The Parsonage — Restaurant in Worthing

My wife and I visited the Parsonage Bar & Restaurant for our wedding anniversary. I live locally to the restaurant and had always heard good things and the trip advisor reviews suggested this was a good choice.

We arrived at the venue at 7.55 for 8pm booking, a member of staff said we could either go up to the table or remain in the bar. We went up to our table and ordered drinks, although they forgot the water our drinks arrived promptly. After this we were basically ignored by the staff, they actively avoided eye contact although were very attentive to other tables. After twenty minutes we asked if we could order and were very abruptly told they were waiting for another table to order and they would take our order after this! I have never been told I’m not allowed to order at a restaurant before so was quite surprised at this, which we expressed to the waitress who reappeared a couple minutes later to take our order. From this point on it was clear that we were not welcome, the staff were noticeably more pleasant and attentive to all the tables around us. Starters were nice, mains were ok and in our view overpriced. We did not have desert as by this point we were feeling very unwelcome. I paid the bill of £72 which include a 10% service charge as I didn't want to make a big scene in front of a restaurant full of people on what was supposed to be a special night for my wife and I.

Prior to leaving I spoke with a senior member of staff and explained that we had not been happy with the service and the reasons why. This staff member essentially told us that it was our fault for arriving five minutes early and for asking to order our meals at twenty past 8 as they wanted us to order our food at 8.30. This restaurant clearly has no regard for the principle of ‘the customer is always right’ and instead decided to punish us for arriving early when they simply could of told us at the start of the evening that our table wasn’t ready yet. Never before have I been told off when raising a complaint about an unsatisfactory dining experience! The staff at this restaurant were the most unprofessional and rude we have ever encountered. It would be great if someone could contact me to discuss properly as I am pretty annoyed and upset about my wife and I having a...

Went for a special occasion family meal last night & was really looking forward to it. 6 of us, so a hefty bill. We were swiftly ushered to our table, without any chance or choice of ordering drinks in the bar area. Waitress and waiters kept interrupting our conversations on several occasions, nobody mentioned or asked how the lamb would be served/cooked, so when it came, we were surprised that it was raw in places (not medium rare). We had to ask repeatedly if the drinks we'd ordered were coming and the service seemed clunky & awkward. When I went to the ladies', a loud man who looked like a seasoned drinker, broke off his conversation to inform me which direction I should take to get back to my table. Really embarrassing as I think he was the proprietor; I hadn't asked for, or solicited his advice and I was quietly looking at the pictures on the wall. I felt really uncomfortable. It looked and felt like an old persons' local, where everyone has their own tankard and if you're not a local to Tarring Village, you're not really welcome. Used to be really helpful here. For a Saturday night, it wasn't busy, so we were surprised that we experienced this. It's a beautiful old venue though, with lots of interesting history. It's definitely going...

Look, in Worthing there a lot of places to eat, and most are pretty good. It’s when you find a place that does excellent food, but appreciates it’s the overall experience that makes or breaks the meal, that’s the place to go back to. They couldn’t have done more for us, my partner is a vegan (I know right!), and not only do they have a specific vegan menu, but they were happy to tailor it for her. What ever she wanted, if they had the ingredients then they would do their best to conjure up what combination she wanted, (she ordered off the comprehensive vegan menu though with no need for changes!) but how many places offer that flexibility? What more can I say - I’m easy, I had their fillet steak and it was perfect, which sounds like so what, but many “steak specific” restaurants can’t cook their flagship dish to anything recognisable as medium rare. I’ve been here for drinks before a few times, which it’s also is a nice place for, but will eat here many more times after today’s experience. Oh, and they have an excellent selection of beers on tap, a big gin selection, and maybe the coolest automatic bins in the loos!...