Cod & Lobster — Restaurant in England

Sadly we felt really disappointed after all the hype ! A group of 5 of us staying in the village booked in here for a family birthday meal and it really wasn’t anywhere near our expectations . On arrival it was lovely and busy, bustling bar and lovely evening sunshine flooding in through the windows but in contrast to this, scowling faces behind the bar and disinterested staff ( apart from one helpful server who greeted us on arrival and seated us ). The menu is good, the higher prices reflect the excellent local produce but they don’t really know how to cook it ! Overcooked and dehydrated Scallops, rubbery prawns , Seafood Linguine with more oil than seafood or Linguine, Bland Fishcakes, flavour free Salmon and tired and drooping salads. We had a round of 6 oysters which were good but out of 9 other dishes between us that’s hardly an achievement . The servers behind the bar are some of the frostiest we’ve ever encountered ! Not a smile between them and not even a please or thank you - that’s really poor and suggests any unhappy ship ! The Rose wine is far too warm when served by the bottle ,as they don’t put iced water into the wine coolers - come on bar staff , during the summer it’s essential to serve wine in coolers ! Nobody’s perfect and we appreciate it was a busy Friday night but even after we asked you didn’t stick any ice in . We would have forgiven all this if the service had helped out the failings of the food with a smile or odd word of welcome ! When asked “ is your food alright ?” ( why not just say how’s your food ? at least encouraging some feedback ) I said no it wasn’t but we never heard back from the kitchen so they were either too busy or just not concerned . This place should be , could be and WOULD be better if the team just cared a little bit more about the customers. It’s in a lovely location, has access to great supplies and serves a bustling village - but sadly they just don’t know how to host , it doesn’t need to be Silver Service as that wouldn’t suit the relaxed and rustic atmosphere but it might help paying customers feel welcome and support the chefs when the foods not quite the catch of the day ! Avoid , lower your expectations or just sit outside with a pint and a packet of crisps - the views the same and the gulls are much friendlier...

I visited the establishment yesterday 24/07/24 hoping for an atmospheric lunch in the sun. I saw a single free table(a good sign) on the terrace and quckly asked inside if ordering at the table was OK and if psyment could be made by card. The answer to both questions was affirmative, sounded promising. After sitting I asked the gave the first passing waitress my order. I was surprised that she did not return with the bankcard machine to take payment but assumed I would pay when it arrived. I asked several other staff in the ensuing 25 minutes until it dawned on me that maybe my order had in fact failed. At this point I asked another waitress if she could check the status of my order. After more minutes a senior staff member(the landlady?) asked what I had ordered at which point it became clear that they had no record of my order(it had never been passed on by the original waitress. This senior staff cynically asked if "I thought I had ordered lunch". Myself and other customers were amazed at this language as I had clearly given a verbal order and it had not been refused by the originsl waitress. I was then asked if I eould like to reorder lunch, but as I had wasted 35 minutes if my paid car parking ticket I no longer had sufficient time to wait and eat a lunch. The apology was perfunctory and insincere in tone with a continued "thought I ordered" mentality on the part of the staff. While waiting I had overheard another customer/staff altercation where a customer had complained about how she had been spoken to. In conclusion, the whole 45 minutes was a waste of time,...

My wife and I took a chance on a beautiful winter's day and called in for lunch on visit to Staithes. Pub was alive with people and found one of last tables, overlooking harbour. Lots of people, but music level was low 😇. Only slight disturbance was one yapping dog...(hence 4 stars for atmosphere) but thankfully eventually calmed down. Service was run by a landlady who had her finger on the pulse, and customer service top notch...well done to her!! Especially that the team of young people serving and cooking etc well and truly doing their job. Big pat on the back to them too! Great to see local people employing local young people and doing it with SUCH success. Big pluses for that. We both had fish menu and couldn't say enough about quality, speed of service, and value for money. Major ticks all round. A wonderful surprise to enjoy this chance encounter and we tried to express this in being generous with a tip. Sadly especially since the pandemic this custom in UK seems to have died out. Shame on us all, I say..and I hope this review will help us all to do better. Having worked in a Service Industry all my life, I don't think its possible to show too much appreciation to those who serve. And absolute tonic to see young people so well motivated in their work. I hope that they will read this review even if no-one else does! Thank you all very much for your hospitality. Well...