Copper, Warrenpoint

Great food,great staff good with kids

Copper, Warrenpoint is a bit of a hit and miss! Sometimes they get things right and you can have a nice fish dish, but the cross over kitchen style dishes leaves further to wish for, with the right intentions but not fully getting there, with the wrong results. The staff leaves a sense of not operating in the business before which might unintentionally may them come out as a bit rude!

Copper is undoubtedely the best in Warrenpoint and in thearea generally the food is well presented and well cooked,the chef knows his stuff!Lovely touches such as the amuse bouche and warm bread rolls and very friendly and capable,albeit young,waitresses.You are not hurried or harried but the timings are excellent with no long waits between courses .Copper deserves its ratings and is a gem in these parts

I really enjoyed my dining experience in Copper, I agree that the service is great... not too in your face but always there when you need them.

The food was just devine.... the kitchen staff put out some really great dishes, it was hard to pick just one for each course, I really like that you get "it all on the plate" as the waitress said when I asked about side orders, no need to spend another '£5 per person just for the luxury of veg and potatoes.

I don't agree about the wine being pushed.... I was impressed when the waitress noticed that our wine bottle was empty and offered us another one, rather than the usual - trying to catch someones eye while you die of thirst.

I was on a table of 10 and our service was seamless and we couldn't fault a thing...even though we where half an hour late. I appreciate that a big table like ours in a small restaurant with a small kitchen can be difficult to deal with so when our bill came down and the waitress pointed out that the service charge was discretionary I was suprised, not that it was there but that she had to point out that it was discretionary....you don't have to pay it if you don't want to. I was more than happy to pay as I felt the service had really added to my enjoyment of the meal and that fact should be recognised.

I like the little touches in Copper, the appetiser you get at the start of your meal and the treats at the end, the great food and how friendly all the staff are.

Oh and the dessert plate!

Now first things first, the Cooper restaurant in Warrenpoint is more than worth a visit. The food is very good, as are the food choices; although a little on the cool side. I had excellent Thai soup followed by seasonal Goose confit. Other mains included lamb shank and fish & chips, oh and divine desserts, including a beautifully perfumed well balanced Turkish delight in pana cotta style. In my view the chef seasons the food properly, but should be a bit more daring; the service was discreet and timely as it should be, and staff knew who had ordered what, so avoiding the awful behaviour of waiting staff so prevalent in the Province demanding to know from diners who had ordered what.

And now to the weaknesses... I detected that staff were trying to sell more wine by coming to the table and suggesting they bring more wine - if I am right then stop it; customers are discerning enough to know what they want. And now to the discretionary tip 'automatically' added to the bill of 6 or more, and this is on food and drink prices - I only knew about this as I had read an earlier review, so I mentioned it to the staff on booking. So in my case it was not added (there were 7 of us) now adding it to a bill suggests compulsion and puts a host in an embarrassing dilemma if they want it removed, but let's face it, it's only described as discretionary to avoid tax -- now we left a generous tip, but I would begrudge paying 10% on drink prices, as we are generally ripped off on drink prices all over the Province - but that's another debate. I say leave it to customers to tip as they deem fit. In fact, this restaurant does everything just right, and most customers will recognise this and tip at their genuine discretion.

We will be back soon, as these minor criticisms do not deter us from enjoying very good properly cooked food from quality ingredients. Oh, and the chef should talk to customers occasionally.

I went to the restaurant on a Wednesday night with a family group of six. Their menu advises that groups of six or more may be subject to a 10% discretionary service charge. As there were only five others in the restaurant while we were there, and as the charge was described as discretionary, I, in my innocence thought that they would only be too glad of the business.

When the bill arrived it contained an extra £18 for service charge.

In a busy restaurant a large group can be difficult for the kitchen to coordinate, large single sex groups can be difficult for waiting staff to handle. We were neither case, and the charge was only management greed.

My e-mail to the Copper restaurant to complain has not had the courtesy of a reply.

I will not be back!

We eat at the Warrenpoint Contemporary International Copper restaurant a few times a month, and have always enjoyed our visit. The staff are very friendly and so efficient, and the food is out of this world. There are a few good restaurants in Warrenpoint, but this is simply the best. It can be quiet during the week at times, and I rather enjoy the buzz at the weekend, though some others prefer the peaceful nights. They offer a good balance of meat and fish on the menu, and the wine list is very well priced.