The Pickled Crab Deli — Restaurant in Warwick

My partner and l secured a voucher for Sunday lunch in a sea food restaurant, so imagine our surprise when we arrive and are told it is a carvery...!! The advertisement/voucher doesn't mention this...

We are not traditional meat and two veg eaters on a regular basis, and following the recent Christmas fayre, the thought of a sea food Sunday lunch was quite appealing ..

On arrival we were seated near the only other table being occupied by 5 people who appeared to have recently arrived.

First impressions, it didn't look like a seafood restaurant other than the plastic crabs on the walls. The majority of tables were dressed with cloths, glassware, cutlery and napkins and also contained a nice red printed menu advertising their Valentine's menu.

The table we were shown to was a 2 seater painted wooden one, containing cutlery and paper napkins - this being the only 'undressed table' ... Are we second class citizens because we used a Groupon voucher !?

Wooden clip boards were presented with homemade menu sheets, and we were asked if we wanted to upgrade to 'large plates' for an extra £5. We ordered drinks and decided to decline starters but choose desert if the need necessitated after lunch. We were advised the Chef would come through to the mobile carvery and call our table up.

In the meantime we asked to see the main menu... Again surprised to find that there was only calamari salad and traditional fish and chips, and the remainder being meat i.e. Ox cheeks and vegetarian to be found on what is a seafood restaurants main menu. There was a tapas/small plates menu which contained 12 dishes, of which only 3 were seafood, plus a salmon dish the remaining were meat and vegetarian.

We waited for the Chef to come and waited .... and waited, then after the Chef had prepared the starters for our fellow diners he came out and called us over. We were glad to be getting our mains before them, there wasn't much veg as it was.

On the trolley was Beef, Pork and Gammon with roast potatoes, stuffing balls, Yorkshire pudding, cauliflower cheese, carrots, peas, green beans and gravy. Where was the parsnips??

We were asked if we wanted all three meats, which we accepted and received a more than generous portion of, however, the Yorkshire pudding was burnt, the stuffing balls hard and dry, the peas resembled cannon balls. The green beans were well past their best, as was the cauliflower cheese which actually tasted better than it looked. The crispy crackling was delicious... Mustard and horseradish sauce had been placed on our table, and it wasn't until we started eating that we missed the apple sauce..

Our fellow diners were invited up and again offered the 3 meats, after they had been served the Chef asked us if we wanted anymore, we were already struggling with what we had and declined. He then carved extra meat and placed the plate on our fellow diners table, they asked if there was any apple sauce to which the Chef replied 'l will go and make you some', they advised that was not necessary.

We left the restaurant totally confused as to the identity being portrayed whilst advertised as a seafood restaurant these options were difficult to find. Further complicated by the addition of a traditional Sunday roast carvery and offerings of tapas which again had minimal seafood offerings.

When reading reviews it appeared to have a good reputation for seafood dishes which we struggled to find being offered. We have been left wondering if these are genuine reviews and thinking these may just be 'themed nights' held somewhere else, as the crockery in pictures don't match what was...

We came here on a Thursday evening with a Groupon deal (as the other guests seemed to have done) - 7 courses and glass of prosecco for just over £20 per head seemed too good to be true, but the great reviews meant that we had to try it. I'm sorry to say that despite our reasonably low expectations, we left feeling very disappointed. When we arrived at the restaurant 45 mins after opening there was one other table of two and the chef was hurriedly waiting - there were no other staff (the waitress was apparently running late) and there was no atmosphere (though we figured we were early and it would hopefully pick up - besides 2 other couples, it didn't). The waitress arrived soon after the chef served our drinks and then 6 courses (not 7 - I took a picture of every course) came out to us one by one. During this time there were a number of things that resulted in our not wanting to go back: 1) we felt like we were part of a production line and the waitress was robotically going by a pre-agreed script - for example, despite the fact that we were asked separately to the other table whether we would like a break between the dessert and main, our differing preferences were agreed verbally and then completely ignored as she brought them out together 20 minutes later, 2) the toilets were not very nice with toilet roll unwound on the floor and an unpleasant smell (in all honesty they're nicer at Warwick Hospital!), 3) there was a general feeling of cheapness about the whole place, it really felt like they were trying to save on every aspect including staff, decor and lighting which made for not the most comfortable of experiences, 4) it was really quite dark in the area we were seated so I asked for a candle seeing as i could see candle holders about - whilst we were indeed presented with a tealight, this really seemed to put the waitress out and I felt very awkward to have asked for one - it's such a shame because a few candles on the tables would have made for a much nicer ambience and I could see the other table looking over at us enviously! The food was ok - nicely presented but unfortunately nothing that would bring us back. On the way home we walked past an Indian restaurant that was heaving with people and the sounds and smells of people enjoying an evening of good food - we both wished we'd gone...

Purchased a groupon offer for The Pickled Crab as I was in the area and wanted to support a local business rather than the plethora of corporate alternatives. Regrettably I wish I hadn't bothered. The entire experience is very odd indeed. The restaurant was empty and the service was so poor I had to write a review. No one explained that the three course meal with a glass of prosecco being offered was effectively a tasting menu. No choice of food from a set menu...what they have is what you get...let me make this clear, this is never explained to you before purchase or even once you enter the restaurant. No advice was given about potential allergies (which I found particularly astounding). You're given a drinks menu (neither of the drinks we wanted were available so we ended up with two tap waters that were never replenished) and the waitress disappeared for a while then reappeared some time later and plonked two calamaris in front of us both. Again....little consideration of potential allergies but at least we now had some idea of how the night would proceed. To be fair the food was very good....but at full price I would have had a different opinion. This is NOT fine dining as the Groupon sells itself as...it is rustic, rough around the edges and tasty....but a far cry from fine dining. Hardly saw the waitress all evening and genuinely felt like she just wanted us out asap so she could get off home (worst service I've experienced in a 'fine dining' establishment ever). Never saw the glasses of prosecco either. I did let Nigel, the chef and owner, know about our experience at the end of the meal as he was switching the music off, turning off lights and cashing up...largely because we didn't know if we had finished our meal or not as we sat there in uncomfortable silence waiting for a bill or receipt, maybe our missing prosecco or whatever to make it clear that the meal had come to an end. Although he was apologetic a lot of my concerns were brushed off with 'this doesn't usually happen' etc. He did suggest that we come back so he can show how they really function...but of course that would be at our own expense. I'm really sad about tonight and I'd like to recommend the place as the food was good but the experience is so awful I just can't be responsible for someone else having to...