The Gate: Kitchen, Bar, Terrace

"The quality deteriorated rapidly in this restaurant. We had fond memories of last year and came back for an evening of celebration but left disappointed, and we spent £140!! The dishes were well below average. They gave us a glass of red that was essentially vinegar. The waiter was kind and the place is nice, but that alone cannot make up for the poor cuisine and the inflated prices. We will not come back"

"Where do I start? 30 minutes after being seated we were then asked if we wanted anything to drink. After another 15 minutes, our orders were taken. At 1 hour and 5 minutes are starters came out with our drinks. (These were fine - very tasty). Then it goes extremely downhill. My wife ordered a seafood burger for £18 and I ordered a chicken roast. At this point, 1 hour and 35 minutes have passed, our mains come out and I had a very generous meal whereas my wife's was the complete opposite. A prawn head for decoration with no prawn actually inside and a crab claw without any flesh in. This was sent back and we ordered a steak instead. My chicken however, was still alive. I ate half before the red overpowered every other colour. Truly, truly awful experience for my wife's birthday. We will not be coming back. And I can only hope I'm not ill this evening. Shambolic service and an awful dining experience. Avoid at all costs."

"The Gate part of the Richmond Harbour hotel has recently undergone a renovation of which has completely changed the atmosphere of the place. It now looks and feels like a hotel restaurant should do. Wonderfully designed restaurant with a funky bar just off to the side. The menu is reasonably priced but overall the service and quality of food was mediocre. The lobster arancini is a great little nibble before what was for us was a slightly disappointing evening. The scallops as a starter were cooked to perfection but served with a rather strange combination of pee pure and bacon. Initially this sounded appetising but frankly rather overpowered the scallops. For the main course I had the roasted chicken which in itself was cooked wonderfully. The potatoes were slightly overdone and the gravy wasn’t the most flavourful. My partner however had the Kale tagliatelle of which was quite nice, the pesto wasn’t too overpowering and the goats cheese was just right. Moving onto the drinks and service price wise the drinks were good. The mojito was far too sweet and frankly not something I would order again from here. Wine list however has a good mix of both interesting reds and whites while also serving some nice wines by the glass. Service overall was a bit slow, considering it was a quite evening. I spend a lot of time in Richmond and was hoping this would be my new go to spot as its only round the corner from where I stay. I will return soon to see if things have improved."