The Barrel of Beer, Beer

I wish I had read the previous review before choosing to eat here this evening. We should have taken note of the fact that the restaurant was empty last night and again tonight; a fact the owner said was simply not trye; it was only our night that was the problem. My partner had seabass, which was very chewy, definitely overcooked and quite possibly not as fresh as they claim. My lobster was chewy, definitely not fresh, and when I came upon a bit that smelled really quite foul, I became a bit worried. We had already mentioned to the owner that we weren't very happy with our food when he asked us. He appeared terribly surprised claiming his chef was Michelin-trained, and patrons were usually complimentary. We decided later the Michelin training might have been simply watching "Masterchef" as not only the fish but everything else was very poorly cooked. The worst part was the owner's reaction when I told him I was genuinely worried about the rotten smell of the bit of lobster I had just tackled. He became terribly aggressive and defensive, and was obviously not prepared to listen to us at all but kept talking over us. When my partner pointed this out he reacted quite nastily, talking about us starting an argument etc. In the end he conceded to let us have our food for half price - not great since it was still totally overpriced for what it was in the first place. I very much we won't have to go back tomorrow reporting food poisoning...Avoid at all costs!!

15 Dec 2010 22:30