The Anderida Restaurant at the Ashdown Park Hotel

Unfortunately, this dinner was a disappointment from start to finish. I would strongly recommend that the restaurant implement a staff training day, as the service was shocking, especially given the price point. For £17.95, I was served an elderflower fizz that was reminiscent of a Wetherspoons cocktail—no garnish, too much sugar syrup, served in a gin bowl with excessive ice and just a straw and stirrer. It took ages to arrive after we had to order at the bar, due to a lack of staff taking orders at the table. The barman who appeared to be working solo was clearly flustered and evidently required either help or supervision, as the drink quality, presentation, and wait time was just not good enough for the price. This was just the start of a series of disappointments. My partner and I were then shown to our table, which was in an empty second room. Whilst this may seem romantic, we found it rather strange, especially considering the other room was nearly full. It seemed like the seating should have been split more evenly. We were greeted by another waitress who seemed pleasant but was unfortunately uninterested and lacked knowledge of the dishes. When we asked for recommendations, she responded with, "I don’t know. It depends on your palate." Typically, I would have expected more enthusiasm and knowledge about the menu, but this was not the case. After selecting our dishes and a bottle of red wine, we waited. The food arrived fairly quickly, but the wine was nowhere to be seen. It’s standard for drinks to be served before the food, so this felt odd. When our starter was cleared, we reminded the waitress about the wine. She looked at us blankly before bringing over the wine list and asking which bottle we had ordered, as she had forgotten. When our main courses arrived, the wine still hadn’t come. Despite having pointed out the Cabernet Sauvignon twice, we were then informed it was out of stock and asked to choose another. I would have expected the waitress to know about the shortage, but we accepted the mistake and asked for two glasses of Pinot Noir, as we were already onto the main course. Having worked in hospitality myself, it is common knowledge that if an issue arises it must be rectified with a matter of urgency. Unfortunately, this wasn’t the case here. It wasn’t until we had finished our main courses that the wine finally arrived—without an apology or explanation. Throughout the meal, we were also not checked up on - another standard practice of hospitality, which made it even more difficult to address the issue of the wine. When the bill came, I asked the manager to remove the wine charges. Whilst he agreed, I would have expected him to be aware of the situation and offer compensation without me having to request it. As for the food, it was fine but nothing memorable. I had the linguine, and my partner had the lamb. Both were enjoyable enough, but given the £30-40 price point for the main courses, the overall experience didn’t meet expectations. We didn’t bother staying for dessert due to our frustration with the service. What was meant to be a special, romantic meal ended up being a major letdown and waste of money.