The Dock Café — Restaurant in Plymouth

I have been a regular customer at The Dock in Plymouth for over five to ten years, but my most recent visit was nothing short of disappointing. I went there with my children for breakfast, but unfortunately, the experience was far from what I’ve come to expect.

The Food: My daughter ordered pancakes with bacon, which were cooked well. However, as she was nearly finished, we discovered a long piece of hair embedded within the pancake. Given that she had already eaten most of it, we didn’t complain, but it was still an unpleasant discovery. We also ordered milkshakes (banana and peanut butter), which arrived warm, suggesting they forgot to add ice. Although they tasted okay, I had to request ice to cool them down.

I ordered steak with eggs, even though steak wasn’t on the breakfast menu. They kindly accommodated my request, but when the steak arrived, it was extremely overcooked, tough, and nearly impossible to chew. I had asked for a well-done steak, but this was beyond well-done – it was crispy, dry, and rubbery. I couldn’t even cut through it properly, and it was a struggle to swallow the few bites I attempted.

The Service: I informed the waitress about the issue with the steak. She quickly fetched the manager, who also happens to be the owner. Instead of handling the situation professionally, he became defensive and aggressive. He put his hand in my food using the steak knife and insisted I wasn’t using the “correct knife” while cutting the steak, even though the issue wasn’t about the knife – it was about how overcooked and inedible the steak was. I explained that I’m familiar with how a well-done steak should be and that this was not the standard.

Despite my calm approach and my willingness to pay half the price since I had tried a few bites, he angrily agreed. However, he walked away without showing any empathy or professionalism. The bill was brought to me without any clarity on how much the steak originally cost, but it still seemed quite high, which I paid without fuss.

As I left, I overheard the manager instructing the kitchen staff not to make any dishes not listed on the menu, making me feel as if I was an ungrateful customer, despite my polite approach.

Overall Experience: The lack of professionalism from the manager, who watched us leave with hostility, was the most disappointing part of our visit. After being a loyal customer for years, I was treated with disrespect and left feeling unwelcome. I would have expected a more courteous response to a valid concern.

It’s disheartening to say that I won’t be returning to The Dock after this experience. I hope they reconsider how they handle customer feedback in the future, as no one should be made to feel uncomfortable or unwelcome for raising a...

We’d read reviews for this place and decided that this is where we wanted to go. Initially we were greeted by 2 waitresses who were really helpful and attentive. We originally sat outside but when our drinks came we asked to move in due to it being cold. The waitress looking after us took us to a new table with our drinks and introduced us to the new waiter (late thirties) that would be looking after us. Up until this point we were enjoying ourselves. However, we quickly noticed that the waiter was prioritising particular tables because he knew them, therefore not being attentive to the other 6 tables in his section. When the food arrived he didn’t ask if it was ok, which to be honest, most of it was, but a lot of the mussels I had were broken and still had beards on. When we finished, he was avoiding clearing up our table and we sat with finished plates in front of us for about 20 minutes. We were planning to stay for desserts and another round of drinks but he never came so I asked for the bill as he once again passed us. We noticed a table next to us asked for a dessert menu which they never received either. He came back a couple of minutes later, swiftly walking to both our table and the neighbouring table, dropping a bill in a bucket and walking straight back inside. We waited for him to come back but he was stood at the bar talking. At this point we decided to get up to go in and pay. We won’t be returning here purely due to the poor service of this individual member of staff. It’s a shame as some of the food coming out looked fantastic and the mussel sauce was great but it was just overshadowed by our overall experience. Also, on our way out, a man in chef whites was stood at the top of the stairs with crocs in his hand and wearing just socks, he let us past and then proceeded to walk through the restaurant in socks instead of putting on shoes. Not the sort of hygiene...

I’ve been a customer of the Dock for years. Ive always enjoyed the food, the staff have always been warm and attentive and there has been a generally inviting atmosphere on every visit.

I used to work under the manager when she ran a coffee shop called Carwadines in the centre of town.

This is the first time I’ve found myself really put off from eating there. The seat cushions were dirty and the staff could not have been more impersonal or unwelcoming. Neither of the gentleman seemed at all communicative other than to come to the table every two minutes asking if we were ready to order, whilst we were still clearly looking at the menu. It was the difference between being attentive or impatient. We felt as if we were holding them up somehow. When we were ready to order the waiter was less friendly than…. Well anyone we’ve been served by for a long time. Whether in Travis Perkins, Men Kind or at A and E etc

On arrival we asked if we could use the front conservatory area. The chap that received us told us that they only use it if they are busy or if people book in advance. We mentioned that we had called to book but were told just to walk in. He made a flippant comment about us having called up 20 minutes ago otherwise he’d have got it ready and heated it. We corrected him and let him know we’d tried to book a table 3/4 of an hour before arriving. Little more was said.

I guess overall we just didn’t feel that valued. I’ve not felt like that before when eating there. The food was still really good though.

Ive rated the atmosphere low because of the above and because a table sat next to us had a child about a year old who preceded to scream at the highest pitch regularly throughout the meal. She was deafening, it was uncomfortable and tbe parents were totally inactive in attempting to stop her. It clearly disturbed every one in the restaurant. Really...