1891 Restaurant and Bar, Rhyl — Restaurant in Wales

It took a bit of time to locate as 1891 is upstairs in the theatre building. On arrival the downstairs of the building was completely deserted with lights turned off, we thought we had gone to the wrong place. Eventually we worked out how to get to the actual restaurant and subsequent first impressions were quite encouraging. The location is decent; on the seafront with ample parking available. The restaurant itself is clean and tidy. The decor is simple and pleasant, if a little uninspiring. Effort has obviously gone in to trying to create a quality dining room. The restaurant was, however, disturbingly quiet for a Saturday night and unfortunately it didn't take too long to work out why.

Once we sat down it took a solid 15 minutes before any member of staff came to take a drinks order. This waitress was largely unaware of the available drinks but was at least friendly and tried to be helpful.

After a further 15 minutes (and before our drinks actually arrived) our food order was taken. Shortly afterwards (about 40 minutes after sitting down) we received our drinks. The food took considerably longer to arrive. When it did eventually arrive the waitress confused a few of the dishes (mixing up lamb and duck). Subsequently we seemed to be one dish short. When we pointed this out the waitress apologised and said a replacement would be on the way soon. The replacement arrived after everyone else had finished and this diner felt rushed to complete her meal in her own. This mistake in itself is not a deal breaker as I appreciate such mistakes can happen.

The food was of overall to the quality of a good pub meal. Nothing stood out as particularly good or poor. Considering this it would seem a little overpriced.

The main concern with this restaurant is in relation to how our minor complaints were dealt with. As well as the mix up above we complained that the soft drink someone ordered was completely flat. We were subsequently brought a replacement, still completely flat, diet pepsi.

At the end of the meal we were ready for the bill. Unfortunately every single never of staff had vanished from the restaurant floor. We did eventually manage to flag someone down and ask for the bill. No deduction had been made for the delayed meal or flat pepsi. We queried this and the waitress tried to remove the item from our bill. Unfortunately her manager got involved and told that as everyone ate their meal they could not make a deduction. Despite a disagreement we were left no choice but to pay. Payment caused the next issue, as this restaurant has no portable card machine everyone had to get up and pay their share individually at the front desk.

We left feeling disappointed as we had such hopes for a nice restaurant in the area.

Positives: Food was OK. Clean and tidy. Good to see an attempt at a proper restaurant in Rhyl

Negatives: Soft drinks flat Slow service Very poor customer service Overpriced Food not as good as would be...

What a really disappointing meal and evening - our table wasn’t ready in time although it was almost empty and plenty of staff around - whilst waiting for table we hovered around the bar to order a drink - nobody acknowledged us. Starters were nice so encouraged our expectations , staff never checked all was ok though and we had to call over for more drinks (only four of us ) We were asked if we wanted the desert menu before our mains arrived. Steaks orders were a well done and a medium well done - one was more medium rare and extremely chewy with lots of gristle that couldn’t be finished , the other was medium and not well done and too chewy and wasn’t finished - managed half reluctantly because of price / gave the feedback as to why it was left / and would have expected either chef or shift manager to acknowledge the feedback - had the numerous available staff been attentive and asked if all was ok we would have expected a replacement but this just did not happen Burgers were poor quality and very salty . Empty glasses were not cleared from the table even though we had other drinks . Bill came and was incorrectly charged for the spritzers overcharged by £6 even though the offer card was placed on the tables / no discount offered or apology for the poor food that we had returned and given feedback - no sign of shift manager to acknowledge the feedback either . No thank you or acknowledgement when we left / very poor and disappointing service all round / very poor quality food served for the price and very...

It was the first time I had eaten in this lovely bar/restaurant and it will certainly not be the last. The staff are attentive, friendly and professional but oh my goodness, the food! I have visited many restaurants over the years but can honestly say the food served here is exceptional. I have eaten in Michelin starred and many other restaurants but I cannot remembered the last time I enjoyed a meal so much. From the starter to the dessert it was perfect. There were no boring bog-standard mushrooms served up in my starter but a delicious combination of many different types of mushrooms which was a very pleasant surprise, particularly for the money. My steak was cooked perfectly, the chips were lovely and the Sauce Diane with mushrooms was to die for (Yes I do so love mushrooms! ). The sticky toffee pudding was as light as light can be and it is clearly obvious that whoever prepares these dishes is very highly skilled, loves their craft and takes a lot of pride in sending out perfect plates of food. I commented to our waitress just how fabulous the food was and it wasn't just me that was saying so but the four friends with me expressed the same sentiments about their meals. I was delighted when at the end of the evening the head chef was bought to our table and I was amazed to discover that she was only twenty-three years old. How lucky you are 1891 to have such a fabulous chef and may I just say if you ever sack Charlotte Stanley (though I cannot imagine that you ever would) we will not...