Butterflies Bar & Kitchen — Restaurant in Wales

Subject: Declining Standards and Arrogant Management at Butterflies, Blaenavon

We dined at Butterflies in Blaenavon on 08/12/2024 after securing a last-minute cancellation from their six-month waiting list. Having previously experienced excellent service when the restaurant first opened, we were shocked by how much standards have declined as the restaurant’s popularity has grown. While the food was good, the overall experience was ruined by poor service, uncomfortable seating, and a dismissive attitude from the management.

Initial Impressions: We arrived 10 minutes early for our two-hour reservation and were promptly seated at a four-seater table. However, the seating arrangement was awkward, with chairs too high for the table, making it impossible to sit comfortably without trapping our legs. To make matters worse, the area was cold and drafty—so much so that many diners nearby kept their outdoor coats on throughout the meal.

Service Issues: Initially, service was adequate. Drinks were served promptly, and our starters arrived quickly. However, things quickly went downhill:

There was an unnecessary 20-minute wait for our main courses, despite the restaurant not appearing overly busy.

After completing our main courses the most frustrating part came when we waited another 20 minutes, expecting someone to offer us the dessert menu. When a server finally arrived, we ordered a fudge cake to share. Five minutes later, she returned to apologize and asked if we could move to another table because a larger booking needed ours. At this point, we had only used 1 hour 30 minutes of our two-hour slot. Not wanting to move mid-meal, we asked to have our dessert to go instead.

Arrogant and Defensive Management: When we went to the bar to pay, a staff member asked if we’d already received the bill. I explained that we had come to settle it. My partner remarked that we hoped there wouldn’t be a service charge due to the poor experience, and the staff member confirmed there wasn’t. However, when we expressed our dissatisfaction about being asked to leave early, he falsely claimed we had been there over two hours.

When we corrected him and pointed out that our confirmation clearly stated a two-hour time slot, he doubled down, claiming that the limit was actually 90 minutes. To make matters worse, he then tried to claim that our time slot had started 30 minutes earlier than it did—an outright lie designed to support his argument. It felt as though he was clutching at anything to justify the poor service, even if his claims were completely false.

We even offered to provide proof of our booking confirmation, but instead of acknowledging this, he rudely remarked that he would “find out after you leave.” This dismissive attitude, combined with his defensive and accusatory tone, clearly showed that management no longer values customers. It seems that the more popular the restaurant has become, the less they care about providing a high-quality dining experience.

A Pattern of Deflection: After reading other negative reviews of Butterflies, it’s apparent that the management has a pattern of never accepting fault or responsibility. They frequently blame customers for any complaints and often claim to have CCTV and audio recordings to discredit them. We fully expect a similar response to this review, but that doesn’t change the fact that the service we received was unacceptable.

Final Thoughts: While the food was good, it didn’t compensate for the poor service, uncomfortable seating, and the unprofessional and arrogant behavior of the management. For a restaurant with a six-month waiting list, this level of service is simply unacceptable. We have since canceled a reservation we had for March next year, as we have no interest in returning to a restaurant that treats its customers with such disregard.

It’s clear that Butterflies has allowed its popularity to erode the quality of its service. I hope management takes this feedback seriously, though based on their history, we’re...

I have given 5* before for meals during the week before, but after a long wait for the Sunday roast I was disappointed. If I could book another roast in a couple of weeks or month or two I wouldn't mind and give it another go, however as the waiting list is so long (which is a good thing) I probably won't get another chance to try again. Potatoes were seasoned lovely and tasted really good but we're very under cooked. There was a group of 7 with myself. Half of us had cooked potatoes and the other half had under cooked, so we know it was just the batch that we had. As I cannot eat red meat I had chicken with the veggie gravy. Although the chicken was lovely, the gravy was a sweet cranberry gravy which I was not informed of or expecting. As a table we were not asked how our food was or if there were any issues until after our desserts. The waitresses are nice but as they're busy you do not want to stop them when they're carrying food or dirty plates or drinks, also waiting for food to be changed while the rest of the table is eating isn't the nicest feeling. Was hoping to go home full and with a doggy bag as we usually do, but ended up having two desserts and then cooking when we got home 😂 After a long wait and a lot of hype around the roast, I was very dissatisfied and disappointed.

I feel the response has been to cover your back more than to apologise. Staff didn't ask us if our food was ok when the napkins were dropped over, he asked. If there was anything else we needed. If it was we didn't hear it because none of our table answered. And we all mentioned it at the end to the lady that no one asked us. We would have told you, but also as I said 3 of us didn't want to wait for more potatoes when the others were eating when you were so busy. Which as I said is a good thing when you like your food. Because the veggie gravy was sweet it would have been nice to have been informed to be given the option as sweet on a cook dinner if quite unusual for me. And I am sorry we were late, but we travelled from Newport and my grandad parents were driving for the first time and found it hard to park, even though my partner her mum and my son were all on time as I was helping my grandparents park. If customers being 10 minutes late is a problem please let us know when we walk in. Not telling us it's not a problem and sitting us down and then mentioning it on here when we have issues. I feel because of the reputation of the pub, some staff assume everything is ok and fine when sometimes things aren't. It's always good to check. I do hope I will try the Sunday roast again, but I am not willing to wait another 3/4 months for something I can get plenty of between Newport and bleanavon. After this response I probably won't be, my family will they enjoyed it. But I...

I normally don’t leave these kinds of reviews but I would like to advise people who happen to be reading reviews to make an informed decision. Myself and my partner were looking for somewhere nice and casual yesterday for a coffee if only for a few mins, after hearing good things we drove here specifically, Google says the shut time on a Sunday is 5:30, however there’s a sign on an intimidating looking door that says it shuts at 5 on a Sunday, the time was 16:40 and we rang the doorbell thinking even if we only had 20 mins, at least we’d get a feel for the restaurant to maybe return on a later date, a man dressed in a suit answers and says that they are closed(I did mention the time on Google/the door and the current time), not even slightly apologetic and kinda dismissive especially when we explained we only wanted a coffee(fair enough turning us away from a Sunday lunch)

In any case we started making our way back home and see signs for the Whistle Inn and I would 100% recommend here instead, the restaurant has a gorgeous view of the surrounding landscapes and a small railway line and we spent 3 hours there until it got dark, the few staff members we spoke to were incredibly friendly also, if you’re fancying a late afternoon place to chill and have a drink, it’s a go to

Edit for reply,

I appreciate the response, I understand it's not your fault that Google takes a while to update.

However I’d like to address a few things back, your bookings only for…coffee? Unnecessary in my personal opinion, regardless you can’t expect people to check your social media, Kai may be a nice person but he was slightly dismissive and I’d say working in the public sector at least be apologetic of a situation, we did drive there for specifically your restaurant, at least recommend something different to prevent the wasted journey(the one hour you mentioned in reference to opening times was the reason for the hour long drive there and back for us), that small bit of friendly information would have prevented this review, someone trying to be understanding will never be faulted. The door, when I say intimidating I’m not talking about the style of wood I’m talking about the mouldy printed sign and a ring doorbell, making it feel like someone’s home rather than a restaurant, it’s a weird contrast to the beautiful and bright walls, I’m sure you cater to your patrons well when they can actually enter the place, but we sadly didn't get to...