Hemisphere WB — Restaurant in Rushcliffe

A lacklustre Sunday lunch. Gin-based cocktail was watery and wasn't served until after the starter. The starter was crispy calamari, but it was more batter than fish, was far too oily and ultimately unpalatable.

The beef main course was disappointing; although the two small slithers of beef were nicely cooked, and the veg was plentiful, the whole dish was ruined by excessive gravy. So much gravy, it was almost comical. The mashed potato deteriorated into slop. Attention all restauranteurs and landlords: just put the gravy on the side as a matter of course, please.

The wine - a bottle of Châteauneuf-du-Pape - had no nose and no substantive flavour. A really disappointing wine, and I left a whole glass of this £69 bottle as it was that bad (first-world problems, sure, but, I assure you, that is not like me...). Are the management buying sub-par wine for the restaurant on the cheap? I hope not. It took two servers to uncork the bottle - the hapless second chap was practically gripping the bottle between his thighs whilst double-handing the corkscrew. It was bordering on the farcical.

The service was friendly but they seemed a bit stressed and under-trained. We didn't raise any concerns at the time because 1) we're terribly, terribly British and try to have a good experience without any fuss, and 2) we didn't want to add to the servers' quite obvious stress - this particular hemisphere seemed to be a high pressure area...

Furniture and large parties of diners were moved around the floor before our eyes, suggesting a lack of prep where the numbers of covers for the lunch service were concerned. It all seemed a bit amateurish, as our table and an adjacent table were rendered squashed together while a substantial section of floorspace was entirely unoccupied. Baffling arrangements...

This was the second time I've been to Hemisphere. The first time (a mid-week evening) wasn't great (cold food, slow service), but I thought I'd give it another go. I won't risk it for a third time.

I think the main problem is that the restaurant is trying too hard to execute fancy ideas before having got the basics right. Ultimately, diners want value for money. You might forgive slightly underwhelming food and toppy prices if the service is good, but everything was a bit haphazard in Hemisphere. Even the West Bridgfordian glitteratti - pretentious at the best of times - can only be taken for a ride for so long.

There are far better restaurants in West Bridgford; Uchi and La Storia are doing consistently wonderful things, and represent...

I was excited to support this new local restaurant in West Bridgford, but unfortunately, it turned out to be quite a disappointing experience. I went for dinner with my boyfriend and 2 other friends, hoping for a relaxed catch-up. To clarify, none of us were drinking, just enjoying a normal conversation and some laughter.

Partway through the evening, the manager approached us, touched my friend's and my back, and whispered that we needed to be quieter. It felt incredibly condescending, as though we were being treated like misbehaving children. If a restaurant can't accommodate a group having a regular conversation without reprimand, it really defeats the purpose of dining out.

The food was fine but unremarkable, and the service was slow overall. While I understand that new establishments face teething issues, this kind of treatment left a sour taste. I won't be returning, which is disappointing as I genuinely wanted to support a new local business.

Perhaps the manager would be better suited to a security role than front of house. It's a shame because the experience was not only underwhelming and expensive, but also upsetting.

**Update: to claim there were complaints about our table is utterly false and fabricated. The poor response to this review shows exactly what this restaurant thinks of its customers, and a complete inability to take any feedback. I should add that nor Rachel nor Paul spoke with us or witnessed this and so do not have first hand information to make any such assumptions.

Before accusing us of deliberately targeting your business with three negative reviews, perhaps you should consider that your manager upset three diners and made us feel uncomfortable enough to leave honest feedback. Believe me, I would have much preferred a 5-star evening, but it’s clear this upsetting experience has been disregarded.

I leave fair reviews of various places. What I have noted is many of the good reviews of this eatery appear to be from relatives of...

We recently visited Hemisphere West Bridgford but sadly didn’t get the chance to try the food due to a booking issue. They’ve recently joined The Fork, and we booked through the platform as normal, but when we arrived it turned out their system hadn’t been fully linked up.

We were told there wasn’t a table for us, despite having a confirmed booking, and were advised to go for a drink elsewhere and come back later. We decided to give them the benefit of the doubt and did just that.

We popped into another nearby restaurant for drinks (also a first visit for us), and the hospitality there was so warm and welcoming that we ended up staying for food as well. It made a really good impression and ultimately swayed us not to return to Hemisphere that evening.

First impressions really do matter, especially when you’re visiting somewhere for the first time. While no one at Hemisphere was rude, the booking issue, lack of ownership of the situation, and the contrast with the great service we got elsewhere didn’t give us much confidence.

It’s a shame because we were genuinely looking forward to trying it. Hopefully they can improve their booking process and communication, because at the moment this experience has left us a bit hesitant to return.

Update -

Thank you for your response, Rachel. To clarify, our booking was for 7:30 pm, and we were advised to return at 8:15 pm — a 45-minute wait, not 15 minutes as stated. No call was received while we were away. We followed your advice and went elsewhere for a drink but did not return, as we were treated far better by another independent restaurant. The twisting of the truth speaks volumes, and we politely decline your offer. First...