Top Joe's Townhouse & Pizzeria Narberth — Restaurant in Wales

Awful Service, Rude Staff, & Missing Food!

We visited on a Tuesday evening & as soon as we arrived I got the impression they were rushed off their feet, even though the place was half empty. They just told us where our table was rather than taking us to sit down & no one explained the specials or asked if we had any questions. Not great, but not the worst thing to happen.

The waiter came to take our order, it had been a while & we were ready to order everything, but were asked to just order drinks. We ordered those & also snuck in a few garlic breads to share while we waited. The garlic bread came quick enough & the dough was really really good! They also accommodated adding cheese, which wasn’t on the menu. Really delicious! However, by the time we had finished the garlic bread, our drinks still hadn’t arrived & we still hadn’t been able to order mains. Eventually the drinks arrived & we were able to order our food - 4 pizzas, 3 pastas, 1 side.

By the time our food arrived we had been there well over an hour. My pizza was delicious - the flavour was good & the dough was again very tasty! However, they had forgotten 1 of the pasta dishes, got 1 of the pizzas wrong, and we later realised that the side never even turned up! They did whip up a quick pasta & gave a brief apology. When we said about the wrong pizza, we were told ‘With the utmost respect, you asked for the mushroom one’. There were 2 mushroom ones on the menu, so even if that was the case (which it wasn’t) they should have clarified which one. They did take the pizza back though & made the correct one for us pretty quickly.

The carbonara was horrid. It got passed around the table, everyone having a try, & was eventually left, but we had eaten too much between us to then complain, so we ordered an extra Margherita instead. Everyone carried on eating while this happened & I’d say overall the remaining dishes were nice.

The pizza took so long that everyone had finished & we asked the waiter to instead make the pizza to go (still no sign of it). We waited another 20 mins or so after this, at which point half the party got bored of waiting & left. 2 of us remained behind to collect the pizza. After around another 10 mins I started watching out for a waiter to ask, but no one appeared. I eventually caught sight of a waitress down by the kitchen so I went to ask her. She had her back to me & barely turned around when I spoke to her. She said something to the chef & shrugged at him. While the waitress remained with her back to me, the chef then started trying to shout over her head to me. I had to repeat what I’d originally asked the waitress several times. The chef was then incredibly rude & started shouting at me multiple times that he didn’t know, that wasn’t his job, & that I should have gone to front of house. I wasn’t even speaking to him in the first place! All this time, the waitress remained with her back to me. Not a single shred of trying to help.

At this point, we were fed up & left having paid for a pizza & a side that we never received. The only good thing about this place was the dough, which was unfortunately massively overshadowed by the rude & slow service. We certainly won’t be returning & would advise others...

We’ve visited Top Joe’s many times over the years and always enjoyed both the food and the service. Unfortunately, our most recent visit on a quiet Tuesday evening was very different.

The restaurant wasn’t busy, and there were a couple of waiting staff on duty. When my partner asked if one of the ingredients on her chosen pizza could be swapped, the initial response from the waitress was a blunt “no.” After we pressed the issue, she reluctantly agreed it was possible, but the requested substitute wasn’t available. Ham was offered instead, and we accepted.

The food itself was good, though several dessert options were unavailable, which was disappointing. What really soured the evening, however, was the service. Throughout the meal, the staff were cold, abrupt, and at times almost hostile.

When the bill arrived, we noticed an additional £2.50 charge for the substitute ingredient—an item that hadn’t even been on the pizza to begin with. When we queried this, we were told it was “clearly stated on the menu.” We checked, and the only surcharge mentioned was for additional toppings, not for swapping ingredients. I’ve never encountered a charge like this anywhere else. We asked to speak with a manager, only to be told none was on site. In the end, we refused the charge, and the bill was reluctantly amended.

This left us with a very poor impression. In the past, we’ve been so supportive of this restaurant that we even went back on a previous occasion to pay the difference when they accidentally undercharged us. We’ve wanted to see this place succeed. But after this experience, it’s clear that no matter how good the food is, customer service makes all the difference. Sadly, we won’t...

EDITED

I wasn`t expecting a reply in such way from the establishment.

These days, people do use AI to simplify their lives, however by the sounds of things you and your establishment not aware of this.

You have mushroom and courgette pizza options in your menu ! However I actually don`t remember mentioning that it was one pizza. I was there with my boyfriend and ordered more than one pizza.

Original I visited Top Joe`s in the recent months and was prompted by google to review my visit, and unfortunately, my experience was not up to expectations.

Food Quality: The mushrooms in my in my pizza were overcooked/charred , while the courgettes were raw. This imbalance in cooking made the pizza quite disappointing. I was hoping for a more balanced not so soggy pizza dish

Service: The service was slow and inattentive. It took a long time for my order to arrive, and the staff seemed unresponsive. Additionally, I witnessed staff arguing with each other about their pay, which was unprofessional and uncomfortable for me and probably other diners.

Cleanliness: I also noticed that the restaurant was not very clean. The tables were sticky, and the restrooms were not well-maintained.

Suggestions: There are areas that need improvement. I would suggest ensuring that vegetables are cooked properly, training staff on customer service, and addressing any internal issues privately. Additionally, regular cleaning would greatly enhance the dining experience.

I hope this feedback is helpful but for me I think I will skip Top...