Home Cookin' — Restaurant in Llandudno

Dear Manager / New Dinners I hope you read this…

This is my second time travelling to Wales as a tourist, and prejudice toward my family and I has only happened twice in the 20 years I've been alive.

Don't misunderstand me; I have nothing against Welsh people; I think they are very warm and welcoming. However, as you read further, I'll explain my experience at this location and why I don't recommend it.

I took my family to Home Cookin because it seemed like a wonderful location to eat, and I can confirm that the food looks delicious and the pricing are fair. However, I firmly believe that businesses need to give their personnel the same level of care and consideration as they do with their food. This means that while their cuisine appears to be excellent, the customer service I received was far from excellent.

The waiter informed us that the restaurant is completely booked when we arrived early in the day to request a table for 4. We left and returned, and this time the same thing happened. However, I saw that a pair of diners was about to leave, so I asked one of the waitresses if she could try to get us a table at that table. She advised me to wait outside the restaurant's doors, so I did. A white gentleman entered, spoke to a waitress, and immediately obtained a table as I was leaving to wait outside. I was expecting to eat at the same table with my family, before the gentleman took this place, which the waitress had guided him to.

Even though we were in line before them and I went back to speak to the same waitress who had advised me to wait outside because it was fully booked, they still managed to move someone else ahead of us.

The waitress' response when I explained that we were in line ahead of them and that they arrived after us was quite nasty, and this is not how you should treat your customers.

She remained there grinning and laughing at me the entire time I was speaking with the waitress, knowing that I and my family were not pleased with how we were being treated.

She refused to give me her name when I requested so that I could mention her in my evaluation. They did not give me a way to contact the manager to let him or her know how their staff was treating us when I asked for the manager, who supposedly wasn't available.

She kept telling me that the man had arrived before us, but I was there the entire time, and it was only after I left to walk outside that he and his family arrived, passing right by me. You might find this unusual, but I requested that she look at the CCTV footage to confirm who had arrived earlier and she also refused to do that. She told me that the gentleman had spoken to another waitress earlier to confirm their seat and shortly after that with a disrespectful tone the waitress told me “We cannot hog tables for you” and to add to that “reservation” is a posh word for hogging.

I can pleasantly say that business is booming because I am a business owner myself and have been doing that for the past five years.

Without consumers, a business cannot exist; therefore, your customers are your business.

It's 2022, and I can't believe racism is still a thing. Treat people how you would like to be treated. I didn’t see anyone from the Middle East, Asia, or people of colour here. There were many white folks at the restaurant. We live in a tragic world. It is something that one would see in a movie.

My first...

...if I ever became a principal of a culinary school, first week would consist of clinical psychologists trying to convince students to leave and choose an easier career path - like mining sulfur, for instance. And second week would consist of going to restaurants, that might elevate pupils' understanding of the industry. Home Cookin' would probably be the first restaurant on that list. Probably best restaurant experience in years without contest, Home Cookin' has something nearly every other fancy restaurant, cafe, dive, corner shop and eatery has missed - attention to detail. And oh boy it hits hard. If you simply sit down and open a menu, there will be no gasps and wows, it's simple almost to the point where an avid "Hell's kitchen" fan (who spent zero hours by the stove) may even say it's plain, blend and boring - you will find no pigeon confit in canola oil drizzled with truffle reductions, or some other monstrosity that you need five different dictionaries to understand. Quiet names, simple dishes, most of them you probably will have seen, or even might think you've tried. But they are absolutely perfect. I have a bad habit of going to good places and getting triggered with "Well this is lovely, but...", and I always find the damned "but". Not here. I had literally nothing bad to say. My simple salad garnish was the most shocking, by far - every leaf was fresh, not a brown spot, not a blemish, it was perfectly washed, perfectly dried, and still not one piece of it was bent, folded or at the least bit wrong. Just pure perfection. Chicken in cream and leek sauce with cheese on top, nothing fancy it seems. But the cheese melted perfectly (if that's even a thing), sauce rich, but not overseasoned to let the gentle chicken and leek tastes shine even through the richness of heavy cream. I tried a bit of fish that my partner was having, and it was perfect too, flaky, but still moist. Honestly, I could go two pages probably... Long story short - details matter. And I'm not sure if you even need a keen eye for that, I feel that it's noticeable to everyone. Sure as hell hit me right in the face. When I taste food like that, I simply know I don't need a visit to the kitchen to know dishwashers are diligent, kitchen is clean, fridges are checked and cleaned daily (or twice daily) and chefs are well trained, and what's more important - committed. Anyone who treats basic salad so respectfully, will surely treat everything else the same. So, thank you for the great experience, and my hat off to the rockstars...

I have very mixed feelings of our experience at Home Cookin. Came to Llududno with the family as we have done in the past and love the atmosphere and welcoming friendly nature of the locals. The service and accommodation to sit outside with our dog was great, the starters we had were nice, particularly the squid and garlic mushrooms. However the garlic bread with mozzarella whilst had plent of cheese, lacked any real seasoning or flavour of garlic. Our mains were where we were left very disappointed. Whilst the kids chose to have roast dinners and sausage and mash and were happy with their choices, the main grilled sea bass and grilled cod were very expensive for the portion that left my husband leaving still hungry( his sea bass was smaller than a side fillet of mackeral), and the veg and potatoes were so bland and tasteless. The plates were mainly filled with potatoes and nearly £17 per portion for grilled fish, we felt very ripped off at the portion size and lack of any real flavour and felt we were paying for cheap potatoes with no flavour, especially my steamed potatoes. Service itself was quick and polite. The mains claiming to be daily specials of fish at a seaside town definitely need improvement, you cannot rely solely on great location to run a business long term. Ourselves would not revisit this restaurant due to portion sizes, prices and whilst I could overlook these things for great tasting food, that was not...