Waterside — Restaurant in Adur

Picture the scene. It’s Saturday night in Shoreham and it’s cold and dark and you venture over the river to a Greene King chain pub that clearly states food is served until 2100 and you arrive at 1930 to be told no more food for walk ins.

I challenged the chap in specs as to why this is the case on a Saturday. He said we normally stop doing food at 1930-2000 on a Saturday. Really? Are you sure about that? He was rude about it too.

Off we walk in the cold to find some other food. What a joke.

Greene King is a moneymaking machine and I’m sure they’d hate to hear of this practice. The spectacled chap isn’t a landlord after all and is answerable to the higher powers. I’ve therefore contacted head office to see what they say and will update my reply based upon what they say so for transparency purposes. To further note the pub was half empty too so capacity isn’t an issue.

I’ll look forward to updating the world as to what head office say.

All in all rude unhelpful staff and not worth your time. We popped to the Swiss Cottage who happily fed us and were much more friendly. A cautionary tale for everyone there.

Update. Here’s my reply from head office. Dismissive at best. A company with contempt for the customer:

Following our investigation, we have found that unfortunately, both sites did not have the efficient staffing to keep the kitchens open for the usual amount of time during your visit. I would like to apologise for the misinformation you found online but regrettably, it was not possible to change the website on such short notice, leading to the confusion you experienced. Please know that this is something that we will look into to ensure that a similar incident does not reoccur...

The Waterside, like many a Greene King pub, suffers from a familiar predicament, its owners do not give any consideration to its actual locale. The Waterside is situated on one of the wealthiest stretches of the South Coast, yet has been kitted out like a 1970's Bingo Hall. Fine if you like microwave food and cheap moron-magnet lager. Not so good if you're sophisticated enough to have read a least a couple of books, and can tell the difference between a knife and a spoon. Sounds like snobbery ? No, this is simple distaste. Patronising the locals with a tabloid version of a pub, that does not reflect the environment or community isn't going to endear you to anyone, Greene King. Exactly how many TV screens does one building need ? Yes, it's a sports bar set up for stereotyped jack the lads acting out their master's script, but they leave the things on all the time. As a consequence, even when there's no important match on, the punters' eyes are continually attracted to the screens killing the conversation and atmosphere. The one good thing is the attitude of the exploited staff who always appear enthusiastic and friendly. I hope they realise the pub is...

We went there with our toddler son in a busy Sunday lunchtime. Once we found a table and my wife went to look for a kids' menu a member of staff walked to my son and I just to tell us that children are not allowed in that part of the pub. The other part was full, some families, mostly people with no children with them. No assistance was offered to help us swap tables with others, the guy just dropped the law of the land and walked off. As good as throwing us out just for going in with our child.

Update: Seeing the response from the owner, they are just digging it deeper. (By the way, that half was not quite that busy at all. Also, you described your sports bar as if it was a fighting arena.) As for responsibility, that just shows the level of customer service: inconsiderate. If I can politely negotiate with people on public transport to make space for another parent and small child, so can you in your own establishment.

So my verdict is confirmed: AVOID if you are with a child. The owner doubled...