To be angry at DH for ruining Father’s Day lunch out

[Chelle882]

Myself, DH and our two teenage DC went out for lunch today to celebrate Father’s Day at a local restaurant.

When the food arrived, there was an issue with DH’s meal and he alerted the waitress to this. The waitress told him she’d arrange for this to be re-cooked and it would take 15-20 minutes.

DH asked that they also take the other three meals away so that we’d all be eating at the same time.

The waitress said she’d need to check this with a manager. The manager came over and apologised, said that they wouldn’t be able to re-do the three meals which were fine but they’d deduct the cost of DH’s meal from our bill and also give us a free round of drinks.

DH challenged this and the manager stood firm. Without consulting me, DH said that we would leave and find somewhere else to eat. So we didn’t touch our food and DH settled the bill for the drinks we’d had and we all walked out (much to our hungry DC’s bemusement).

Obviously being Father’s Day, the two other restaurants in close proximity were fully booked until this evening, so we grabbed a KFC drive through on the way home (which doesn’t agree with me so I’ve had stomach cramps for the past three hours!)

DH maintains he was correct to leave the meal and that restaurant’s should not get away with this - we’d ordered to eat together and they failed to deliver this.

For the sake of our DC’s I think he should have just sucked it up and not ruined the lunch.

Do you agree with what he did or would you have just accepted the free meal and got on with it?

God what an embarrassing twat! If your meals were fine, no, they shouldn’t be recooked. Is he generally this much of an arsehole @Chelle882?

People with a sense of humour who understand life doesn't always go to plan and make the best of things?

How much you pay for chicken bucket and how much you pay for steak at the restaurant? If I pay £50+ for a meal, I expect standards and that includes food correctly cooked and brought out at the sam time for all party. KFC is this, KFC £10 meal per head, you don't expect a la carte from KFC.

I'm with your husband. You booked a table to enjoy a FD meal together. Who wants to sit and watch every one else polishing off their food for 20 minutes until yours arrives. The they sit and wait for you. Not a great dining out experience. They should have stood the cost of the other meals..it was their fault, they should have read the order.

So he could have eaten it, it just wasn't cooked to his exact specifications? I would have eaten it and asked for a discount in compensation.

Why would it have taken 20mins to cook a steak a bit more?

I wouldn’t be eating a well done steak it would be ruined. Just as I imagine some certainly wouldn’t be ok eating a blue / rare steak. My preference.

Yeah I'd be pretty peeved by his behaviour. However I'd just have asked if instead of my meal being free if they'd provide some olives or nachos free of charge for me to munch on whilst I waited.

I think he's right. He didn't get what he ordered, and he would have waited until while you ate.

If I didn't want to eat at the same time as my family, I would have gone to Wagamama.

No, a family of 4 would need to fork on average of £200 for a sit down steak meal at a restaurant. Sense of humor does not pay to have the experience ruined. And it would be ruined, I was in the situation, it was awkward as hell.

Why should he? Steak is quite niche. It’s not like a different variety of tomato.

Never been to Wagamama, how is it? Derailing, sorry :)

I'm on the DH's side. If it hadn't been a Father's Day meal, yes, suck it up and wait 20 mins, but it was his treat specifically. Also agree with steak it's all about how it's cooked. Has to be rare and oozing blood for me or there's no point.

I would have just sucked it up, but then I don’t like complaining or causing friction.
However, I do think that your husband was right, it’s pretty basic to receive the meal your ordered at the same time as everyone else. The UK is known for poor service, so if more people complained when appropriate maybe it would improve.

But why should he? He's paying for a specific service, a meal for 4 where everyone gets to eat what they ordered at the same time. If the restaurant isn't willing to give him that service then why should he pay for it.

I probably wouldn't have walked out, (because DP and DD are both evil when they're over hungry so my life wouldn't be worth living for the next hour), but it's hardly a nice Father's day meal out when Dad has to sit there and watch everyone eat, and then bolt his own food down because everyone else is bored.

They offered the meal free as well as recooked.

Your DH was ridiculous. It's a steak. Unless you're in France or were eating in a top fine dine bistro, then most establishments are rubbish at getting steaks right!

Personally I would have refused to eat the KFC in protest.

Ohhh people can be very very fussy about their steaks, I think your DH handled it badly.

Maybe he was right. But he was not being good fun 😁 so if he he was “right” he still spoiled the outing for everyone else. Instead of 1 person having a sub-optimal meal, he forced you to ALL have a sub-optimal meal….how is that a better outcome ?!

You can't really expect all of the meals to be recooked, offering to comp his meal was reasonable compensation.
I don't really see eating together as an imperative- you all wanted a meal , and would have got a meal, what on earth is your husband's problem?
From the restaurant manager's point of view it was Father's day so he could have filled your table 3 times over- AND it is completely obvious by insisting you would finish up with disappointed kids and rubbish fast food-put your DH's analyst on danger money-now!

This is the definition of cutting your nose off to spite your face.

I’m not waiting 15 mins for a nice steak as my family will have already started their mains, I’m gonna drag our sorry asses to KFC to eat shit food. That’ll show ‘em.

What a petty little prick.

I think he was right. We had a similar complaint at a restaurant we had taken our son to to celebrate his birthday, quite expensive Japanese restaurant. The food was brought out in the wrong order and DH's meal had still no; arrived when we had finished ours. I complained and said it had ruined the meal. The restaurant removed all the meals from the bill without being prompted and we just paid for the drinks. They also contacted us the next day with a £50 voucher to go back. I was very impressed with this and it has restored my faith in the place. Messing up one meal does spoil it for everyone.

@Missanimosity but he did not exactly stop the meal from being ruined, did he? He ruined it even more

(personally I think people who think a meal or even a whole day is “ruined” by one imperfect dish need to go out more… ir in this case go out less!)

The steak should have been prioritised so 10 mins max.

He does sound stroppy though and the restaurant could have brought out something like bread and a bit of nice cheese in the interim until his steak was redone.

Actually good on him - if I’m spending the thick end of £200, then it’s not unreasonable to expect food to be served at the same time and to get what you ordered. Mainstream hospitality in this country is piss poor.

Was the steak under or over done.

Totally this.

Plus I hate fussy eaters. Unless the steak was very rare/leaking blood or overcooked, I would still eat it. Maybe ask for some money off the bill, but expecting completely new meals to be cooked is ridiculous.