Ye Olde Coach and Horses Inn, Melton

Last week, I went to a local pub for dinner. The pub is called Ye Olde Coach and Horses in Melton (Melton Rd, Melton, Woodbridge, Suffolk, IP12 1QB). I had been there several times before with friends and family and had always enjoyed the food. Unfortunately, last night was a totally different experience, not only because of the bad experience in terms of food but more so because of the appalling way in which my friend and I were treated.

I ordered Pork with Olives from the Italian menu. When it arrived (2 slices of pork with noodles & olives), I tried my friend�s naan bread first as it looked scrumptious. At that time, the chef�s wife asked if everything was alright with the meal, to which we said it was.

As soon as I started my dish, however, I noticed that it was extremely salty. I had about 3 mouthfuls and unfortunately could not eat any more as I found it far too salty. The chef then walked past and asked if all was well with the meal and I said it was salty but ok, generally speaking, as my friend�s main course was extremely nice.

When the chef�s wife came to remove our dishes, I said that I could not eat mine because it was too salty and she said �there is no salt in it�. I found that unbelievable, and said so.

She took the plates away, did not apologise for the dish not being to my taste (which I thought would have been courteous) and disappeared for a very long time. When she came back, she brought my dish back to the table and said �I don�t make a habit out of eating out of people�s plates but I�ve tried this dish and there�s absolutely nothing wrong with it. It�s not too salty, look (she then picked one noodle and ate it in front of us), it�s not salty at all�.

I then proceeded to say that I didn�t make a habit of leaving food and that I wasn�t a fussy eater (friends and family can substantiate this) but I really couldn�t eat that dish due to over saltiness.

The chef�s wife then disappeared back to the kitchen saying �well I don�t know what my husband is going to do about it but he�ll probably charge you for it because there�s nothing wrong with it�.

I was stunned to hear that comment as I thought it was rude, showed lack of understanding and certainly lack of customer service.

Neither he nor the chef came back to us. After about 20 minutes, we went to the bar to pay the bill. The chef�s wife came out and said that, as a gesture of goodwill, the chef was only going to charge me half the price of my main course. I then pointed out that I had not eaten any of it apart from about three mouthfuls but she was adamant that there was nothing wrong with the dish and half price was the best I was going to get. After discussing the matter further and not reaching a mutually agreeable solution, she said we could speak to the chef. She went to get the chef, who was having his dinner in a separate restaurant area and told him �we�re still having problems with these people�.

I did not think that was a polite and customer-friendly way of introducing customers with a serious issue about a meal. Nor was it showing any concern.

We apologised for disturbing the chef�s dinner and I re-iterated my issues. However, it was clear that we weren�t going to agree. The chef was adamant that there was absolutely nothing wrong with his dish, that he�d cooked it many times before and never had any complaints.

When I re-iterated the fact that I had only had about two or three mouthfuls, he retorted �but you ate half of it�. I vigorously said that I had not and again, he said �but you had a whole slice of pork, there were two slices and only one came back�. This is so totally untrue as I only had two small pieces of the pork. I now wish I had taken a photograph of my main course before it went back to the kitchen but, frankly, taking photos of my food whilst eating out is not something that first comes to mind.

After it was very clear that I was going to be charged half price, I paid my bill. I also asked for the food to be given back to me as I was determined to get it analysed for salt contents. The chef replied that it was too late, the food had been binned and the bins put out.

We left after this, feeling extremely disappointed at first of all, the fact that my meal was not edible, then the fact that we had been treated very badly and even made to feel guilty for highlighting that the food was too salty for my liking (not even slightly too salty, just plainly not-edible salty) and then the fact that the experience had spoilt the whole dinner.

To be honest, if the chef had offered not to charge me at all for my main course, which I thought would have been the sensible option, I would happily have returned there for dinner, making the conscious decision to ask for no salt to be used.

As it turns out, not only will I never eat there again, and neither will my friend, but we will not be recommending Ye Olde Coach and Horses to anyone.

15 Sep 2008 14:21