Tempest — Restaurant in England

Let me start by saying that the venue manager, Owen, was excellent, professional, understanding, and clearly doing his best in a difficult situation. However, no level of professionalism from management can excuse or balance out the abhorrent, dehumanising behaviour we experienced at the hands of a security staff member named Ali.

To put it plainly, his conduct was disgraceful. From the moment we arrived, his demeanour was openly hostile, glaring, aggressive, and entirely lacking in the basic decency you'd expect at any venue, let alone a queer space during Brighton Pride. It felt like he'd forgotten where he was working, operating instead like he was guarding a high-security prison, not a club meant to be a refuge and celebration for queer people.

Throughout the night, Ali's behaviour was a pattern of intimidation. He barged through crowds with no concern for people's space or safety, scowled at guests, got in people’s faces, and worst of all, actively misgendered and bullied vulnerable attendees. This is not just poor customer service—it's harmful and unsafe.

Our experience escalated when he decided to eject my friend for being drunk, a baffling decision in a nightlife venue where, unsurprisingly, people drink. Rather than providing water, a quiet space, or any kind of welfare support, my friend was forcibly removed. It felt exploitative: happy to serve us, take their money, but not interested in care or accountability.

After speaking with Owen, we were told my friend could return once sober. I sat with them outside, gave them water, and after about 30 minutes, we tried re-entering. We got in—briefly. Within ten minutes, Ali sought us out, marched over shouting, “How did you get back in?!”—publicly and aggressively, as if we’d committed a crime. When I tried to calmly explain the situation, I was physically dismissed. Literally shoved aside and ignored. No apology, no explanation, just disdain.

Despite Owen’s continued attempts to de-escalate, Ali targeted us again later in the night and forcibly removed my friend for a second time. At that point, it felt deliberate. Personal. Punitive.

I’m left asking: why is a cis straight man, with such a blatant contempt for queer people, employed and empowered to act like this in a supposedly queer-friendly venue? Where is the safeguarding? Where is the accountability? And why is it always on us, the community, to tolerate this mistreatment?

I won’t be returning to this venue, and I’ll be encouraging my friends to do the same. Queer spaces must do better. Safe spaces cannot be staffed by people who make us...

Really really shocking establishment, run really badly with terrible service and ineptitude. We came as a large group of well-behaved professionals and ordered food and drink. The food took over 90 minutes to arrive, and there was no effort to remedy this or our frustration. We were given 1 little sauce on the house as an apology and even that came 15 minutes late, after all the food had been consumed. So not only was the gesture insulting in that it absolutely didn't "fit the crime" and showed no real remorse or effort to placate paying customers, but it came after the meal was consumed.

We were moved and told by the manager that we could only order 1 drink per person at any given time, which as you can imagine is completely unreasonable for a large group trying to enjoy an evening out. The bar manager, was completely incompetent in using logic and common sense to find a reasonable solution. He claimed we were inebriated, but then couldn't identify or tell us who when we questioned this. He also claimed we made his staff upset but this was because the service was so poor, and the continuous errors they were making. So basically he was really trying to find reasons to frustrate us unnecessarily and it was a typical case of 'man with ear piece abusing his power'.

Having worked in hospitality and run bars and restaurants, it's a global rule that should anyone be rude or disrespectful, they are asked to leave and that is absolutely correct. However, this useless manager decided to keep us all in the premises to continue to spend, but make it difficult for us to enjoy our evening. It makes no sense and I'd love the establishment to train him to improve his communication and decision-making skills. These are vital in his role and it's quite shocking how lacking he was in these skills. I'd offer to train him myself but his attitude indicated no effort to listen or improve - the worst kind of personality to have in a position of authority.

I'm not surprised this establishment is barely over 4 star in rating. Avoid this place or expect to be disappointed or...

We hosted our wedding reception on the top floor of the Tempest and could not have been happier with our choice. The atmosphere was perfect, with multiple rooms and an outside area to allow people to chat/dance/sit to eat. With the Tempest also hosting music events it meant we were able to use their speakers, decks and lights which meant our guests were dancing till the early hours!

The food package was perfect for what we needed and at great value, tasty buffet foods for soaking up drinks! The kitchen staff were also able to cater for all dietary needs which was very important to us as the Bride is a coeliac (gluten-free).

The staff were amazing! Bec sorted all of the behind the scenes organisation and explained exactly what was on offer to us. The rest of the front of house crew and chefs were great with helping us with anything we needed on the day. Especially the manager with the earpiece (who we never caught the name of, sorry!) who was very friendly and attentive. Thank you so much to everyone!

Overall, anyone reading this for event hire should not hesitate. The Tempest is such a great location to get to for multiple guests, has sea views, delicious food and friendly, helpful staff. Their refurbishment and new kitchen menu has really paid off for them. The reactions we got from our guests speak to...