A platter big enough to feed two

MikeP(etty minded), you accuse me of whinging and whining? that really is the pot calling the kettle black !

you have near to a thousand comments to your name. Most of them spitefull snarking at other people !

"Why do you think the australians call us whinging poms and the americans call us whining limeys?"

Because that's what exactly what you are, but you are too ineffectual to do it properly and get results, which is why you carry on whiniging and whining. When Aussies and Americans complain they do it effectively and achieve a result, which is why customer service is good in those countries and why you don't constantly hear people complaining.

CJ, you say the british are terrible at complaining. The question I would like to ask you is have you ever worked dealing with the public? a bar? a restaurant? a supermarket?

In my experience it is usually people who have never worked in a job directly dealing with the public who say "the british never complain". I have, for most of my working life, and believe me, the british complain unceasingly. Why do you think the australians call us whinging poms and the americans call us whining limeys?

I recall once hearing about a survey which says us Brits are terrible at complaining when things go wrong.

This is a prime example of this.

You should never be afraid to complain, especially when it comes to food service. If they don't seem bothered then a quick mention about Trading Standards should suffice and they ought to care a bit more.

If they're still unphased then wait until you get home (or even wait till the next day) and complain to Trading Standards that the restaurant is "mis-describing the product" or something similar.

Basically I believe that if they are using descriptions for menu items then the description must match up to the actual product/item. It's the same as if you brought a video camera and it was described as having a microphone or having a photo-taking facility and it didn't/doesn't.

Eating out in Britain is hit and miss.

In general, I find restaurant food quite uninspiring and overpriced, particularly, but not exclusively Italian restaurants.

I can make most of the food on an Italian restaurants' menu at home with a bottle of Ragu !
It astounds me why people are prepared to pay upwards of £8 for a plate of pasta and sauce!

Service can be hit and miss too, food not arriving together, so that someone is waiting for their food while others are almost finished - it's just depressingly bad.

If a pub is not pretending to be something it's not regarding its food service, I am very tolerant. But if a menu misleads me, like what happened to the person who opened this gripe, then I get annoyed.

Unlike the person who wrote this gripe, I do complain under such circumstances.

Recently, not in a pub, but in Debenham's cafe I ordered chicken curry and rice for which they wanted £6.

I was handed a plate which was three quarters plain boiled whit rice and what looked like a teaspoon on curry.

I was shocked and asked for some more curry, to which I was told sorry, that's the portion size.
I told them that they could have it back and feed it to the pigs, as I wouldn't be eating it, much less paying £6 for it.

Far far worse than these joints are motorway service stations. I'm sure people must take leave of their senses when they part with their hard earned cash and pay astronomical prices for frankly ordinary, usually badly cooked food.

My advice?

Eat a hearty breakfast before a day out. What's wrong in taking a few sandwiches with you for lunch? How long do they take to make? If you get caught short, find a chain pub, like a Weatherspoons (if you can bear it) the food is generally a disappointment but at least it's consistently bad.

When your expectations aren't too high, it's not easy to be disappointed :-)

It is precisely this attitude that makes us British what we are.This is a classic example of rip-off Britain.Unfortunately,it is a sad fact that we as a nation tend not to complain at the appropriate time where poor quality food & service is concerned.I get so angry by the fact that these establishments take advantantage of ripping off customers & inevitably get away with it.Measly portions,bland food,lousy service & overpriced.Welcome to rip-off Britain.This is what makes the British the laughing stock of the world.The larger pub & restaurant chains I find are the worst.Brewers Fayre & Garfunkels are typical examples.
It is all too easy to be complacent at the time & then feeling aggrieved at being ripped off afterwards because you have failed to complain.This just would not happen in America or elsewhere.MikeP has put this whole matter into perspective.You only have yourself to blame.DON'T let them get away with it.Complain at the appropriate time.

Who would share a dinner for two with a fat old moo with sciatica, yep disgustingly scratching away at themselves, allergic to everything in sight? Yurghhh. Go away Salmonella Sally. Get lost Typhoid Mary. Live yoghurt is not going to cure this ailing vampyra. Nor is globular whoreming in Argentine/Patagonian ice cream going to help.

Pork scratchings is what you should order her. Keep the booze for yourself.

I see nothing rude in Fanny-Ann's comments. Complaining is the only way that standards can be improved and those who do not complain have only themselves to blame if they feel ripped-off. The failure of people to complain in the UK is one of the reasons that service delivery is so poor.

If goods are not of an acceptable standard, which could be a subjective opinion, the consumer is entitled to ask for the matter to be put right. If this is not done then he is entitled to withhold payment. In the case of a meal the amount consumed is the determining factor. If someone has consumed half a bottle of wine before pronouncing it to be corked, the complaint would be unreasonable. A few sips out of two different glasses would be a different matter.

Ok fanny-ann, I'm so sorry for 'moaning'-not, isn't that the point of this site? It is called the Weekly Gripe after all.
Do you just come on here to be abusive? Unlike, I suspect, most people who do for a little lighthearted banter which at the same time can be informative.
You say you stick up for yourself, well I say there can be a fine line between doing just that and the plain rudeness which you have exhibited on here. After this I shall commence writing my new gripe about pointless people who are rude to strangers on websites!

Pie in the Sky, you are absolutely right! Pub grub is not what it used to be - it is now an attempt at pretentiousness that almost always fails. The food should be simple - as you say, good old fashioned Steak and Ale Pie and Mash, etc - not the load of fine sounding, almost invariably disappointment pile - and not a lot of it! - nonsense that is served up nowadays. Why is it that NOBODY LISTENS? If British businesses actually made a real attempt to ask people what they want, then surely they would not make the mistakes they do and then end up going out of business. It all seems crazy to me!

Pub grub used to be good old fashioned home cooked faire, served at low prices. Now too many of them try it on by emulating high dining eateries - and not very well, I might add, with dainty (stingy) portions with fancy sounding menu items instead. What happened to good old fashioned Steak and Ale Pie and Mash and Peas followed by Apple Pie and custard? If I want to eat French, I'll take a mortgage out, polish up my manners and eat in a high class French establishment with silver cutlery and white tableclothes with some pretentious git on standby attending to my every need. Not go to the Crown and Anchor for it where I should be able to burp and fart without offending anyone.

The only time I order food in restaurants I've not eaten in before is when I've glanced across a few tables to see what I'm likely to get for my money. Once I've selected my chosen dish, being eaten by the diners next to me, I place my order.

Eateries tend to make most of their money from drinks and side-orders, not the main meal. I suppose they think that keeping a main dish small will entice diners to place side orders for an extra portion of peas or another bowl of chips at £4 a throw that will make up for the miserly portions they serve at the original price.

Most people see through this kind of nonsense. Ultimately, people won't return and they'll just go out of business. That's why I prefer to eat in foreign restaurants. You never get short rations with a curry, the prices are reasonable and you keep coming back for more. Common sense tells you that the more curry you have to eat, the more beer you need to order to wash it all down with. Small food = small beer.

That's why you need to book up at my local on a Friday or Saturday and why these pretentious, overpriced places are nearly always empty.