The Ark review by Tim
What a shame the proprietors of this restaurant chose not to put the same effort into sourcing their staff as they do their fish. The food on the whole was a success; starters of scampi and whitebait went down well. The mains were a bit more of a mixed bag, the Monkfish was excellent as was the Sea Bream, unfortunately this fish arrived with cold greasy chips and a few minutes before the other guests' mains. On the whole pretty good and all washed down with an agreeable Australian Chardonnay.
However a good meal was severely compromised by service that was consistent in its ineptitude. I'm not a customer who expects a waiter/waitress to kiss my backside or treat me like Lord Snooty. I do however expect these people to not patronise guests, to open wine at the table, to offer the option of tasting, to fill at least the first glass, to enquire as to whether the food was enjoyable, all of which I feel to be fairly rudimentary facets of the waiting staff trade, and all of which The Ark staff failed to do. The only time the staff showed any enthusiasm for their job was when they attempted to make it clear that they wanted to go home and began to crowd near the table like a flock of seagulls. This was a Friday night at 10:30, hardly the small hours of the morning. However thinking that it couldn't get any worse the staff then preceded to outdo even their previous efforts of incompetence, and when eventually succumbing to the encouragement offered by the staff to f off, we got up to go. One of my guests is disabled and walks with the aid of a stick and naturally finds steps a little tricky. While five or six staff stood around doing nothing not one volunteered to get the coat belonging to the disabled gentleman and in fact just succeeded in obstructing (unintentionally) his decent down the steps. Prior to this and despite the awful service I had left a tenner tip, which had been noticed by the staff. Following this further show of uselessness I stuck the tenner back in its rightful place and left. I turned back to see a look of confusion etched across the faces of the waiting staff as they cleared the table, and I felt that an explanation to clear matters up was required. The food was good I explained but the service was a little Faulty Towers for my liking and the coat incident was the proverbial straw. The response I received was not the expected apology but instead I was told that getting a customer's coat was "not their policy". If this really is “policy” then may I suggest a rethink of the policy maker’s employment, and faced with such a ludicrous response I couldn't bring myself to try and reason with the waitress.
Often a restaurant can get one or two areas of service wrong, The Ark did the clean sweep, the full monty.
Note to the owners of The Ark - sort out the clowns serving tables, as it compromises the significant efforts of the kitchen staff.
Saturday, January 26, 2008
Overall rating 
Food 7 | Service 0 | Atmosphere 6 | Value for money 6
review comments
Thankfully, I wasn't In Ark on the same evening as Tim & his party.
I've dined there regularly since they opened & am always made to feel very welcome. The staff have always been attentive, without fawning. Many of them have been with Ark from the beginning & the sense of family is evident. I would think that they are exactly the kind of staff that any restauranteur would aim to get.
I go there to have good food, in comfortable suroundings, at an affordable price. Not to have my ego catered for!
A much needed, honest, fish restaurant . Well done Ark.
Marina - Friday, February 08, 2008
I happened to be at The Ark on the same evening as this gentleman and I have to say that his review is totally one-sided. He omits to say that he and his party behaved particularly obnoxiously to the staff. He moaned throughout his time at the restaurant. The only thing he didn't do, or not that I am aware of, is click his fingers to summon service.
If he is so high and mighty that it is below him to retrieve a coat from a cloakroom then may I dare to suggest he is visiting the wrong type of establishment.
I have always been very happy with both the food and the staff at the Ark. The staff work extremely hard in a very busy atmosphere. Do you really expect your wine to be served in a fish and chip restaurant?
A suggestion for you Tim - if you want to taken seriously don't stoop so low to refer to people as "clowns" - you just end up making yourself look even more foolish. Grow up !
James - Wednesday, February 06, 2008
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