A RESTAURANT owner's response to a bad Tripadvisor review has gone viral after he heartily defended his business.

Tom Fahey of The Terrace in Yarmouth, which is rated as the number one restaurant in Yarmouth on the review site, wrote a long reply in great detail to a reviewer who complained about the price of a glass of prosecco (£7) and not being able to order from the main menu when she turned up without booking a table.

The story hit national headlines and the tweets by @EaterWriter (Mr Fahey's Twitter handle) garnered more than 3,000 likes and 150 comments.

He said: "Just because TripAdvisor exists doesn’t make it OK to post flippant, unthinking nonsense about actual, real businesses run by actual, real people. Hospitality does not have to roll over and accept inaccurate public criticism that could have been simply and easily resolved in private."

Isle of Wight County Press: The Terrace in Yarmouth. Picture: Facebook. The Terrace in Yarmouth. Picture: Facebook.

The complainant said she had moored her boat and found The Terrace nearby. She wrote: "We thought we were lucky to get a table outside with a view of the marina on a glorious day.

"However, they failed to tell us that walk-ins get a very limited menu and those that book get the full menu which sounds amazing. We sat for an hour until we could even order from the limited menu."

Read the review in this screenshot posted by @EaterWriter: 

Isle of Wight County Press:

 

Mr Fahey said he had since deleted his response from Tripadvisor because: "While I stand by the substance, it’s not the right tone for a restaurant as committed to guest happiness as we are. The story should be the heroic efforts of our team to delight 300+ guests a day, not mine in snarkily dressing one down."

However, his response explained that the 'limited' menu involved around 20 plates that could be prepared swiftly for walk-ins without bookings, why eating by the sea came at a premium, and suggested using "Mr Google" before choosing an establishment.

Read the response on the Twitter thread here:

 

Mr Fahey also owns The Terrace in Ventnor, the former St Augustine Hotel on the Cascades.