The Black Swan, Pease Pottage

I revisited the Black Swan for the first time since the refurbishment yesterday. When we walked in we were hit with the �wow� factor at the increased restaurant and garden space. The revamped restaurant is tastefully decorated and is a good job well done.

Sadly the wow factor soon deflated����whilst the menu encourages children to try other dishes on the menu by ordering a smaller appetite dish - the reality of our experience was that this is not the case. The roast dinner was advertised on a board as beef or chicken with �smaller roast� below. I asked for a smaller roast chicken meal for one child and was advised that it only comes in one size, as the chicken portion is one size (!). I asked for a smaller portion of cottage pie and was told that the portion was already made in one size dish therefore I had to pay for an adult portion for a child of 8 who naturally only ate a third of it if that.

I had the roast beef dinner. My daughter had the chicken roast and did not have a Yorkshire pudding. We asked for one and chef advised (via the waitress) that there would be an additional charge for this. My party of 6 found this quite incredulous and as one of the adults remarked �its things like this that don�t make you want to come back� I gave my daughter my Yorkshire pudding.

One child faced with an adult portion of cottage pie found a hair in hers. I sent it back to the kitchen asking that we not be charged extra for that. We of course then had to wait for another meal to arrive, by which time the rest of us had finished. I asked for a refund for that meal, which was given, but only when I suggested that that might be an appropriate course of action.

I have written to the manager today and made the following suggestions:

� There are such things as slices of chicken which could serve a child�s roast dinner
� Get some smaller dishes and produce some smaller appetite dishes such as cottage pie so that children aren�t faced with a mountain of food (which isn�t particularly appetising) and parents aren�t left feeling that they have paid well over the odds for a family meal!
� A Yorkshire pudding costs pennies to produce, yet is the straw that breaks the camel�s back with regard to customer satisfaction

There were 3 adults and 3 children in our party plus 1 adult who did not eat. We had to pay for 6 adult meals, with a high amount of food wasted, and this has left a very bad taste in my mouth. I will seriously consider before visiting the Black Swan again and will definitely not be recommending this establishment.

26 Jun 2006 12:29