The Seaside Boarding House — Restaurant in England

Very much a two tier review this. One review for the food and general level of service, and another for the accommodation. ||Firstly, I would give a 5* for the food. We had dinner and a breakfast at the SBH and both meals were excellent. I can’t fault the food and the service we received. For the dinner - and you’d expect this from the location - there is an emphasis on seafood and our starters and mains were really well prepared and had great flavours. A massive thumbs up to the kitchen here. It’s definitely not cheap but for the quality we received, we didn’t feel short changed. I would eat here again were I ever to head the way of Dorset again. Breakfast was also great….very homely with lovely compotes and pastries (cheese scones and banana bread to die for) and the cooked breakfasts we had were excellent. Good coffee too. For both meals, we ate in the bar as we had our dog with us. There is also a bigger restaurant (no dogs) but given the choice, I would have probably wanted to eat in the bar in any event - more cosy, good music playing and a relaxed vibe. Some interesting Peter Blake’s on the wall too. The bar is adjacent to the library cum lounge which is a cosy room. If the restaurant is not full, you’d be rattling around a bit maybe. We liked the staff. They were attentive. They also deliver good tea to the room…..proper steel tea pots which poured beautifully (I really get irritated by tea pots that don’t pour properly!) Strong tea too, just as we like it. ||Now the accommodation. Difficult one for us this as we didn’t not like it, but we definitely didn’t love it. What I mean here is that it’s definitely not bad but could be a whole lot better, particularly given the price point (it’s an expensive place to stay so they have to deliver to that price point, which they don’t, we’ll not for our room). I’d given it theee stars for the room I’m afraid. The general style of the SBH is retro meets 1920s/1930s. We had room 303. Pluses - It’s a lovely big room with a great sea view through a big bay window with sitting benches and also a sea view from the bathroom. We couldn’t fault the big double bed and we “got” the theme of the era the owners want to replicate but while some of the furnishings are good (eg bedside table cabinets) some of the other furnishings looked tired and unexpiring……as if they had been picked up at the house clearance of an elderly relative. The artwork was not “warming”. Cold looking stormy seas don’t really do it! Overall, it’s not a bad room (it was very clean and spacious) , but when you are paying over £350 per night, the interior decor could be a lot more inspiring and coordinated, rather than a bit piecemeal and cobbled together. For example, please “lose” the bedside light shades…the lights themselves are fine but the tired, beige light shades could have come from a jumble sale!|My big gripe however, was with the bathroom. Tiling and decor fine - and a good view - but for the price we were paying, a shower should be an absolute “given”. Alas, there is only a bath with a shower attachment, and no shower screen. This was a major let down and for me, turned a c.£350 room into a c. £150 room…..it’s just a very big shame we paid the former. Bathing in the morning shouldn’t be a difficult experience. It should be enjoyable, but when you are trying not a spray the bathroom and not to soak the loo roll, it just becomes painful! We raised our disappointment with the “management” but truth be told, she really didn’t seem to care….even had the audacity to suggest that we could have used the shower room on the ground floor (presumably for returning sea swimmers) instead! Hmmm……no thanks, the last time I used a communal bathroom was in my student digs, c. 40 years ago….and I wasn’t paying £350 for the privilege back then. The manager’s/owner’s response was just really really disappointing. More so than the bathroom itself. Not so much as an offer of anything, despite our being very unhappy with what was clearly a sub par bathroom. Would I stay here again? I don’t think so…..particularly not after that conversation. There are far better places to stay at that price point. However, it’s not just about the price….its also whether you feel valued and wanted. While the salaried staff were great, the management/owner just didn’t seem to care, she didn’t appear to “value” us and definitely didn’t empathise with our feedback. Such...

We only went to the restaurant and did not stay! We went for a birthday meal. There were two large, raucous parties in the bar & restaurant. We were shown into the dining room when we ordered our 1st course and the waitress 'warned' us it was very 'filling' implying:a) we shouldn't order it b) we were pigs if we did! It does not advertise itself as a fish restaurant but it had 4/5 fish mains and only 2 meat dishes: duck/steak. I cannot eat fish (allergic) so had steak with chips/green salad. They do not provide steak knives,thus they must expect the meat to be tender but the steak was SO tough it could literally not be cut. It had to be returned and another cooked whilst my sister ate her meal. It was brought with pale, luke warm chips & the bitterest green salad I've ever tasted. By the time the next steak turned up my sister had almost finished, the chips were cold and the steak exactly the same as the first! As tough as old boots! They did offer something else but, firstly my sister had already finished & secondly most of the menu was fish. The owner came over to apologise & then remonstrated with me for ordering steak if I wanted it to be tender!!!!!!!! Of course they didn't charge for it & offered a free pudding (great!!!! very generous!!!!!) but I really didn't fancy the options so had an ice cream but it was tiny, partially melted and so incredibly sweet as to be horribly sickly. In short I had a starter, half dozen cold, undercooked chips, three mouthfuls of really bitter salad & two tiny scoops of almost inedible ice cream as a birthday meal! I left hungry & upset. I do have to say that apart from the owner who remonstrated with my choice the staff were solicitous & apologetic but if they're offering you something else, there has to be something else on the menu you like/can eat & efforts have to be made so that you're not eating alone! What was I to do except say I'm fine when two steaks later my sister has finished? Its embarrassing and really disappointing!! Although my sister paid for two starters/half bottle wine/her main/coffee; I don't think under the circumstances we should have been paying for anything at all as I did not have a meal at all & had to come home starving to cheese on toast. I just don't think it's either acceptable or good business. I almost laughed when the girl who gave me my coat said "I hope you'll come back" I...

We came down for a few days to visit Bridport with my family, and this restaurant was one of the ones we were excited to try, especially since we were looking forward to sitting outside in the sun and enjoying some tea and coffee. Unfortunately, from the moment we arrived, we were greeted with a very cold reception. We decided to give the benefit of the doubt, but the service only got worse. The staff member we interacted with, a slim-built, male with a beard, was unapproachable and seemed disinterested in offering any customer service. He was blunt when answering our questions and appeared to care very little about how his behavior made us feel.

When we decided to leave, he showed no concern or even acknowledgment of our decision. I pointed out how unwelcome his attitude made us feel, but he didn’t apologise or show any empathy. It honestly felt like he couldn’t have cared less.

While I didn’t want to jump to conclusions, it was hard not to feel that his behavior towards us was influenced by our ethnicity, as we are Indian Asian. I never thought I’d have to mention this, but it certainly felt that way.

We ended up going to another place nearby where the customer service was outstanding. This is all it takes to make someone feel welcome. It’s such a shame that we had a completely opposite experience here.

He really needs to learn how to show basic customer service, which he clearly lacks. Good customer service can make a world of difference, and unfortunately, this experience has made us hesitant to return. I definitely think the manager should look into this, as this type of attitude can drive...