Restaurants or cafes you've never forgiven...

[editor]

The Tate Modern once served me this pitiful slither of cake for £2.40.

I complained by email and they never bothered replying - so I've never returned since.

Are you harbouring any similar long term grudges? Or are you the forgiving sort?

 

[Wookey]

The last time I had a Subway sandwich I threw it up and it tasted the same backwards as it did forwards and I won't be going there again.

 

[Orang Utan]

a frozen curry in a wetherspoons. they offered me a replacement, but i just got my money back and got out of there sharpish.

 

[story]

The Lounge in Brixton.

Hated the food the first time, gave them a second chance, hated it again, tried a third time, hated it again. Never been back.

 

[Badgers]

Nandos

Basically ruined my fucking life

 

[Santino]

The restaurant in the Wallace Collection for taking 4 hours to serve us three courses. They were short-staffed but kept seating new parties all afternoon.

 

[Geri]

A café in Truro gave me a jacket potato with slices of cheese on it.

 

[editor]

The Lounge in Brixton.

Hated the food the first time, gave them a second chance, hated it again, tried a third time, hated it again. Never been back.

Really? I've had some nice food there.

 

[Wookey]

A café in Truro gave me a jacket potato with slices of cheese on it.

Dirty......Cornish....bastards.......

 

[story]

Really? I've had some nice food there.

You liked the Burnt Bread veggie breakfast as well, didn't you?

Clearly we have different tastes...

 

[Santino]

The Lounge in Brixton.

Hated the food the first time, gave them a second chance, hated it again, tried a third time, hated it again. Never been back.

Fool me once, shame on you...

 

[story]

Fool me once, shame on you...

Well, I thought I'd give them 2nd chance.

But three times is a pattern so that's the end of their chances.

 

[mattie]

Garfunkel's in Bath served us a shared plater for starters which had partly-frozen breaded mushrooms in it. We complained, and they brought the same dish back, bite marks included, after shoving it in the microwave for another 2 minutes. Salad included.

Not sure who's more stupid, them for a complete inability to microwave a pre-prepared meal properly or to realise a fresh dish might be in order or us for going there.

(It wasn't my choice, obviously)

 

[Orang Utan]

A café in Truro gave me a jacket potato with slices of cheese on it.

what's wrong with that?

 

[Geri]

what's wrong with that?

I can't believe you even have to ask that question.

 

[Voley]

I can't believe you even have to ask that question.

 

[Orang Utan]

I can't believe you even have to ask that question.

eh? jacket potato and cheese is common in caffs isn't it? was it dairylea or something?

 

[Voley]

Jesus, OU.

 

[polly]

S&M Cafe in Spitalfields. Ordered a fish finger sandwich, allegedly on crusty white bread served with hand cut chips and tartare sauce on the side (IIRC - this was a few years ago ) Got two manky fish fingers, clearly budget brand, on stale-ish sliced white, oven chips and no tartare sauce. When I asked for tartare sauce they took my sandwich away and gave it back slathered in horrible goop.

When I emailed they were really nice about it and offered me free wine if I returned - it shows how bad it was that I couldn't bring myself to take them up on it.

 

[Clair De Lune]

eh? jacket potato and cheese is common in caffs isn't it? was it dairylea or something?

It didn't ingratiate itself to her.

 

[Orang Utan]

Jesus, OU.

someone explain! i never eat jacket potatoes out.

 

[beesonthewhatnow]

someone explain! i never eat jacket potatoes out.

SLICES

 

[story]

Exactly.

How can it melt and go gooey if it's sliced?

Slices is for cheese on toast, innit.

 

[Dr. Furface]

Mrs F took me to the Oxo tower restaurant for my birthday a few years back (neither of us had been before). The service was abysmal - we had to wait ages. People who came in after us were getting served before we were. It was a Friday lunchtime and full of city types and it seemed to us they were taking care of them and ignoring us. And the food, when we finally got some, was nothing special for the price (not cheap, obvs). Never again.

 

[RubyBlue]

My fault but I went to bella pasta once - I was nearly sick - cheap and vile - don't know what I expected - well I didn't expect much but vomiting wasn't on the list.

 

[Maggot]

The cafe which used to be next to my parents place in Rye. They told us they were closing at 5, so we returned from our walk at 4.30 to go there and they had already shut.

It's closed down now.

 

[oryx]

I think I've posted my La Rueda, Clapham story on here before but here goes...............

.....about 20 of us went for a birthday night out some years ago. Me and the two guys sitting next to me ordered paella.

About an hour later, when everyone else was finishing their main course and we were wondering what happened to ours, a waiter told us that the chef had cooked us liver and bacon by mistake and would we like that?

One of the two guys was so hungry he agreed. Me and the other one, both detesting liver, insisted on paella, which arrived when everyone else was sipping the last of their coffee.

It took us about six attempts to get the bill, which was well over £200 (this being about 1992 or something). We refused to leave a tip, and were accosted on the pavement outside La Rueda by several angry waiters demanding to know what was wrong. Being a bunch of quite assertive souls we didn't have any problem telling them.

(Embarrassingly I did go back several times - the tapas bar bit was always buzzing and good fun on a Friday night!)

 

[Stoat Boy]

A restaurant in Rome, near to the Spanish Steps (it always has a white bean soup on display in the window).

Would not give us proper wine glasses to drink out of because we only ordered the 'house' wine. It rankles me to this day.

 

[Santino]

A restaurant in Rome, near to the Spanish Steps (it always has a white bean soup on display in the window).

Would not give us proper wine glasses to drink out of because we only ordered the 'house' wine. It rankles me to this day.

That's cheered me right up.

 

[longdog]

The Green Tree near Doncaster: We ordered mixed grills which came served with half cooked kidneys on to top. Not only were they half cooked they hadn't been pitted and soaked so they had dribbled blood and piss all over the steak. I called the waitress who just said 'that's how we cook them'. Being dischuffed I took the plates to the bar and demanded to see the manager who gave me the same answer. I told him I wouldn't be paying at which point he got shirty and threatened to call the police. 'OK' says I, 'I'll have a pint of bitter while we wait for them to arrive'. I've been banned from better places

Wetherspoons in Goole: Fish, chips and peas came without the peas. The waiter said he's go and get them. Half an hour later, long after I'd finished eating he brought me a portion of peas on a saucer I've been banned from better places

Some pub near York: Chose the seafood platter from the menu. The picture looked great, half a lobster, crab, langoustine, battered fish, mussels in the shell, oysters and so on with crusty brown bread and good value at £15. What turned up was two fish fingers, a half frozen battered fish portion, crab sticks, half a jar of whelks and a boil in the bag piece of unidentified fish in unidentified sauce. I've been banned from better places

Cafe in the Meadowhall Centre Sheffield: Cream tea with scones, jam, clotted cream and so on. Tea was OK, jam was fine, cream OK but I was slightly put of by the fact that there was a pubic hair stuck to the bottom of my ex's scone

Subway Birmingham: "I'm sorry we don't use butter, it's not the Subway way'. Oh fuck off!