The Rose Revived, Hadlow

I had the misfortune of visiting this place yesterday and I have to say it was the worst restaurant, pub with grub, gastropub or any form of food selling business I've ever experienced.

It went like this... 6 meals ordered - 5 actually ever arrived - 4 were cooked properly (raw mussels can be dangerous guys, come on... read a cookbook or something?) - 3 (carverys) were primarily fat, stomach churning and sent back - 2 meals (out of 6) were actually ok and 1 person was simply not fed because the kitchen 'Forgot' to cook their meal...twice...

Most of the staff were very young; which isn't a problem, and clearly not trained in what to do in a restaurant; which really is.

The management seemed completely disinterested in the problems around them, in fact they couldn't have been more apathetic if they were doing it on purpose!

The website goes on about a tantalising bistro menu served by knowledgeable staff when the truth we experienced was the complete opposite of this. Knowledgeable staff make sure that everyone who orders a meal actually gets fed - surely that is the minimum function of a staff member in a restaurant?

When we asked (for the n'th time) why onlt 5 of us had received meals the manager kindly observed that since everyone had almost finished that there wasnt a lot of point in her harassing the kitchen again!

Since when is a restaurant kitchen being asked to prepare a meal for a paying customer 'harassing' them?

I will admit that the whole thing was like one of those reality TV shows where they give a random group of no-hopers a restaurant to run and film the carnage that ensues... actually, I'd probably watch that show having tried to get a meal at the rose revived...

Just awful, please don't be fooled by the genuinely lovely building and grounds - this place is a joke; and not a funny one at that.

29 Aug 2009 16:10