sand dancer in South Tyneside

Ordered chicken sizzler, was disgusting chunks white chicken tasted like plastic, in chilli sauce not even warm never mind sizzling, brought it to attention of staff, young woman took back into kitchen came back to give us a run down from cook how it was made , then disappeared, no sign of manager, we were left with bowl of chips which had in all intents cost us £20 , before leaving asked speak to manager, same young woman appeared to say he had gone home, I asked her what happened to food we paid for, no offer of drink or dessert as replacement, asked her if it was part of her job to know what customers were not happy about, she was adamant not concerned about bad reviews or customer service saying it was FINE if don't return or give bad reviews to others, customer service non existent, the manager should have dealt with situation before leaving that is if he had actually left, or was concerned about his pubs reputation , obviously not, never go back again !

They had the chicken sizzler on special so order 2. Worst ever tasted. Chicken was a pre cooked chicken breast chopped into chunks with slimy spring onions and slimy peppers. None of which had been sizzled, literally service on a metal plate and called sizzler. I’m guessing left over chicken just chopped up and used for another dish. Complained to allow them to rectify the issue, manager just stayed in the kitchen and sent staff over to say that’s the way it comes. Full dish was taken away and not even returned, so effectively paid £20 for 2 bowls of chips. Avoid this place if you aren’t already.

Sadly, quality and cooking of food - the burger was: 1. Cheap processed ‘meat’ 2. Overcooked so that it was tough Not an inexpensive meal here either so you would expect better quality. They didn’t even include a whole slice of tomato obtuse the burger - we both got one end slice of a tomato. Both soooooo hungry though we ate the meal. Had no intention of complaining - we just won’t go back and advise anyone heading down to South Shields seafront - if you go in The Sandancer do NOT have burgers. They rightfully belong on their Doggo menu although to be honest I am not sure I would serve this so called burger meat to any dog. Plus was the waiter who did ask how was the meal when he cleared the table - did tell him it was be if the worst burgers he have had in years, but ate it as we were both stupid hungry. He just nodded. At least he asked.

Disgraced, 5 staff members behind bar. Waited ages to get served to order food and drinks, ignored by all staff apart from one behind the bar. Would understand if it was busy but wasnt even busy inside. Waited ages for food, staff member said chefs running behind, only ordered tofu bou buns. Had an appointment somewhere and couldnt wait any longer so asked to take food away when it was ready. Staff member gave me food in takeaway box, was incorrect no bao bun just tofu. Absoulte rip off, mushy and not even cooked. What a let down, should be ashamed. Not reccomend atall.

Quick lunch whilst walking the coastal path. Dogs welcome in part.

I loved the location, but they have staff shortage, and the served food was dry and didn't look very well to me . So I don't recommend this place during the rush hour . You can see the difference .

Have been wanting to visit here for ages, and just loved the place. Staff were a delight, and breakfast was absolutely delicious. Nice to come out of season too; amazingly the sun came out- bonus!

This is a historic pub, it's been here for ages. It's a good place to meet up and have some drinks and food. The menu is good and varied. The drinks were reasonably priced. They lost some serious points for having CCTV directly over the men's urinals.

Good food, great staff and a nice place next to the beach.

Just had 2 steaks and halloumi fries, it was amazing. Espresso martini was so good too. Staff were really quick and polite. We were eating our meals and I was enjoying it that much I wanted to add more food, it was 5.10 on a Friday night. I was informed kitchen was now closed, the manager asked the chef for my garlic bread but he refused, and said she will do a desert herself for me. Kitchen total let down, shutting 4 hours early. Quiet on a Friday so close the kitchen, but if shut kitchen early it’s always going to be quiet as unreliable

Went in for food with my husband his medical assistant dogs 1 is working 1 is retired and 12yrs old so I have him now for cuddles. We were told we couldn't sit up the corner because live music was too loud for me . We were only allowed to sit right in centre of pub with all other dogs music right in front of us . I said do you tell guide do gs and owners where to sit yes he said and if you don't move I will ask you to leave . So we left . Not good pub for people with disabilities with dogs

Ordered beefeater with bacon for lunch. Probably the worst I've eaten. Burger was a solid dry mass and having been returned to the kitchen for addition of missing crispy bacon was cold. Table was sticky to the touch. Bacon was not crisp.

I had an eight ounce steak that was perfectly cooked. It's a long long time since I had a steak as juicy and tasty as that. The chunky chips, skin on were delicious, and even the view was amazing. Fabulous meal all round.

Dont be fooled into ordering a full bottle of wine anywhere near 10pm on a Friday evening... Travelled all the way from Barnsley to meet up with old school friends, ordered our wine and within 20 minutes security came to offer us a plastic glass to take our drinks home ... Nice.... If id wanted a takeaway i would have visited McDonald's with a bottle in my bag .... Disgusting......(May i add, the photo of the pint of wine, is the nice plastic glass provided by the pub, no, the bottle of wine in the background is not from the Sandancer... We were sent home with our bottle of wine decanted into one of their classy plastic glasses)... This is a very realistic review...

Pretty disgusted how you took money from us for a full bottle of wine last night, last orders had not been called at this point and you gave no warning of your intention to close early.. This was at 10pm.... after one glass we were offered plastic glasses to take our drinks home, bar staff wanted us out to close, we were not the onky customers and others complained too... It was made very clear by your lovely bouncer hanging around that we had ti leave, walking aroumd dishing out plastic glasses.... I took the rest of our wine home in a plastic pint glass as it had already been decanted... Poor, very poor.. I walked out with a pint of wine.... You wont get my money again, visiting from Barnsley back to my hometown, truly let down in one of my favourite places 😔

great service and great food and great views of the beach and sea as we ate

Can't really say much only pop in for a pint but sat outside with sea view enjoyed that

I was left feeling very uninspired by the Sunday lunch myself and another seven members of my family experienced in regards to your Sunday lunches. 3x gammon, 2x roast beef and 1x chicken . The food was luke warm at best, yorkshire puds were in edible and the roast beef was tough as old leather and the sweet potato was more the consistancy of a baby food puree. All the meals came out without veg which we had to ask for but cauliflower and carrots again were bordering on uncooked with only the brussel sprouts cooked. I could sort of ignore some off the issues if it was close to end of service but we ordered at 13.00pm so this should have been in my view the best time to order... Very frustrated as we were looking forward to eat at the Sandancer but i must say if this is level and quality of the food i would think long and hard to eat there again.. Very Disappointed.

Went in here on Bank Holiday Sunday for the bands and what a good day/night.. DJ played tremendous tunes and the first band was really good..

Almost on the beach Has the same vibe as the Watering Hole in Perranporth, Cornwall

Food was second to none service great friendly staff

Great views. Most of staff very friendly hardworking and helpful. Some less so. I come here regularly and still cannot believe how they have not got the toilets sorted. So often they stink and the smell is strong in a large part of the bar. Not nice for anyone especially people eating. And I never see evidence of anyone inspecting them or cleaning them occasionally. Very off putting for visitors and not a good impression of the Sandancer or South Shields. Maybe there are problems they cannot fix with drainage being so close to the beach? Other bars on seafront do not have this problem though.

Didn't like the amount of dogs on the premises

Food is nice . Soup was roasted pepper and was lovely, gived you a spicy feel in your throat 😁. Sunday dinner was also lovely , probs one of best in south shields . 😊5/5 Next visit : 18 August , just a week after , went for another sunday dinner and disappointed . Soup had no taste , Sunday dinner and mash was watery . Not nice . Will try again sometime though . Gone down to 3/5

This was our first visit to the Sanddancer for Tapas and to see a live band, we arrived early to see that the "kitchen was closed", there had been no advanced warning on social media all they could offer was a couple of slices of cake, muffins or nut's. The toilets were dirty and smelly, which continued all night, no hand wash and hand dryer not working ! We only stayed to see the band not sure if I would visit again as was very disappointed !

Female toilets disgusting. Smelly, full of flies and broken toilet seat. Staff totally uninterested. Rip the whole lot out and start again. Luckily the kitchens were closed.

Nice lunch no complaints, however I was shocked to see a security camera pointing to the urinals in the gents toilet surely if they require a camera it should be placed at door looking at peoples backs I was quite shocked to see this for obvious reasons???

We sat outside and OMG it felt like we were living in Greece.Overall lovely people serving us and it came very quickly.

Breakfast was fantastic, hot and tasty, good value for money and the service was excellent. Definitely recommend a visit.

We wandered along after the final Bents Park music festival to be greeted by some absolutely incredible music from a group called Rivelino, oh my they were so so good, why were they not on stage at Bents Park? The singer had such presence, unfortunately we live out of area so headed home before the set finished which was a shame but a group to certainly watch out for! Plenty of staff on today but the toilets were giving off a horrendous stench so moved queues to other side of the bar & served swiftly, was great to see so many people having a chill & generally just enjoying themselves!

Nice food Great variety kids meals are worth it. Dog friendly also

Wow what a disgrace the sand dancer pub is in South Shields!!! My sister was in front of me at the bar and ordered wine and food at 4.55pm..then I ordered at 4.57 and was told sorry no food 😳 I said we are all at a the same table but no!! They stop serving at 5pm but howay!!! Me and my sister got no food whilst the others ate.. Very bad service. Will not return.

Had the chickpea burger and was hands down the worst burger I have ever tasted , awful sauces all over soggy salad weird tasting bun and the chips that’s Ted like the oil had been used for a year!!! My hubby had the fish said it was just ok but the curry sauce he had was watered down. Will not return . Few folk around us were not happy with their food either

Waited for over an hour for food. tables which had ordered after us were getting their food and finished eating before we got ours . We were told a 45 min wait but it wasnt like food was constantly coming out of the kitchen , so how busy could it have been ????Staff weren't very helpful . The young lady who served me at till was very abrupt almost robotic . The food itself expensive for what portion we got . Sizzler plate did not sizzle on arrival belly pork meal was no bigger than a side plate size . Definitely will not come again

Quite good food, prices also adequate.

My first time in there and I was very impressed.

Good atmosphere and interesting artefacts about for 5yr old family member ! Reasonably quick service and well presented brunch for us. Good variety of food and drinks but vegetarian sausage not great unfortunately. Overall good visit and very good location by the sea !!

Nice location, good food and a fair selection of beers 😁

Great food nice staff great location

Food is nice but not quality I expected, and service was little slow, been here many times before and food was better than it is now.

Food is really good here Definitely recommend

Been a few times. Nice venue with sea views. Staff were pleasant and efficient. I felt that the potatoe skins were a greasy.

Food was very nice friendly staff and clean place

Great service, great staff, value for money, in a great setting.

Ordered a burger and fries. £12.55 over priced and no drink to go with. Seems very expensive. Then extra £1.50 for bigger chips. I don't agree unfortunately. The burger was hot. It was a bit char grilled on top as if it was BBQ grill style but to much carbon for me. The burger was juicy but the carbon on top not so good. Good quality beef from the taste of it. Just how it was cooked. The bun of the burger was lovely. Good choice. Chips arrived cold and they were not like fries. They didn't have no crunch. Just soft and limp maybe slightly undercooked. I complained and they replaced but still looked like the same fries but warmer. Not sure if they just microwaved and reserved. The burger wasn't replaced so that had cooled while waiting to sort out the chips. If you gonna replace the food atleast send the whole thing again as the temperatures won't of changed much. You spend alot of money to purchase the food but not worth it. If the quality isn't there. No order from table If your on your own and you go to the bar to order. You will lose your table. Maybe a waiter could be a option or you could put something on the table to let bar staff know you need a table service so you don't lose your seat. Needs to be better signs as there was confusion of which part of the bar to order food. I waited in the wrong side of the bar to be told to que on the opposite side. Time can be wasted here Drinks are expensive. Atmosphere is great Staff was lovely and polite Great scenery of the beach and love the fish tank. Animal friendly too Good pub quiz Would love to return as I still enjoy the atmosphere but might skip the food sorry

Unfortunately nothing on the menu took our fancy but do intend trying their Sunday lunch soon.

Th food was spot on and all staff, it was just too busy for my liking xx

Great food ...very friendly service...very pleasant atmosphere... certainly will return

Ordered the sweet chilli chicken sizzler. It was just a boiled chicken breast tossed in sweet chilli sauce. For £12 I expected a little more. The service was great but the food was disappointing. Also there are CCTV cameras inside the toilets which I realised after using. Very strange, won't be visiting again

For a pub on the beach, it really could do better. The food is always a let down here. They need a new chef with better menu ideas.

Had a great time introducing my friend to my favourite place for food and drink. She loved it, too.

Great food and very good prices!

Nice place to visit for a swift drink or coffee. View of the beach all good 👍

Great place in general but my only criticism was there was more batter than fish on the fish and chips I received. Kids got Southern chicken burger and that was excellent.

Great pub great food great ale and great views

I was at the Sandancer tonight with my daughter and grandsons for my birthday. Fabulous steak meal cooked to perfection, lovely friendly staff. Loved it. I hadn't been there for a while but going to make a point of going more. Thankyou x

The garlic bread was great, good size and tasty. It's a little expensive imo but the view and sounds of the sea like 90% made up for that. Would recommend trying yourself if you want to eat close to the beach ⛱️

Long wait for our fish sandwich. Chips OK, fish reasonable, but nothing to make me want to return.

Never going in again over £10 for a pint of coors and a pint of strongbow RIDICULOUS

Very welcoming place to grab a coffee with your dog. Fresh water bowls and dog biscuits available and plenty of outdoor seating

Asked for two portions of fish & chips and a 3rd with fish only but was told we had to pay for 3 full portions and wait time to be 45 minutes. We paid for 3 meals. I asked for a receipt which wasn't forthcoming. After 45 minutes 2 meals arrived, one fish and chips without the included salad, mushy peas, tartare sauce, and one fish with salad. We were told the order was confusing and we would have to pay again for what was originally ordered. Without the receipt we had no proof of what was paid but was told we paid for only 2 meals. We also paid for 3 drinks but they had no record of that on their bill. They offered to warm up the fish while the order was prepared correctly and we refused, requesting 3 fresh meals as per the original order. What arrived was merely a warmed up, greasy offering without the supposedly-included tartare sauce. The chips were old, greasy, and inedible. 6 members of staff gathered behind the bar to discuss our order. The young waitress was crying and offered a hug by the incompetent female who took the initial order. Another 4 of them gathered to discuss the ammended bill after we paid the extra but nothing was done about it. Disgusting. Never again.

Got a extra large breakfast bit pricey but the food was very tasty.

Went in here on Sunday, we were in the area to see my mother in law and we wanted somewhere quick and easy for lunch. We went in and it was very busy but we managed to get a table at the window and ordered our food. The girl serving was lovely, she advised us of a wait of up to an hour but as it was busy we didn't mind. That hour turned into an hour and a half and we only seemed to get sorted after we asked one of the waiting staff where our food was, as other people who came in after us were served before us. When the food did come, the young girl who served us had a face on, barely spoke and when she did, was quite abrupt. The food itself was pretty poor. I had a burger, the meat was rubbery and flavourless and my fries had so much salt on I couldn't eat them. My wife had a prawn sizzler, this was about 50% grease and had very few prawns. Our granddaughter had a chicken burger which was completely dry and again, some chips with her portion of salt. We definitely won't be rushing back here, the service was poor (apart from the girl on the till) and the food was worse, shame because in that location, it could be so much more.

A lovely pub, food was wonderful staff were friendly, and not only do they allow dogs, they have a special dog menu. Can't wait to go back

I visit the Sand dancer quite often. Eaten here many times & never had a bad meal. Quiz night on a Wednesday which is great & good fun.

Lovely service but I ordered the sizzler and it tasted like it had just been boiled in water, had no flavour or colour whatsoever :( would have been nice cooked in seasoning. Chips were mint though, saved the meal and my hangover :D

Visited for breakfast, food was lovely and views are stunning if you manage to get a window seat overlooking seafront.

Popped in during the day on a quiet day for refreshments but really nice place and could imagine really busy in the summer months

The food was really bad. Ordered fish and chips the batter was soft and smelt of overused oil. I couldn't eat it. The burgers salad has the thick core of the lettuce. Calamari was soft and cold. Would not recommend for food

Really lovely food, our starters were first class. Coconut squid, Thai prawns and crab brushcetta. Crab was ok, could do with a bit more flavour but the prawns and squid was top notch. Really nice pub and a change having all the options available. Will be back.

Absolutely great place great service friendly staff great food. 100% recommended.

The long wait for food could be excused by how busy the place was, but cannot account for the food being mediocre at best and unpalatable at worst. Anything that should be crispy was soggy , certainly not reflective of the prices charged. Good atmosphere though, and the staff were perfectly pleasant.

It's a lovely place in a lovely setting, ideal that there is plenty parking available too. I did feel £4.35 to be a bit steep for a flavoured takeaway latte though. I regularly get the same order from another local business but wanted to give this place the opportunity (often joined by at least 5+ others getting a hot drink, as part of a social group). I don't expect the service to be as fast as it's not their main business focus, but combined with the big difference in price it's less attractive. = Ok as a one off here and there, but less ideal for a regular.

Excellent food service good and spotless

Damn awfull. Overpriced food, swimming in fat, with more dogs than crufts and I like dogs but I don't want to eat in a kennel with them, honestly save your cash, plenty of choices for other restaurants

Lovely pub, great location. Limited vegan options. Will go back for drinks.

Lovely place, staff couldn't get order right. Did rectify the pudding after bringing out wrong thing. General meal was OK, batter and chips over cooked.

Called in with our young golden retriever for a bit of lunch after Googling a dog friendly place to eat. Lovely, perfectly cooked fish goujons on a fresh bread cake and chunky skin on chips. Great selection of doggy treats too! We all enjoyed it and will definitely be coming back when next in the area.

Great place to see a band and have a fewwl drinks

I have been going here for years and not sure if they have changed management or something but we asked politely if they could do scrambled egg for my niece as they have before! and they refused saying in the years we've been here we've never made scrambled egg for anyone rude. Hot chocolate just tasted like water but I guess the breakfast wrap tasted alright. I'll definitely not be going back in a hurry with that service

Would have been nice if they hadn't run out of Sunday roast by 3. But still very canny with excellent sea views

Random stop off and will defo be back. Friendly busy little pub, nice food, reasonable prices. And my son enjoyed a game of dominos

Nice pub with spectacular views of the beach, food ok but not outstanding. Dog friendly.

We were looking for somewhere nice for brunch while working in the area and Sand Dancer was recommended. It was certainly a good recommendation, we went back for breakfast again on the second day! Food was amazing with good choices for two vegetarians and the staff were lovely and friendly. Right on the beach too so a lovely view of a rather wild sea. Thoroughly recommend a visit

Just had a delicious Christmas lunch. The seabass was cooked to perfection. My partner had the turkey wrapped in a yorkshire pudding. He said it was tasty. The cheescake was light. I'd recommend the Christmas fayre.

Good service and a warm welcome in this very dog friendly seafront restaurant. Decent hot chocolate and the full English breakfast was a good choice,

Went for lunch with a friend and had fish and chips by her recommendation. We wanted something off the seasonal menu but didn’t want two courses and unfortunately they can’t change it which was a shame but the fish and chips were tasty. Waitress brought over bowls of water for the dogs which was really thoughtful.

Food is absolutely out this world !! Staff are even better , will be back ! 😍😍

Very busy and noisy here, went in November 2023 and when the food arrived I knew why. It was so good. The staff were friendly and welcoming. Dogs are allowed here in a section inside. Would recommend.

Great bar on the seafront with friendly staff and good food with good value for money

Sitting outside in a nice atmosphere and had day and friendly service

Great pub...even better as it's dog friendly

Had a beautiful Sunday launch I had chicken breast my wife had beef both were lovely. At a reasonable price too

Friendly staff and lovely fish and chips 😋 with great views to the sea.

Lovely view. Only had drinks, tea was lovely. Cappuccino was barely warm unfortunately. Table was very sticky. Great location though with car park (fee charged)

Really good pub with views onto the sea front. Nice food at reasonable prices!

Terrible service and attitude of bar staff

Little pricey for the pints but worth it for the views and atmosphere

Lovely pub with fantastic views out over sandhaven beach. Food is really tasty and the the staff are so friendly and welcoming. Foggy friendly too

Very good fish and chips, cleared the plate.