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Manchester Evening News
Manchester Evening News
Entertainment
Fatima Aziz & Jenna Campbell

Popular restaurant sets record straight after customer brands food 'inedible'

A restaurant in Preston has issued a salty response after a diner labelled its food 'inedible' in a recent Tripadvisor review.

The customer, who recently visited the Theatre Street Bar & Grill in Preston city centre, complained their main course was so 'salty' it was 'inedible', reports Lancs Live. The negative review added that they wished the bill had been discounted and that they doubted they would be back despite it being their 'go-to' place in Preston.

The restaurant responded directly to the review, saying it was sorry to see the two-star review as it 'very rarely' gets negative reviews. The response also stated that they 'didn't feel I needed to remove the dish' as they had 'tried to remedy the situation'. The bar and restaurant on Theatre Street is a popular spot in Preston, ranked one of the top 20 eateries in the city on the review platform.

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The restaurant, situated off the main highstreet, serves a variety of steaks, meats and seafood cooked charcoal grill, and is usually praised for its food and service. The restaurant's overall score on Tripadvisor is four and half out of five and of nearly 700 comments, more than 581 have ranked Theatre Street Bar & Grill as either 'excellent' or 'very good'.

Most recently, a number of guest have been leaving five out five reviews with one diner stating: "Excellent food and lovely little place, give it a go you won't be disappointed! We had the set menu excellent value for money plenty food all excellent quality and lovely staff. We have been before and always rated this place and this visit lived up to our expectations."

Another commented: "It’s hard to say which is better, the food, the staff or the atmosphere-all three are super. We had dinner here, ordered a selection off the tapas menu, ribs, chicken wings, burger, etc. each dish was delicious and very generous portions. The staff are welcoming and the service was very good and relaxed."

However, despite the majority of positive feedback, one diner left a two-star review after what they described as a 'salty' experience. The diner who visited Theatre Street Bar and Grill last month began on a high note, but this was quickly overshadowed by a disappointing main course.

They wrote: "I'll start by saying me and my husband have been a few times and always enjoyed. Our go to place when we sometimes go to Preston. The good points: starter was lovely mushrooms with garlic and chorizo can't fault it wish I'd ordered it twice."

The review added: "The bad: main came and my pasta with pesto, mozzarella and tomato was awful so salty I could only have a few fork fulls. Barely any tomatoes or mozzarella not sure if there even was any mozzarella.

"Lady came over and asked if everything was okay? I said sorry but no I'm not one to complain but I just can't eat it. (Apparently it couldn't be salty because they don't add extra salt but it definitely was). Offered something else but I honestly didn't want to wait. I felt I was avoided by manager after that a young girl came with our bill, the full bill came."

The diner also wrote that they wished they had asked to speak to the manager and had the bill discounted, because the "main was so inedible. They finished by adding: "so disappointed when it was our go-to place in Preston. I doubt I'll be back unfortunately very disappointed."

Responding directly to the review, the restaurant outlined how they sought to rectify the situation. The reply stated: "We are sorry to see your two star review. As you can see, we very rarely get a negative review so it is extremely unfortunate to see.

"Upon checking back on your table, you stated that you felt the pasta was a bit salty and yes as a good will gesture I offered to replace your meal with no extra charge. You stated I didn't need to and carried on eating the dish. Pesto is quite salty when made, so bearing this in mind we don't add any extra salt to the dish.

"I can discuss with the chefs the amount of pesto we put in the dish but I feel saltiness is down to the personal preference of an individual. I didn't feel I needed to remove the dish from your bill as I tried to remedy the situation and you said I didn't need to.

"I hope that others reading this review can see that is the case and that this review does not tarnish all the positive feedback shared by other customers, kind regards."

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