saltWATER — Restaurant in England

I rarely feel motivated to review places on the internet but this place is staggering. We ate here yesterday and rarely have I endured such ineptitude. We thought it might make a difference to our last-morning breakfast next door at 'whatever it's called this season', the nondescript beach bar.

One member of staff desperately manning both a coffee machine and the till whilst four waitresses and the manager did little. The waitresses gathered for a chat and the manager stayed on the phone or laptop whilst the queues ran out the door and it took almost 20 minutes for the four customers in front of us to gleam 6 coffees and order 8 meals. As far as I gathered this was as one waitress was assigned to wipe down menus, one to "greet and seat" and the other two to take out food. In reality as none of these activities were taking place, none of these were busy. Additionally there seemed to be another lady who walked through several patrons (myself included) to get to cupboards, saying "excuse me" as barging through who served no discernible function.

Halfway through this masquerade of service, one of the people behind me in the queue politely suggested to the manager that service might be more efficient if either table-service of hot drinks was offered or at least that a spare member of staff manned the coffee machine. This was quite aggressively rebuked by the manager and the customer left with the manager shouting "WELL THIS IS HOW IT WORKS FOR US" after them. Five minutes later the man in front of me in the queue gave up and left himself, ordering nothing.

We asked for beans on toast for our child (no kids menu), and were told "we don't do that", to which I asked if they separately had beans and toast and whether I could order an additional portion of each which took some time to orchestrate in the system.

My coffee was requested with Caramel Syrup for which apparently the pump had been broken so the top was unscrewed and was poured in to the cup, prompting those on the other side of the table (on a windy day outside at the seaside) to exclaim surprise at the overpowering scent of caramel. I added two full milk servings (from the tea we also ordered) to it but it was still undrinkable, yet I couldn't face going back to queue and the manager.

It seemed to us that the poor woman manning the counter was also making the breakfasts by the pace at which they came out as the waitresses continued to chat. Our (three orders to the same table taken next to each other) were delivered at such different times that the earliest delivered was nearly finished by the time they: (a) delivered mine; and (b) remembered they'd not brought the toast for the other breakfast and finally brought that. This was mirrored in that of the four breakfasts for the people who ordered before us, two were delivered before and two after ours!

When I then inspected the cutlery provided it was filthy, with someone else's meal remaining between the tangs of several of the forks and on some of the knives.

Perhaps worse still (? somehow it felt so, but quite the achievement to be ?) was the music. At an uncomfortable and unavoidable volume was played a selection of downbeat modern pop (such as the more disheartened Adele album tracks and similar) that was so relentlessly tiresome that it actually lowered the mood of everyone subjected to it. One of our party (most predisposed to that sort of music) actually commented that they felt they'd gone deaf when we left.

To add insult to injury, we had a lovely stay in the Sands amazing and beautifully presented new 4-bed apartment. The Sands now supposedly offers room service from Saltwater with a QR code sign in every room linking to a website. Throughout our stay I tried to order drinks on three separate days (at three different times) but on all three was greeted with "This restaurant is not accepting orders at the moment" every time.

They get one star because I can't give less. Going full "Peter Pan Lonely Boys" (imagining you'd eaten) is a better option. We...

Saw the page shared on Facebook and because the food looked so delicious I saved the page and booked for an upcoming visit to Scarborough.

We were seated upstairs in the snug area, really nice and cosy, views from just behind this area are stunning. Looking out to sea, across North Bay and towards the castle.

The menu is all online, each table has a QR code and a Web link. We did find this a little awkward as we struggled with mobile signal but once we got on the menu it was relatively straightforward. Maybe customer WiFi would help?

They serve a nice selection of drinks, draught and bottled. The Dark Fruits Cider was gorgeous.

The evening menu had a great selection.

4 tapas dishes for £16, freshly made pizza, fish dishes and a kids menu as well as some really tasty looking burgers.

We went for 4 tapas dishes, a pizza, and a garlic and tomato bread, then a kids meal.

Wow!! Tapas...... Garlic and chilli Prawns were amazing, not too much chilli, so tasty, Patatas Bravas was one of the nicest I've ever had, meat selection was lovely and had a small side of mixed olives I am not a huge olive fan but these were perfect. And finally Paella which also comes as a main on its own, without a doubt this was the nicest Paella I've ever had, next time I will be having this as a main, it was absolutely delicious. Portion sizes were generous and great value for money.

Pizza and garlic bread were freshly made, really tasty and huge!!! A definite 10 out of 10. Only suggestion we have is for maybe a cheese and garlic bread option.

Kids meal came with a drink which made it great value. I will admit I cringed when I saw chicken nuggets as I knew my son would want them and I really like him to have something different when we go out, he can have them any time. However..... I was really surprised. The "nuggets" were massive! He got 3 huge pieces of chicken breast which was battered with chips which were homemade. He said they were the nicest he's ever had.

Our bill was just under £50 which for the Quality of the food we were really happy with.

2 little things, I hope when covid is over you offer more traditional table service. The online ordering is fab given the current climate but I do think that it can feel a bit like your a number not a customer and having a hospitality background I do like that rapport with your server. BUT as I said given we are in the middle of a pandemic the current system is brilliant and makes you feel safe and protected. And secondly I'd like it if you can open a branch in Sheffield sometime soon that would be great.. Thanks 😂

I have seen on Facebook that there have been a few teething issues but if you are thinking of visiting please don't be put off, everyone is so friendly, the food is amazing and the view is one the...

No orders being taken at midday! Left waiting for 15 minutes before being asked if I was being served. Poor service will be reviewed. No menus available on tables. Asked for omelette - couldn't have that because it was on breakfast menu and I was too late to order from breakfast menu. Asked for lunch menu only to be told breakfast started late so lunch orders weren't being served for another 20 minutes! An open cafe/restaurant not taking any food orders! No wonder the place was virtually empty and people were leaving having not ordered anything. One couple were struggling to order a coffee. Took my business elsewhere - certainly won't return to this cafe/restaurant. With the attitude I received from staff and eventually the owner, I'm surprised it's still in business. UPDATE: If you are still considering eating at this establishment - see the response from the owner 😂. Do not consider this establishment at all - the owner is clearly angry and does not take genuine criticism well. I do get out a lot and businesses have to be either exceptional or really bad to inspire me to review and this establishment is one of the worst I've ever visited. I'm not the only reviewer that the owner has ranted at in response to a negative review. It's definitely the right cafe/restaurant I reviewed. I was not confused. I should have gone next door - in all likelihood I would have actually been served! I tried to order food at 12.00 noon right at the start of the lunch ordering window and was told by the waitress that due to breakfast serving starting late, I'd have to wait 20 minutes for the lunch slot to start! No menus were available or obvious. The owner needs to sort out his attitude and his rude staff instead of blaming potential customers who can't get served. If he had genuinely bothered checking his CCTV, he'd have noticed potential customers being ignored by his staff and then leaving without ordering food and/or drinks. I was more impressed with the cafe I found elsewhere where the staff actually had customer service skills 😄. Luke, you've lost some more business. I won't be recommending your establishment as a place to dine and I certainly won't be back! I've circulated your...