To ask whats theme worst service you've ever experienced in a restaurant or cafe?

[JellyDiamonds]

I wonder if it can beat what happened to us this afternoons?

Went out for Sunday lunch at a mid price range gastro pub type place. We used to be regualrs there and its always been excellent, however today it seemed to fall apart. Lots of new staff who I'd never seen before. We arrived, were seated with menus and drinks were orders taken. The drinks arrived quickly but my coke was flat and I had to send it back, a fresh drink was then brought to me but no apology was given and it seemed to get worse from there.

We sat and waited for our orders to be taken (menus obviously laid out in front of us), and we waited and waited and waited. In the mean time a family on a nearby table were starting to get really stroppy with the waiting staff because they'd also been sat there a long time and no one had taken their orders. We continued to wait, countless staff passed us and I'm not sure how they couldn't have noticed we were ready to order, but they ignored us. I could also see and hear a couple standing by the till arguing with the manager about poor service.

Eventually after waiting for over 30 mins a waitress appeared and admittedly did apolgise for the wait and took our order. Food arrived pretty promptly and my roast potatoes were burned, but worst of all was my cauliflower cheese. It was basically just lukewarm cauliflower with cold cheese sauce poured over the top, it obviously hadnt been put in the oven to brown off as it should be. It was revolting and made me feel physically sick, in fact it's quite possibly put me off cauliflower cheese for life. I didn't mention it to the waiting staff because I could see and hear other customers laying into them and didn't want to make a fuss. The waiting staff were all obviously inexperienced, I watched a young lad almost drop a bowl of soup over a childs head because he wasn't balancing them on his arms properly (I used to wait on and there is an art to carrying lots of plates, but you need to be taught it before actually waiting on). All the while manager just stood there, not directing the staff or stepping in to help.

So anyway it was shite and I'm actually quite shocked at the service ive received. I've always been lucky in restaurants and have always had pretty good service so this was an eye opener.

Can you beat it?

What I got was a plate of just lamb's brains.

You should have overcome your nervousness: they're lovely. However, it's a bit naughty of a restaurant to not tell you at the point of ordering and not mark it on the menu. If I saw "plat d'agneaux" I would suspect it of containing some offal (brains, perhaps, but also the delights of various glands ("sweetbreads") as well as liver) but I'd be surprised were it all offal. But then, something as vague as "plat" invites you to ask, and it's one of the tragedies of British restaurant eating that people feel nervous about asking waiters for details of what they'll get.

The best service by far around here is at our many local Indian restaurants, even when they're very busy the service is always amazing

2.Went for a meal with a friend to a local pub for Sunday lunch. The main course was fine, but on being given my dessert (apple crumble) the crumble part was so hard that my spoon bent as I tried to take up a portion onto it.

We had a bit of a giggle at the spoon bending, and when the lovely waitress came over, I told her about the crumble and showed her the spoon. Smiling as she saw the funny side too, she went off to tell the chef.

We heard some crashing about and shouting, and the next thing was the chef charging out of the kitchen to our table, rather red faced and definitely not smiling.

He then grabbed a chair from another table and sat down at ours, and promptly began to tell us of the 1001 reasons why it wasn't his fault my dessert was like it was, banging his fist down on the table to enforce every point. These ranged from he hadn't made the pudding, the waitresses had (lies), to him not knowing what he was doing in a 'dump like this' as he was a famous chef and had worked in all the best places (fantasy).
My friend and I just looked at each other, got up, paid and walked out, and never went back! It was very unnerving.

I went to a patisserie Valerie once... The service was really off... The staff were rude and unhelpful. There was a queue of confused customers not really knowing where to queue or stand whilst the staff stood chatting.

I haven't been to a restaurant very many times and when I have it's normally been fine.
The most memorable time (wouldn't say it was the "worst" but it was rather awkward) was in France, we found a smallish pizza restaurant that was quite cheap compared to the others, went about an hour after it opened (Think it was around 6pm) and there was nobody else in there!
We ordered and while we were waiting for our food the restaurant owners entire extended family piled in.
We ate our pizza's at a little table in the corner while they pulled a few tables together and had some sort of family party/gathering. We felt like we were intruding, so uncomfortable!

The owner was really friendly and explained that they open at 5pm but don't normally get customers until after 7pm so the whole family often come and eat before the customers arrive!

We had a bad Wagamamas experience too. Newly arrived in our town so DP and I took the girls there. DP had a completely tasteless stir fry and they then tried to charge us £4.50 for two sad pieces of sprouting broccoli on a plate.

We complained at the time and said that they could take the broccoli or 'Asian greens' back.

The meal got worse when DD2 vomited a bright red Ella pouch down DP's shirt, although I will accept that they were not to blame for this.

I got home and filled out an online comments form on their website.

About 9.30 that night I had a telephone call from the manager of our branch berating me for not complaining at the time (um I did). I couldn't get rid of him and in the end had to put the phone down.
DP came downstairs and wondered who on earth I was arguing with at that time of night!

£20 worth of vouchers did eventually land on our doorstep.

I'm curious - why are some people on this thread being coy about the names of restaurant chains?

A friends birthday a few years back and she booked an Italian place in London for 12 of us. After we had all sat down the wait staff bought over a small amount (and I mean a small amount) of bread and olives which we assumed were complimentary (no-one had ordered them). Probably enough for a about 2 mouthfuls of bread and an olive per person. It was only when we got the bill that we realised we had been charged £3.95 per person for bread and olives which for a table of 12 amounted to nearly £50! We complained to the wait staff that it was ridiculous and no-one had even told us we were going to be charged for them. They refused to take it off the bill as we had eaten them, so we refused to pay the 'optional' 17.5% service charge they had generously given themselves.

Dunno, but if anyone is in Hoylake then I recommend Lino's.

Years ago DH and I were on holiday in a little village in the Dordogne area. There was a new-ish restaurant down the street, I think it was called Le Petit Auberge (although it wasn't that petite!)

Anyway we went on a weekday night when it was quiet and had a nice meal so decided to go back the following Saturday.

We were in early and got our order in. Starters arrived quite promptly but then there was a LONG wait with nothing happening. In the meantime the restaurant had filled up and everyone who arrived was being seated, no-one turned away, they even put up extra tables outside. But they simply couldn't cope and soon everybody was getting restive and annoyed about the service. The man at the next table was quite voluble in his complaints and we gathered that the restaurant had been advertising locally but had obviously drummed up more business than they could handle!

We did eventually get our mains but decided not to bother with a dessert we just asked for the bill and left. By this time the dining room was full of unrest and complaint.

On the way out we had to walk past where the kitchen was and through the window we could see one poor woman all on her own in there, obviously massively overstretched trying to cope.

It was poor service but, bless them, I guess it was caused by inexperience. I hope they sorted themselves out and made a success of it.

Went to a poncy gastro chain pub once with small people - waited ages to be seated - asked where the high chairs where and was told 'in the tame otter family friendly pub down the road'!

Went to a little cafe in centre of town with two dcs so were wanting to eat quickly before they kicked off. Ordered food at the counter. They weren't very busy but had 30 mins wait even though dh had ordered a burger and dcs and I just got a pre made sandwich. Then order was wrong, took us 10 mins to find anyone to change the order over. Were told it would be 5 mins. 15 mins later no new burger even though dcs and me had finished our meals so se had not eaten together.

Went to hunt for burger and was told it would be another 10 mins. I said in total dh has waited 45 mins for the right food and this wasn't acceptable I want someone else's burger. 5 mins later right burger arrived with an apology.

Whilst we were there several members of staff were wondering around not knowing where orders were meant to be going and other customers looked annoyed at how long they had been waiting or had the wrong order.

Won't be returning there.

I've been completely ignored, in the past, after waiting around at the entrance for 10 minutes when it wasn't even busy. Not even a hello. I walked out and never went back. I've also left when no one has come to take my order after a reasonable amount of time. I always assume that a place is going to carry on as it started out, so if the first few minutes are crap, I'm not sticking around to see if I'm right.

The issue with food reaching you cold is either one of equally poor timekeeping in the kitchen, so everything gets cold, or, even worse, stuff not being heated up properly in the first place, which is bloody dangerous.

ArtyBat I think that little cafe in York might have been one of the various places I've walked out of. Places like that can get complacent when they have a constant fresh supply of customers rather than having to rely on bringing locals back a second or third time.

Patisserie Valerie

Ordered cake and drinks for the kids and the couple we met. DH and I wanted food so we ordered Eggs Benedict. 20 mins...no sign of food so DH politely asks if it's on it's way. 'yes it's just coming up from the kitchen'.....10 mins later...still no sign, but another promise that it's 'just coming now'.
My body was still adjusting to breastfeeding and I needed to eat regularly, was starting to feel a bit ill. 10 mins later the other kids are getting bored, adults have all finished our drinks....DH goes off again 'it's just coming'

He just went to the till and told them to ring up the bill as we couldn't wait any longer. So they did...charging us for the food we hadn't had. They got put very firmly in their place about that! The staff were rude, treated us as if we were a nuisance and not once did any of them apologise.
I emailed the company to complain and they didn't respond at all.

Patisserie Valerie

Who seem to be something of a theme on this thread.

chlo95 that happens to us a lot. DH is veggie and I'm not and so many times people will assume the meat dish is his and put it in front of him without checking.

Happens with drinks too, if he gets a soft drink and I don't. It's so weird.

Pico I think there have been threads in the past where legal action has been threatened against posters because of what they've written (not necessarily restaurants, but still).

I've posted this one before so apologies to anyone who has read it! We were in Paris and decided to go to a lovely looking bistro just down the street from our hotel. It had good reviews on Trip Advisor and the food looked lovely.

About ten minutes after we were seated, I asked the waitress for a menu. She looked at me as if I'd just farted and gestured towards a tiny blackboard behind my head. Apparently this was the only English menu and I was obviously moron for not having seen it

The service just got worse from this moment on. She took longer and longer and to see to our table, empty glasses and dirty dishes were left for 30 minutes between courses and she refused to meet my eye, instead standing outside smoking or chatting on her phone. The food was absolutely delicious so we let it go until she, the bartender (who we discovered was the manager), another waiter and a customer at the bar started openly laughing and glancing at us repeatedly. We ordered dessert and I asked for my favourite: tiramisu. When it arrived it looked like watery Angel Delight with crushed up digestives on top - it was in no way a tiramisu. I asked the waitress about it and she dismissed me, but went right back to her colleagues and laughed. DP asked the manager about it and the manager (and the customer at the bar!) smirked and waved him away.

Finally DP asked flat-out if they were taking the piss, if it was a "joke dessert" because they'd taken offence at something we'd done. They all denied it and the manager had a blazing row with DP but the waitress and one of the waiters dropped themselves in it by talking to us separately and getting their stories mixed up, making it painfully clear that they were messing with us. Arseholes.

Not the worst but definitely the funniest, was the time the in laws were staying in London and took us to a Chinese restaurant in Chinatown. It had been recommended to them as one of the best by their v naice hotel concierge. When we arrived we found a slightly dated looking restaurant and a few tables of people sitting looking glum. We were shown to the worst table in the restaurant, with a dirty table cloth, and some menus were thrown at us in a very surly manner. We managed to eventually order some drinks and food, expecting the worst.
At this point my FIL, who ran his own Michelin-starred restaurant for 40 years, got out his notebook. He likes to make notes about service, dishes and so on so that he can use any good ideas he comes across.

He also, by a very handy coincidence, has the same surname as that of a very well known restaurant critic.

The manager spots the notebook, and goes over to the reservations book to have a look at who this strange bloke is who is taking notes. He puts two and two together, gets about 23, and literally leaps sideways about 3 feet to get to us. Whereupon he explains in his best Basil Fawlty manner that he is so, so sorry, we have clearly been given the wrong table, and moves us over to a huge table in the centre of the restaurant on a raised area. Everyone at the other tables is now staring at us wondering what is going on. There is a waiter stationed by the table for the entire evening in order to cater to our every whim. The food was excellent and the service of course very speedy. We were giggling to ourselves like mad when we work out what has happened, but I still feel guilty that the superb write up the manager was expecting in a national newspaper never appeared!

Est Est Est, not sure if they are still going but they closed the restaurants in my city a few years ago. We had 2.

1. Went for a group meal fucking awful hen do that we had to pre-order. Everyone had been served as the waiter came over with the final plate - intended for me as I was the last one waiting. He put down a dish I had not ordered. He insisted I had as it was the last meal to come from the kitchen and I was the only person still waiting. I re-iterated it was the wrong meal and he then admitted that he had given my meal to another member of the party as she liked the look of it and was I sure I didn't want her cast off! Erm, no thanks. What do you want then? The meal I ordered please? It came out in about 5 mins with undercooked pasta, undercooked meat and a watery sauce - totally inedible!
   Refused initially to knock it off the bill as everyone else was getting pissed and they thought I was trying it on!

2. went to the 2nd restaurant a few weeks later with a friend. They brought out the wrong starters, twice. Then they brought out my main meal - I had specifically ordered a vegetarian meal after the previous fiasco, it contained meat - not a massive issue as I do eat meat but it wasn't what I wanted. 5 times it took them to understand. The waiter just kept taking it back and blasting it in the microwave on high as they thought I wanted it hotter!
   I was offered a free drink, they didn't have my choice. We were both offered free desserts. The first 2 we picked had run out, then when we finally chose something they had left, they gave us 1/4 size portions as they brought the table next to us the same dessert which was 4 times the size!

I have however had absolutely fantastic service in other places, I was served a bottle of prosecco in one place and the waiter accidentally overfilled the glass as it fizzed over, must have spilt a thimble full only. He was mortified. The owner gave us a free bottle to comepensate, which we tried to decline but he was having none of it.

The Tower Bank Arms in Sawrey. Wouldn't let us book a table in the restaurant for any time in the evening. Decided to give it a try anyway. Rushed, offhand service, they kept letting more people in to cram around the tables (helpfully bringing in chairs from the restaurant that we noticed was gradually filling up at the exact time we'd tried to book). Food mediocre anyway, whisked away DS's bread and unfinished plate before we could stop them - cue miserable DS!
I was really fed up by their whole we're popular and packed any way so who gives a stuff if you enjoy it or not attitude and asked the waitress why we had not been allowed to book the restaurant which was still not full 90 minutes after the time we'd tried to book. She didn't have an answer. Then a family next to us chipped in, clearly pissed off too, in an icily polite way. They'd been told the same thing. Not her fault so we just left it there.

DH went to a newish gastro pub for Sunday lunch. DH is vegetarian - there was literally nothing vegetarian on the menu (we would have checked in advance but there was no menu on their website. Warning bells should have rung at this point).

There was something that looked like it could have been done easily without meat (savoury crepe), so DH asked it that was possible. Not only did the manager say no, he told DH he "fucking hates vegetarians".

We left, obviously. Place didn't last a year.

This one was so bad, it was hilarious.

Tiny run down restaurant in slum area of Fortaleza in North East Brazil.
We went in and looked at the fairly basic but workable with menus on the tables.

After 10 minutes waiter came over to take order. We started to order from the menu and he said no, they weren't doing the menu food today, we could have either chicken or fish and a bowl of rice.
We chose chicken.

20 minutes later waiter came back. They had no chicken, we could only have fish. Okay, we said, we'll have fish.

20 minutes later waiter came back.
Waiter: 'I'm sorry, we have no food today.'
Me: No food in your restaurant?
Waiter: That is correct, we have no food.'
Me: Why are you open? Why didn't you tell us when we got here?'
Waiter: [backing away] I don't understand you, your Portuguese is very bad.

Best service ever:

Ice cream parlour in the Netherlands. We were on a school trip. One woman singlehandledly served all 42 of our children their choice of 2 scoops (took them forever to decide, there were a lot of flavours) and happily let the whole lot sit down in the café. She gave them all a free chocolate flake and kept a smile on her face the whole time. She even told us they were such a polite and well behaved group of children. She got a BIG tip!
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