Marrocco's — Restaurant in Great Britain

We ate there on the August bank holiday which was the last day of the eat out to help out scheme. It was fairly busy as it was 7pm and there were a lot of family groups in ordering discounted pizzas after a day down at the beach. We both ordered a special, ½ lobster linguine. We were told they'd run out of linguine so it would come with spaghetti. We were expecting it to be a ready to eat mixed in pasta dish but the lobster came in the shell so we de-shelled it quickly, the pasta was hot enough to stay hot whilst we did this. With lobster it gets all its flavour from the sauce it's cooked with and as it had just been removed from the shell it needed there to be a good amount of sauce in the spaghetti to mix with. The sauce was on the board as cream, white wine, cherry tomatoes, chilli and garlic. This was the disappointing aspect as there didn't really seem to be a lot of sauce on the spaghetti, I spotted a couple of cherry tomatoes but couldn't taste any of the other flavours. It tasted a little like the spaghetti had some oil or butter on it but not anywhere as flavoursome as we expected from the description. The same dish was a big favourite from a trip to Sardinia a few years back when we ate it twice it was so good. A few people had ordered the same dish that night and it was the same sauce being served with a whole crab spaghetti dish so perhaps they'd had to stretch the sauce out but it really needed a healthy amount of flavoursome sauce as spaghetti and lobster rely on it to bring the flavour. For a £15 ½ lobster dish it was ok, it definitely wasn't worth the full book price. The house white wine was a little warmer than I'd normally have at home but was a good match and the gelato was delicious as always. Service was friendly and quick. I'd eat there again but I'd maybe check others food out closely...

This Hove institution is often a feature at the end of a walk, whether its just for a take away ice cream or something more substantial. The food comes with no complaints for me but sadly it is the level of customer service and politeness of the staff that draws my dislike. Example … an early sunny Thursday evening where a queue had built up to purchase ice cream only to be met with the terse demands of an employee to queue the other side, everyone in queue thought the barking of orders rude. No problem if it were this lack of warmth alone but when being served your met with ‘cup or cone’ not a ‘hello what can i get you’ or ‘hello would you like a cup or a cone today.’ More warmth and probably less offence would have come from a self-service machine. The young lady serving me continued in her monosyllabic tone without smile much to the amusement of the queue behind us who were like us somewhat taken aback by the ferocious abruptness of the service, a military boot camp would have been softer in its approach. We left with delicious tasting ice cream but somewhat of a bad taste in our mouths following our visit to Moroccos unsure as why such people choose to work in a customer service oriented role and indeed why they are employed in the first place. It was obvious to everyone in the queue that Thursday evening that this person was just simply rude and given the prices being charged that isn’t good enough. I appreciate that at times this is a busy place to work but the same results can be achieved by approaching things in a kinder politer way and that in turn creates goodwill and generosity if...

In my 15 years in the UK, never have I experienced such an unpalatable incident as the one I had at Maroccos in Hove on June 13, 2023. I've seen the 'customers only' toilet policy at some places, but what transpired at Maroccos was beyond comprehension.

It was a simple plan: my boyfriend and I decided to enjoy an ice cream on a beautiful sunny day. While I waited outside, he went in to use the restroom and ran into the 'customers only' hurdle. I shrugged it off, ready to become a customer, getting in line to order our treats.

Soon after, my boyfriend emerged, his face a mirror to his frustrating encounter inside. Despite explaining our intent to buy, a ponytailed staff member denied him the restroom, demanding a receipt. We were in the process of buying, and still, he was refused! The rudeness and dismissiveness of the staff were the cherries on top of a very bitter sundae.

Seeing my boyfriend's distress, we decided not to patronise Maroccos. The whole episode left a sour taste, overshadowing the sweetness we had hoped for.

Here's a thought for Maroccos: I hope saving a few litres of water from one less toilet flush was worth the damage to your reputation. Two one-star reviews from reputable accounts are no small matter. In my 15 years in the UK, I've never been so motivated to discourage others from a business.

For those considering Maroccos in Hove, be prepared. The service can be colder than their ice cream. I'd rather take my custom to places that treat people decently, where respect is a given, not...