The Ferry Review

Posted 10 August 2005

Visiting from The New Forest and four of us had a thoroughly enjoyable evening - loved the decor and ambiance, staff relationship with customers great - food: good choice and excellent - price acceptable.

Have just read the reviews and agree rather silly that children are not permitted after 6pm. Surely 9pm would be more reasonable - the atmosphere was becoming more adult and lively as we left then.

All in all we would use this venue were it in Hants.

with thanks to Maureen Keates

Myself and three friends visited The Ferry for the first time last night and agreed that it was without a doubt the most disappointing restaurant meal we have had. The decor, although smart and swish was not followed through with the staff who were mostly shuffling around in jeans and referred to us as ‘’guys’’. We were somewhat baffled as to what the restaurant was trying to be! Fine Dining? Bistro? TGI Fridays? It appeared we were being attended to by 4 different waiters/waitresses, none of which knew what the other had done.

Two of our starters were incorrect, and on pointing this out we were asked if we would like “a bowl of parmesan and rocket to throw on ourselves” to which we politely declined! The starters in question were ‘pizettes’ which were doughy, undercooked, bland and tasteless aside from huge hunks of garlic haphazardly over.

The mains did nothing to appease matters, bland pasta dishes, deep fried oven chips, ‘sweet chilli sauce’ as opposed to fresh, and synthetic tasting sauces, all at vastly inflated prices.

We skipped dessert and coffee, preferring to cut our losses and sit out on the terrace which is well covered, heated and pleasant for a summer evening. This was the only plus point of the whole establishment as far as we could see.

On being asked if we had enjoyed our meal, we replied no and were clearly dissatisfied, yet received nothing more than a blank stare from the waiter who seemed not to know how to deal with a negative response.

With such established competition such as the Bel and Dragon and The Cookham Tandoori I hope they will realise how much improvement is needed to come close to the quality of food currently on offer in Cookham.

I have just tried to make a reservation for tomorrow night at The Ferry for my daughters 9th birthday (four adults and two children) only to be told that children are not allowed in the restaurant after
6pm - I have never heard of anything so ridiculous. Our children have always eaten in restaurants from a young age and we have always received comments of how well behaved they are. The Ferry has gone down in our estimation, so much so, that we will not be eating there again. Their sample menu leaflet does not express this ruling but promotes that it 'incorporates the values of a traditional pub', well they certainly DO NOT get more traditional than that! We shall ensure that all our friends, colleagues and family be informed of this ludicrous balderdash.

I have just had lunch at the Ferry, points out of 10, I would give it 6.5. Fantastic interior very nicely done out, staff very enthusiastic but not very well trained. The drinks were just dumped at the edge of the table, the coffee arrived half way through the pudding, they were not able to answer any questions about the food. There seem to be three sorts of chairs, padded, solid wood and benches, we had the solid wood which look very nice, but are not very comfortable and if you lean back they cut into the small of your back. Perhaps they are there to ensure a fast turnaround. You could not sit on them for any prolonged period.

The food was OK but rather an odd mixture, the menu sounded rather pretentious in its descriptions, using the word starch for potatoes seemed rather strange. I had chicken livers with blue cheese and pears. The blue cheese and pears did not really go too well with the chicken livers which were cooked beautifully. There was a massive amount of cheese three large rectangular blocks, I think a small amount crumbled on top would have been better. The cheese was dolcelate which was quite strong. It was on cress, which again was quite strong, lettuce leaves may have been preferable. The pudding was delicious and nicely presented, apart from the coffee arriving half way through, which meant it was cold when we got to drink it. I found the servings very adequate and felt pretty full on leaving.

The cost for two courses came to around £15 (excluding tip) for lunch including coffee and mineral water. Although the room is large it is not echoey, as it is carpeted. In general a pleasant experience, although I would suggest some staff training.

The food was nothing special and their wine is over price how on earth they came to the conclusion that they could charge people £17.50 for a bottle of pino grigio is beyond me, especially when you can buy it at the local supermarket or threshers for £7.99....I feel they haven't done their research thoroughly on this one!

I really don’t like Ferry – I go there every week but I still don’t like it!
It is too modern – I am more of a traditionalist.

Old part, the pub, is always closed which is nonsense!

Food is too expensive, portions small and food not that tasty in all honesty.

That is why I only drink there and beer is cheaper than B&D.

Service is slow and most of the time there is queue at the bar. Staff wear trainers which is outrageous!

Well done to the ferry, finally somewhere to go in Cookham without having to suffer the rigour of children

I popped in there this week with my family and was told that they don't serve children. (It was 6 o'clock and the place was empty and smokey).

5 of us ate there on Tuesday and we all thought the food was pretty poor, especially for the price. They wouldn't do children's portions so we bought them adults food and it was mega salty. The only person who vaguely enjoyed their food was the vegetarian


	TELL US YOUR VIEWS Remember any views expressed are only personal and are not those of cookham.com. If you disagree with any comments say so. Click for the Cookham Reviewer Front Page
	The Ferry, Sutton Road, Cookham
	Posted 10 August 2005 Visiting from The New Forest and four of us had a thoroughly enjoyable evening - loved the decor and ambiance, staff relationship with customers great - food: good choice and excellent - price acceptable. Have just read the reviews and agree rather silly that children are not permitted after 6pm. Surely 9pm would be more reasonable - the atmosphere was becoming more adult and lively as we left then. All in all we would use this venue were it in Hants. with thanks to Maureen Keates Posted 21 July 2005 Click here for a review and some photos. Posted 19 June 2005 You also cannot book outside tables even for lunch. This is disappointing too. Posted 17 June 2005 Myself and three friends visited The Ferry for the first time last night and agreed that it was without a doubt the most disappointing restaurant meal we have had. The decor, although smart and swish was not followed through with the staff who were mostly shuffling around in jeans and referred to us as ‘’guys’’. We were somewhat baffled as to what the restaurant was trying to be! Fine Dining? Bistro? TGI Fridays? It appeared we were being attended to by 4 different waiters/waitresses, none of which knew what the other had done. Two of our starters were incorrect, and on pointing this out we were asked if we would like “a bowl of parmesan and rocket to throw on ourselves” to which we politely declined! The starters in question were ‘pizettes’ which were doughy, undercooked, bland and tasteless aside from huge hunks of garlic haphazardly over. The mains did nothing to appease matters, bland pasta dishes, deep fried oven chips, ‘sweet chilli sauce’ as opposed to fresh, and synthetic tasting sauces, all at vastly inflated prices. We skipped dessert and coffee, preferring to cut our losses and sit out on the terrace which is well covered, heated and pleasant for a summer evening. This was the only plus point of the whole establishment as far as we could see. On being asked if we had enjoyed our meal, we replied no and were clearly dissatisfied, yet received nothing more than a blank stare from the waiter who seemed not to know how to deal with a negative response. With such established competition such as the Bel and Dragon and The Cookham Tandoori I hope they will realise how much improvement is needed to come close to the quality of food currently on offer in Cookham. Posted 14 June 2005 I have just tried to make a reservation for tomorrow night at The Ferry for my daughters 9th birthday (four adults and two children) only to be told that children are not allowed in the restaurant after 6pm - I have never heard of anything so ridiculous. Our children have always eaten in restaurants from a young age and we have always received comments of how well behaved they are. The Ferry has gone down in our estimation, so much so, that we will not be eating there again. Their sample menu leaflet does not express this ruling but promotes that it 'incorporates the values of a traditional pub', well they certainly DO NOT get more traditional than that! We shall ensure that all our friends, colleagues and family be informed of this ludicrous balderdash. Posted 12 May 2005 I have just had lunch at the Ferry, points out of 10, I would give it 6.5. Fantastic interior very nicely done out, staff very enthusiastic but not very well trained. The drinks were just dumped at the edge of the table, the coffee arrived half way through the pudding, they were not able to answer any questions about the food. There seem to be three sorts of chairs, padded, solid wood and benches, we had the solid wood which look very nice, but are not very comfortable and if you lean back they cut into the small of your back. Perhaps they are there to ensure a fast turnaround. You could not sit on them for any prolonged period. The food was OK but rather an odd mixture, the menu sounded rather pretentious in its descriptions, using the word starch for potatoes seemed rather strange. I had chicken livers with blue cheese and pears. The blue cheese and pears did not really go too well with the chicken livers which were cooked beautifully. There was a massive amount of cheese three large rectangular blocks, I think a small amount crumbled on top would have been better. The cheese was dolcelate which was quite strong. It was on cress, which again was quite strong, lettuce leaves may have been preferable. The pudding was delicious and nicely presented, apart from the coffee arriving half way through, which meant it was cold when we got to drink it. I found the servings very adequate and felt pretty full on leaving. The cost for two courses came to around £15 (excluding tip) for lunch including coffee and mineral water. Although the room is large it is not echoey, as it is carpeted. In general a pleasant experience, although I would suggest some staff training. Posted 22 April 2005 The food was nothing special and their wine is over price how on earth they came to the conclusion that they could charge people £17.50 for a bottle of pino grigio is beyond me, especially when you can buy it at the local supermarket or threshers for £7.99....I feel they haven't done their research thoroughly on this one! Posted 11 April 2005 I really don’t like Ferry – I go there every week but I still don’t like it! It is too modern – I am more of a traditionalist. Old part, the pub, is always closed which is nonsense! Food is too expensive, portions small and food not that tasty in all honesty. That is why I only drink there and beer is cheaper than B&D. Service is slow and most of the time there is queue at the bar. Staff wear trainers which is outrageous! Posted 11 April 2005 I like the look of new Ferry, but not slow service and trouble with parking! Posted 8 April 2005 The Ferry is ok but the desserts are extortionate. Posted 8 April 2005 Well done to the ferry, finally somewhere to go in Cookham without having to suffer the rigour of children Posted 7 April 2005 I popped in there this week with my family and was told that they don't serve children. (It was 6 o'clock and the place was empty and smokey). Posted 7 April 2005 5 of us ate there on Tuesday and we all thought the food was pretty poor, especially for the price. They wouldn't do children's portions so we bought them adults food and it was mega salty. The only person who vaguely enjoyed their food was the vegetarian Posted 6 April 2005 I had dinner there with my wife the other night and the food was marvellous.

	TELL US YOUR VIEWS Remember any views expressed are only personal and are not those of cookham.com. If you disagree with any comments say so. Click for the Cookham Reviewer Front Page