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Friday 19 December 2014

Harbourside Demise perhaps?

A sad sentence or two regarding what appears to be the demise of Harbourside Restaurant in the old ferry building on the waterfront.   The husband and I have been fans for more than twenty years, popping in regularly for lunch even at times when we didn't feel all that flush.  I can even remember once going there because it was somewhere quiet to discuss how to cut down on our spending!
Today we met newly weds Cathy & Jossi there for a pre-Christmas lunch.
`You'll love it,' I told Cathy confidently.
We managed to exchange the terrace table by the door where the wind howled through for a nice quiet table inside by the kitchen easily enough though I had to promise the rather doubtful Lady In Charge that we wouldn't later complain that it was too close to the kitchen, or that the tables around us were `not laid up'.  I promised.   And we managed to get the music turned down sufficiently for the gentlemen to hear each other - well to be fair it wasn't much to ask, the bridegroom being in his nineties.
We really did not want to complain so in the final analysis we didn't.... BUT......there was no excuse for the cold chips, which we sent back and which were replaced though not too speedily.   There was no excuse for the fact that when they were replaced I was forced to collect them myself from the kitchen service area because they languished there so long they were in danger of  joining  their predecessors.   There was no excuse for the fact that although the restaurant was far from full nobody came to refill the water glasses or to ask if we wanted a second glass of wine.   And there was no excuse for the long, long delay in delivering the second glasses once they had been successfully ordered.     It was the newly weds' first experience of Harbourside and I must admit that having spoken of the place in more than glowing terms I was a bit embarrassed at the whole service fiasco although I have to say that overall the food was very good indeed.
I had hoped that considering the various cock-ups they might have made some gesture of regret such as at least removing the offending chips from the bill.   They didn't and by the time we left I had come to the conclusion that perhaps they were simply having a bad day and the less that was said about it the better.   I won't be returning with guests in too much of a hurry though.
   

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