"Well, where to start? On arrival, we were processed by the chap on Reception who we now know to be the Owner. Rude doesn 't do it justice! He started by saying that our table wasn 't ready and asked us to wait. The place was only half full at best. Our party made their way to the window seats and I went to the Bar. Despite several Staff running around busily, there was no one serving. I stood at the Bar and waited. The ignorant Owner knew I was there (I was less than a yard away from him) but to no avail. I waited. A lady appeared behind the Bar, looked at me, procured a bar order and then dashed off again. I waited. She came back, looked at me and started to mess with glassware. She dashed off again. I waited. Again she returned, looked at me, messed with Barware items and dashed off. Having waited long enough, I sat down with my Family. I 'll be kind; I had waited over 10 minutes without any acknowledgement at all. At this point, the Owner stormed over, confronted me and suggested that I was being unreasonable. I pointed out to him that I had said nothing. He immediately began to rant that my body language was inappropriate and kicked off, telling me that they were very busy and the Staff were all working hard indeed they were (except him). There were just not enough of them. We should have walked out there and then. Five minutes later, our order was taken and we received our drinks. We waited for our table to be procured. We had another round of drinks. Fully one hour after our arrival, we were shown to our table. I was of the distinct impression that I had been disciplined for my inappropriate body language . The service remained slow, the food was ok. I would not have left a tip, but my Wife took pity on the Staff, so she did. I insisted that be a maximum of 50% of what we would normally tip. Our bill was £167, we paid £180 (just so you know). I hope the Owner didn 't receive a penny. To the Owner: Sir, your manners are appalling. There is an English adage which suggests that The Customer is always right. I do not totally concur with that sentiment, but it was not my fault that your restaurant is under staffed. CAUSE. I had waited for at least ten minutes and my presence had not even been acknowledged. No apology, just a rant from you. EFFECT. We have enjoyed previous visits to Spargo. Perhaps that was because we hadn 't encountered Mr Angry. Good luck with you Business going forward. I do hope that you consider this review appropriately and, moreover, the implied sentiment therein. Sadly, I don 't think you will."
Butternut Squash Risotto
