Pine Marten Harrogate — Restaurant in Great Britain

The fact that you have decided to argue the point with this does seem to be somewhat of a recurring theme with your establishment. Your 'alcohol policy', which I was not aware of, has nothing to do with the shambolic service or rudeness of your waiter, which prompted my review. I tried to book a late Sunday lunch on Sunday and did so online but was confused by the switch from Lunch to 5pm and Dinner from 5:15pm in the booking system. I called to confirm that you served Sunday lunch all day and the phone was answered by someone who I had obviously disturbed from doing something important. He told me that whether we could have a Sunday lunch would be down to if you had any left by the time we arrived. When we arrived for our booking, we were shown to a table at the end of the restaurant, which was very nice. However it took over 20 minutes for anyone to come and attend to us to take our drinks order, who then also wanted our food order. My eldest two daughters, 21 and 19 ordered Botanist Gin & Tonics from the menu but were told that you had sold out of that Gin so we ordered Hendricks. Because we were taken a little by surprise about the food order we only ordered main courses, however as one of my daughters had had a busy day and was hungry, she decided that she would like the soup also. As service was something of a rarity in the room that we were in, I went to the bar to add this to our order. When the waiter arrived with the drinks he passed each over to us in turn and then asked one of my daughters whether she has any ID. As we were going for a family meal, none of us had brought any ID. He then proceeded to dramatically sniff the drink before pronouncing that he could not serve this drink to my daughter. When the same waiter returned with the balance of our food order, he served the soup last. When we expressed our disappointment that this has not been served before the main course, he told us that because we had asked for this to be added to our order then he had done so, as, obviously, most people prefer their soup to accompany their main meal. I do not make a habit of leaving bad reviews however this establishments whole attitude has made me so angry and upset that I really would like to share our experience...

Food and drink was very good.

Service was unbelievably chaotic. Fortunately I was with friends and we found the experience hilarious, had I been with my family, however, my mother would have absolutely kicked off and there would have been tears (from all the staff).

I received my meal within about three minutes of ordering, before my drink had even arrived, which would have been fine if not for everyone else having to wait around 40 minutes to an hour for theirs (at which point I was long finished with mine). Especially strange given someone in our party ordered the exact same thing as me but somehow had to wait nearly an hour after mine arrived to get theirs.

Everything came out at different times, and we also kept being brought dishes we hadn't ordered. Then two of my party had to wait an additional 15 minutes after being served food to get some cutlery, so they couldn't even start eating despite how long they'd already been waiting.

The strangest thing about the whole experience was how nonchalant the wait staff were about the whole thing. I mean, I guess it's good they weren't running around like headless chickens, but there was not a single update from them or apology about why all the meals were coming out within half hour intervals of each other.

At one point I overheard a waiter say to the table beside ours (who were having the same issues) "Oh, did you want the food to come out at the same time?" which was honestly so baffling. I mean, maybe the Pine Marten operates like a tapas bar where food is served as and when it's ready, but if that's the case then that should definitely be stated on the menu somewhere so people know what to expect.

All in all, I could not in good conscience recommend the Pine Marten to others, unless they had very very low standards for restaurant service. I don't know if it was poorly trained wait staff or miscommunication with the kitchen, but I honestly felt like everyone working there was an alien in disguise trying to run a restaurant despite having very little time to adapt to how humans operate.

Still giving it 3 stars though cause the chaotic vibes were utterly hilarious and I specifically didn't have to wait at all...

A visit with family for Xmas dinner: The service associated with the guy serving at the table was excellent. He was pleasant and attentative. The starter was delicious and well proportioned and very tasty. The main course was served on cold plates, each of the 6 of us had unequal portions. For example, some had sprouts some didn't have any and they were not cooked. The vegetables had a rubbery texture. The meat looked and tasted like it had not been freshly cooked, just warmed up and looked machine sliced as it was perfectly even. In general the food tasted as though it had been kept warm for a few hours before serving. The food was presented in one heap; everything on top of each other. I can only assume this is an attempt at artistic talent. When the dessert arrived, we were given tea spoons. When we asked for a dessert spoon. We were told that they had none left that were washed. The whole experience gave me the impression that the food was cooked and presented in a commercial way without consideration given to presentation, and palatability. It was a meal I have learned to expect from a ready meal. It wasn't a meal I would have expected from an expensive, well establish, premium restaurant. The company, which we provided ourselves and ambiance of venue was the most positive part of...