A Hove venue has been branded the "restaurant from hell" after furious customers said they walked out of its Christmas Day lunch service.
SIX restaurant, located on 102-106 Western Road, Hove, has come under fire after customers reported a chaotic service that left people waiting to be seated "for up to an hour and half".
One customer, Alan, who did not want to give his surname, said he booked the restaurant for the afternoon of December 25, but when he got there his party had to wait.
He said: "We just heard complaint after complaint after complaint. It was literally non-stop.
"If it had been any other day you would have been annoyed but there was probably a lot of people with families there who had all got together for Christmas Day and it was clearly a disaster."
He said they waited to be seated for 40 minutes before deciding to leave and ate pizza for their Christmas dinner instead.
Customers said they were paying more than £80 per head and some had been booked for months in advance.
Reviews on Tripadvisor were equally critical, with one customer branding the venue the "restaurant from hell".
They added: "There was near mutiny in the restaurant as customers lost patience - some left refusing to pay and a couple on the next table who had a young baby asked for a doggie bag to take out as they couldn't wait any longer.
"One couple near us got the wrong cocktails and refused to pay for them.
"A party of four who were left waiting for nearly an hour went to the local store across the road to buy some crisps and cans of lager to sustain them during their wait."
"No apology was given and no concession on our £420 bill."
Another customer said: "We had to wait over 90 minutes for the table with elderly relatives.
"Some people bought tubs of Pringles from the off licence opposite because they were so hungry.
"It was an absolute farce."
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A third reviewer labelled the experience "utter chaos" and said they were eventually shown to a table with no crackers, glasses or even cutlery.
Multiple customers also reported a staff member walked out mid-shift and the restaurant had made no attempt to apologise for the service.
A spokesperson for SIX restaurant said: "On Christmas Day, several staff members called in sick, which unfortunately impacted our service levels. Despite these challenges, our team worked tirelessly and managed to maintain service standards until approximately 2pm.
The spokesperson said the primary disruption was caused by a group of guests who became difficult and this behaviour "caused a member of our team to leave the shift as they could no longer tolerate" it.
The spokesperson said while these individuals have made allegations, "we have CCTV footage that clarifies the situation and confirms the extent" of the difficulties faced by staff.
"Despite being offered alternative seating in our coffee shop area and receiving complimentary drinks, this group continued to shout and disrupt the environment for others," they said.
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