Orford Saloon

I've never commented in here before, however I feel the need to defend our favourite restaurant on Orford Road. My partner and I have eaten there so, so many times since moving to the area. We have never had a ba experience and the staff to their upmost to sit us where we like (which is typically at the bar) I'm not sure of people's names but I consider them to be lovely. We've never had a bad meal and look forward to our visits. We must have been somewhere in the region of 40 times. Please do go and visit and make up your own minds. I think altercations are very difficult to deal with, especially with drunk people. I too would be horrified to witness physical confrontation, but please don't judge this really quite marvellous little restaurant on the back of episode. We absolutely love it.

After several good experiences at the Orford Saloon, I think it's safe to say my boyfriend and I have become regulars. We both share a love of Paella and found it difficult to venture away from this as the seafood version available is outstanding and a bit on the filling side. However we've since taken to sampling other dishes on the menu and were very pleased. The Pil Pil is a highlight. (along with an anchovy dish I can't remember the name of) All in all, A great atmosphere with some truly gorgeous grub!

Food was delicious and prepared with care, atmosphere is fun and the service was very good. Far better then most london restaurants and it's a local one. We'll be going back. Thank you for a great meal.

Love this restaurant!!!! Food and service was amazing. Very welcoming family run business, will definitely be returning!! Thank you for a lovely evening :)

Myself and my boyfriend had such a LOVELY time in this restaurant last night. Before going there I had read the reviews below and so I really had my concerns. But we actually did EXACTLY what Tom says not to do, in ignoring the comments about what had or had not gone on and go anyway and make our own minds up on the basis that we had been recommended this place for its quality of food. On arrival we were met with a warm welcome smile by what turned out to be one of the owners. We were then greeted by the other owner and exchanged friendly banter and we were told the specials. The girl that is for some reason being torn apart on this is very young and is firstly not polish, and secondly, is quite shy and not confident in her English but TRIES. At no point was she rude or unpleasant. However, I do personally train in hospitality for a living and I agree that the customer service is very important and she could do with some training to build on her confidence in recommending dishes on the menu. This was as the manager did later when we went for seconds. As I said this is something that I do for a living so I tend to be very critical, but I have to say we both found the atmosphere in this place so lovely. Very cosy family business feel to it and we really felt like we were on holiday in Spain! Only one little problem with the food was the sauted potatoes were very greasy for us. All in all, this restaurant really deserves a visit. Maybe there were previous problems with service but I can safely say they were non-existent last night. Owners are lovely people, really made the effort to make us feel welcome. Oh, and if you go on a Sunday- there's a great pub a few doors down for a spot of Karaoke after. Family owned again with a lovely pub cat and dog, Great night!

Tom's experience doesn't surprise me at all. I share his and Anna's view that the standard of service really has dropped at The Orford Saloon Tapas bar. And the current Polish waitress in question is one of the reasons why my partner and I are reluctant to return. It is just not pleasant to sit in a restaurant and be treated with indifference by a person who rarely smiles or makes eye contact, and fires off the daily specials' menu in unintelligible tones. Her English is poor, her attitude is worse and I'm afraid it was only inevitable that she would eventually become the centre of an altercation. The previous Romanian waitress was much more professional. Who knows, maybe the owners will eventually find the humility to listen to their long-term customers and understand that there is no such thing as a negative review, there are only reviews of negative aspects. In the meantime, my partner and I are spending our money elsewhere, which is a shame because the standard of food at the Orford Saloon was always nothing short of excellent. But as Tom quite rightly says, good food is only half of the dining experience.

As far as I'm aware I haven't commented on what led up to what I saw. I have only commented on what I saw and experienced that night. I can't comment on whether the couple were racist or not. I can say that while I was there I didn't hear any racially derogatory language or see them behave aggressively. Your point about me bot being able hear is false. The resturant is very small and I had no trouble hearing the confrontation. They didn't appear particularly drunk. Maybe they were. But even if they were this doesn't justify the way that you and your staff handled the incident. I DID see your waitress physically assault a customer. I did see your staff behave in an intimidating and aggressive way. When I explained my reasons for leaving you were confrontational with me. Most of the reviews online talk very highly of the food you serve but there are a few that say the service is poor and single out the manager for confrontational behaviour. Despite this I chose to come to your restaurant. As a result I witnessed some of the worst customer relations I've ever seen and a customer being physically assaulted. I wrote my review so that hopefully other people won't make the same mistake I made and ignore the negative reviews in the hope that the food will be enough. A good dining experience is not just about the quality of the food but about the quality of the service also. You seem to missing the point and I find it hard to believe that far from making an apology you are defending the way you and your staff behaved that night.

As the owner of this Tapas Bar I would just like to comment on the last review. The person who wrote this review had only just arrived at the restaurant when we had finally got these people to leave, this incident had been going on for some time and was very distressing to our staff and genuine customers. It was actually three people, one female and two males who arrived at around 8pm on Sunday they were quite drunk and a little aggressive verbally while being seated and explained the days specials. The waitress served their drinks and returned to take their order for food. To my horror I heard the female call the waitress a f.....g polish b...h. I went and told them they were leaving and one of the men who was a little better behaved paid for the drinks but the other two who were worse for wear were not happy for him to do this exploded and tried to grab the card and hit me. The female and the other male were very foul mouthed and abusive. We had to phone the police and when I told them they were on the way the three of them left but as they did so the female pushed the waitress into a table that she was now serving, she flung her arm out in surprise and touched the female but did not hit her, thankfully she did not have hot food in her hands when pushed. They threatened to return and cause harm to my family and property, we went outside to hand their property to the police i.e. a Waitrose bag containing a wrapped gift and a sweatshirt. That is what really happened, they were not some innocent young couple but 3 drunk abusive people. These drunk people racially, physically and verbally abused myself and my staff, this will never ever be tolerated. Tom W should not comment and guess what happened before he arrived, as stated before they were not some lovely young couple but three drunk louts who were old enough to know better.

AWFUL. I tried to eat here but before I had even had a chance to look at the menu, a confrontation erupted between the manager and a couple at the back. As the young man went to leave I stopped him to ask what was wrong. He looked shaken and very upset. He told me that the waitress and the manager had been so rude to them that they had refused to pay at which point the manager had become very aggressive. As the young lady went to leave the waitress was blocking the way and she had to push past her. In response the waitress turned and punched the girl in the back! The couple were then chased out onto the street by the rest of the waiting staff. Disgusted by what I had seen I went to leave. The Manager came over and tried to convince me to stay. When I told him I'd just seen one of his staff assault a customer he then became aggressive with me and asked me to leave. I have never witnessed such appalling violence or incompetency at a restaurant. They do not deserve your business.

the food was wonderfull the best ever the service is very good please go but book