Turkish Grill — Restaurant in South Ribble

I would like to share one of the worst customer service experiences I’ve had in the UK in the last 8 years. I’ve never felt so disrespected and uncomfortable at a restaurant as I did at Turkish Grill in Penwortham. This review is not about the food — it’s about how we were treated.

We visited the restaurant to celebrate my daughter’s birthday. There were four of us — myself, my daughter, her father, and her partner. From the very beginning, things felt off. When we ordered a bottle of house wine, the waiter made an unnecessary and rude comment like, “Yes, this is the cheapest wine,” while pouring it. I initially thought I must have misheard him.

Then the starters arrived — hummus and baba ghanoush with a few small pieces of bread. As we are Arab and Indian, we naturally began to eat using the bread. The waiter came over with three small spoons, handed them only to my daughter’s partner, and instructed him to “distribute to each dish” — as if he was the waiter and not a guest. When my daughter’s partner asked why there were only three spoons when we were four, the waiter casually told him to just pour it . I told him not to worry, that we are happy to eat together using bread. He then made a comment under his breath, which I couldn’t clearly hear, but the tone was condescending.

With the mains, we asked for some sauce. What we were given were extremely small portions. I politely asked for another portion, and the waiter very rudely said, “No” and insisted he wasn’t joking. He even walked to the kitchen to show us an empty bottle — which felt like an attempt to embarrass us rather than help. I then agreed to try a different sauce. When he asked how many portions we wanted,we said two The waiter returned with two more tiny portions and — unbelievably — placed the empty sauce bottle on the table. It felt like mockery.

Throughout the entire evening, the waiter treated my daughter’s partner like a staff member rather than a customer, giving him tasks and instructions instead of serving him with basic respect. The whole experience felt discriminatory and uncomfortable. The way we were treated came across as racist and completely unacceptable.

At the end of the evening, I asked for a receipt. The waiter sarcastically replied, “How do you expect a receipt without a bill?” — again, with a rude and dismissive attitude. Then came the final insult — when it was time to pay, he brought over the card machine and handed it straight to my daughter’s partner, assuming he would pay. I said, “I’m paying,” and instead of correcting himself politely, he made a “joke” like, “Yeah, you can’t afford it,” which was not only rude but completely inappropriate.

As I entered my card and was checking my phone for my PIN, he stood right over my shoulder, watching me closely, and continued making more unnecessary, horrible comments that made me feel uncomfortable and disrespected. There were even more incidents during the night that I can’t remember clearly, because the experience overall was so upsetting.

We left feeling humiliated on what was supposed to be a happy family occasion. No one deserves to be treated like this, no matter where they come from or what they look like.

I do not recommend Turkish Grill in Penwortham to anyone who expects to be treated with respect...

Visited for my wifes birthday. Table for two booked. Mid week evening. They had run out of Pinot Grigio wine, but let us have a more expensive wine for the same price. Very apologetic. Staff were lovely and attentive, but not over the top or lurking. We had a right laugh with the manager. We had one starter to share (trying to be good after Christmas). The Dolma. (Stuffed peppers, onion, tomatoes and cheese) Delicious, very tasty and freshly made. The bread with it was super. Main course. I had the mixed kebab. The meat was very tender, there was lots of it! And it was presented with a nice salad and rice. Chicken, lamb, a beef and herb patti, with a large lamb chop. With a choice of sauces if desired. My wife had the Chicken kebab. Plenty of deliciously cooked meat with the same salad and rice. She was very pleased with the portion and presentation. We didn't intend to have a sweet, but the couple next to us had a Baklava. They were commenting on how delicious it was, and it looked yummy, so we had to try it! And, again, we shared one between us. It was absolutely delicious! Very satisfied, and full. Bottle of house wine is £18.95. full cost was just under £65. Good value, for lovely, freshly cooked, plentiful food.

Highly recommended. We...

Cannot praise this restaurant enough. Went for my birthday with the girls. They were so accommodating, nothing was too much trouble. From me changing the number of diners at short notice, to dealing with 7 crazy women. The food was faultless, we couldn't decide what to have for starters, so ordered everything from the hot menu and shared them. We all enjoyed our main courses from vegetarian to full on carnivore mixed grill. Drinks were lovely, from wine to beer to liquers. Should anybody in the future want a baby guinness, after our expert tuition it may be a possibility. ( if more tuition is needed we would be more than happy to come back and give extra tuition in exchange for food) We never said it was my birthday, but they caught wind of it and cake with candle appeared ( can highly recommend the pistachio cake) along with a rendition of Happy Birthday. The staff were amazing having a good laugh with us all evening, and even being concerned we weren't eating the Halloumi quick enough as it would spoil if left to go cold. They were attentive without being intrusive. Thank you to all of you for a fab night. We will definitely be back ( if...