Toby Carvery Coldra Newport — Restaurant in Newport

Not really one to leave bad reviews but this has to be mentioned. We had a table booked last night for 4 adults and 3 children and we hoped it would be a nice place to come and have a late dinner as we'd all been working. When we arrived at the restaurant we had trouble parking and as I am disabled I was unable to park in the designated location as there were only 3 spaces anyway. 1 of those spaces were being used by I later found out to be a staff member but that wasn't nearly as bad as what was to come. We were seated in the waiting area until a table became free and that wasn't really a problem as it wasn't that long before we were seated. We were placed in an area of the restaurant where my grandson was nearly knocked over by a passing customer while we waited in the queue to get our meals so his dad had to seat him elsewhere. While we were in the queue we noticed a very large amount of unhappy looking customers as well as serving staff. The one server looked as though she was under so much stress and no body came to help her and she really looked as though she wouldn't be going back to work there again. Being a carvery the one thing you would expect was the meat but this was not the case. None of us like turkey but it was the only real meat that was on offer. The beef and lamb had been taken and used to fill the pots for the online customers so when we finally got to our turn in the queue it had all gone. This restaurant definitely values its online custom over the ones that actually make the effort to actually show in person in my opinion. There were quite a few unhappy customers as you can probably guess and the other food there was very poor also. The roast potatoes were dry and had a very strange taste and the vegetables were undercooked, like the turkey which tasted like blood. It ruined a nice meal in many ways and I could mention alot more about the place itself which was what my daughter described as "grim". The toilets were not very nice either. Considering the night cost my partner well over £100 we were all extremely disappointed. The dirt from the car park too when i did finally get a space and carried to our new car from out feet also cost me a small fortune to have cleaned this morning. We have spent days on farms and came back cleaner. All in all a very disappointing evening that will never be repeated. Toby was always the go to carvery but it is now far from that and we will personallly never visit this particular restaurant ever again. If I could leave a zero star rating I would so 1 is being very...

Well, we've always had very good visits to Newport Toby, but the last 2 let it down considerably. Never going back again. The last visit was the worst I have ever experienced in a restaurant. We arrived at 4.30 and we're shown to our table which had 4 serviettes and 4 knives. I explained to the manager that I was vegan and I knew that I had to order as the Spicy Vegetable Tart, which I'd had previously and was very nice, had to cooked. He replied that our server would come and take the order. After waiting 25 minutes , he came back and asked if the order had been taken, I told him no so he took the order and said that it would take 20 minutes to cook and he would let me know so we could go to the counter to be served. Eventually he came back as he was leaving shift and said it was ready and waiting. At this time we still had only a knife each so I took forks from an adjacent table. Still no server and obviously no drinks At the counter we waited and waited then someone came out to test the heat of the vegetables on the counter, telling us he'd be with us shortly. When finished he went back into the kitchen shouting that he wanted a carver at the counter. Another customer arrived and we all waited. Several minutes elapsed before a cook arrived bearing a very full dish of roast potatoes which he had great difficulty in lifting over another dish full of roast potatoes to place his at the front. He then asked us what we would like. My husband had great difficulty in choosing as the meats looked all a bit dry, however he chose and I got my Tart and vegetables and went back to the table. I noticed with surprise that the missing forks from the adjacent table had been replaced, the server must have come wilst we were away. We ate the meal which was nice but still no drinks When we'd finished the server(?) and the barmaid were at the desk talking and the barmaid turned to ask if we'd finished. We replied yes and that we'd like the bill. She took the plates and immediately brought the bill back which was rather unfortunate as my husband has a Blue Light card so she had to repeat the process again so that we got the correct total. He paid in cash with no tip...

I have to say, this is one of the best tasting toby carveries i have had in sometime. But, always a but, as we say in wales, the service is appalling. They need to look at the serving area and get it organised. I popped in today (sunday) at 5.30pm which was still quite busy. I had to have a bar table as that being the only one left. Told that i needed to buy a drink and leave it on the table to show the table was taken. I got my empty glass and bottle of cider and left it on the table as instructed. Off i went to get served. Waiting in the queue for some 15 minutes. They had what i think was two chefs but they were both replenishing dishes and and other things instead of having an assistant to do that for them, to keep the serving going and keep customers moving down the line. One thing no toby carvery has got right are their roast potatoes. They use frozen and are not even worth putting on your plate. I have never had a good roast potato from toby. I went back to my seat to find my glass and bottle of cider missing. Called the waitress where she said she thought i had left. I explained it was a full bottle of cider, so why would you take it? along with the empty glass and knife and fork left also on the table, did you not think about how and why or even ask your colleague is the table taken? Their loss on profits . you have to question the integrity of staff sometimes. This one did not shine. Lights on but nobody home. Apart from the staff, the food was great, very tasty and went down like a dream. advice, Have the mash potato instead of the roasts. Ask for a reserve sign for when you leave your table, you still have your table and drinks...