The Betsy Swords — Restaurant in Fingal

We recently hosted a 50th birthday party for a family member at The Betsy, having booked and paid for a private room for 80–90 people. Sadly, what should have been a joyful occasion was soured by the unprofessional and, at times, intimidating behavior from management.

While guests were coming and going throughout the night, management approached us at the end claiming there weren’t enough people in the room, demanding more money. The room felt busy all night, and there was no official headcount taken at the door—only a barman supposedly “clicking” guests. Frankly, it's unclear how a barman, whose priority should be serving drinks at a packed bar, could accurately track attendees while constantly moving in and out.

By around 12am, we were told they were no longer serving cocktails, even though last orders weren't until 1am. What followed felt less like hospitality and more like surveillance—the manager/owner spent the last two hours of the night sitting and watching over the room, which many found very intimidating. One particularly uncomfortable moment was seeing him standing over a young female staff member while she washed glasses, which came off as unnecessarily controlling and unsettling.

After last orders, a member of our group ordered two bottles of Corona. Just 10 minutes later, a different manager—bald, tanned, and built like a bouncer—approached us and told us to leave. While people were slowly filtering out, saying goodbyes, he repeatedly came to our table, pressuring us to leave, even though we had just purchased drinks.

When we asked if we could transfer our drinks into plastic cups, the request was denied. This same manager then began getting aggressively close to women at the table, raising his voice and making the atmosphere very hostile. When I calmly pointed out that there was no need to shout, he mocked me by pulling faces—a childish and completely inappropriate way for a supposed manager to behave.

The most shocking moment came as I was leaving. I was the designated driver for my family. After getting into my car, this manager flagged down a passing Garda van, who then followed me and pulled me over. The Garda were courteous and professional, but it was clear the manager’s actions were purely spiteful.

Overall, this was one of the worst hospitality experiences I’ve ever had. The staff—particularly the bar and floor staff—did their best under pressure, but the management’s attitude was aggressive, unwelcoming, and completely unprofessional. For a venue that markets itself as suitable for events, the way we were treated was nothing short of disgraceful. I would strongly advise others to think twice before booking The Betsy for any...

We had a large booking of 50 people booked for my sisters 30th (A surprise). The booking was made over the phone a month in advance.The day before the party they told us the platters we ordered wouldnt be available and accused us of never ordering them.

I wrote an email to say I was dissapointed with the way the booking was dealt with and suggested all bookings to be made through email in the future to prevent this happening. Shortly after I got a call the lady was very rude and was adament it was not her fault. She then said she was going to get her boss.

A male came on the phone and was extremely rude. He asked me a question then shouted at me for talking over him if I tried to explain the situation. He said "you asked to speak to me you better believe you have to listen to me" I explained I never asked to speak to him they called me. He claimed I had to speak with him because I complained and now hes dealing with it. I expressed he was actually escalating the situation and asked him to leave it. He asked me do I know where I stand and am I ready to listen. I then stayed quite while he spoke down to me in a very aggresive demenor for a minuite or two. At this stage I was close to tears and expressed that it was not customer service and I was not willing to listen to any more abuse ,again suggesting him to leave it. I expressed I would not be going back to which he replied "I dont care for your buisness as a matter of fact I dont care for you" . He called me a condcending rude little person. I was in floods of tears after the call and rang my brother in law and we decided to cancel the booking. My brother in law rang back to cancel as I couldnt face him again. He informed the man I was very upset after the phonecall the mansuggested it was because I was a women if he was a women hed be crying too .

I have managed a resturant before and I was in shock of the customer service here at the Betsy. It takes alot for me to complain as I know the stresses of working in this industry however this is an inexcusable way to treat someone.

I would like to suggest they only take bookings through email in the future to prevent anything like this happening again.

I would also like to suggest that Mental health is a huge issue in Ireland so please be mindful of this especially when dealing with the public.

I would also like to recommened Wrights Cafe Bar across the road . They accepted our large booking last minuite. The service was exceptional and we had a...

We ( 3 of us ) went to Betsy in Swords for Mother’s Day , our table was booked for 6 o Clock. (Point 1)when we arrived we were told by the manager that our table was not ready and to have a drink and wait in the bar. (Point 2) I ordered a round of drinks for us at a cost of €26.70 . When we were seated we ordered our 3 course meal and starters came quickly (point 3 )but deep fried Brie ( x2 ) were cold. (Point 4 )We waited ages for our main course it was 7.45 when it came table booked for 6. O’clock. 2 . of us ordered stake’s that (point 5 )were advertised on the menu to come with tomatoes on the vine but instead came with a half of a tomato. (Point 6 )Also the menu on the Betsy swords post ( there own page ) did not mention a supplement of €5 per stake but the same menu on the evening did ( x2 ) (point 7 )when the plates came out there was very little chips so I asked for one more portion that never came ( point 8) we ordered a round of drinks at the table and when they came one of the glasses was to have Malibu in it but was only ice . (Point 9 ) I ordered Eton mess that came on a plate and not in a glass it was meringue but the chewy part only no hard shell either with a scoop of ice cream that I left. I have never had a Metingue like it before. So a round of drinks while we waited for our booked table €26.70 & an extra € 10 charge for stake’s on the evening not mentioned on the menu we booked from. We had a good Drive to Betsy’s so we would usually have only One Drink with our meal and water so we could drive home and leave the car to go local for a few more drinks on Mothersday. It was our first time there and we were very disappointed with it . I rang twice and spoke to the manager he kept apologising and said he and the owners were not happy with many of the days/evenings events and if we went for a meal again he would give us a drink on the house . Definitely not a good customer service guy. 😟😟. PS. There were tables left empty for ages while people were sent to the bar as they were told there table was not ready. The family that were next to us in the bar were seated at the table opposite us and as the manager seated them he apologised for the wait on there table but it had been empty for 45 minutes as I had commented on it when we sat down. PLEASE DONT ADVERTISE THINGS YOU CANT DELIVER AND THEN CHARGE...