The Blue Anchor British Pub — Restaurant in Delray Beach

Update: The owner responded to my review here. But the owner was the one treating us so poorly under the guise of, "If you were a local, it would be different." After living in Delray a year, we have never been back here because the experience was so terrible. What a shame because we would have loved to settle in as regulars here.

I’ll preface this by saying that most of the staff here were wonderful. But the owner and the short female bartender with red hair were extremely rude. I have never been treated with this level of disrespect by a business owner or his staff.

We just moved to town and have had great experiences with most of the restaurants and bars on the strip. We went in specifically for happy hour, which we saw on the sign outside.

The first bartender was lovely. He told us the happy hour wasn’t during the Delray fest (which was all weekend) but because that’s what brought us in, he would honor the $4 / pint special.

He served us 2 rounds and then we didn’t see him again - assuming he ended his shift and left for the night.

We enjoyed our beers and when it came time to pay, flagged down another bartender.

The check they gave didn’t include the discount - no big deal - so we told them the first guy said he would give us the happy hour special.

That’s when this woman just stared to GO OFF. She must have been really stressed cause it was busy, or something else, but even though we were being polite, she was angry, aggressive, and hostile.

I have never been treated so poorly before. I’m actually flabbergasted by how mean and hostile this woman was, AND at how the owner acted like it wasn’t a problem.

She yelled at us, threatened to call the police on us if we wouldn’t pay.

We were not refusing to pay, after all it was only $4 extra per drink so not a ton of money - this all just happened within seconds when we were telling them what the other bartender offered us.

Although maybe she was scared she’d be out $40 since some of the staff told us that he makes them pay out of pocket if a client walks out on their tab.

Still - even the owner who was also being rude told us there was no excuse for her behavior.

He acknowledged that she had mistreated us, but he refused to honor what his staff member had promised us.

He even said that if we were regulars, he would have honored it.

But because we had just moved to town and it was our first visit, that he implied we were lying about the other bartender’s offer to honor the happy hour.

That makes me sad because I wonder how many tourists have been ripped off or abused because they’re not locals!

Yet he refused to call his staff member and ask, and wouldn’t give us the promised price, even after his other staff abused us.

Instead he told us that the other guy would be back after a week, and if he confirmed our story then he would make it up to us. (what?!?)

I’m still just so blown away by how ridiculous the whole situation was - and how nasty they both were to us.

The fact that they both got so defensive so fast makes it clear this was not the first time something like his has happened there.

It’s a shame because we really liked the pub, and I would have loved to make it a regular haunt, but I just can’t support a business owner who mistreats his customers, and runs his business with such a lack...

I love this pub. I have lived in Boynton since 2015 and always enjoy my visits to the Blue anchor. I have been for Christmas dinner every year since I moved here and many times in between for a football game or to meet friends. My wife and I went for lunch today and tomorrow was our regular plan for Christmas dinner with our Scottish friends. Its a little piece of home and I love it. Today I had the worst experience with a member of staff it was just horrendous. The receipt says her name is Day B a blond lady . When I came in she was very busy I asked a few questions about the menu and she was very abrupt with her answers I understood it as she had other people not just me and she was alone. She made a snippy comment to another customer at the bar I found it rude but figured they must just know each other and it was just banter. My wife and I were very friendly to her and complimented her two pups she had sitting on the floor while she worked. she was stoic and never broke a smile. When I went to pay the bill it seemed high but I paid it. I then asked to see the break down thats when she went whacky. You had two yuengling beers she yelled. I said no,I had half a lager and lime and went on to say what I else I ordered. She yells I know what you ordered. I said just show me the break down. I was calm I ,wasn't upset I was just interested to see if it was a mistake thats all. She then starts pecking hard on the register takes out 10 dollars and literally throws it at me with a viscous comment that I wont repeat. The owner a very nice tall gentlemen talked to me and I explained that she had blown up over nothing. He was super nice and very cool. It may all seem trivial but she destroyed our evening made it sour bitter and horrible. There is no way I can go there for Christmas dinner tomorrow because if she was there it would just be a horrible experience with such a nasty negative presence in the room. I just don't understand how someone can work in customer service with that kind of vibe. I had worked as a server for many years when I first came to America, I understand the stress but to blow up on someone when they have treated you with respect makes no sense. I have no idea why she behaved the way she did.

Gary Caplan.

I just saw your reply below and its disingenuous and simply not true. You were not slammed at all you were a litle busy for one person I will give you that. The truth is you are probably one of the owners or the actual person whose behavior was simply disgusting and you know it. You just have a weird edge and don't belong owning or working in a bar you are a loose cannon. Mark who I spoke to is a gentleman and a super nice guy if you are his spouse then I understand why he cant fire you and he just has to accept your undignified explosions of insane rude...

After seeing this place for awhile, I decided to go check it out. Please know up front, I have spent very little time in British Pubs. The place looks like a hole in the wall. That is a good thing. It would be what I would imagine a old British pub would be. I like the decor. I was sorry to see the place was practically empty so I did not get the full experience. I sat at the bar because there did not appear to be any servers.

I ordered a cider. Bartender seemed friendly enough. I decided to order dinner and asked for the fish and chips. First off, the menu is a single page. When you look on the website, I swear the website has more items and the website prices are way off from current menu prices. I got my food in a very reasonable amount of time and it did not look bad. The only thing that surprised was the inclusion of peas on the plate. I took a bite out of the fish and it seemed fine. It was fried and hot, nothing special. I got a little bit further and I noticed the consistency of the fish was very strange. I have had enough fried fish to know what it should look and taste like and this was not right. It was warm but not hot like the outside of the fish so my guess is it was under cooked. The fries were OK and nothing special. I did not try the peas. I do have to say that the tartar sauce they use is probably the worst I have tried in a very long time. I ended up leaving the fish and just finished some fries.

Now this bar is located on Atlantic Avenue just outside of the normal tourist area but still a swanky area. I have been to several of the bars on Atlantic and I know what other bars charge. When I got my bill I was a little surprised to see my pint of cider was $10.

Now the question is, would I go back?No. If an British Pub can't get fish & chips right then it is not a place I would return to. Now I did like the atmosphere and I imagine with a crowd and some live music this place would be...