Jamie Oliver

We ate in the one in Newcastle last year. The waiter delivered a bowl of pasta to the table next to us, but dropped it on the floor. He scooped it up, apologised and said he’d get the chef to make another.

He came back 2 or 3 minutes later and the customer realised straight away what had happened ie serving the stuff that had been on the floor. She went ballistic with him and the manager and stormed out.

We followed and haven’t been back.
 


I think it is quite sad that another business is biting the dust, especially with all the job losses that entails for the restaurant staff and their suppliers. It's quite endemic of the restaurant industry these days: too much competition, high rent and rates on the high street and margins squeezed to such an extent that cheaper sources of ingredients are almost inevitable and the quality of food goes down as a result.

I don't like the likes of Frankie & Benny's or Pizza Express to be honest given some shoddy service experiences in a couple of their places but I wouldn't want them to close, just buck their ideas up. However, it won't be long before another large restaurant chain goes the same way as Jamie Oliver's.
 
I think it is quite sad that another business is biting the dust, especially with all the job losses that entails for the restaurant staff and their suppliers. It's quite endemic of the restaurant industry these days: too much competition, high rent and rates on the high street and margins squeezed to such an extent that cheaper sources of ingredients are almost inevitable and the quality of food goes down as a result.

I don't like the likes of Frankie & Benny's or Pizza Express to be honest given some shoddy service experiences in a couple of their places but I wouldn't want them to close, just buck their ideas up. However, it won't be long before another large restaurant chain goes the same way as Jamie Oliver's.
Every city now has the same 5hite restaurants in the same bland shopping centre food courts or "entertainment quarters".

Little independents every time
 
We ate in the one in Newcastle last year. The waiter delivered a bowl of pasta to the table next to us, but dropped it on the floor. He scooped it up, apologised and said he’d get the chef to make another.

He came back 2 or 3 minutes later and the customer realised straight away what had happened ie serving the stuff that had been on the floor. She went ballistic with him and the manager and stormed out.

We followed and haven’t been back.
Basil Fawlty did that with the veal IIRC:lol:
 
We ate in the one in Newcastle last year. The waiter delivered a bowl of pasta to the table next to us, but dropped it on the floor. He scooped it up, apologised and said he’d get the chef to make another.

He came back 2 or 3 minutes later and the customer realised straight away what had happened ie serving the stuff that had been on the floor. She went ballistic with him and the manager and stormed out.

We followed and haven’t been back.
Rule of thumb for a good plate donkey is to leave food/plate in a place that can be seen until a replacement is brought to the table.
 
I remember when the one in Glasgow opened up, middle class fuds who's lifetimes ambition is to be next door to a house on Grand Designs, queued across the pavement for 40 odd minutes for a bowl of pasta.
 
Every city now has the same 5hite restaurants in the same bland shopping centre food courts or "entertainment quarters".

Little independents every time

Same for me. Cambridge is very good for independents generally. However, I regularly walk through a Leisure Park (has a cinema, bowling alley, pretty good gig venue, apparently a karaoke place) on my way back from work and it's chain restaurant hell. Chiquito, Bella Italia, F&Bs, Five Guys, Nando's etc. The only non chains in it are an all you can eat global buffet, somewhere called Rocker's Steakhouse and a shipping container that sells pizza. Always seems busy and it amazes me how many Deliveroo pickups are made at the chains. Who decides to order food for delivery anf, given the full range of restaurants available on Deliveroo or Just Eat orders from Frankie and Bennies'?
 
We got an offer for 4 meals for a tenner each (main and pud) a few years ago and decided to treat our friends. Took ages to get served and we ended up drinking quite a few by the time we were served - so the ale bill cost us nearly twice what the food did. Was well miffed and have never been back...
 
We ate in the one in Newcastle last year. The waiter delivered a bowl of pasta to the table next to us, but dropped it on the floor. He scooped it up, apologised and said he’d get the chef to make another.

He came back 2 or 3 minutes later and the customer realised straight away what had happened ie serving the stuff that had been on the floor. She went ballistic with him and the manager and stormed out.

We followed and haven’t been back.

Bearing in mind how cheap pasta is, I doubt that happened.

Not the scene that was created, but it being the same pasta scooped up from the floor.
 
Blamed Brexit for a couple of his restaurants closing a year or 2 back. The daft lying knacker.

I went in one of his places in York on some sort of deal. OK food, awful service.
 

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