The Reg — Restaurant in Waterford

When we arrived to The Reg, we were enticed by the upper dining terrace, restaurant and night bar. All it is is a small patio with pub like atmosphere. We were seated right away and then waited another 25 minutes before getting the chance to order our drink and our food. I ordered a small caesar salad and a small portion of hot wings and my husband ordered the fish and chips. Food came out fairly quickly and then we were just so disgusted that we couldn't wait to finish our drinks and head out somewhere else as soon as possible. As you can see by the photo, my caesar salad came out as the large portion and was totally covered by old strips of bacon and a huge, dry chicken breast that had been sitting out for who knows how long. I proceeded to eat around the gross meat for awhile but couldn't hack it. The wings were so overcooked that the bones were breaking apart into mush as you tried to eat it.The celery that came with the wings were slimy and brown on both ends. The only saving grace was the blue cheese dip. My husband fish and chips were soggy and disgusting and I think they put turmeric in the fish batter as the grease that was pooling up underneath it was staining the plate yellow. We would have complained about our food if anyone would have came and quality checked on our meal. We proceeded to try and nibble as much as we can because we were hungry and then decided to give up. We sat their with our half eaten plates until our drinks were done and then had to get up to find a server to pay for our bill. There seemed to be no manager on duty. The service was polite and ok but was only seen during arrival and ordering as no one ever came up to check and see if we liked our food or if we wanted another drink or anything. We were so excited about this place and was going to order the share seafood combo and after receiving our meals were SO GRATEFUL WE DIDNT as I'm sure it would make us sick. If dining here do not expect a classy terrace dining menu, expect a basic pub atmosphere, with terrible food and being served by young kids who are polite but obviously have no concept of time or efficiency or serving standards. We will NEVER be back...

The reg

Came here for an early dinner our first day in Ireland. The staff was very friendly and welcoming. We were seated right away (because our jet lagged bodies didn’t realize it was only 5pm even though it was pitch black).

We ordered drinks and oysters right away. The drinks were delicious and I loved that there was a good selection of gin cocktails (my fave). The Thin Lizzy and Florarada were particular faves. One person ordered a whisky drink (old fashioned). He felt it was on the sweet side but enjoyed the bourbon. The oysters were absolutely delicious. Super briney. Sauce not needed. They come from a bay twenty minutes away according to our server. Highly recommend them.

Two of us shared the three course value option splitting the seafood chowder (scrumptious!), the mussels (delicious with a broth that reminded me of the inside of a pot pie and came with twice as many as I’d have expected for the price), and the creme brûlée (also yum!).

Everyone else ordered individually. Orders ranged from the fish and chips (one person loved, one thought it was fine) to a burger (excellent!) to the seafood pie (which was just meh to be honest, super cheesy and breast and hard to pick out the seafood among the richness). A couple of people also ordered the potato soup (on special) which was soupier and thinner than a lot of chunkier potato soups are. I personally liked it, but it go mixed reviews at the table and everyone agreed the seafood chowder was better.

Overall it was a great evening. We enjoyed the relaxed atmosphere. The food was mostly delicious and everyone enjoyed themselves. Conveniently located in the Viking triangle, it seems like a great spot for tourists and...

What happened? The Reg used to be a five star place for us to have an amazing dining experience. The last 3 visits have been horrible. Slow and clumsy service is what you will receive. This last was my older son's 23rd birthday. He requested the Reg for our past excellent experiences. We were prepared for disaster because of our last two visits, but this one took the Birthday Cake.... First, seated at a ripped booth with tape, the waiter brings our drinks and serves the first one by spilling it all over an already crowded table. The corner which we were sat was dark, and everyone had to use their phone lights to read the menu. My wife asked for better lighting as our "battery-operated" table lamp was dim. Waiter never returned with the lamp, nor mentioned it. I had to switch the lamps myself from another empty table. As a matter of fact, since we were sitting by the non-operating bar and kitchen entrance, and we had a 3 course meal, several times I had to bus my own table, and not once did anyone say anything about this, all the employees in the area just looked over, not one apology for their slow and sloppy cohort. At dessert, my wife orders coffee first, so it comes before or with dessert. Dessert came. I had to once again get up, go to the operating bar and ask for our coffee. The food was amazing and that's compliments to the chef. The front of house was a disaster!! I got up to pay as we already waited 10 minutes for anyone to appear. Front of house...