Ship — Restaurant in Barry

My dad reserved a table for us both today (30th March 2024 on a Saturday lunchtime) because we decided to eat there on our way to Barry Island. The pub wasn’t as busy as I thought it would be upon arrival. Although our reserved table was originally by a big table with a large family with young children on it, my dad asked if we could sit somewhere quieter and a member of bar staff kindly led us to a designated area for over 18s, which was mostly quieter than the main part of the pub. The music wasn’t too intrusive. I liked the decor of the pub including pictures of Barry Island.

I went to the bar to see if I could obtain an NGCI (no gluten-containing ingredients) menu but there was nobody at the bar at that time. When my dad went to that bar, the bar staff who was finally there said I could scan the QR code in the main menu for the NGCI one.

I wanted Dr. Pepper Zero with a cherry shot to drink but when my dad brought our drinks to our table, he told me there was no Dr. Pepper Zero, so he ordered me Coca-Cola Zero with the cherry shot instead. I couldn’t quite taste the cherry shot in my drink.

My dad was pleased that he could use his Blue Light Card discount code to get 20% off our meals, even on a Saturday lunchtime.

My dad ordered the Full Monty mixed grill and I ordered the Pick and Mix chicken skewers sizzler with jacket potato, salad and barbecue sauce. The chicken in both our meals was pleasantly tender, my side salad was fresh and my barbecue sauce was good but my jacket potato didn’t have the crispy skin I was expecting. There were also some tough bits in the onion and pepper mixture. My dad also enjoyed the sausages in his Full Monty, but he found his steak hard to cut even though he asked for it to be cooked rare. Despite the friendliness of the bar staff, the service was rather slow.

Overall, despite the slow and somewhat inattentive service and the slight disappointments of our food, my dad and I liked our food for the most part and the quieter atmosphere of the over...

A Voyage into Disaster – The Ship Sinks in Service and Integrity

My recent visit to The Ship was nothing short of an absolute disaster, a shipwreck of customer service, ethics, and basic human decency. My friend and I set sail towards what we hoped would be an enjoyable lunch, only to find ourselves marooned in a sea of incompetence, dishonesty, and outright refusal to take responsibility for their own failings.

To set the scene: my friend, eager to embrace modern convenience, placed her order through The Ship’s app and paid via PayPal. My food arrived promptly, yet my friend’s meal was conspicuously absent. We inquired with the server, who, with an alarming lack of concern, stated there was no such order. No attempt to check, no apology, just a cold, dismissive, "We don’t have it."

Undeterred, my friend produced her PayPal receipt—clear proof that payment had been made. One would think this would be enough to rectify the situation. Surely, at this point, any reputable establishment would rush to correct the error. Not The Ship. Instead, they doubled down on their incompetence, outright refusing to provide the food that had been paid for.

Frustrated but patient, my friend requested to speak with the manager, believing that surely someone in charge would have the decency to acknowledge the mistake and make things right. That hope was quickly dashed. The manager, with an almost comical level of shamelessness, admitted—yes, admitted—that they knew their app didn’t work with PayPal. They were fully aware that customers were being charged for food they would never receive. And yet, despite this damning confession, they still refused to honour the payment or even offer so much as a goodwill gesture. No refund, no food, no attempt at a solution—just a smug, unapologetic shrug, as if stealing from customers was an acceptable business practice.

Had this been a one-off technical glitch, swiftly acknowledged and corrected, I might have been inclined to forgive....

The ship was somewhere we went to regularly. 2 a month. On Tuesday the 1st of August we thought we'd go we hadn't been since new owners had taken over. What a shambles!!! 6 of us ordered all of our food came at different times. When my food turned up I had plastic battered into my halloumi. Yes plastic. When I took it back I was offered a fresh plate. Which they forgot to make I was waiting another 20 minutes. I had no apology and I was questioned as to why I was dissatisfied with my service. While waiting for my food I had to go and queue again to ask if it was ready it was only when a waitress passed that she realised I was still waiting and went and got it. I was finally seen and asked to see if I could speak to the manager. The polite man behind the till asked me to step to one side and he would get her after he finished serving. Another 15 minutes I was waiting until I called another waitress to see if she could get the manager. When I made my complaint the manager assured me she would refund my meal and I would have a fresh meal. My partners food turned up half of his meat was missing. When I also brought this up the manager she said that the previous owners never ordered any stock for them... they don't have much produce... then why were you selling your meals and not informing your customers... this also happened when my son's desert turned up he ordered a candy mania and it was a candy-less mania. Absolutely disgusting. While making my complaint the manager walked over took my food off me and gave me my refund and then burst into uncontrollable tears. Which resulted in us feeling terrible when the error was on their part... Totally unprofessional. I would not come here ever again. I was so disgusted at how we were treated and the lack of empathy...