The Spotted Dog, Penshurst had been recommended by several local people so my husband and I decided to try it out on a Saturday evening. The food and the service was what I expected but there were only two of us and the pub was reasonably quiet. A table was booked for my family of 12 to celebrate my birthday for the following Sunday. We had to leave £60 as a deposit. My family are scattered around Hertfordshire, Hampshire and London, some making a 100-mile round trip to get there. When we booked we asked for a table outside if the weather was good. The person who took the booking neglected to tell us that if we sat outside that we would not be at the same table and we ended up sitting back to back. He also neglected to tell us that if we sat outside we would have to place our own orders at the bar. On the Saturday the manager was charm itself but on the Sunday his whole attitude had changed and was extremely unhelpful and rude.

The bar staff insisted that one of my nephews leave his credit card behind the bar even though we had paid a hefty deposit of £60. When we placed our orders, we waited over an hour before our food arrived and waited so long for the vegetables that some guests had finished their food. The food was mediocre; I have tasted far better for a less money. The manager was also extremely rude to my niece’s little boy – he’s not even two – and when my niece challenged him he was rude to her too. When my nephew tried to discuss this with the manager he was not interested to the point of being rude. We decided not to wait for dessert because we were so disappointed. When we settled up the bill we were not asked for our opinion; they had neglected to take of the £60 deposit and the only concession given was a further £6 off [50p per person] and no apology. The whole fiasco left me feeling upset and embarrassed as I was the one who booked the table and felt responsible. On our way back to my house my brother also informed me that some other guests were also experiencing problems with the manager’s attitude. Only two people worked hard and that was the two young lads waiting at tables. We were left with the feeling that customer service and satisfaction were not high on this manager’s agenda.

I would not go to the Spotted Dog if it was the last pub in the English speaking world or any other world for that matter!