The Notter Bridge Inn, Saltash

We went to the Notter Bridge on Fri 28th May 2010. Lovely surroundings, but that was the best part. We had booked a table of 9 for a birthday party. We entered the pub and were asked to wait to be seated while the waitress (or supervisor/manager) wondered off to serve another table. After 5 minutes my wife then walked to our table, it had 21st Birthday balloons so we knew it was ours. the table was situated in the corner of the restaurant, the end was next to a radiator and i had to move everyone along to get in! We had to shuffle chairs about as it was very cramped. There didn't seem to be many people in the restaurant at this point. The waitress asked if we would like any drinks and we gave an order. 10 mins passed, then 20, then half an hour. At which point we asked where our drinks where only to be told that they were short staffed and only had one barman and he was having a problem with something or other! There only seemed to be 2 waiting staff working, which, as I work in the catering trade myself, is unacceptable for a friday night, specially a Bank Holiday weekend as well. We then explained to the waitress this was unacceptable, and said we were going to leave. she then Said "oh, whys that?" And we explained the service wasn't good and it was way too cramped for a table of 9 (you'd have been lucky to fit 6 on it). She then said "ok, fair enough" and at that point shouted to the barman to "forget the drinks, they're leaving!" Not a pleasant experience. We the went to the pub just up the road and it was fantastic. Quick service, lots of space, and good value. Overall, I wouldnt go to the Notter Inn again, unless they get more staff and are alot more attentive to the customers. And yes, we could have gone to the bar to get the drinks but we were asked if we wanted as soon as we sat down and thought this was the norm. Not a good experience.

30 May 2010 18:56