Downham Arms — Restaurant in Basildon

After ordering and paying for our meal via the app we then waited 20 minutes to be told by a member of the kitchen staff that there is a 1 hour wait for food. There was not a lot of people in the restaurant seating or the pub area or outside. The member of staff was polite but looked very rushed they explained they just had a very busy period of time before us. Our drinks arrived promptly but then having been told to wait an hour for any food, the drinks we ordered were not had with our meal. We waited 38 minutes to then be told by another member of staff that our food is now being prepared hopefully. We then asked about if we could receive another drink on the house as we had drunk the ones given without our meal. The request was overlooked, nothing but a hurried apology was offered about the wait for food. During the 38 minutes we saw another table who sat down at the same time as myself and my Husband, and there table was receiving food during the time we was waiting for a starter and two mains. After 40 minutes wait we received our starter, which was the sharer starter the chicken skewers where nice and the sauces. We ate the starter in minutes due to the 40 minutes wait, the waiter took around 10 minutes to collect the finished starter and start on the mains. We got our mains exactly an hour after making the order, my Husband got a millionaire burger which he said was okay but received only two onion rings and small amount of chips. I ordered the turkey roast, boy to I regret it, it was one of the worst meals iv ever had. Bearing mind all together we paid just under £50 for. The turkey was pre sliced packaged rubber. Cold and tasted disgusting. And only two slices of turkey. I took a bite and couldn't eat more my Husband also tried it and had the same reaction. The roast potatoes where burnt black. Stuffing also burnt. Pigs in blankets that we paid extra for where burnt on the outside and very pale white on the inside, they didn't look healthy, the gravy was tasteless. And the veg was cold and stale. I was so disappointed with the meal, the starter seemed promising and slightly redeemable but the roast was disgusting. I felt so tired from the long wait and bearly ate much. Also there was a member of staff who was on a day off who sat directly opposite us and put the TV above us on to watch with the volume up really loud, they could of asked if the volume is alright for us bearing mind she sat right opposite us, she also pulled a chair closer to our table to get closer to the TV, and I felt extremely uncomfortable as I suffer from deipnophobia. And I could hear from her conversations with the other staff members that she works in the pub so I felt incredibly uncomfortable about moving tables and this point I just wanted to leave. I will never...

I've always found the food perfectly acceptable for what you're paying. Drink is as expected too. And usually the staff are friendly and cool.

My main issue is the staff response to people using the Green King app that's advertised on the menus. Whenever I use the app to order for our drinks in this pub I'm usually made to feel like I've done something wrong. Just now I ordered food and a drink and when my drink was brought to my table I was told "you need to be careful when ordering drinks on the app because if we're busy they sometimes get missed". I shouldn't need to be told this. Either let customers use the app to order or don't.

Now on this particular occasion the drink arrived about 2 minutes after I ordered it which is frankly awesome service and justifies the tip I added to the order, something that wouldn't have been done if I'd ordered at the bar. But a semi-lecture about using an app for the purpose that's advertised in the pub is a little annoying. I'd suggest that if using the app is a problem then it should be removed as an option.

To be honest I remember similar issues a few years ago with drinks ordered with food on the app not arriving then I decided to "be good" and left my table to order a dessert at the bar. Only to return to my table to find the half a pint I'd left there had been cleared by a staff member.

All of this might just be a symptom of a solo diner, but the main issue is, if the app is stuck an annoyance to the staff, get rid of it as an option.

Again, other than that grumble, it's a perfectly good pub with nice food and drink and nice staff. But if you want to know how to improve, these are...

We recently moved to the area and decided to go out to get a feel for the local spots, hoping for a good meal and a warm welcome. Unfortunately, the experience left us feeling deeply disappointed.

When we ordered, the food took an unusually long time to come out. Two dishes arrived first, and about 20 minutes later, another one followed, leaving one person in our group still without their meal. We waited another 20 minutes, hoping it would arrive soon, but by then, everyone else was nearly finished, and our food was getting cold from waiting.

Concerned, we decided to go to the bar and speak to someone about it. Lauren, who introduced herself as the general manager, responded immediately but with an attitude that made us feel as if our concerns were an inconvenience. She claimed the delay was because “it’s on a different ticket,” which shouldn’t have mattered; we were all seated together, and the dishes should have come out together. When we tried to explain this, Lauren became increasingly rude, even pointing her finger in one of our faces in a way that felt aggressive and threatening. The situation was uncomfortable, and my friend had to repeatedly ask her to calm down.

We didn’t expect such hostility, especially from a manager. We were just looking for a simple apology and acknowledgment of the situation, but Lauren dismissed us and then disappeared into the back, leaving us feeling shocked and let down. This is honestly the worst customer service either of us has experienced. It’s disheartening to feel so unwelcome, especially on our first day out...