The Met — Restaurant in England

Utterly diabolical experience. A completely weird place. DO NOT BOTHER.

The reason: Myself and my partner turned up at around 7:30pm on a Monday and it was not busy. We were seated, and given the menu. Then it all goes bad from here! 15 minutes had gone by and no waitress/waitor had bothered to approach us to take a drink or food order (despite it being quiet). We decide to give it an extra 5 minutes. We could see the staff literally stood around chatting, they were not busy.

After 5 more minutes again, and repeatedly looking over at them (now at 25 mins in total waiting to order anything, even a drink), we decided to try and get their attention. We tried to make eye contact, and started turning around and obviously staring at 3 different waitresses/waitors. We started to get the feeling we were being ignored. So we made it even more obvious, looking over in a manner that couldn't be mistaken, craning our necks, and even waved at one of the waitresses who saw us.

Now at 30 minutes and counting, on a quiet Monday evening and seeing the wait staff stood around, my partner went inside and literally asked a waitor if we could actually be served. We then sat there again, for another 10 minutes, and NEVER GOT SERVED! The waitor that my partner spoke to even walked by during these 10 minutes and we then saw him stood around doing nothing. This waitor and all other staff proceeded to basically just ignore any eye contact with us. It's like we were invisible.

We waited 40 MINUTES in total. That's 40 minutes without even so much as a drink, or a waitor even coming over to us at all. What an utterly bizarre place. I have never experienced this anywhere before.

The wait staff seem to act like they are in a youth club with no manager around, completely bone idle, and not even wanting to bother with you at all. It's like this business didn't even want the trade. Needless to say, after those long 40 minutes, we left and went elsewhere.

Small businesses often complain about how hard things have been these past few years, we came here willing to spend a lot of money on multiple courses, and ended up unable to even buy anything. Your loss! Let this be a warning to anyone who wants to dine here. Read the reviews, loads of them mention how appalling the service is, for a good reason. Couldn't comment on the food or drink as I was unable to...

Very risky for dining but you could strike lucky and it may make it to a 4 star. We just arrived in ventnor and have children so seemed accessible which it was with children as seated away from wine bar set enjoying sea views. No air conditioning so hot at back. Other comment i see here posted about pizza correct. A margherita with no tomato sauce. Yes that is correct. Just a layer of congealed cheese and some split cherry tomatoes dotted around. Kids liked it all the same with tomatoes removed. The adults next to us politely took theirs away in a doggy bag in the form of a pizza box. The server kept telling them from the plates arriving that they could take their time chow downing on the thick base so even the server knew there was a problem. Lasagne and catch of the day could not be faulted but there are serious errors lurking like the pizza. It is possible there is no one italian or experienced in italian food working there. The desserts were straight out of some industrial wholesaler and lamentable in ingredients. Mine was a cold dessert also served part warm. It went back and was taken off of the bill. Ice cream gòod but no one makes that and it is always bought in. No italian white wine in an Italian restaurant. Not cheap the whole thing. Olives like near 6 pound. Sort out the desserts. Get some italian wine. Learn how to make pizzas and all is sorted from my end. I think someone needs to pop over to italy and go to an average restaurant and have their mind blown by the difference in quality with simple ingredients and just replicate it. Easier said than done though as the best food in the world is not the easiest to replicate. Chinese or indian. Throw around a sauce and no one is the wiser but you cannot get away with such with...

This has to be the best restaurant in Ventnor on the Isle of Wight!

We're here on the island for 4 nights and have visited twice already - it's that good!

It's run by a very young team who are a credit to the establishment. Their service is exceptional, especially for people so young : they genuinely enjoy serving their customers and nothing is too much trouble. It's extremely pleasant service with a smile and a chat and they regularly checked with us to see if everything was OK, and seemed genuinely interested.

The menu is fantastic with a great variety of tapas, salads and meats and caters really well for vegetarians too. The portion sizes are on the large side, making this restaurant extremely good value for money. And the prices are reasonable too, including the drinks - no ripping off customers here just because it's a holiday resort.

Our food on both occasions has been exceptional - tasty, hot, plentiful, beautifully presented and different to your run of the mill other restaurants. Don't forget to look on the specials board too, as well as the main menus, as they have some stunning meals on offer - something very different.

Compliments to the chefs, who produce some truly exceptional and tasty meals. Between the two of us on two occasions we've had chicken skewers, veggie risotto, sweet potato curry, brushetta, chilli con carne, whipped feta with pomegranate seeds and pitta bread, and the most delicious French onion soup I've ever tasted, which was accompanied by cheesy garlic bread.

Can't fault this place at all and I wish you all the very best for the future. I wish we had a Met in...