A platter big enough to feed two

Serves you right for not complaining at the appropriate time.This is just typical of the British must'nt grumble attitude.Don't be ripped off.Tell them what to do with their rotten food.

I would consider this as a genuine complaint, after visiting the establishment myself I was
warned off the place by a friend who has a caravan in Bracklesham and should have taken
their advice and gave it a miss, but as they say curiosity kills the cat I believe, but must agree
the waiting staff where pleasant.

I have always had the feeling that Mike P is an Aussie.

"Aussies and Americans complain they do it effectively and achieve a result, which is why customer service is good in those countries.... "

You have GOT to be kidding. Australian service is possibly the worst anywhere in the developed world. We haven't a clue how to do service and even less idea how to handle a complaint. Clearly MikeP has never been to Australia, or if he has, he had a very unusual experience whilst here.

Yes, been there, done that, many times. In fact, it is so commonplace now, that I ask, quite bluntly before I order anything, and if there is any hint of this miserly and unneccesary practice, I leave. Restaurant owners do not need to scrimp like this, the profit on food is plentiful. But this has become the great British dining rip-off and the cunning restaurateurs and pub landlords are creaming it in, thanks to TV chefs and the 'fine-dining' fad of the wealthy. We have been caught because, like you and everyone else, we don't want to spoil our day or evening (or anyone else's closeby) by making a fuss. So they get away with it, again and again, 'stiff upper lip' and all that. So if I do get 'caught', here's what I do: I get online to TripAdvisor.com and rant as much as I want. At least then, other people can read the warnings/comments BEFORE they decide to go to these places. It may not be getting back at them directly, but at least it gets things off your chest and dissipates the fuming.

I consider supermarkets Cafes are serving abismal food at times; take today I got a sausage roll, beans and chips a pot of tea and a trifle.

The sausage roll was hard and the beans had a skin on them and the chips were underdone; I was very hungry so I ate it; it was edible but you could tell that care and attention is not on the list of the cafe. The trifle was in a plastic pot with a lid on and it was topped with on half of a strawberry complete with stalk and leaf; the teapot leaked all over too.

It is so 'nice' to know that Asda cares for its' customers.

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.