Graze - Belfast

Disappointed, arrived at 7.25, too late for early bird, excuse given of till not allowing the earlier pricing at this later time, finishes at 7.30, ordered, waited 45 minutes for steak, pasta and fish main course, no service in between, 30 minutes in we asked a member of staff about our order, waitress told us it took 28/29 minutes to process order so this was about right?, honestly?, and staff were down by 30 , waited another 10 minutes, now 40 minutes in, kids pasta came, another 5 minutes until our main courses arrived, no service, no apology, just waiting, we were so hungry at this stage we were happy to get anything. We were right beside the bar/toilet where all the staff congregated, we continued to have no attention before or after food, having to ask for bill. The main waitress who had a really strong smell of smoke was no where to be seen after the kids pasta was served. Food ok, portions small, service terrible. First time I haven’t left a tip for years. Will go back to Neil’s Hill. Yes, they did give kids two soft drinks on the house for their wait!.

Very disappointed…first up the wine list was amateurish, I think someone thinks they are a restaurateur! I remember the story about man who put chocolate in his chilli, yes it has potential if done right… The sales pitch was glorious and we all had bought into this exotic taste experience! Then we tried the chocolate chilli, oh dear,he had convinced himself and us of grandeur cheffing ability or an ability to serve a high standard of taste. Food is trust and that has been broken. Well lets say once we took a mouthful there was a long silence, not of sublime amazement of something unique, but of shock! Yes shock, that the sale pitch tasted better than what was in our mouths…Our Graze experience was just like that chocolate chilli story, a shock! Will not go into the details but very very disappointed. Wine and food, bottom third if one was grading. Stick to steak and chips, can’t go wrong there.

We have been going to Graze since it first opened and there are a few guarantees. The first one is that whatever comes out of the kitchen will be excellent. The second is that if you open the door of the restaurant and see Alana standing there you know that you can sit down and relax as you will get looked after as well as if not better than any restaurant in Belfast and I have been to many of them. The combination of fantastic food and such welcoming and friendly service from Alana is why we keep going back to Graze.

Atrocious inedible food for me. My aubergine was so undercooked the fork almost stood upright in it. Drab accompanying vegetables poorly presented and under cooked. I sent it back. My coffee at the end was vile. Burnt and bitter. My husband had steak which he said was almost inedible. Chewy and veiny and a friend had his packed up in a doggy bag. Another friend initially ordered scallops but was told only 2 of 15 in the fridge were fresh and usable. None of our company was really satisfied. The place was expensive and over rated online. As we left staff members were out the back smoking. An utterly underwhelming experience .

We got a seat late on in the evening, very good for this usually busy establishment. 1st off I felt the entrance, makes you feel stared at as you walk in, no front of house. The service from waiting staff was good, though I am concerned that our seat we could see staff, going out a back door to smoke...didn 't see hand washing thereafter smelt smoke from staff. The food itself was of high quality but not great portion sizes. My scallops were tiny. It 's a shame the steak I had was tasty, well made, but again, accompanying food was off small portions. My partners chicken was cooked well but not seasoned, nor was the champ. She thought the sauce was very watery thin Overall, we enjoyed the tastes but actually bought a pizza later on as we were so hungry, as the portions were small. Tasty food, yes.. good portion sizes no. Oh, and no 1 wants to see staff out smoking nor acting daft in the background. 2.5 out off 5.