Mourne Seafood Bar — Restaurant in Belfast

We had a very disappointing experience here. Having been diagnosed with bowel cancer for the second time, earlier in the year, I recently had a pan-proctocolectomy which involves very major surgery. At the same time I had a permanent ileostomy. The wound on my bottom has been slow to heal and is very painful. Sitting is not yet possible for me and I have to lie on my side when at rest. I’m determined not to let this spoil my enjoyment of life though, so I’ve been carrying on as usual. We called in and booked a table at the Mourne Seafood Bar and explained to the person taking the booking that I’d need one of the bench seats at the side of the restaurant in order to lie down to eat. When we got to the restaurant the following day I told the server I had to lie down to eat because of having had major surgery and was told it wasn’t a problem. So far so good, but once the food had arrived I was told that I couldn’t have my feet up on the bench. I’d removed my shoes before hand and I was being careful not to spread out along the bench, but the solution offered involved me having my feet up on a separate stool, but in a sitting position. This wasn’t possible for me under the circumstances. I didn’t move my feet in the end and nothing else was said, but the damage had been done. I felt embarrassed and upset, and it just killed my appetite. I didn’t enjoy the meal. We ate and drank up as quickly as we could in order to leave the restaurant where we no longer felt welcome. To my shame, I lost my temper on the way out and raised my voice and swore at the front line staff. This was totally inappropriate and regret having done so. At the same time though, the incident had totally ruined my own and my wife’s enjoyment of the evening. During the exchange with the staff I was told it was the head chef who had objected to my feet being up on the bench. He or she failed to put in an appearance and left the more junior staff to deal with the situation. For the record I would have much preferred to sit comfortably had I been able to do so. I also felt the need to describe the surgery to the staff and show them my stoma in order to justify myself. That was a most embarrassing experience. We’ll certainly never be going back to be humiliated there ever again. To be fair the front line staff had all been lovely and I apologise for shouting and swearing at them. The head chef though clearly has a problem with hidden disabilities and handicaps, so if you come into either category I recommend that you go somewhere more...

Very overrated for food and service here. Much better options in Belfast. Our group of 4 was quite disappointed. While about half the food was really good, the other half was barely just ok. But it's the service that really makes this place a joke.

First off, the oysters, fish & chips, & mussels were all very good. But that is true at most places in Belfast. So nothing to make this places any better than anywhere else. The coconut prawns were awful and not sure why their chowder gets good reviews but it was nothing special and had too much dill. Some of the other food we got was disappointing as well.

But what really made the visit terrible was the service. Not only is it extremely slow, but expect incompetence and rudeness if you visit here. I'm not sure how a place that is so popular cannot grasp the concept that not everyone wants to pay on just one bill. They literally cannot figure out how to separate a bill for a table.

BEFORE we ordered we specifically asked our waitress to separate our bill in 2. We had 2 couples and each couple wanted to pay for themselves (I know, a totally absurd concept, right?) The waitress at first seemed utterly confused by the request. I literally had to explain it as if talking to a 1st grader. But then she said "OK" and so I thought it was settled. (If she had just said, "we can't do that" then it would have been fine. But no, she said ok). Then, after dinner we literally waited 20 minutes and no one came by to bring us a bill. So I just walked up to the counter and said we are leaving and need to pay our bills. Well, the manager came over and aggressively put the bill down on the counter (just 1 bill, not 2) and said, "if you want to pay separately then YOU can add it up and tell me how much you are going to pay each". She then just walked off and came back a few minutes later and said, "why do you want to pay separately anyway". Seriously??? You run a business in a busy city that gets hundreds of thousands of visitors every year and you STILL can't grasp that not everyone wants to pay in just 1 bill?? Customer service here is severely lacking. I get it, paying with just 1 bill is common place in Northern Ireland and that is how the locals like to pay, but not all your customers are locals! Not everyone in the world does it the way you do. Doesn't make your way better than ours or vice versa, but learn how to treat your customers.

I DO NOT...

My recent visit to Mourne Seafood Bar, touted as a must-visit spot in Belfast, unfortunately, left a bitter taste in my mouth. Recommended by the host of my Airbnb, my friends and I were eager to indulge in what we hoped would be a memorable dining experience, especially as it marked the final meal of our Belfast trip.

However, what should have been a delightful evening quickly turned sour. Upon perusing the menu, we were served glasses of water by a female waitress, only to discover a fly resting on the water's surface. Politely, I requested a replacement, but to my surprise, no apology was extended, and even after my repeated requests, a new glass of water was not promptly provided.

The disappointments continued to mount as our drinks were inexplicably delayed, despite the restaurant not being particularly busy. To our dismay, upon finally receiving our drinks, we discovered an unknown a blurry foreign substance floating inside one of the beers. Once again, our concerns were met with a lack of apology or acknowledgment from the waitress.

Frustrated by the series of mishaps, I sought out the supposed manager of the restaurant to address the situation. While he offered an apology and promised to provide our ordered drinks for free as compensation, it was disheartening to discover upon receiving the bill that the price of one of the drinks had not been removed.

Expressing my disappointment, I requested the removal of the service charge. However, to my dismay, I was informed that the complimentary drinks were considered the compensation for the service charge. Feeling as though I had no other option, I reluctantly paid the fee.

While I understand that mistakes can happen in any establishment, the lack of accountability, disregard for basic hygiene, and dismissive attitude towards customer concerns were deeply troubling. Furthermore, the subtle microaggressions encountered throughout our interaction left me questioning the inclusivity and professionalism of Mourne Seafood Bar.

In conclusion, my experience at Mourne Seafood Bar was overshadowed by subpar service and unaddressed microaggressions, detracting from what should have been a memorable dining...