Penny Blue Restaurant & Bar — Restaurant in Carlisle

Ate here with my wife on Sunday 2/11. We were greeted very warmly and professionally by a gentleman who quickly arranged for us to be taken to our table. It was just after 4.15 and it was clear that they had been very busy with Sunday Dinners as it packed with diners who were just finishing. We were asked if we wanted drinks after about 10 minutes of being seated and the service at that time was very good and efficient. Our starter of haggis bon bons was lovely and our chicken main and roast beef main was brought out without any delay and was very nice and good quality. However, that is when the service stopped, our food was put down in front of us and we were told 'enjoy your meal', not asked if we wanted any sauces or anything else (as everywhere else does). There wasn't enough gravy on either plate so effectively we ran out and it became dry. No one came to ask if everything was ok with our meal to us or any other table around us and we couldn't find anyone to ask. Indeed after we had finished, we waited at the table for 20 minutes with our plates but no one came so I had to go and try and find someone to pay the bill. We would have definitely had desserts if the service had been better but we felt that we wouldn't bother after our experience and no tip was left as we felt that it wasn't warranted. It was a shame as our initial welcome was excellent and the food was good but the staff, although professional, seemed to just not bother looking after our side of the restaurant once the food had arrived. It could definitely be a 5/5 with a couple of...

I've been to the Penny Blue a few times... And I'm now confident enough to say... it's just not good. The food is below average, service is naff, the restaurant is too noisy, it's not clean, and there's just too many mistakes. Tonight our table of four: Was given 2 menus to share, the covers with filthy, and one was a Sunday menu that was useless. The menu really isn't very interesting... But not offensive. It's pub grub presented as fine dining though which is frustrating. After a long wait, the server put my meal in front of someone else at the table. The sauces were put with the wrong steaks and one sauce was completely wrong (nobody ordered peppercorn). Dudd of the night had to be the GRILLED ASPARAGUS, FETA CHEESE & OVEN BAKED TOMATO SALAD Shaved chilli pickled cabbage, pistachio & garden herb roasted potato salad. ...Oven baked tomato was some thinly shaved dehydrated tomato, no evidence of chilli in the cabbage, no trace of pistachio, 4 bay leaves (inedible in a salad!?), 5 pieces of sad potato that tasted like the back of the fridge all served in a very dill heavy mayo that simply wasn't nice. £40+ a head - categorically not worth it. Such a shame as Bartons Yard and the Halston catering is fantastic. Letting the side down! There are ways better places in Carlisle - even in the...

My partner & I visited here before seeing a comedian at the Sand centre later that evening. Based on great reviews, I thought it would be the best shout… but we left really disappointed.

When ordering food, the member of staff went to dash off not once but 3 times before we had finished ordering what we wanted. So that was really odd… it took over 40 minutes to get served, so much so my partner for the first time ever in a restaurant started to get really agitated as 2 other tables who entered & ordered after us, got served before us.

The fish itself tasted amazing & the burger itself that my partner had was lovely, but the fries were really strange, a bit like cardboard texture. We ordered onion rings each which although looked amazing, had a really bizarre vinegar taste to them. Never were we asked if everything was okay at any point during our visit.

When asking for the bill, another member of staff came over and basically dumped the receipt on the table & walked off. After 10 minutes, my partner had to get up & find a member of staff to pay the bill itself away from the table.

It’s the first restaurant we’ve ever dined where we’ve never left a tip & will most certainly never return. Really odd experience & little...