Burn on the Quay Restaurant Derry — Restaurant in Northern Ireland

Timberquay Restaurant I was in Timberquay for a business lunch on the Friday – I thought it was ok so I decided to give it a try on a Saturday night (6/10/07).

We (2 of us) arrived at about 8:15pm and were told we’d have a 50min wait for a table – what the hey….the bar looked nice so we decided to wait and have a couple of drinks before the meal. 45mins later our table was ready.

The first thing that hit me was the menu… roughly an A3 sized laminated single page (different content to the lunch menu but it looks the same). Food on one side, and Wine on the other. The menu was straight to the point – no faffing about with loads of pages.

I decided to order the 10oz Sirloin (Medium) (Cost: think it was £12 or £14?) with Tobacco onions and Chorizo sauce. My friend ordered the Chili Chicken Pocket with Chips. Note: The main courses come on their own… Chips, sauce etc were an extra! 20 Mins later the food arrived.. First impressions were –was that they both looked basic. My steak was big but pretty thin… there was a few pieces of garnish.. e.g. Crisps? My friends was exactly the same…crisps ‘n’ all.. Only the pocket was exactly what it said on the tin.. a pita pocket you’d get in a cheap kebab joint. It had what looked like lines of chili sauce and mayo hatched across it.

To look at my Steak I knew it couldn’t be cooked medium.. it looked more like it was cooked well done… burnt. I cut into it and tried a piece and this was the case. I asked them to take it back.. and they did. I noticed the waitress approaching a guy that looked like a chef, he was standing outside the kitchen… I heard him say… “Ye What!”.. and storm in with it. 25mins later the waitress returned and informed me that the kitchen staff were sorry for the hassle. She also apologized for it taking so long,… and that this was due to the chef wanting to make up for my inconvenience by cooking a 12oz rater than my original 10oz.. at no extra cost to me. I replied by thanking her for her help… and thanked the kitchen staff for the courteous thought… BUT… my friend had finished her meal by the time I got mine!.. no need for the extra delay.

And to add to the frustration… it was cooked exactly the same as their 1st attempt… Burnt! I told them that I wasn’t going to eat it, nor pay for it. So that night I had some chips and tobacco onions (that I still had to pay for!) for dinner..lol. The waitress returned a few minutes later and offered coffee or a drink on the house as an apology. We ordered coffees and they cleared the table.

We sat for 20mins… by this time the place was nearly empty. The waitress approached us and asked “Haven’t you received your coffees yet?”… I said no. We received them within a couple of minutes… she apologized and said that the dockets/orders had been mixed up and the order was overlooked. So… as you can see… I wasn’t a happy camper. What they should have done:

I was in O’Briens (Strand road, Derry) a while back… the same thing happened to one of the people I was with.. The Steak arrived overdone. They asked if they could take everyone else’s meals (4 of us) and return them to the kitchen. They kept the chips etc on the table and told us they were in the house. They also gave us a free round of drinks. 10mins later… everyone received new/fresh full meals with new side orders. All steaks were cooked perfectly… Hat off to O’Brien’s… top class service. So… the point is… Timberquays quality seems to slip when it’s busy. They can’t cook steaks - if they can’t cook a simple steak then what does that say about the place? Overall the waitresses were really nice and understanding.. excellent service. But the kitchen staff can’t seem to handle the pressure. Therefore… if you’re gona book a table in Timberquay… it might be better doing it...

Had a very off putting experience very recently here. i had a table booked for the time i had arrived, when we arrived the manager was sitting at a table on the left laughing away for about 5 minutes before getting up to seat us. Once seated we were shown a two course menu, that gives the option of a starter and a main, or a main and a dessert. I asked the manager if i could order two courses from the set menu as that what was given to us but if i could order a dessert from the full price menu also to make it a three course meal. The very arrogant manager cut me dead and said that it was not possible at all. Now, this is on a specials night, where there was only 2 other tables...and i couldnt order extra food from the full price menu???? Never have i met a manager to turn down money on a busy night never mind a dead specials night. The service this man gave me and my partner was the worst i had ever experienced. Every time i asked a question the manager would cut me off with "thank you very much" and walk away before i even get to finish my question and did this for almost every conversation throughout the night. I will never ever return, not until i hear of better service, which doesnt seem possible with this...

Was pleasantly surprised when i popped in for lunch today & tried the marinated chicken tacos from their everything for a fiver lunch menu. Two substantial tacos loaded with filling & extra mayo on the side, delicious. I tried their ceasar salad side with it which was equally delicious. Fresh crunchy salad with lovely toasted crutons, bacon. Sauce delicately dressed the leaves without being too much & topped with grated parmesan cheese. Was just as it should be not vinegary or overdressed. The amount of chilli in the tacos was just right not overdone. There was more in the bowl of salad, I took the photo after a few mouthfuls 😄 The tacos & salad paired very well with the dragon fruir cooler which i had with my meal. I highly recommend the tacos.

I went on to have a flat white which was very nice served with a shortbread biscuit & a creme brulee with raspberries & a creme anglais with raspberry coulis, vanilla ice cream, biscuit crumb & shortbread biscuit which rounded off the meal perfectly, yum I'll be back.

Definitely worth a visit. Inside & outside dining area. Friendly informative staff. Riverside view from inside & outside restaurant. Lovely beachy mural on wall inside...