Salt and Malt — Restaurant in Bristol

I’ve been to salt and malt numerous times in both branches, aka at the harbour and in Chew Valley. Always was a nice experience to go to and wind down for what I would consider a great Friday or comfort food. However today sadly was the outlier due to the poor service.

You come in and don’t see any signs as they are tiny and have no accessibility in mind. Apparently if you are tired or god forbid wear glasses or are disabled you will not see it.

You will see other guests taking a seat with no problem and ordering however once we ordered we weren’t asked wether we where eating in or out and then the server (He was lovely) forgot to give us our number for which he later apologised.

However we where given it in a take away box despite clearly being seen seated and suddenly as we where eating we where approached by a Polish lady who started being rude right off the bat telling us to go eat outside as we had our food in boxes. Where no other member of staff seemed to have a single issue except for her.

Trying to explain it she was very argumentative and rude and ill mannered to say the least. She didn’t let me or my mum explain and as I got fed up of being spoken to the way she did (Keep in mind I work a front facing job and even when met with aggression I do not speak to any individual the way she had spoken to me and my mum) I declared that we would leave however we would reflect this in our review as we have no experienced any kind of unpleasantry in neither of the branches. (We usually eat out so this was the first time we decided to eat in).

Having said so in Polish to my mum who already was having a bad day due to being told her cancer potentially could’ve gotten worse (This was supposed to be a treat to cheer her up). The lady that came to scold us switched to polish said “You should’ve said so it would change things” referring to us being Polish and then more rudely saying and instigating a reaction out of us by saying my gentle mention to my mum about leaving a review and feedback was “not cool” and “not okay” apparently proceeded to tell us that if we where nicer (as if we didn’t get up to leave) that if we where ‘nicer’ (despite having been spoken to as less than a dog) that she would’ve put our food on a plate and after some lecturing and instigating seeing no reaction from us. she eventually offered to put it on a plate.

What was supposed to be a comforting putting to cheer me and my mum at the end of the day turned into a grim silent eating session. However the food was good as ever sadly the mood did take some flavour away. Shame to...

Went there today for lunch with family. Service was shocking ! Staff not attentive interested and even took 20 mins to get the bill and had to go chase them. Also never a fan of the service charge being added to all bills and the guilt of having to ask for the 10% To be taken off, feels like I have done something wrong. I do tip but only if it's good service ans today you fell short.

The food well cooked,the half smashed garden peas with garlic butter different,we had large cod and chips and also fishcakes. Fishcakes were good size and tasty with a nice texture The large cod, well have had larger when ordering a small elsewhere. But would appear not all are crested equal the very attractive lady behind had a nice thick bit of cod overhanging the plate, ourselves not so large thick ir attractive and again service seemed to be based on the person! I did complain on paying the bill and told they are all done on weight and depends on the cut, never heard such BS in all my days! It's either a large fillet or a small I don't get that issue in any of the other chippers I go in, posh or not. Chips were lovely fresh and crisp with a good fluffy center and clean tasting.ehy they have to put them in a a little metal pot is beyond me - no its not it's the new fad of making less look more, just dish them up on the plate next to the fish in the traditional way and save the environment one dishwasher load at a time. Cost was £16 for the large cod about £4/£5 more than. It should be ut paying to location and name as nothing like it close. Also had a bottle or overpriced house wine, not sure high ball glasses are the correct thing for wine ??! Felt very can't ve bothered.

Total cost for five meals and bottle of wine £97 plus the £10 service charge

For fish and chips when locally cn get the same for £11 plus a chip bottle of white for£5 not sure th £40ish additional charge is worth it.

3 stars as nothing wrong with quality of food let down for all the other reasons. Next time I want a fish lot will go in the chipper on the way home and have lunch in one of the other places as having tested a few they are pretty good.

Overall opinion playing on location and...

Having visited the Chew Valley location on a number of occasions, and being so well looked after as a Coeliac, this was quite a different experience, unfortunately predominantly down to the staff. We were seated right next to the till, entrance/ waiting area, and quite loud music so we thanked the waitress for the table, sat down, and she came back and (in a particularly abrupt manner) said "I said to wait until I'd cleaned the table".

Another lady took our food order, and when I mentioned I was coeliac, she might as well have rolled her eyes at me. She seemed offended by me asking if they use different tongs for the gluten free items. When I asked whether the Mayonnaise was gluten free, she stood with an annoyed look, seemed super put out and said "well yes. There is no chance of cross contamination". Clearly there is chance of this, as there are gluten -containing items on the menu. But that's also not what I asked so I asked her to double check as not all Mayonnaise is Gluten free.

Genuinely, you'd have thought I'd asked her to fetch a boat from the harbour, take me on a day's fishing trip, and grill the fish in front of me she made my niece and I feel SO awkward and like I was such an imposition.

Yes, Coeliacs need food that is gluten free. But we also need to be incredibly strict with cross contamination. And yes, we need to check this. And yes, this is a draining part of eating out. And yes we already feel like we're being annoying having to ask about these things. And yes, we are trying to avoid serious health complications.

And yes, it would be MUCH more helpful and such a nicer experience if your waitresses could appreciate this.

Will I return? To Chew Valley yes, always treated with a smile, respect, and kindness there.

The food was good however, how we were made to...