Allard's Lounge — Restaurant in North Tyneside

A Disheartening Dining Experience

I've never left a bad review in my life, but I felt compelled to share my recent dining experience.

I've been a customer at Alards in Tynemouth for years, primarily for drinks. While the staff was consistently friendly, there were occasionally long wait times, especially during busy periods. However, upon returning after a year, I was shocked by the decline in service quality and the rudeness of the staff, even though it wasn't a busy period.

We had reserved a table for my parents' 29th wedding anniversary breakfast. We were promptly seated but waited 20 minutes for our ordered orange juice, which arrived lukewarm. To add to the frustration, we had to ask about the orange juice twice. We proceeded to order food and coffee, but had to remind the staff about the coffee. One coffee was forgotten, and when I requested to have the egg on the side, we also weren't asked if we had any dietary requirements. To make matters worse, they forgot to put the egg on the side as I had requested.

When we requested the bill (£55) and paid with £60, the waitress said she would give us the 'thumbs up,' (whatever that means) but instead, she cleared the table without bringing any change. When we asked about our change, her tone was abrupt and rude, saying, "what, you want your change?" We intended to leave the change as a tip, but her actions made us feel guilty for merely inquiring about it, we told her it didn't matter and left the venue.

We won't be returning to Alards....

Been here a few times, always had tapas. Can’t fault it, lots of options and each dish I’ve had has been full of flavour. Lots of other options on the menu also if tapas isn’t your thing. It’s unfortunate that I have to mark it down for service. I have no issues with the staff working there but there simply is not enough staff at peak, busy times. Drinks took ridiculously long to come (they came just before our food arrived) and this was after asking a couple of times about them. We were told that ‘all the bar staff were new and being trained up’ and so it was taking longer than usual. I find this hard to believe that all bar staff were being trained on a busy Saturday evening when the restaurant was packed. The drinks order was also very straight forward and only for 4 people (a coke, soda water and cordial, and bottle of rosé). This unfortunately then made it very noticeable how understaffed the floor was as we were constantly trying to get staff attention who were racing back and forth trying to serve tables. Staff seemed a bit stressed and flustered which then impacts the atmosphere overall. I don’t believe it is the staffs fault as they were trying their best but whoever decides how many people are working at peak times. I’ve noticed other reviews say similar things so hopefully this is something that Allards can correct as otherwise this is a lovely...

I've eaten at Allard and Allards on the quay many times, but the review isn't for their food or drinks, but their amazing staff.

We met a gentleman with special needs lost on North Shields fish Quay. He was worried as he lost his friends and his phone battery had died. We went with him bar to bar to try and locate his friend's to no avail.

We asked the staff at the restaurant next door if they could book a taxi for the man which we would pay for, but the staff member I spoke to informed me he was closing up and wanted to get away.

We went into Allards on the Quay and asked if they had a charger for the gentleman's phone and said we'd pay for his taxi if they could book him one. The staff took charge of the situation, showed the upmost of compassion and assured us that they'd ensure the gentleman was escorted safely home and refused our offer to pay for the taxi.

The staff are a credit to the whole organisation. I'll be sure to recommend Allards to anyone because of the way their staff acted. I'm not usually one to write reviews, I know their food is great, but their staff went over and above, even when it's not expected nor required of them and that deserves...