The Alma — Restaurant in Borough of Swale

Had lunch today at the Alma, where we have been to on many occasions. My mother in law ordered the salmon and she couldn’t manage the carrots as they were barely cooked. They were sautéed but were so under cooked that they were cold and hard to cut. We mentioned to the server, who happily took them back to the kitchen. The chef apparently said that they are meant to be like that as they are sautéed and nobody has ever complained before! My husband and I both stated that we couldn’t eat them either so the server returned to the kitchen again, and repeated that the chef said there wasn’t anything wrong with them. We have eaten them before elsewhere but these ones had barely hit the pan! We wasn’t happy and for the third attempt of saying the carrots were horrible, the server was finally sent out with some more carrots. The server was very apologetic and helpful but the chef stayed behind the scenes sending her out with unacceptable answers , leaving her to deal with our complaint. It’s not the food complaint that bothered us, as much as the response we got as diners from the chef. Rude! For what carrots cost…pennies realistically, we could have just been offered a fresh dish of carrots in the beginning and avoided the upset that spoilt our lunch. The drinks were horrendously expensive! £6 for a spritzer which included 50p for a splash of soda water! Desserts were a little pricey. One tiny, weeny scoop of ice cream on top of a dry bland slice of steamed sponge and dry over baked crumble. The ice cream was very cheap with no flavour and considering the price at nearly £7 a go, one of the worst desserts we’ve ever had! The lady who served us was polite, however, the chef was clearly not very customer friendly and the comments she relayed to us through our server were not helpful and bordering patronising. Our oldest son is a chef and when we told him, he said he would of nipped out to personally listen to our complaint and immediately replace the dish. Needless to say we didn’t leave our usual 15% tip For this reason, after years of popping in , we shall not be...

This is the second time we have visited this establishment on a recommendation from my sister Claire Pearson. She travels from Isle of Sheppy and my husband and I travelled from Lordswood in Chatham, and I have to say everything about this place ticked all the boxes. From the first phone call to book the table, to the welcome reception when we arrived, the whole team were attentive and on the ball with all of our requirements. The food was absolutely delicious, the beef in particular was scrumptious, cooked to perfection, the roast potatoes were crispy and the cheesy leak special was the perfect addition to one of the best Roast dinners I’ve had for a long time. The Gipsey Tart was lush, the thin crispy base was delicious and the quality of the ice cream was perfect 👌 Every member of staff turned their hands to all of the jobs a busy Sunday lunch session required! It’s safe to say we have definitely found our new go to Restaurant/Pub ! Thank You 🙏...

Had a Sunday roast here and was so disappointed the worst I have ever had the menu states chicken and leg but was just sliced meats the food came up cold apart from the potatoes which tasted frozen and were hard the veg was minimal to share for two and was basic with no flavour the parsnips were non existent …the gentleman behind the bar asked me how everything was and I said to be honest a little disappointed to be honest to which he got defensive and said what’s wrong with it to my reply all of it if you can’t give honest feedback why ask ..I asked if the chef was working he said yes then I asked why the meat on the menu states breast and leg but comes up sliced for the chicken his reply I cut it up so clearly the chef does not do everything in the kitchen which in itself is poor its a shame as he was polite when I first entered lesson learnt won’t be going back absolute extortionate price at £18.95 a...