Gilby's Restaurant review by Anon
I cannot recommend Gilbey's. I took my family here for a celebration meal, prepared to push the boat out, and encouraged by reviews. I was immediately put off by the less than friendly welcome from the 'maitre d', who appeared to be cemented behind her lectern. A tip if you're determined to dine here: don't accept the offer to go to the bar first. We did and ended up sitting disconsolately whilst completely ignored by staff. After ten minutes my son went to queue at the bar. At these prices I expected to have my order taken and delivered. Some people seemed to get that, but it was hard to work out what the magic formula was. After another 10 minutes the maitre d brought us two menus to share; still not smiling. After 40 minutes of waiting to order our food my other son went looking for staff. A pleasant enough young woman took our order rather briskly, forgetting to ask if we wanted to order wine and had to be called back. We were called to the table quicker than I expected but nevertheless it was an hour before we ate anything and there was then such a long wait for our main courses that the staff apologised before we got a chance to complain. All in all our meal took three hours to complete from arrival to departure, not much of that time spent eating. We had one very helpful and efficient waiter who looked stressed throughout. This may seem petty but the candle on our table was out and nobody bothered to light it. Attention to deal, nought out of ten.
The food was quite good, but not amazing; quality of cuisine and size of portions did not justify the exorbitant prices - which I was expecting and would have welcomed had our dining experience matched my expectations. There was only sporadic flair in the menu: vanilla, strawberry, chocolate and pistachio ice creams were a very dull offering, and wouldn't you think that coffee in this sort of establishment might come with some little extra as a mark of style?
To be honest, I've eaten better at a quarter of the price with more of a welcome at the Horse and Jockey pub further up this road. We noticed that regulars seemed to get preferential treatment, which is almost acceptabe, but thoroughly annoying when your idea of a special night out is spoilt by being ignored.
Owners and managers of this establishment, here are three tips:
1 if you make your menu expensive, remember to treat ALL your customers like VIPS, that's the deal, don't make them queue, or wait. Pander to them, that's why they're prepared to pay £1.95 for a wine glass of water
2 There are plenty of other restaurants in your area, you have to earn your clientele's respect. You can be assured I shall tell everyone how bad our experience was when they ask.
3 Teach your staff to smile. At EVERYONE.
You spoilt my special night, and you needn't have.
Sunday, April 27, 2008
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