Sea Lounge — Restaurant in Thanet

I want this place to do well. The food looks incredible, however, I walked out the restaurant today. So consider this less of a review, and more feedback to the owners.

We arrived for a Sunday lunch at 4pm, we were told the entertainment wasn't set up yet, so we couldn't sit down. As the paying customer, that's an odd priority. So we sat in the bar before the singer was ready.

At the bar, the beer I ordered was flat, so, rather than pouring a new one, they topped up my flat beer … so it was a rank pint. Once I said that the beer wasn't right, they acknowledged that it needed changing and sorted it out.

We then noticed the volume of people waiting to sit in the restaurant. The restaurant isn't huge, and asking everyone to be seated at the same time is an odd move. When we got to the restaurant, a table was being seated of 18+ … the management clearly though seating a table of 18 was okay, but it absorbed all atmosphere in the restaurant, and we waited 20 minutes to actually sit down. The large party wouldn't settle, and started asking us (a table of 2) to move up so they could squeeze in. I watched the staff in utter bewilderment as it was a huge table and it was just too big for the restaurant, add to that the decision to allow a table of 12 too and there is no way you can manage all those parties at once Watching the waitress take the drinks order for the 18+ table meant we (and others) were going to wait a long, long time before being served or even spoken to

No one took control, we made the call to leave as sitting in the small room, with people standing over us trying to sit down, asking us to move up, no order taken, a pretty grim environment and that's before we even attempted to eat! The entertainment was set up though so that's good.

I'd just suggest a few things. . Max table sizes, it's too small for large numbers Paying customer have to take priority over the entertainment You cannot seat all customers at the same time Management take control of the situation, rather than watch as other paying customers walk out

As mentioned, I want this place to do well, but it was a really disappointing experience. I have never walked out of restaurant before, but lots of...

BOOKING/ARRIVAL:No pre-arrival information received. Upon arrival, no sign of how to access property or who to contact.Entry area was rundown and unwelcoming, with mattresses piled up in open cabins and building materials and rubbish strewn around. Dark, unlit entry areas. When I did eventually stumble across the host, there was no explanation of the key system to access the property. Host mentioned that there was no WiFi, as though this was a temporary issue. From reading other reviews it seems that this is an ongoing issue. The room was a WiFi dead zone.EXTERIOR:The accommodation is essentially a large garden shed centred around the pub/club's smoking area. This is not explained on the website listing.The garden was disappointing as it comprised an astroturfed thoroughfare alley full of benches and chairs from the adjoined bar/nightclub.The alleyway was poorly dark at night with no lighting. As the street gate was left open, anyone was free to wander in. I felt unsafe and imagine solo travellers and even families would feel the same. BEDROOM:The room walls were painted black, and the only window offering natural light faced out on the pub alleyway, meaning the blinds had to be kept shut to ensure security and privacy. Consequently the room was very dark and depressing.No air conditioning or even electric fan. Room was stuffy and uncomfortable. In really hot weather it will be insufferable.Some electric fittings seemed loose.The room was dirty and not properly dusted / cleaned. A cursory wipe along the tops of picture frames, ledges etc revealed vast amounts of dust. Chrome fixtures need a polish.Kettle had to be filled and rinsed out several times before it could be used due to large limescale deposits.The vanity seat was filthy - sticky and stained. Unusable. BATHROOM: No window nor an extractor fan.The bathroom tiles / shower enclosure felt dirty and in need of a deep clean. As did the toilet. AWFUL...

BOOKING/ARRIVAL:No pre-arrival information received. Upon arrival, no sign of how to access property or who to contact.Entry area was rundown and unwelcoming, with mattresses piled up in open cabins and building materials and rubbish strewn around. Dark, unlit entry areas. When I did eventually stumble across the host, there was no explanation of the key system to access the property. Host mentioned that there was no WiFi, as though this was a temporary issue. From reading other reviews it seems that this is an ongoing issue. The room was a WiFi dead zone.EXTERIOR:The accommodation is essentially a large garden shed centred around the pub/club's smoking area. This is not explained on the website listing.The garden was disappointing as it comprised an astroturfed thoroughfare alley full of benches and chairs from the adjoined bar/nightclub.The alleyway was poorly dark at night with no lighting. As the street gate was left open, anyone was free to wander in. I felt unsafe and imagine solo travellers and even families would feel the same. BEDROOM:The room walls were painted black, and the only window offering natural light faced out on the pub alleyway, meaning the blinds had to be kept shut to ensure security and privacy. Consequently the room was very dark and depressing.No air conditioning or even electric fan. Room was stuffy and uncomfortable. In really hot weather it will be insufferable.Some electric fittings seemed loose.The room was dirty and not properly dusted / cleaned. A cursory wipe along the tops of picture frames, ledges etc revealed vast amounts of dust. Chrome fixtures need a polish.Kettle had to be filled and rinsed out several times before it could be used due to large limescale deposits.The vanity seat was filthy - sticky and stained. Unusable. BATHROOM: No window nor an extractor fan.The bathroom tiles / shower enclosure felt dirty and in need of a deep clean. As did the toilet. AWFUL...