Visited Ribchester Arms last evening for dinner along with my wife, Lindsay.
We have visited this establishment regularly over the years but during our last few visits have been disappointed in a number of ways with the food and, having drawn this to the attention of the staff, their attitude and method of dealing with customer dissatisfaction have left much to be desired.
Previously, I have on many occasions ordered the same two starters from the menu so I have good experience of what to expect when the food is correctly prepared.
On many prior occasions I have ordered really tasty "Chicken Kebabs" from the starter menu and have thoroughly enjoyed them. However, on one visit I ordered the same item and was presented with a single kebab rather than the usual two, effectively you had doubled the price of the starter, give or take a lettuce leaf or two. When I complained about this I was met with an argument with the waitress saying that this "has always been the same!" Patently this was not the case as I had probably been going there much longer than this particular member of staff. Nonetheless, nothing was done about my complaint at the time, nor was any financial amends made or offered. I further pointed out at this time that the description of the items is "Kebabs" plural so that a customer should expect to receive more than one item. I also expressed that this description needed to be amended on the menu for the future.
I felt deceived at the time but gave the Ribchester Arms further chances as the food had previously been good.
Last night I visited again and asked the question about the "Kebabs" prior to ordering as the description had not changed. The waitress confirmed that the dish was only one item, even though the menu still describes more than one.
Despite this now obvious deception, I ordered a different meal in the form of a prawn cocktail which was lovely. However, for my main course, I then ordered a main course sized Chicken Caesar Salad.
Again, I have eaten this dish at the Ribchester Arms on numerous occasions, sometimes as a starter size and often as a main course size so I would say that I am now eminently qualified to recognise the difference between the two items. When my food arrived I immediately recognised this was not the normal main course size but in fact, the starter size portion.
I immediately sent the food back and asked the waitress to have the chef rectify the error. My expectation for a main size was that this should have come back in a larger bowl with slightly more content of each constituent ingredient. I believe that expectation to be fair!
When the waitress returned she was clutching the same salad bowl and stated that chef had said this was actually the main course size but he had "added some more bits to it anyway!"
Subsequently, it transpired that the "added bits" were actually a large pile of very dry bread croutons which, at this point, had become the single largest constituent item in the salad.
Patently, this was not good enough and, after a couple of mouthfuls of dry croutons I returned the food and asked for it to be removed from my bill.
In the meantime, my wife's food had arrived and again, it was incorrect, in that the vegetables with the meal were not what was ordered and had to be sent back.
Most people would have simply refused to pay for any of this but, in view of the argumentative attitude of the staff and my having a job which precludes me from getting into public confrontations, I decided to have my food removed from the bill and settle up for the rest. My wife's meal, an expensive steak, was ruined, having had to get it put in a take away container and take it home with us.
I am hoping you will now take the opportunity to put this right by making a full refund of what we had to pay for what amounted to a horrible evening out and the removal of a previously good eating establishment from our list of regular eating venues.
Mrs Jones
I went to the Ribchester arms today with my partner. I had the prawn sandwich which was awful, the bread was stale and the prawns had not been shelled properly. My partner had the steak and onion sandwich and that was equally awful. The steak was poor quality not cooked to how he asked and the top of his bread was burnt. To top our visit off the waiter who had a terrible cough was leaning over the cutlery station coughing all over the clean cutlery and napkins. The waitress asked if we enjoyed our lunch and I told her our complaint and she was not over apologetic she seemed moody for some reason that we dare speak out minds. We will not be visiting this restaurant again.
Mel Diack
Hello Visited today with my friend 24/2/12 for lunch and we ordered soup with brown buns but got white buns and we waited and waited and then had to start without and then when they did come they were frozen in the middle -mine especially. Soup was nice. Staff could have smiled more although the young female waitress was all smiles and very cheerful which made up (nearly) for the others. Main course alright but nothing to write home about. Impressed with the top up coffees which doesn't happen very often.service with a smile needed all round and not just the odd one and to get the orders right.
C
After a day walking in the Trough we enjoyed a nice meal in here. The service was extremely professional, which was a surprise for a country pub. We were also allowed to take our dog in too.
Janet Dickinson
arrived Monday bank hols looked really busy but shown to table straight away
excellent service and fantastic food good value for money
very pleasant professional staff even in a busy period
Scott Anton Mckendrey
I visited the Ribchester Arms today(17.5.09.) with my friend John,and had their Famous Black pudding for a starter and then ENJOYED their even more Famous Steak and Kidney pie with chips and veg, it was Absolutely Scrumptious! the service was Excellent and the staff very,very friendly and helpful, i would definitely recommend the experience to anyone.If you enjoy eating out, i would definitely give this fine Family run restaurant a try.The food is superb and is excellent value.
Chewpdoll
Visited the Ribchester Arms on the evening of the 07.06.08 and had a wonderful meal. It was very popular with guests of all ages and the food was excellent, my husband chose from the specials and I had an excellent "Sea Bass" with wonderful vegetables. I have also visited in the afternoon and again the food was very good.
rachel
We go here quite a bit as its local and its fantastic everytime. The service is always brilliant and very friendly and its got a really nice atmosphere. The food is delicious , my favourite is their homemade pate. You have to go!
mr john
The car park was full to the brim which I found a very good barometer in the past for driving out looking for a good place to enjoy an excellent Sunday Dinner. The restaurant was indeed overflowing lots of guests with smiles on their faces. I knew we were on a winner! Welcome can I help you ?well that makes a change .Maria the owner takes great pride in being on duty to oversee the Ribchester. Steven the husband will be serving the drinks Leon the son will show you to your table. That’s the beauty of owner managed restaurants ,they run the establishment the way they would expect good attentive service and above all fresh. good ,wholesome food. Marvellous! John from Bolton