2 Apple Tree

The food was a mixed bag: we both enjoyed the beef, but the arancini starter was dry. A dark-haired waitress was friendly and polite when she checked on us, and a young man from Newcastle was chatty earlier in the meal. The other two waiters, though, made the evening so uncomfortable that I wouldn't return even for a free meal. We'd seen the restaurant featured on social media, so my friend and I drove for over an hour to try it. We arrived at 4pm on a Monday, hungry, and were told the evening menu wouldn't start until 5:30. We decided to wait and went down to the beach. When we came back, the restaurant was empty and looked charming, but the waiter with dark hair, a beard and glasses asked for drinks. My friend said she just wanted water because of the long drive ahead. I ordered a small glass of red wine with my main. As he walked away, he turned to her and said, “so nothing for you then”. She felt awkward and repeated that she wanted nothing. He shook his head as he left. We were polite and well dressed, but his attitude felt arrogant and far from what we'd expected. It left me wondering whether we were being judged because we were under 50, unlike the rest of the diners, and didn't have posh English accents. Later, I ordered coffee and asked the young man from Newcastle where I could vape with it, and whether the front door was the only option. He said it was. As we got up to go outside, leaving our belongings behind, he asked us to pay first. I asked if he didn't trust us to come back, and he replied, “well no”. I was speechless. We'd left plenty of personal belongings at the table, and I couldn't believe how rude that was. You wouldn't expect to be treated that way even in a pub. When we returned, we asked for the bill and paid separately. I still wanted to tip because the food was nice and the waitress had been lovely. My share was £50, so I offered £40 in cash and asked him to take £15 from my card for the tip. Somehow that didn't happen. He said they couldn't take a tip by card, and I pointed out he could have taken it from the cash. In the end, my tip was rejected 😂 I've eaten in Michelin star restaurants and stayed in plenty of five-star hotels, but I've never had this sort of experience in a place at this level. Staff should understand the difference between being proud to serve somewhere like this and acting arrogantly. The two waiters put us off completely.