The Fordwich Arms — Restaurant in Canterbury

We Sanded the floor in this place just before it opened last November.

This is our experience !

This client wanted the cheapest possible option to make the floors look good, We immediately recommended replacing the floor because of its age and all of the loose blocks it had. They blatantly refused this option !

They said, they were on a limited budget and only wanted to pay for the cheapest possible price. We explained we could do this BUT, there could be no guarantee for what they wanted whatsoever if they didn't go along with our recommendation!

They asked us for a quote to re-sand the floor only and temporarily fixing a few blocks around the main entrance door to make it look good.

So, we quoted for what they wanted, resanding only and recommended a minimum of 1 primer and 3 top coats of Bona traffic or Junkers HP commercial which are very similar products, but again, the customer didn't want to pay for it.

We were then told to reduce the price and re quote for only 2 top coats of lacquer instead, They accepted the 1 primer and 2 top coats of lacquer quotation !

2 top coats of Bona traffic in this situation was going completely against our recommendation.

We told the customer the floor although it looked good it would wear down much quicker and that 2 top coats of bona traffic was not durable enough for this kind of use (in a pub).

We also told the customer, they should keep an eye on it, and gave them maintenance advice, which they have completely ignored, We told them as soon as it starts going dull or any problems to call us, which they did not until, the floor surface in areas was completely destroyed.

We then were called for an appointment to view the floor a few weeks ago, where it was absolutely clear that alcohol had been spilt on it many times, along with broken glass damage. Water penetration damage was evident in areas across the floor, especially between the bar and kitchen pathway and also in the restaurant area. This is also evident from photographic evidence the customer has supplied,

When we explained this damage was due to only 2 top coats of lacquer along with their own abuse of the floor and lack of maintenance, they became very aggressive, they actually through me out of their pub.

The conclusion is,

The owners of this pub are clearly negligent in maintaining the floor. They have not listened to any of the advice we gave them.

Their blatant refusal to not put enough top coats of lacquer to be durable for its use to save on costs has come back to bite them and now they want someone else to pay for the damage they created.

They have damaged the floor over the year, dropping beer alcohol water everywhere and haven't maintained it correctly in any way, its clearly been abused.

They didn't want to pay the money to do the job correctly in the first place knowing the risks and Now they have the ordacity to try and get a free floor from us. When we refused, they left a bad review on our website.

Its Unbelievable. What a bunch of con artists. They became incredibly aggressive and rude when they didn't get what they want, because we will not be fooled by scammers.

Don't be fooled by any smiles from these people, If you are a contractor and do any work for these people DO NOT TRUST THEM IN ANY WAY ! Always get your...

Having looked forward to trying the Fordwich arms for some time, I can only express my total disappointment in somewhere which has received a Michelin star.

First of all, we have had the good fortune of visiting several Michelin restaurants, maybe that means that we expect a certain standard, but the food here was totally average. The only standout thing was the petit four chocolates at the end. For one of the pricier options in Kent, you would anticipate that the food have some flare or at least flavour.

Anyway, we were first seated when we arrived, within seconds we were pushed for drinks, we didn’t have time to look at the drinks menu we were asked again. We asked the waitress to give us five minutes and she returned for a third time asking for the drinks.

We then said we’d like to think of the tasting menu, she very quickly tried to up sell the lobster. We said we’d share one and she made us feel uncomfortable for not ordering two. We also were not informed that you could substitute on the menu, which we late found out another table had done. They at least had the suckling pig instead of the absolutely flavourless pollock which had zero redeeming qualities other than the courgette purée which got covered in an emulsion that you could barely taste. That course was so bland it was total pollocks!!

Following the lobster there was an immediate up sell with the waitress bringing a glass case around showing the varying fruits of a recently picked truffle. The sense of upselling made the restaurant feel more like an add on package deal rather than a fine dining experience. We understand supplements are available on menus but I’ve never felt like I’m being upsold and pressured to spend more in any other Michelin restaurant.

Then there was the staff, while the sommelier clearly knew his stuff, he paid very little attention to any other table who was not prepared to pay £90 for the five glass flight of wine. The other servers came to the table and slapped the food down while half heartily explaining the food that we didn’t hear half of what they said. That said there was one girl who did at least say it with a smile. Meanwhile her counterpart would just appear at the table and phantom your plate away without so much as an excuse me.

If all of this wasn’t bad enough, by the time the bread course had arrived, there was a foreign object attached to the bread. At first it looked like a hair, but then the chef took it away and said that it was just a bristle from the brush they use as though that is ok! I’ve never experience that before! Then I was given a fork which had another hair like fibre on it which I asked to be replaced.

At the end of the meal, the manager/ sommelier made no good will gesture only to say he hoped that it had not put us off and to return again. At £300 for two to dine, I would expect a much higher quality of service and quality of food, creativity, and delivery.

My advice would be, if you are going to go Michelin in Kent, go to the Sportsman. If you want to go somewhere you’ll have better food and experience go to Bowley’s at the Plough. In both of these places you’ll be served well and get...

First off I would just like to mention that I called up the manager to discuss the situation, and he was very kind and promising with regards to dealing with it accordingly. This is nothing against the pub at all, but merely about this woman in particular and to warn others what they might be getting themselves in for if she's working there!!!

My mum and I went into the Fordwich Arms to have lunch today at about 1:45. The pubs lovely especially the location, but not so much the woman behind the bar! She was very loud and pushy from the moment we walked in, which to be honest put us off staying.

We sat down and consulted each other when we kindly expressed that we changed our minds. She looked at us without responding and as we got up to leave, her response to us was (in a sarcastic tone) 'well if your looking for fish and chips there's a place next door', implying that we weren't good enough to be in there!! She then walked out of the room (obviously well aware that what she said was wrong).

We then heard her say to a colleague loudly in another room 'their leaving'. She has absolutely no customer service skills or respect for others whatsoever. Her attitude was very rude and to be honest with you, quite shocking.

You'd think for someone working in a pub she'd at least know how to communicate assertively, but quite clearly she doesn't even know the meaning of it. Not only did she insult us, but she also made it uncomfortable for the few that were dining there as she was speaking very loud and created a bit of an atmosphere.

The pubs lovely, but the woman behind the bar needs to go. When she does we might consider going back again! It's a real shame because we'd been recommended this pub by our friends and our experience has been far from the best.

We ended up going to the George and Dragon around the corner, and what a difference between the customer...