Marsden Grotto in South Tyneside

Went to The Grotto with my husband yesterday, had high hopes of enjoying a delicious meal together. The smell of animals was really bad but thought we'd stay because the menu was tempting. We ordered a starter & a main each, I got creamy garlic prawns and hubby got spicy prawns and both were bland, watery sauce, definitely not freshly sourced from the sea as stated on the menu (probably shop bought). Our mains were just as disappointing so when asked if everything was OK with meals I told bar staff no and explained why but no feedback was given. Very over priced, poor quality food, very dirty and £2 parking charge to top it off.👎👎👎

Beautiful place with pleasant staff, approachable, relaxed atmosphere. We walked down the stairs and up the lift. We only had drinks. You have to pay and display for the parking. That's the only negative thing I can think of. The beach was clean and gobsmackingly beautiful to be respected. I would recommend.

The Grotto is a fantastically situated place, it's cosy inside and dog friendly.Unfortunately the day we visited, they were understaffed in the kitchen, leading to us waiting over an hour for our wraps and burgers (not difficult to prepare)we were told it was a 30 minute wait, but it was much longer.our kids were very disappointed and very hungry. The staff are friendly, they have a good range of hot and alcoholic drinks. But the food was poor.I will visit again, but not to eat.

Really expensive for the quality of food served. The Bier Moretti tap was pouring Carling (very different!)Whilst fish does have bones in on occasion, there seemed to be an exceptional amount. My partner‘s appeared to have a dinosaur bone in it!One of our party ordered mussels, over three quarters of the mussels were still closed.On top of this, service took forever!

Interesting place with a fine history. Accessed by a lift arriving in the grotto itself. The grotto is carved into the cliff itself and has a bar, restaurant and hotel. Friendly staff and good service too. Food is tasty and so nice. Worth a visit. However, there is a car park charge on the cliff top next to the lift

Went here today for my brother in laws birthday. We arrived a little late and some of the group had already ordered. My husband placed the order for us and our children and waited for the meal. The rest of the group had ordered about 10 minutes before us so when their food arrived we assumed that ours would not be too much longer (we had been told it was a 30 minute wait). However after multiple visits to the bar and distracting two very hungry 6 year olds we eventually got our food about 90 minutes after ordering. Unfortunately the food was not great; not much meat in the wrap, too many peppers and the fries were cold. I've never had to wait this long for food anywhere even in busy restaurants. There was no update from staff to inform us of any delays and we kept getting the same response when asking how long it would be. I think 90 minutes is far too long to wait for a wrap, a burger and 2 kids meals and at over £40 for the meal it wasn't cheap. I can only assume our order was misplaced as other tables who arrived after us got their food and left before ours even arrived. If we hadn't been here for a birthday I would have asked for a refund and gone somewhere else. I will definitely never come here again.

First time today my partner has been to the grotto after telling her its lovely for coffee. We ordered caramel latte and mint hot chocolate for my latte to look like a milky cup of tea which had no froth at all very disappointed..The size of the cups for £7.40 shocking when I can go to Costa or Starbucks and get a large for cheaper ... view was nice but drinks need to be looked at .Will not go back in a hurry staff need training on qc before customer receives.

Went today with 3 others especially for the fish and chips and I must say I wasn't disappointed. Huge fish, lovely batter and tasty chips. The young lad on the bar was lovely and asked if our meal was all we hoped for. I have read some reviews which said they had to look for their own tables and there was no cutlery set out but as you go in there are notices which say no table service before 6. This was certainly not a problem for us. Lovely atmosphere and views.Would definitely try it again.

We visited Marsden with our 14 week old puppy and parked outside Marsden Grotto. The access to the beach here is either by a rather steep staircase or using the lift to the Grotto. The lift is for use by customers only and clearly states there is no access to the beach without going through the bar . There is also a voluntary fee of £1 per person when using the lift. We opted to use the lift rather than try to carry a wriggling puppy down the steps and were really impressed with what we found. The staff were so friendly and helpful and the service was really good. We opted to walk along the beach and then return for lunch. It was a good decision. Although the prices were higher than most, the quality of the food and portion size was just right. It's a lovely place to visit and we were lucky enough to see a pod of dolphins swimming in the bay while we were there. The only criticism I would have is that the locks on 2 of the toilet doors in the Ladies needed some attention. Other than that, it was lovely.

It's been quite a while since our last visit and very impressed with the restaurant now. Service is now excellent and food is very good. We had the salt calamari and mussels in white wine sauce. They were delicious and served quickly. Tables cleared and cleaned quickly and hygiene high on this restaurants list. Will be visiting again soon. Oh yes dogs on leads are welcome so pleased about this. Highly recommend.