Tiger Bills > Reviews (1)

My friend had decided that for her birthday she wanted us all to go for a meal at Tiger Bills which is still a relatively new restaurant situated on Torquay harbour side, although there is also one in Exeter.

Supposedly due to the number of us – 12 – they needed our food to be pre-ordered. Tiger Bills in Torquay is not a particularly huge restaurant and I couldn’t understand the need for pre-ordering unless they are perhaps a little incompetent so my first impressions weren’t brilliant. Of course I may just have been a little harsh but to me any good restaurant should be able to cope with a table of that size without prior notice.

First Impressions

After some difficulty with parking (there isn’t anywhere all that close which doesn’t cost quite a lot) I arrived at Tiger Bills at the time our table was booked for – 7.30pm. The entrance to the restaurant looks reasonable enough with a large picture of a tiger head above the door. After asking about our reservation the member of staff behind the bar simply pointed to where our table was. This was in a corner somewhat secluded from the restaurant which was nice for privacy but the way they laid out the tables left me confused. They were set out in almost an L type shape which left people unable to face each other which isn’t really what you want when you want to enjoy each other’s company. We promptly switched the tables into a rectangular shape which was much more suitable and I really can’t understand why it was not like this in the first place.

Décor and Atmosphere

This restaurant offers a mix of Thai and American food which is reflected in the décor. The restaurant’s walls are brightly coloured in yellow/orange and purple with canvasses of Thailand and America placed next to each other. There is a lot of wooden looking furniture throughout and a couple of palm trees too. I quite like the décor, it feels warm and friendly although I don’t really understand the slightly random mix of Thai and American. The atmosphere was nothing special and I felt as though we were slightly neglected by the staff but more on that later. The music also confused me as it was a totally random mix of mainly pop songs, both very old and very new. Considering the nature of the restaurant I would have perhaps expected a bit of Thai music too which may have improved on the atmosphere.

The Food

Between us all we had a variety of dishes although only one person selected a meal from the Thai side of the menu. I had ordered a rump steak while others had ordered burgers, chicken burgers, spare ribs, ribs with prawns, veggie burger and a Thai dish which looked like a soup with veg in with rice on the side. The food varies in price with typical burger dishes around £8, steak around £13, combo mains around £15 and there is also a ‘Big Bill’ which consists of BBQ ribs, chicken breast, steak, and fries at £25 but none of us fancied a dish this large. Nobody ordered starters although there is a small variety available such as soup, breaded mushrooms and chicken wings.

Starters vary in price from around £4-£7. Sides are also available such as fries, garlic bread and salad all at £2.50 each. If you would like to have a better look at the food available then please click here:

http://www.tigerbills.co.uk/menus/pdfs/T​iger_Bills_Food_Menu_AmericanGrill_ThaiW​ok.pdf

So as I have said previously we had to pre –order our meals. We were all sat down by around 7.45pm do I cannot understand why it took until 8.30pm for our food to arrive. It was pre-ordered and the restaurant was not busy so I didn’t find this wait acceptable. When the food did arrive the first thing I noticed was portion size – the plates were huge. Everybody’s food looked tasty but it seemed to take quite a bit longer for one person’s meal – the only one ordered from the Thai section – to arrive which was unfortunate. I was disappointed to see salad on my plate when I had requested none and promptly moved it all onto my friend’s plate instead. My chips were piping hot although sadly the same could not be said of my steak which would be better described as warm. I would have liked it hotter but I was so hungry I couldn’t be bothered to complain and tucked in instead. It was surprisingly tasty and was cooked exactly how I liked and overall I did enjoy my meal. Having asked the others what they thought of their meals everybody was pleased and full at the end.

Staff

My main annoyance with my experience at Tiger Bills was the staff. They were dressed smartly enough but they were not very friendly or attentive. Once we were all sat down it took a considerable amount of time for somebody to come over to take our drinks order, and to then bring them over. During the long wait for the food nobody came over to reassure us that it would not be long or did we need anything else. Considering we were the largest group in there and that our bill would come to a considerable amount I expected better service. Our table was located closely to the window where the food comes out and at one point one of the chefs threw some kind of sauce at the waitress stood in front. Hardly the most professional behaviour. Once our meals had come out we were asked if we needed any sauces which they promptly brought to the table. While we were eating nobody came to check if everything was ok although to be fair everything was lovely and we had no complaints. After we had finished eating, once again it seemed to take a considerable amount of time to come and clear our table. It seems waiting is a recurring theme if you eat here. As this meal was to celebrate my friend’s birthday, some of her friends had bought a cake which they wanted to plate up etc. and they were given a little corner by the men’s toilets in which to do so – lovely! Personally I don’t understand why it would have been too much trouble for the staff to sort this out themselves but I don’t seem to understand a lot of things about this place. Once we had eaten the cake we paid up to staff members who were unfriendly and didn’t seem to appreciate the custom.

On a little side note the toilets weren’t brilliant either – not the cleanest and not well stocked on loo roll either which wasn’t brilliant for my friend who was about to um..shall we say get down to business?

Value for Money

I would say that overall for the food the value for money is reasonable. Food portions were fairly large and tasty although I think it should have been hotter. The drinks were fairly expensive with a half pint of coke costing £1.80. This was the average price for a soft drink while alcoholic beverages such as wine seemed to start at around £3.50 for a 125ml measure.

To summarise…

The good

• Good portion sizes
• Tasty food
• Reasonable value for money

The bad

• Staff – unprofessional and inattentive
• Cleanliness and stock in the toilets
• Needing to pre-order
• Food not piping hot
• Drinks expensive
• Long waits

Overall

Overall I have somewhat mixed feelings of this restaurant. It was not an awful experience but there is definitely a lot of room for improvement, particularly in the attitudes and attentiveness of the staff members. I did enjoy my meal despite it not being as hot as I would like and being accompanied by salad I had requested to not have. We had a nice evening here but I think this is due to enjoying each other’s company and having reasonably nice meals as opposed to the restaurant itself. I would definitely not recommend it for any kind of special occasion and it is probably more suited to a casual lunch or casual evening meal where you are well prepared for long waits. 3 out of 5 from me – food was nice but let down by poor service and long waits.

I didn't have my camera with me so the photo's I have provided are from the internet so you can see what it looks like.

Thanks for reading.