The Ship Inn, Styal

I have never actually written and posted a review on anything on the internet, however, this pub has provided the "inspiration" I have clearly been lacking. Here goes.
We arrived at the Ship Inn on Saturday afternoon after a lovely walk in the woods and surrounding areas ready for a nice hearty sandwich and cold drink. We ordered two tuna baguettes and one portion of chips to share, along with two pints of lime and soda, one of us being pregnant, the other driving. The fact that the sandwiches and chips arrived within about two minutes of ordering should have started alarm bells ringing.
The tuna baguettes arrived on those baguettes that one would normally find in the freezer section of the supermarket in a plastic bag marked as "part-baked". The bread was what can only be described as plastic-y in texture and it seemed raw somehow. The filling was less than appetising; consisting of five parts mayo, one part tuna and having been sprinkled with a few rubbery pieces of grated pale yellow cheese. The side salad consisted of a piece of lettuce and soggy Doritos. The portion of chips consisted of a small bowl with about ten lukewarm chips in it.
However, being hungry after a long walk, we tucked into the baguettes with our usual enthusiasm. After a few bites and while I had a mouthful of the said baguette my husband asked me "what do you think THAT is?", pointing to a blue spot on his bread. I looked closely at his sandwich and confirmed it was mould. I turned over my sandwich and was greeted with at least five or six spots of blue/green mould on the underside of my own baguette.
I returned these mouldy sandwiches to the bar and when I finally managed to get the attention of the supervisor who was deep in conversation with the member of the bar staff about what frolicks they had enjoyed the previous evening, I was met not with surprise, not eoth shame, not with an apology and not with an offer of a refund, but a simple "well they were fresh in this morning. I'll get you another". I politely declined and asked if we could perhaps just have our money back. I was refunded the cost of the sandwiches only (we still had to foot the bill for the uneaten chips and two pints of lime and soda) and still no apology. We left without "enjoying" any more hospitality from that establishment.
Mould aside, which was surprising and more than a little revolting to say the least, the service, or lack of it, was the most disappointing aspect of the visit to the Ship Inn. Mistakes can be made in a kitchen, however, one would expect those mistakes to be remedied by an apology, a refund, even an offer of a free meal perhaps but most of all a bit of embarrassment and shame. Part-refund aside, none of these were forthcoming. Needless to say we drove all the way home with the windows open in an effort to keep the mouldy baguettes firmly in our stomachs.

1 Sep 2009 16:21