The George and Dragon, Downe

Very friendly when I rang the evening before to book our party of 3 adults and 4 children for Sunday lunch. I specifically mentioned that one of our parties was a vegetarian. On the day a pleasant and friendly waitress. Good pint of Bass although inexplicably pub was out of cranberry juice requested by one child. Large servings of well cooked food and huge bowl of mixed veg to share.

Alas, the veggie member of our party ordered a roast without meat. Handed a plain mix of lonely looking new and roast potatoes on a plate - not even a slightly burnt Yorkshire pud like the rest of us - she asked if there was any sauce, e.g. peppercorn or parsley to accompany the spuds. This seemed a reasonable request as other dishes on the menu were served with sauce. We were told in quite an aggressive and arrogant manner by a more senior member of staff (the licensee/restaurant manager?) that all the pub's sauces were based on meat stock - no concession to vegetarians; that the kitchen was too busy to make up a simple meat free gravy/sauce - although only 2 other tables were occupied in the large restaurant and a similar number in the other bar; and that we'd only got what we asked for (our just desserts? See below!)

Despite courteously asking staff to make an effort and treat us as customers, we were not offered an alternative or shown any understanding. Consequently one member of our party went without a main course, handing back her plate of potatoes.

When we asked to order sweet, we were helpfully told that only one portion of rhubarb and ginger crumble remained. We immediately claimed it and completed our order. Alas a second time. The desserts were served with the exception of the reserved crumble, and several minutes passed before we were told that it had already run out.

Our disappointment and frustration with the pub's food management was only slightly tempered when one of our party owned up to realising that having eaten half their crumble thinking it was apple, it in fact tasted suspiciously like rhubarb and ginger.

Overall not a happy eating experience. Left the pub with a metaphorical bad taste in the mouth, although the uneaten veggie roast main course was deducted from the bill.

The pub is very close to Charles Darwin's home and promotes its historical link with the famous scientist. We headed there after lunch seeing where he wrote his masterwork on natural selection, a theory later popularised as 'survival of the fittest'. The George and Dragon will have to adapt its menu and evolve its customer service if it is to avoid extinction in today's fiercely competitive pub food environment.

29 Mar 2009 23:56