The Lion Hotel, Farningham

Disasterous! We booked a table for seven (two adults, five young children) after being advised that we were unable to book a table outside. When we arrived on time the waitress advised us that our waiter hadn't arrived so we could either sit at the table or in the bar. The restaurant was empty, dark and cold so we chose the bar and innocently waited in the bar with drinks unaware that in the meantime all the people arriving outside were ordering their food ahead of us. When the waiter eventually arrived 15 minutes after our booking time and we were shown to the table people were queing five deep at the bar to place orders. We placed our order (restaurant empty apart from our table of two with five children - keen to order and get out to enjoy the sun after the meal). The waitress took our order and reappeared 20 minutes later to tell us that we'd have a half hour wait for food. A few minutes later she reappeared to tell us that actually the wait would be an hour. When my husband expressed his concern the reply was immediately confrontational 'there's no difference between booking a table inside or ordering outside'. Eventually they reluctantly agreed to push our order up the list a bit. I explained to the waitress that there was a flaw with their system as they had left us waiting while we could have been ordering and while I was speaking she was trying desperately to interrupt me and I had to ask her politely to let me speak. She did finally let me explain that I was trying to make them aware there was a flaw for future customers. There was a grunt of acknowledgment and a sullen retreat. No apology. The woman who had been initally friendly was hostile and unnapproachable. We reconvened at the table but decided that the experience had been such a huge disappointment that we wanted to leave. Instead we went to Sidcup Place and had a lovely meal with a really sweet waitress who would bring in far more business at The Lion than the brutish woman who we had to contend with! Not at all impressed!!!! This place needs some serious customer communication training. We would have been perfectly happy if they had been apologetic rather than hostile. I think that we must have had the same waitress as MellyB!

10 Apr 2011 20:20