Papa John's — Restaurant in Arun

I was genuinely shocked by how stale and hard the pizza was. Visiting the Papa John’s buffet at Butlins Bognor used to be something I looked forward to, but my recent trip left me with disappointment and a sore jaw. The pizza seemed as though it had been left sitting on a lukewarm hotplate for hours, it was cold by the time I got to it, yet somehow rock hard, stale, and painful to chew. I’ve always said it’s difficult to make pizza bad, but this was exceptionally poor, it was not remotely pleasant to eat. I’ve never actually had a pizza I strongly disliked until now, and I’ve had 100s of different pizzas.

The mac ’n’ cheese has also declined in quality. Two years ago it was decent, this time it had no flavour and the sauce has an unpleasant texture.

It felt as though the staff didn’t want to make anything fresh because the buffet wasn’t very busy, but I think there are reasons for that- 1) The buffet is now hidden away: it isn’t advertised on the menu, and there’s no signage anywhere. I only knew it was still running because I’d been before and checked online. 2) Unlike other pizza buffets, they don’t take requests to add fresh pizzas (for example, vegan options). This forces anyone dairy-free to buy a separate pizza, which somehow costs more than the buffet itself. That means people with allergies or dietary restrictions end up paying more for less food, which feels unfair.

Even for those without restrictions, during quiet periods it would make sense to ask customers what pizzas they’d like added to the buffet, rather than leaving stale slices out for hours, while the bottoms slowly cook on the heater and get rock hard. All I wanted was a fresh margherita, but instead the only option was an old, cold, stale and unappetising one.

Other issues also made the experience unpleasant. As many reviews have noted, the tables are extremely sticky — not just in spots, but across the whole surface, as though they’ve been coated in a strange cleaner or varnish. The glasses are also impractically small, holding barely enough water for a single slice, meaning constant refills. Combined with trying to swallow rock-hard pizza, it was frustrating not to be able to drink enough water in one go. Overall, this was a really disappointing visit, and a big step down from how the...

Well, where do I begin with this culinary adventure? Perhaps with the fact that I've discovered Papa John's secret ingredient: industrial-strength adhesive disguised as "cleaning product."

The table was so spectacularly sticky that I'm pretty sure I could have hung upside down from it like Spider-Man. When I mentioned this minor inconvenience to our server, she cheerfully informed me that ALL the tables share this delightful feature - apparently it's not a bug, it's a feature! Who needs tablecloths when your table doubles as flypaper?

Feeling she hadn't grasped what I was telling her and to demonstrate the issue, I showed her how half the table was merely "slightly sticky" (amateur hour), while the other half had achieved professional-grade tackiness that practically welded my hand to the surface. It had that unmistakable charm of a spilled Coke that's been fermenting since the Blair administration - the kind of stickiness that laughs in the face of a casual wipe.

Did she test the surface herself? Of course not! Why would you need tactile evidence when you can just dismiss customers with a world-class eye roll? Her "solution" was a perfunctory wipe with what I can only assume was a napkin soaked in hope, disappointment and possibly a shot of hairspray. Spoiler alert: it didn't work.

But wait, there's more! Turns out there was a buffet available with our pizza order - information that apparently exists in some parallel dimension our server couldn't access. Perhaps the training manual was stuck to another table somewhere.

If this level of service reflects Papa John's or Butlin's standards, I'm genuinely impressed by their commitment to mediocrity. It takes real dedication to make customers feel like they're dining in a glue factory and a professional level of hubris to gaslight them into believing cleaning product leaves the tables more sticky than if they were wiped with fizzy pop.

We won't be returning any time soon, but I'm sure our handprints are still there as a lasting memorial to this experience.

P.S. - If Papa John's is reading this, you might want to invest in some actual cleaning supplies rather than whatever industrial sealant you're currently using. That or invest in training staff in (very) basic cleanliness and...

Regrettably, we got this restaurant for our Christmas dinner. Upon arrival, we were seated on time and told that someone would come to take our order. However, a family who arrived shortly after us was seated next to us was promptly attended to. Despite being at the front, we seemed to be overlooked. After a 20-minute wait, my husband approached the staff to inform them of our situation. Finally, someone took our orders for drinks, main courses, and desserts, as well as our drinks and starters.

Although we understood that it was Christmas and anticipated a busy atmosphere, it wasn't excessively crowded. Our drinks and starters, unfortunately, were subpar. The main issue arose when we waited almost an hour for our main course. Frustrated, I approached two staff members, informing them of our extended wait. I pointed out that a family who arrived after us had already been served their entire meal including starters, main meal and desserts. The staff assured me that our food would arrive shortly. However, just as I returned to our table, the fire alarm went off, leading to a building evacuation.

Unfortunately, the weather was unfavourable with constant drizzling as we stood outside for about 15-20 minutes before being allowed back in. Once our food finally arrived, it was disappointingly below expectations. Staff members, perhaps feeling rushed, repeatedly looked at us and one even approached our table asking if they could clear it for dessert. It became apparent that they needed to close promptly to prepare for their pizza services.

Our dessert arrived, but the staff's lingering presence made it feel as though they wanted us to leave. The overall experience was deeply upsetting, especially considering we spent £236 on our Christmas lunch. This incident significantly marred our Christmas celebration. I strongly advise against choosing this restaurant to avoid a similarly...