Stix & Stones Ballyhackamore — Restaurant in Belfast

Dined here on Friday 29th March as party of 4. Food was fantastic however service was extremely poor. Waiter we had was very surly and unfriendly. A drink was knocked over and spilt whilst he was serving them before the meal and no apology offered or complimentary drink to acknowledge this. Had to wait ages to order both drinks and food - waiting service was not attentive and staff clearly weren’t allocated tables to service as we had to flag down a young waiter to take our drinks order and again a young girl To take order for our mains. Staff came across as inexperienced - didn’t know menu well as when we asked for a green salad to accompany the mains we were told they did a Caesar salad. When one of our party asked what the gubeen croquettes were she didn’t know. When we asked what steak she’d recommend she didn’t Try to understand what type we liked just said “em I don’t know I only eat sirloin”. None of our patty were asked how we liked our steaks cooked , a basic question in any decent restaurant which serves steak. Main waiter at start took drinks order and when we asked for 3 gin and tonics we weren’t asked what type of gin we wanted or what type of tonic.

No bloody Mary’s were on the cocktail Menu and when we asked to order some we’re told no we don’t do them. This is a common cocktail and surprised it wasn’t on the menu.

We ended up having 3 different waiting staff serving us and this was very odd and very disappointing. Especially when it was clear they didn’t know the menu and none made any effort to engage with us during the evening or ask how our meal was . Glasses and empty bottles of tonic from 2 rounds of drinks sat on our table and we had to tidy them away ourselves by setting them on the ledge beside our table. We weren’t offered the wine list at any point - had to ask for this ourselves .

Service was extremely poor and really impacted our overall experience of what could be a great local spot as the food was excellent.

Would hesitate to return or recommend based on the service we received to be honest.

The prices being charged for the food are above those in other local restaurants but the service was the worst compared to all other restaurants in Ballyhack which we’ve dined at. Can’t justify charging these prices for food with the level Of service being offered . More staff needed (especially on a Friday night with full covers ), dedicated table service from one waiter is a basic expectation in any decent restaurant, staff should be attentive, know the food menu inside out and ensure empty glasses are removed as tables are small.

Finally the way steaks are served on separate large stones made the table extremely cramped with plates, side dishes water glasses and wine glasses on it also. Literally no space at all and we had to keep trying to move things onto the side ledge just to be able to reach for things. No serving spoons for side dishes were available or provided either .

Great decor, great diner atmosphere but service, table layout and value for money (food prices did not match service provided at all) really let down our experience.

If you’re charging these prices then the whole waitressing service needs to be addressed with more staff on the floor assigned to covers and trained better (knowing the menu and being focussed on customer experience). Current set up will really impact returning customers and lead to...

Two of us went yesterday evening for dinner. It was extremely disappointing, except for Curtis's service.. The food was not presented well. The mains were inedible and the crème brulé was undercooked and runny. I barely touched my main course and my son struggled to eat less than half if his. The chicken did not taste normal, and my son's steak that was supposed to be in good hands with the chef, was served to him tough and chewy - well done. He asked for it to be cooked juicy/medium. Poor child chewed and spat out as much as he could then gave up. The restaurant was almost empty. No excuse for poor presentation and unpleasant food. We paid in full. I doubt we will ever return, it was a complete turn off. The usual chef was off and the stand in chef clearly is not equipped or experienced enough with the basics of cooking. Nobody from the restaurant has bothered to reach out to me. This chef had served many meals to customers that were substandard and yet he nothing is being done and the customers are still being charged. Absolutely ridiculous! Sure way to loose customers. The restaurant should be making customers whole if they were served inedible food. The owner and staff...

1 out of 5 – Extremely Disappointing Experience

We visited yesterday with a booking for 2:00 pm. Unfortunately, the food didn’t arrive until 3:30 pm, and when it finally did, everything was stone cold or barely lukewarm.

I ordered what was described as a roast beef dinner, but the “roast beef” turned out to be more like a chopped beef portion – certainly not what I’d call a steak or proper roast beef. All the vegetables were lukewarm at best, and most were cold.

My father’s seabass was smaller than the size of a hand, served with just three or four small roasted potatoes and exactly five peas (yes, we counted), all of which were hard. My brother’s meal was very dry. My mother’s chicken supreme came without the sauce you would expect – it was still somewhat tasty but, like everything else, only lukewarm.

The head server never approached our table, leaving the waitress to deal with the situation. She did her best, but she was working with a very bad situation. There was no apology, no offer of compensation, discount, or any incentive to return.

For the prices charged, the quality, portion sizes, and service were shockingly poor. Sadly, we won’t be...