"I ordered the trio of dips that I 've had at both Blackheath and Bromley whilst my friend ordered a salad. My bread was chewy and tough in places, akin to stale bread that had been reheated, and her salad had an odd curry taste to it. She asked for balsamic vinegar in the hope it would mask the taste but the salad was still inedible. After over 30 minutes, a waiter finally asked us if everything was ok as we had hardly touched our starters and we explained the food was not nice. The manager attended shortly after so we detailed exactly what was wrong with our dishes and offered him to taste for himself. He took our plates and said he would check with the chef but returned 5 minutes later saying the chef tried it and said there was nothing wrong with the food so that was that! We were stunned at his cold attitude and the fact his way of dealing with it was to get the person who made the food, try it and give his own opinion. I have had the trio of dips on more than one occasion and never has the houmous been so grainy, the tzatziki so sour or the bread so stale yet my taste or experience bore no relevance because the chef tried it . The manager asked if we would like the same again and we both said no, no other alternative was offered and we felt rather put out. After another 30 minutes of being ignored, we finally called him over and asked if we were able to choose something else instead. To which he rolled his eyes and replied that 's what i asked you before and you said no . This was definitely not what was offered as we both heard him ask if we wanted the same dishes which would make no sense if the same chef was going to prepare it and felt there was no problem with the first batch! We gave our orders and they finally came. My friend ordered the caesar salad but requested the chicken be swapped out for halloumi as she 's vegetarian so it was a shock then when he presented the caesar salad with a rasher of bacon on the top! We couldn 't believe that someone would be so malicious, especially the manager of the establishment. When the bill arrived we were very surprised to see that the manager had not taken off the second order and instead gave us 50% off the inedible first round of starters. When I questioned him about this he was dismissive and stated we were lucky to get anything off. I politely explained that when we had asked for the replacement dishes, he agreed it was instead of, however he claimed that he had taken the service charge off and that should be enough because at no point did he offer another dish instead of. It is a shame that your manager believes that because I am a woman, I do not know my rights. It is a bigger shame that he felt the need to belittle me with snide comments in front of other diners to prove his incorrect point. The law states that food and drink served in a restaurant must be of satisfactory quality and as described on the menu. Food should look reasonably presentable and taste good. If it does not, the restaurant is in breach of contract and diners are well within their rights to ask for it to be changed or refuse to pay for that dish. When I offered to pay the price of the amended bill £28 instead of £35) he told me I had to pay the full price even though I explained that had he have initially been honest and said he would only take half the cost off, we would not have continued dining there. He started to raise his voice and called me a thief for trying to pay, what by law, I was entitled to pay. So I told him if he didn 't want the money I would just walk out. He then changed his tune and changed the price on the card machine, shoved it towards me then barked that I was on camera and he would be contacting the police. I welcomed him to as I 'd have explained to them that as I had done nothing wrong, I felt harassed and bullied based on my gender and colour. I asked for my receipt, which he threw in my direction and then told me never to return as my kind wasn 't welcome there."
