Actually, I think my worst present was going out for Christmas dinner, paid for by my parents.
All food choices pre-ordered over a month ago and table booked two months ago.
So, get there (it's a carvery, but I am obviously vegetarian) and we pretty much immediately get our starters, only my mum, my dad and my daughter had all ordered melon with raspberry coulis and the waitresses actually turned up at the table with three prawn salads.
I politely told them the order was wrong and they seemed baffled. I looked at our order (had taken a photocopy of what we ordered as a reminder for ourselves) and we had indeed ordered correctly.
So, mine the missus's were correct, but now we didn't all the get the starters at the same time.
The wife and I had ordered breaded brie and all you could taste was the oil. Seemingly they had not drained the things properly. The wife hated it.
Next, was the carvery, so they took our starter plates away and we asked do we just go up and get the carvery and they said no they would come and fetch us.
15 mins later we are still twiddling our thumbs waiting and there was no-one waiting at the carvery, so we asked again and the waitresses said 'you all for carvery then?' To which I said 'No, it 4 for the carvery and I am vegetarian.' So, she went off again and said she would come back.
About 5 mins later she came back and asked what I had ordered and I told her it was the brie, mushroom and cranberry wellington and off she went again.
A few minutes later she came back and asked if I would have the salmon instead, to which I replied, 'No, I am a vegetarian. I don't eat fish.'
Another 10 mins pass and we ask again about the carvery and the waitress said to me they were just trying to get my wellington 'perfect.' It was very clear by then that the had totally buggered everything up and didn't even seem to have our order at all and were obviously cooking my wellington from scratch.
I asked if the other 4 could go up to the carvery as it wasn't fair on them to wait and they said that was fine.
They all got their meals and then another 10 mins later the waitress comes back and says my dish was ready, so I went up and I took one look at the thing and it was anaemic. Absolutely pale and no colour at all to the pastry.
I was given the wellington and the chef then promptly asked me if I wanted pigs in blankets with it. I politely said no, shook my head and went back to the table.
The dish itself was very nice, but I opened it up and there was no sign of any brie and there certainly wasn't any cranberry in it at all.
We then came on to the desserts and I had salted caramel profiteroles and I could barely eat them they were so sweet. I have a very, very sweet tooth, but I was wincing with every mouthful. Incredibly sickly sweet. Think of a Cadbury's cream egg and then multiply the sweetenes by about 10. It wasn't a deliberate sabotage I'm surely as I was so polite all the way through, not wanting to spoil anyone elses enjoyment or get myself in a lather about it and ruin my own day.
Don't think we will be going back.
