The Spiny Lobster Fishmonger & Grill — Restaurant in Bristol

Poorly cooked fish, uncleaned loos. We arrived soon after opening time for lunch, pre-booked, to a nice table in the corner by the window. Friendly staff, piped music, a bright room smelling of fish (it is a fish restaurant). But the loos hadn't been cleaned that day and we were there first. Dirty stairs going down, tacky floors, evidence of inaccuracy in the gents - and just the one paper towel left from whenever it was last cleaned. The bread and dip was nice. The four scallops were tiny, swamped in garlic butter and over-cooked - £15.50. My "South Coast monkfish, garlic & parsley £37.00" was mostly bone, overcooked, and fibrous - the worst I've ever had. The ice cream and mint tea were the most enjoyable part of the meal. Being a Tuesday, the fish should have been fresh. But what we were given was not - although perhaps it was just really badly cooked - or both. A bad day possibly? But this isn't a run of the mill diner - lunch for two (we both had the same) with one bottle of fizzy water and two glasses of champagne for £182? However, not cleaning the loos before opening is such a basic failure as to suggest more of a systematic decline. My two stars overall reflect Spiny Lobster's price and hype, compared to the disappointing lunch they provided for us. Although irrespective of price, the fish we were given was not enjoyable. For reference, I did not complain as I didn't think it would help and we were celebrating. So we made the best of it, paid and left. I hope Spiny Lobster take this this review to heart and sort things out. It takes constant effort to...

it all started on the 12th january 2023. My cat had to be euthanized after contracting lungworm. I thought I'd make a reservation at my favourite restaurant, The Spiny Lobster Fishmonger & Grill. I made this reservation at 18:46 and asked for a table for two. I arrived at the restaurant at 19:06, after driving 20 minutes from my local apartment. Once I had arrived I could see something may be wrong as the building was on fire but I eventually realised, it is a grill so this must be normal. A waiter came and seated me at my table for two and asked me if i could get anything to drink. I said "a water will be fine please" and he crawled away to fetch my water. A couple minutes later at 19:10, he returned with my water and i was horrified to find that my water was mouldy and the glass had not been washed!! I told the waiter this and i saw him turn around, spit in the glass, and wipe it down with his apron!!!! Now I'm not from England you see so I dont know what the customs are like, but im sure its not normal to spit in your customers glasses!! I drank it anyway because i was quite thirsty and I then ordered my lobster. I asked for "the classic spiny lobster special" and the waiter said "absolutely sir". He returned 1 hour later with my lobster and it was black and charred. I ate it and i got 3rd degree burns on my mouth and i left the restaurant feeling...

I visited Spiney Lobster for a special birthday meal and unfortunately came away disappointed. The food itself was good – fresh and well-prepared seafood that largely lived up to expectations. However, the service fell well short of what you’d expect at this price point.

When we arrived, our table wasn’t ready as the previous diners hadn’t left. While this wasn’t the restaurant’s fault, we weren’t offered anything while we waited – not even a drink or a simple gesture to acknowledge the delay.

Throughout the meal, service remained slow. Our starters were cleared only as our mains arrived, there were no napkins on the table when we were seated, and a request for water went completely unacknowledged. I ended up with food splashed on my trousers due to the missing napkin, but again, no apology from the staff.

By the time we finished our main courses, we gave up waiting to be asked about dessert and decided to pay and leave. A member of staff did acknowledge that the service wasn’t up to their usual standard, but nothing was offered by way of apology or goodwill.

Overall, while the food was enjoyable, the poor service really took the shine off what should have been a celebratory evening. Sadly, I’d be...