The Anchor — Restaurant in Chichester

I feel very sorry to have to be honest but unfortunately we didn't have the best experience at the Anchor today. First of all the bad points - the service today was not good at all. Everyone is very friendly, but it was so slow and lots of errors were made. We ordered our drinks, which my mum ordered an Aspall. The drinks took half an hour to arrive and when they did they bought to us an Old Mout. We questioned this as it wasn't what we ordered and we were told they didn't have Aspall. My husbands coke also didn't arrive so they had to go back for that. We ordered starters and our mains and then had to wait for another half an hour or so for them to arrive. We asked where they were and they were bought out a few minutes after. We were then waiting another 15 minutes or so for the plates to be cleared, which was actually done by the carvery chef because he noticed we'd been waiting so long. We didn't have to wait too long for mains again because the chef on the carvery took control of our table at that point. When our plates were cleared away we were asked if we wanted to see the dessert menu, which didn't arrive, so we had to ask again. Desserts were again about another half an hour and were also bought out by another one of the chefs who apologised for the service we had received and explained they were busier than they had expected and that there were a lot of new people working and in training. We asked for our bill when our plates were cleared and again it didn't come, so we had to ask a second time. There were quite a few other tables that were waiting quite a while for their drinks/orders/orders were wrong. The good - the pub is beautiful, really nicely decorated and warm and welcoming. Despite the errors the hospitality team were all very friendly. A special shout out to the chef on the carvery who was really helpful and as mentioned above, noticed we'd been waiting for a long time. He was also very personable and was talking to everyone he was serving. I also appreciated the explanation and apology from the chef who bought us our puddings. The food was superb, couldn't complain about anything we ate. All in all, I think it's a shame that we had really slow service as it overshadowed the great food and made it a poor experience. There were a lot of staff walking around but nothing really seemed to get done and when it was it wasn't done correctly. I do think that this place could be so good, if the service is improved. I do understand the difficulties with having new team members etc however things just didn't flow and we were in the pub for 3 and a half hours due to how long we had to wait for everything. I would come back, because there are lots of good points but for the sake of the pub and for those who were working really hard, the service definitely...

My friends and I have used this pub/restaurant several times over the last few years, and as it’s usually on Sunday, we opt for the carvery. We booked a table for 3.45 on 12th November 2023. We arrived on time and were shown to our table which was in the main hall, and seemed rather busy inside. The manager told us that someone would be with us shortly to take our order, no mention of (may I get you some drinks) which is common courtesy in most places. After waiting at least 15 mins, my friend’s husband decided to go and order our drinks from the bar area as it seemed we’d been forgotten about. Just before he returned, which took him (10 mins to get the drinks) I called one of the staff over to say we were still waiting for someone to take our food order. He told us he’d be with us in two minutes. We opted for 3 smaller carvery’s for OAP’s (although mine was the nut roast, as I’m vegetarian. My friends son ordered the smoked paprika chicken & chorizo skewers with pitta bread etc. We were then told we’d have to wait to be called up for the carvery. Another 20 minutes went by and we were finally called. My vegetarian option was ready on the glass above the carvery, so I continued to add the veg to my plate. I could see my friend talking to man carving the meat, who explained to her that there was no turkey left and she would have to wait another 45 as the other one was still cooking. She has dietary issues, and turkey was the only meat she could eat. Her husband was behind me with a “Tea Plate” with a few slices of meat on, so I said to him, are they giving another plate for the vegetables. He said “no, apparently this is it, a child’s plate!” The size of the plate you’d fit a bread roll on! There is no way he could get even one potato and veg on it. How can they justify a charge of £10.95 for a plate so small. They both decided to go without as this should have been explained when order was taken. I’ve ordered children’s carvery’s for my grandchildren in other other pubs, and the plates are only slightly smaller than the adults plate, and usually half the price. This child’s plate was fit for a 2 year old, absolute joke! This should all have been explained when taking our order. Customer service was extremely poor, and atmosphere non...

Disappointing. Booked in advance. Party of 5. When we arrived there was only one barmaid serving, wasnt busy whatsoever but she was so dreadfully slow serving and we waited about 10 mins before even being acknowledged. Once at the table it was freezing and drafty. After ordering we then waited an hour and 10 mins for the food to come out. As did the table next to us. No body bothered to come out and apologise for the long wait either. My son ordered hunters chicken but it didn't have any bacon, I had chilli that was meant to have nachos and sour cream, instead i got ready salted crisps and no sour cream, my parents ordered cottage pie with veg but the carrots were rock hard and cold. The waitress' etiquette and manner was poor and practically threw my dad's cottage pie down on the table and said "Oh my god". I reported my son's lack of bacon and she said she'd speak to the kitchen but never came back again and nor did the bacon. I asked for sour cream for my chilli and was told they didn't have any. The table next to us also experienced the same issues and one lady sent her hunters chicken back and didn't want anything further owing to the total lack of service. We didn't bother to stay for deserts as by this time it was getting late and didn't know what we would get or how long it would take. When it came to paying, still no apology whatsoever. The boy dealing with my complaint was no older than 18 years old and seemed very bewildered, they took the price of sons dinner from the bill as a matter of courtesy after I requested recompensence but I wanted them to acknowledge everything else and eventually I was told our meals were on the house. Such a shame as its a Lovely venue and has a lot to offer. It is very dog friendly and my dogs were offered water and dog treats and made to feel very welcome. Potentially it could have just been a bad day but it has put us off...