The Rowdy Kitchen Bar & Eatery — Restaurant in Christchurch

We were so looking forward to dining in this local restaurant but was very disappointed. I did checked the opening hours online before heading out and it shows the closing hour is at 11pm. We arrived around 8:30pm tonight the bar staff greet us with no smile and then the waiter took us to our table. He came back with water and menu then told us make quick discussion on orders as the kitchen is closing soon( why tell your customer that! If the kitchen is closeing soon then they should have told us when we walk in ,why sit us down then pressure us to order in a short time) No help with understanding the menu( like reading out the specials ,recommendations,or even introduc the fish of the day no non of that happened ),so under the pressure we did quickly decide what like to have,the waiter took our order then never came back for our drink dink order( he did say he would come back get our drink order but we didn't see him the rest of the night) I had get up to ask other waitress to help us to get our drink.( she was only the friendly one) Our food was served around 9:10pm. No one came to check if our food was alright (in a restaurant that is standard operating procedure isn't?) Well, "The Food" was average. Kids ordered two Pizzas (they reckon there is no difference between Pizza Hut ,the only difference is at The Rowdy Kitchen you paid $25 for a pizza) My partner had Pork Schnitzel (It was deep fried not cooked in butter as Schnitzel should be therefore the pork didn't have much flavor to it , you can see the fancy herbs in the batter but can't taste it, not to mention the gravy was cold! The only good thing on that plate was chips and onion rings.) I ordered fish of the day (fish was fresh enough but the rest of the dish wasn't anything special. I had to pinch the salt and pepper from other table to give it some taste) We went to pay for the bill ,again the bar staff didn't have smile on his face and didn't ask how was our food or our experience, he is more like hurry up I want to go home kind of attitude.

Overall this wasn't a good experience, we were quite excited and looking forward to try out this local restaurant but we might be going there again as after spending $132.5 then getting the poor service and...

I am giving it a 1 star for two reasons. I arrived there on time brought my own cake in and the manager not the server told me that because I brought my own cake I will be charged $3.00 a slice for my own cake because they are not making any money. Even though the 8 us of bought their food and drink. Second reason the dishes we was given for the cake were dirty had ketchup on them still. I will not be going back there.

I usually don't reply back but I'm take a exception today. Not why sure why the owner is commenting on over a 2 year old complaint! It is about money no matter how you try to twist this narrative. I work in a restaurant myself we do not charge our customers for slicing there own cake! We value our customers patronage and they keep coming back because we are not greedy. If it takes your staff more time to clean, tidy, up behind the customer pay them more! You want customers patronizing your restaurant right? It wasn't a business meeting as you claim it was a birthday party. You must be confused with someone else. It should be made crystal clear either on YOUR website when a person books or ON the phone and IF bring your own cake you will be charged per person. I mean we wanna talk about your staff handing me dirty plates which could have been contaminated! I had two people with me that day who have a food allergy! I'm am less than thrilled about this. Crazy how this wasn't addressed at all? Questing if you are training your employees about food and safety properly? Your reply to my comment and other people who have put a low rating tells me everything I need to know about YOU and how you value your customers Blair.

Still dissatisfied...

Really awful experience with the owner himself. I was meant to meet a friend for a meal somewhere this morning because it's the start of the school holidays and my sister is taking the kids away camping. I changed the location to Rowdy Kitchen as it was near my Mum's house. I had been getting the kids stuff ready which included filling the car with petrol for them to take camping. I bought a coke at the petrol station but in the rush of dropping the car etc I only had a chance to open it when I got to the Rowdy Kitchen. My friend had already had a coffee and meal when I arrived. I ordered a $26 meal off the menu. The owner approached my table and told me that as it is their goal to make profit I am not allowed to bring my own drinks. He asked me to take it with me when I went. I acknowledged what he said and agreed I would. After another 5 mins or so he came back to the table and took the open (still full) can away saying I could have it back when I left. I said I didn't want it back after he had touched it and 'stored' it for me. He has the right to do this I am sure. He shamed me twice in front of my friend and all the other people who could clearly hear what was going on. The lady that served us was lovely and the food was also very tasty but I didn't enjoy any of that feeling so embarrassed. I know times are hard for hospitality. I am a single parent who has been locked down with her kids. I understand hard. But this seemed like an unnecessary and nonsensical way to behave if you want repeat custom...if you want loyalty. Which ultimately, brings...