burger sounded lovely but was a bit dry. However the two starters of Salmon and Pigeon were lovely. The service was excellent and would rate that as 100%.

What a fantastic place and great staff - they couldn't be more helpful or cheerful. Totally dog friendly and the food was amazing. We booked this place on the back of previous reviews, for my wife's birthday evening meal. Just in case we went the day before to check it out and on both occasions, we had a fabulous meal including 2 children's meals. The staff were even kind enough to agree to bring in a surprise birthday cake that we brought in - I didn't expect them all to turn up and sing happy birthday to her but they did and it made her day. Thanks to all the staff and we will be coming to see you again in the future. Cheers Simon