The Eaterie @ the Salthouse Harbour Hotel — Restaurant in Ipswich

Never as a paying customer have I ever been spoken to in such a manner as Shane the restaurant manager did towards me this evening, on the evening of a birthday dinner for my partner! We called him over to try to be helpful to advise him that our waitress should be advising people if something on the menu changes due to my gluten intolerance. We were told by her that the majority of the menu was already gluten free. Therefore, to receive skinny fries when I specifically ordered the haddock because I wanted chunky chips without any warning prior seemed to me something the manager should be aware of, so that he could raise it with your waiting staff. I can not believe how defensive Shane immediately became and not even an apology! He was not only defensive, but attacked me by stating that he thought I was “rather angry over some chips”! It was his attitude with no apology that got my back up, but then his defensiveness and him then telling me in a condescending manner “to not let it spoil my evening, it’s just chips” was just insulting. He kept going on and on, repeating the same defensive stuff, even though I just kept saying okay, okay several times in the hope he would just go away & eventually had to ask him to go. It was clear he was looking to antagonise me! With any customer complaint, an apology should immediately follow, especially when a mistake has be made by the staff! Rude does not describe how this manager conducted himself! The food: it was ok, not 4 or 5 stars as the haddock was a small portion but tasted very fresh. The chunky chips looked better than they tasted. The desserts were okay but overall the food was not outstanding and we wouldn’t rush back even if you did take Shane out of the equation! I did appreciate the chef providing the white chocolate writing on the plate wishing my partner a HB but it didn’t change the upset caused. We had no drinks so total spent £72. This experience with Shane’s approach and attitude completely spoiled not only our dinner but the entire evening for us! Had we had more time, as we were going to the theatre, I would’ve left there and then. An email to higher management after stating that she was shocked to receive a complaint about Shane, who had been a valued member of their team the past 15 years, and concluded with the following: ‘We always strive to give the best customer service and hope in the future you will return to experience our usual high standards. I would be more than happy to assist with this reservation and include a gesture of goodwill.’ If the gesture of goodwill is on par with what she referred to in her reply as my partner receiving a “birthday dessert”, (which was a plate with white chocolate writing on it and 2 tiny miniature meringues with a single strawberry) then even if they offered dark chocolate on a plate saying ‘Sorry’, I don’t think I will be making a special trip from London...

We’ve stayed at The Salthouse Hotel on a couple of occasions and I honestly can’t fault this wonderful hotel. The bedrooms are immaculate, very comfortable and exceedingly roomy especially compared to many other hotels. We especially liked the view out over the harbour and the yachts from the Juliette balcony. We have a border terrier and she is always made welcome and thoroughly spoilt by the staff. She recognises the place when we arrive and is very excited and happy to come back. The staff are friendly, welcoming and exceedingly helpful. They put themselves out to hospitably serve their guests. The food in the Salthouse Eaterie is delicious and beautifully presented. We have both breakfast and evening meals and sometimes lunch or snacks as well when staying and again I can’t fault the food or the service. They always ask about food allergies and there are very good vegetarian options. Our family joined us for dinner twice and they were exceedingly happy with the delicious meal (the grandchildren even tried foods they hadn’t had before and really liked them - a big plus!!) So much so that they are encouraging us to stay more often!! We will definitely treat this as our go to hotel whenever we come to Suffolk to visit our families. We travel a great deal both in the UK and internationally and The Salthouse Hotel is up there with our few favourite hotels at the top...

We had a wonderful evening at the Salthouse with an Early Bird set menu. It was a well presented meal with enough to make you satisfied but not over full to bursting. We chose the same for each course, the duck liver parfait was lovely , the main was a bacon loin with vegetables and a duo of cheese to finish. We also chose a carafe of wine from their specials board as a treat. I thought the bacon loin although very good was salty but fortunately the accompanying potato dish managed to subdue the saltiness. The cheese duo was a perfect size and there were plenty of biscuits. The food was very good, the service excellent and more importantly we were not hurried. As it was my husbands birthday he was given a birthday chocolate ganache dessert which looked amazing. I would have no hesitation is recommending the Salthouse for Service, Atmosphere and most importantly, for very good food, expertly cooked and stylishly presented food. Their chefs...