The View - Brighton and Hove

Rockwater is a beautiful venue in a fabulous position and I’d enjoyed drinks and snacks on the seafront bar before. Today I went for lunch on my way to the beach. Alas the service was terrible. Due to staff shortages in the kitchen they were only serving pizzas , which was no real problem so I sat down. 1.5 hours later plus five requests to know what was happening, the pizza finally arrived. By then my cold wine was lukewarm so they replaced it and gave me a refund on the pizza. Every time I had inquired, the very nice manager went to chase the order and was told mine was next a clear lie. Then they said they’d lost the order ticket. A shambles. The next table was occupied by five ladies hoping for lunch . After nearly two hours and an eventual apology that their order had been lost, they ended up with a single pizza and a full refund. This place needs to sort this out the FOH staff are numerous, sweet and anxious to help but clueless and all extremely young and presumably cheap). I felt sorry for them, but having paid £9 for the glass of wine alone I felt sorrier for myself and the rest of the similarly afflicted clientele. If they couldn’t cope they should have shut the kitchen instead of agreeing to serve us but then leaving us all hungry and angry.

The first time we went the upper terrace was only 50% full and we had a very enjoyable lunch. The second time we went it was completely full and I could not hear a word my husband was saying ended up with a bad headache! Service is patchy coffee was cold by the time it got to us one waitress seemed to spend her time sashaying up and down the restaurant tossing her hair and doing nothing. I waited table for eight years and the clue to good service is to clear the table every time you bring something new that means a continuous flow of food and drinks. Great idea, great setting, organization and service leave something to be rectified. Will not return in a hurry.

Sadly had a very disappointing experience today. Booked ahead for a lunch and requested a child seat, which was never picked up or addressed. Although they welcome children for dining, we had to make do with the buggy by the table. The service was below average from the beginning. After we got shown to our table we were pretty much forgotten about. When our orders were eventually taken, the waitress had to look at the menu items by pointing them out (ordered the roasted hake fillet and chargrilled steak) clearly not knowing the menu at all. She didn’t even ask how I’d like the steak done, which was needless to say, overdone. I’m being generous here; our food arrived in less than 10 minutes, which would be a plus, but it was clear that the steak was grilled a little while ago and was simply reheated. No wonder it could never come near medium rare. The cut was full of sinew and gristles and was bone dry. I guess serving it with a steak knife wouldn’t have helped matters, but that option was not on the table (quite literally) During our meal we were never approached by anyone asking how the meal was. It was so bad, we were left with our plates in front of us even when it was clear we were done. When we finally had the waitress come over we just asked for the bill. Ended up paying over our dirty plates, so when she asked if we’d like anything else we naturally declined. Although the tip was added as optional charge, there was no such option. The final amount did include the table service and to add insult to injury I was asked if I wanted to pay another tip on the card terminal too. We were very disappointed with our meal and service. Sadly. Evidently, a lot has gone into the decor and the concept. The delivery did not follow.

I cancelled my booking because of the bad reviews and I am still waiting for my £60 deposit back. I cancelled in plenty of time and after repeated phone calls and emails no money back . Not happy Rockwater !

Had a table booked for 1.30pm downstairs which is more like pub dining, but asked the waitress if we could move to the upper level to for a more refined experience. All staff were very accommodating and pleasant at all times. We ordered a bottle of French wine and three sharing plates. Food was stunning. Well presented, colourful and fresh. The fusion of flavours was incredible. Dessert was slightly disappointing, we ordered a Berry Cheesecake which had too much gelatine in. We told the waitress and she said it was Vegan. So hopefully that will now be explained to future diners when ordering. We finished with coffee which was lovely and then we seated ourselves outside on the veranda to catch some much needed sunshine. Pure bliss. A wonderful setting and we will hopefully be back soon. Thankyou to all the staff and chef for making our experience one to remember.