Appalled and disgusted about how I was treated by Matt, the owner of the Grange Pub. The staff were also extremely unaccommodating when it came to meeting specific food requests and wouldn't let me trial either of the wines I was considering (as they didn't stock the drink I originally requested). What kind of restaurant is this!?
It appears that Matt took an immediate dislike to either me, or my dog, or the both of us. I did confirm with staff twice upon entry that the place was dog friendly, but later that appeared to not be completely true.
The owner Matt rudely interrupted my conversation with the bartender to confront me about my dog. The place had been empty when I arrived save for 2 gentlemen who were very pleased to greet her, and the family that turned up after me were equally excited about meeting the dog. I allowed her to say hi to everyone and then she stayed next to me for the remainder of our visit.
The way Matt spoke to me was unbelievably rude. He patronised me, got right up into my personal space, pointed his finger in my face, laughed at me, called me names and even brought another guy into my space in an attempt to intimidate me. He stood in the doorway leaning against the frame in an odd sort of power pose. He repeated himself over and over again, despite the fact I'd acknowledged his statements and was speaking to him perfectly politely, and he didn't appear to have listened to a single word I said. It was like he was looking for an argument.
He pursued me around the restaurant within inches of me (like RIGHT up in my personal space!), causing a big scene in front of his customers. His staff looked embarrassed and unsurprised, and did their best to stay out of his way. I can see from looking at the other reviews on TripAdvisor that this isn't the first time Matt has found himself in altercations with customers.
Matt's concerns about "having a dog roaming around" are entirely hypocritical when you consider the fact that his own dog roams around the property herself, and is far from being as obedient and good natured as my own (mine remained calm but looked on in fright as I was aggressed by Matt. Many dogs would have reacted to his bad energy!). Matt's dog often barks and growls at us from the door when we walk past the pub on our trips to the local park.
Avoid this restaurant like the plague. read more