Belinda's - Arundel — Restaurant in Arun

We had made a reservation for 7 a few months in advance, for a Saturday afternoon (11th August).

On arrival to the tea rooms, my fiancée and I approached the main counter to be ignored for a good 1-2 minutes by more than 2 members of staff. We were then bluntly told by an older lady, to be seated and we would be served. We explained that we had a reservation and wanted to ensure that the table was ready, and that we sat in the correct place. I believe, even if one has a reservation, that it is polite to check with staff before being seated at an eatery, however we were made to feel as if this was wrong.

My fiancée, allergic to nuts, ordered the lemon drizzle cake. It arrived as a polenta cake with almonds in, and shaved on top. While other options on the menu stated whether or not they contained nuts, this item did not.

The aforementioned older lady apologised for this and stated that the lemon drizzle was no longer on the menu - hence the polenta cake being served. When my fiancée pointed out that therefore the menu should be updated, and allergen information accurate, she was very defensive with her. She rudely stated that items were made in a kitchen containing nuts and there was nothing she could do. (This is obviously common practice, which we understand. Most people with food allergies only react if the allergen is ingested).

We found the overall response to this minor issue to be unprofessional and uncalled for, particularly the error was clearly not ours (The response given by the member of staff made more of an issue than there actually was).One can understand if an item has been withdrawn and the menu not updated, but allergen information should be accurate at all times, given the risk posed to many people with special dietary requirements (Though I hardly think a nut-free cake item is a difficult requirement to meet).

That said, the tea and scones were nice. My latte was acceptable, and the slices of cake were very generous. The Victoria sponge did look good, and I enjoyed my coffee cake.

It was busy, as expected for a Saturday afternoon. The environment was quaint. Though I suggest they remove a hanging lantern from the ceiling, which two customers stood up and banged their head on, in just the short time we were there. This is a health and safety hazard.

Based on the service though, I'm afraid I wouldn't recommend...

Had a breakfast there this morning, lovely little place with an open fire, really lovely staff, prompt service; in fact everything was going well until our food arrived, unfortunately the food was cold even though the plate was too hot to touch, the food was not even slightly warm, cold. We didn’t mention it at the time, which in reflection perhaps we should have, but when we started eating it we realised it was pretty mediocre. The cold sausages were cooked but only just and weren’t great to be honest. The cold bacon was plasticy as it had quite obviously been pre-cooked (which in itself is ok if served hot). Buttering cold toast is tricky but there was a very substantial amount of butter… which was nice. The tomato’s were nice, as were the beans. In fact the beans did actually have an element of warmth to them. Which was nice because it was cold outside. On my next trip to Arundel I’d probably try a different place for breakfast, however, if I could guarantee a warm plate of food I’d...

I guess the smell of old chip fat, pre-bought old cakes on display and plastic ivy everywhere should have set off the alarms. I had an americano coffee which tasted like used coffee grains strained through a well used sock. My partner went for the prawns Marie Rose. The prawns were warm ! and everything was tasteless.

We decided to leave at this point but not before the owner decided it was a good idea to start an argument about coffee and prawns ! If you want cheap nasty food then this is the place to visit when in Arundel otherwise plenty of other good...