Excellent... cheers Gizmo

We moved to the Newnham Court as the White Rabbit food & service became unbearable. Sadly, the Newnham food is often in edible now too. So it may be time to move again soon!

We moved to the Newnham Court as the White Rabbit food & service became unbearable. Sadly, the Newnham food is often in edible now too. So it may be time to move again soon!

You still eat it

I dont mind the food TBH, but it is all down to taste....

I thought it had improved since the menu was revised. Not haute cuisine by any stretch of the imagination, but ok for the money and the service is prompt. You had a couple of bad meals?

Chris

White Rabbit? haha

Or how about my local, Poachers Pocket, The last time i was there the landlord was knocked down when he asked a bloke to leave the car park!

You can tell Medway is in a class of its own :p /sarcasm

2 decent size meals for a tenner......... for that price they are more than edable.

I thought it had improved since the menu was revised. Not haute cuisine by any stretch of the imagination, but ok for the money and the service is prompt. You had a couple of bad meals?

Chris

They have managed to reheat some edible ones but the last ones I've had have been baaaad! I don't think paying a fiver for rubbish is better than paying 7 or 8 quid for something that you know they won't ruin! The last mixed grill I had had clearly been rehated in a micro as the meat was rock hard & curling at the edges!

Phil, the last food I had was a starter that I thought they would be able to manage as it all had to be deep fried, no mains & a crumble that looked like it had been dropped before or after the microwave & scooped back onto my plate!

perhaps if we look at a different venue?

Ive heard the Malta Inn at the bottom of Blue bell hill is pretty good. Not sure if they do food etc.

but can there not be a meet where you dont have to spend money and sit down for a meal?? lol

Several people can and do turn up without eating.

Personally I think for the money you can't really beat Notcutts , the food is cheap and cheerful, you get what you pay for at the end of the day. If the meet is moved the problem will move with us as where ever there is catering on a large scale there's bound to be issues. I go more for the social aspect and if I have something edible its a bonus if I don't then wasting a fiver's not too hard to bear. The venue is roomy, always accommodating and the car park is big, so there are positive benefits. If I was that bothered about the food quality and complained on the night, if they didn't do anything about it then I would be unhappy.

The car park at the Malta inn can get a but busy. The Notcutts one is a better car park. Even thought don't attend :(

Saturday is rubbish for me....

I agree with Simon i would rather pay a little more for good food !

Curry house with a bg car park?

American Diner in Halstead ! Anyone been there ?

but can there not be a meet where you dont have to spend money and sit down for a meal?? lol

I personally dont mind, but i think there are some who would prefer to eat

I agree with Simon i would rather pay a little more for good food !

We've been there before Pete, with the White Rabbit and had exactly the same issue, regardless of price, hence the move to Newnham Court. I for one wouldn't support a move elsewhere, as Newnham Court ticks the boxes in a lot of other ways. car park, cost, very fast service being three. I don't know if Simon raised concerns about his food with the staff on the night, that should be the appropriate course of action and if things were not addressed then we could discuss our options as a group.

To note I also go there with Kent Scoobies and no issues have been raised. The food is accepted for what it is basic cheap and lots of it.

Curry house with a bg car park?

I would have thought the expectation from the proprietors is everyone eating, They are not that cheap these days and cost is a major factor for meets. Too expensive and people with tight budgets will be priced out of the meets, when the meets should be as accessible to all as much as possible.

We've been there before Pete, with the White Rabbit and had exactly the same issue, regardless of price, hence the move to Newnham Court. I for one wouldn't support a move elsewhere, as Newnham Court ticks the boxes in a lot of other ways. car park, cost, very fast service being three. I don't know if Simon raised concerns about his food with the staff on the night, that should be the appropriate course of action and if things were not addressed then we could discuss our options as a group.

To note I also go there with Kent Scoobies and no issues have been raised. The food is accepted for what it is basic cheap and lots of it.

I've raised it on at least 3 instances Mike, I've also told the manager when it's good. Which to be fair it has been sometimes. The quality seems to vary as to how busy they are & how many staff they have on that night. I often go to one of there sister pubs for all the reasons you mention (even though it is now a pay & display car park) The Ship at Cobham has an identical menu & the food is always good, sometimes you have to wait for it but at least it's cooked properly!

I've raised it on at least 3 instances Mike, I've also told the manager when it's good. Which to be fair it has been sometimes. The quality seems to vary as to how busy they are & how many staff they have on that night. I often go to one of there sister pubs for all the reasons you mention (even though it is now a pay & display car park) The Ship at Cobham has an identical menu & the food is always good, sometimes you have to wait for it but at least it's cooked properly!

Ok mate, thanks for the info, perhaps when we next get together in January, we can discuss this further and look at our options.

Guys, Just to give you some history & info-

- Our 1st few meets were at the Malta Inn, but we found that either a Friday or Sat was very busy, & what killed it for us was despite booking a table for a specific time, we were not getting our table on time, waiting from 25 - 60 mins to got our table, the final insult was being rushed to eat & go because kitchen was closing. Plus the car park was not very big.

- Dont know where the American Diner is , might be worth a look- Does anyone know what the prices are like ?

- Ship @ Cobham may also be worth a try, but would like to ask how convenient it is for the likes of myself, & ChrisRS who come some distance.

- I am more than happy to arrange else where & will take on board any suggestions, so you know when looking I have to think about the following - Is the car park big enough? - Would the place be flexible enough given we dont have very regular numbers appear& not everyone wants to eat - & final consideration is cost, specially as money is tight for people & sometimes they bring children.

FYI - If you have any issues with the food then just do what Kathy has done, bring it up with manager, & if not happy then e Mail the Head office, she has just got another £10 voucher.

I appreciate that the food can be hit / miss, depending on how busy they are, BUT - If anyone who knows the area has other suggestions - Even if its just off the M2 then I am open to suggestions.

Bless ya! I wasn't actually suggesting the Ship at Cobham, just giving it as a for instance. ie. What the food should be like given that it's the same menu & that they theoretically have the same staff training & equipment. Incidently, the Essex meet was in another Vintage Inn (aka White Rabbit) famed for it's quality value food. It was really really good! Has any one tried the Rabbit recently to see if it's improved?

I understand about the 'complain to the manager & get a voucher' process, but I view that as being similar to buying the reduced price food at the Supermarket & finding that you've been charged full price for it once you arrive home. Yes you can use your resources to go get a refund. but one would rather they got it right in the first place! I don't really want to keep complaining about badly reheated food that is all cold down one end & hot up the other or something that's been cooked ages ago then microwaved to warm it back up & served up like hot rubber!