egafd.com

I went out for a curry last night.It was not particularly cheap but it was absolutely shit.Probably the worst curry I have ever had out.Too salty and hot spice wise.Underneath the chillis and salt there was nothing else coming through.Missis was hating hers too for similar reasons.Yet when the waiter comes up and asks if everythings OK we both say 'yes thanks'.We leave 3/4 of it.Then when we've finished I hand over ?30 for the pleasure.Bottom line is I should not have paid for this shit but like the twat I am I don't want to make a fuss.Yet on Gordon Ramsay shows etc I see loads of meqals get 'comped'.

Eating out in this country is a minefield.Loads of crappy places who think all they have to do is turn up .Some places take it seriously and the owners make big money because punters come back.

Anyone here got any tips for how to not pay?What is the etiquette?Like I say this meal was a total fuck up devoid of any culinary skill.

My understanding is if you are not happy with a meal you can pay what you think it is worth, if the restaurant is not happy with what your offer then the police can be called to arbitrate. In reality no restaurant would want you standing there making a fuss with the police arbitrating, so you should be able to walk away.

However I have not tried this. I have had some average meals in my time, but not bad enough not to want to pay.

Bad service on the other hand I have had, and I have asked for the 12.5% to be removed from the bill. The manager came out I explained how bad the service had been and he removed the 12.5% service from the bill. He did not look happy and the waitress looked like she might kill me, but hopefully she learnt a lesson.

If you say all's fine when they ask and it isn't then you only have yourself to blame.

Secondly, I would make a fuss if it's fine dining. If, one the other hand, it's one of those places with pictures on the menu... It's trickier if it is one of those places in between, as this probably was, judging by the price.

As far as etiquette goes, the main rule is not to eat it all if you want to send it back. The next step is to call for the manager...

Personally, I have been relatively lucky with (proper) restaurants in the UK, perhaps mostly because my visit there was pre-empted by some positive word of mouth. I had once the occasion of sending something back to the kitchen in a restaurant in the Netherlands, and I got a replacement - which was not really my preferred option, but my Dutch language skills weren't quite up to the job of having it removed from the bill instead.

Trouble with Curry Houses is that you have to try em all in your area to find the best. They are all different, and if in a strange place then it is pot luck, unless someone points you to a good one. I am lucky in that there are 2 superb Curry Houses near each other that I and mine frequent. Another so called high class Curry House about ? a mile away is one that I and my mates always had Ghandis revenge from the next day. So, after 3 visits we said fuckem and we've never been back. The only really shyte meal I have had in UK was in one of the Harvester Pubs in Brighton when I went with my dad and my brother and our wives. I had a mixed grill, and all the meat was charcoal and the egg could have been nailed on the bottom of my shoe. I kicked up a fucking big fuss and got a fresh meal, cooked. not cremated, and with an egg with a runny yolk. I demanded the cancellation of the service charge and got it. My brother said that he would never be able to go in there again he was so embarresed. So I said well fuck em, they were the ones who created the situation not us. I have never been back and never will.
I had a shyte steak (horse) in Dieppe a few years ago and took it into the kitchen and told em that if they served up a shyte steak (horse) like that in England they would be closed down. The French twatting chef wasn't used to stroppy Brits who can speak their fucking language. Any way, a fresh bifsteak. not from a donke,y was cooked and eaten. No tip was left either.
Never been back.
The essence is I suppose is that if a waiter asks if everything is allright and you say yes then you have no comeback. If I am asked that I always say, at the moment it seems ok, but there's time yet. That usually gets rid of em with a pensive look on their faces..

I went to a curry place with Mrs Lad and she found a hair in the middle of her chicken. We complained and got all the meals and drinks free with profuse apologies.

If you and Mrs Mcfister don't like what you are given and make it plain by not eating it, complain politely and I am sure that they would come to some kind of agreement. After all, they want you to come back and not have you and Mrs Mcfister telling all and sundry how bad the food was...

I have walked out of a restaurant ( with my guests ) that kept us waiting over half an hour before taking our order. I simply paid for the drinks we'd had while waiting.

As far as poor quality food is concerned, here's an upsum from a good consumer rights page, www.consumerrightsexpert.co.uk


"In the event your food is badly cooked, or undercooked, the restaurant is in breach of the law for failing to provide food of a satisfactory quality. For such something like this you would be entitled to some form of compensation. This would cover the cost of the particular dish and arguably a sum to cover the disappointment and distress it caused. However it wouldn't extend to the full cost of the meal. If the rest of the meal is fine you're not entitled to walk out without paying. Complain to the manager; if that doesn't help, complain to the owner and also Trading Standards (www.tradingstandards.gov.uk)"

I know the feeling. Like you, I don't want to make a fuss when I get ripped off but then I spend the rest of the day feeling like a wimp for not saying something.

If I ever complain I thinks it's always best to do it politely - done in a way as if you're simply helping them to see an error they're not aware of. However, I find that a bad business will remain a bad business no matter how many complaints they get. They're like bad drivers. No matter how many accidents and fines they tally up, they usually continue to drive like morons (until they suddenly stop).