Would you complain?

[HereComesSanta]

Went out for an ABBA night at a hotel. We didn't book a room as it was fairly local but we did pay £40 per head for a 3 course meal and ABBA tribute night.

1. The actual food we got was very different to what the menu said. The soup was meant to come with croutons, we only got one each. The turkey was very dry and everything was cold. The desert was missing the winter berry compote advertised on the menu.
2. The ABBA tribute was just 2 ladies. Tbh, they were alright but we were of course expecting Bjorn and Bennie tributes. Didn't feel quite the same.
3. We were waiting forever at the bar when it wasn't even busy. Bar staff kept walking off, seemed to take forever to make the drinks, we were just stood for ages.

For £40pp we expected more.. I don't know what i'm expecting but just for feedback really, I feel to complain. We left a bit disappointed

The actual food we got was very different to what the menu said. The soup was meant to come with croutons, we only got one each

Whatever about your other complaints, this is the most mental thing I've ever heard anyone getting annoyed about!

Sounds very standard fare for Christmas type do's this time of year.

If you had wanted to complain the time to do so was when you were there, not afterwards. Honestly it all seems fairly trivial.

1. The actual food we got was very different to what the menu said. The soup was meant to come with croutons, we only got one each. The turkey was very dry and everything was cold. The desert was missing the winter berry compote advertised on the menu.

was the crouton count in the Ts&Cs?

I am reminded of croutongate Surgeon suspended over bowl of soup goes back to work

It was not but it did say ‘served with croutons’ not crouton! It was in the soup too and had gone soggy ish

Did you not expect bread in soup to get soggy?

I mean only one crouton! Does someone have the number to the Prime Minister?

This sounds exactly as I would expect from a Christmas ABBA tribute night TBH.

YABU about the crouton (s).as it may be stingy portion but I'm assuming they didn't specify a crouton count. Plus it will go a bit soggy in soup, surely?!
YANBU that there was only one half of Abba though, that is pretty crap and disappointing.
It's ABBA, not AA!

It actually sounds reasonable at 40 quid. Did you not just ask if they had the sauce for the dessert? I think for 40 quid you have to temper your expectations, it's nit the ritz. Genuinely not meaning to be offensive but do you go out much? It can be disappointing if you expecg more and I know 40 quid is a lot if it's not something you do a lot

Yes I would complain. That sounds terrible.

I went to a Dolly Parton one for £50 and it was pretty much the opposite. Lovely thick homemade soup, warm crusty rolls and croutons in a little side dish (or chicken pate and toast points with some lovely chutney)
A roasted lamb portion/beef (I think there were other options too) and some veggies, spuds and gravy plus a really rich chocolate torte.
Only thing we missed out on was no Kenny Rodger’s for Islands in the Stream. Luckily Dolly was able to pick a very handsome bloke out of the audience who did a brilliant job (not sure if he was an “audience plant” to be honest) and we had a great night out. Sounds to me like the whole thing you had was weak by comparison, I’d be complaining for the lack of BB in ABBA to be honest!

You complain at the time. Not after.

Was it one big crouton?

Usual fare for Christmas dinner's, I've lost count of the number of lukewarm Christmas dinners I have had in past works Christmas parties, the best ones have been when we have been to Chinese orIndian restaurants.

I really wouldn’t expect much for £40 tbh.

You must complain at thr time otherwise it seems you're just nit picking when the booze has worn off.

Sadly £40 doesn’t get you much now. Even eating out without the entertainment would likely cost the same for decent grub. However, it shouldn’t be cold and dry. I think everybody has the right to complain if you’re not happy (especially with food) but it should be done at the time so the establishment has the opportunity to rectify the problem.

For the food being cold yes absolutely you should have raised something at the time not after
The act itself sounds about right for a Christmas time of year show

The food you needed to address at the time. - more croutons, reheat this please etc Its too late after the fact.

Reasonable to complain about ABBA

Honestly if i paid 40pp for something i wouldn't expect much at all.. not these days i am afraid.

You could:should have addressed the issues at the time but for €40 it sounds good value so I certainly wouldn’t be expecting a Michelin star experience for the price that I paid.

Stop stressing about the small stuff.

Just leave an honest review on the hotel's TrustPilot or similar, detailing what your expectations were vs the reality.

I would complain. Good service is good service regardless of cost and 40 is still a lot of money for a disappointing meal and a half abba tribute. Some Christmas meals are amazing and even having a coffee and a cake for a tenner in the right place with lovely staff is special so you should expect a good standard of service and product wherever you go.
I would email them , they may make changes for next year and you won't be the only one.