The Punch Tavern — Restaurant in Canterbury

It was a strange stressful experience for a family friendly place. Would not recommend to take a toddler or small child, as the climbing frame was possibly the most dangerous looking one I've ever seen and I could not eat my food properly as I had to supervise my child the whole time to ensure she didn't fall off, as there was no slide for her to get down and it was at least eight foot high. The sort of thing you would need a harness for at a toddler go ape. My friend couldn't let her younger toddler out of the buggy as there were no gates enclosing the garden off from the car park and extremely busy main road and as any parent knows, infants like to roam. Zero staff welcoming anyone or explaining what to do or how to order. Only two people serving in the whole place on a busy Saturday evening. I had to interrupt a busy a barman to ask where to order and where were menus. He said I could queue up behind ten people to order food or use the app. Didn't explain the name of the app. Not the staff's fault just understaffed and very stressed out. The pizzas looked amazing. But the chips revolting. We ordered a kid's chicken burger and received a beef one. I had the carvery but as we had no idea how long the food would take I couldn't time it to eat with everyone else. İt was cold even though I ate it straight away and looked dried out like it had been sitting on the hot plate for hours. All the sauces not covered up or replaced when running low despite it being a hot summer's day. I was hungry and it was cheap so I ate it anyway. My friend's had warned me not to go there with a toddler but as it was local to me I wanted to give it a try. Would probably only come back for a take away pizza or when my daughter is old enough that it isn't actually a danger zone for her. We had ordered an extra kid's pizza pizza for the daughter of a friend coming to meet us and it took her quicker to get from her home in canterbury on the bus than it took for the pizza to be heated up. Eventually I went inside and found it sitting on the pass going cold. The staff said they had been out to my table and I wasn't there. Perhaps, I personally had been in the toilet at that very moment, but there was another adult on my table (the table number I had given) and all our other food plus two buggies, so they definitely could have located our group. The whole thing was a headache. I was so relieved to get out of there. I've never rushed out of an eatery before, unless I've been working all day at one. I just gave it two stars because of the pizzas and the poor overworked staff who were all very friendly- all five of them. Such a shame as I was hoping it could be somewhere nearby we could visit regularly. The place could be really great with a bit of tlc and thought...

I had attended for breakfast with my family and friends for my birthday. I have had Gastric surgery and can't eat a full breakfast. my partner went to order me a kids breakfast, he was refused and charged for a full adults meal. I took it upon myself to enquire about the possibility of having a kids meal due to my surgery. instantly the gentleman behind the bar became very defensive. I asked what the policy was and was told that they do not have a policy for people who have had surgery. I then told him that there used to be one. He then said that its no longer the policy as I can eat as much as my stomach can handle, with this I ask why would I want to pay a full adults meal for a sausage and a piece of bacon. don't get me wrong , I'm happy to pay for a meal but would rather pay for the kids one. I was told that I can't because I'm over the age of 12. With this I accepted what he had told me and headed back to my table, on the way I said to my daughter , that I'm won't be coming back here again. Once I reach my table ( just about to sit down) when the waitress had approached me with the gentleman from the bar. the waitress ask me if I would like a full refund. ( I was shocked 😲) I looked at the table and saw that some of my family and friends were eating their food. I had decided that I was just going to sit down and just have an expensive breakfast 🙃. the waitress was rude and not understanding that I just wanted to sit and have breakfast with everyone, instead she kept saying that if your not coming back here again, why are you staying to eat? I explained that , I wouldn't be Return but will be enjoying the company with my friends and family as this is my birthday. The waitress then said that I was making a scene. I asked how I was making a scene when she approached me and loudly asked if I wanted a full refund with her arm raised pointing to the bar! The waitress just kept repeating herself and I then said to her that she is the one making a scene as all I did was ask the questions at the bar and then went back to the table. Apparently talking to my 12 year old, is me being offensive. So we all agreed to get a refund and leave! With this I did say to the waitress that if she wanted to chat with me because me talking to my daughter about not returning had offended her , I would have been happy to have a private conversation. This would have reduced the atmosphere. Needless to say that we all won't be returning there! We are now in weatherspoons in Herne bay and...

We searched for an establishment selling carvery on a Saturday and this place popped up. We travelled specifically from Hythe ( an hour away.) There was plenty of parking and the outside looked well kept. The inside however was disappointing. There was a sign to say wait here to be served, and a member of staff saw us but continued to clear tables ( and didn’t smile, make eye contact or apologise for any delay) We waited a further three or four minutes ( which felt like forever) until another member of staff came and i said we needed a table for three. She then told us to sit anywhere and asked if we had been here before and i said no. She explained that we could order at the bar and if we wanted carvery we would get a ticket to go up so that we could get served by the carvery assistant. We chose a table but the set up felt poor as all the tables were joined with other tables but they were different sizes and the chairs were all different types too. The tables weren't clean and had sticky drinks stains. We had come a long way and ordered food and drink. We all ordered carvery. I then saw a sign at the bar for pigs and blankets so i asked if we could have some pigs and blankets, with a reply back saying how many. I thought these would be delivered separately but then i discovered that they were served whilst getting the carvery. I dont know why the server didnt ask us at the time if we would have liked to upsell and have pigs and blankets and then we didn't really know how it worked? The food was nice but warm so thankfully there was hot gravy available to heat up the warm food. Whilst eating our meal there was lots of little fruit flies getting in our faces but then if the tables arent getting cleaned i suppose flies would be expected. When our plates was taken away again there was no attempt to clean any tables. And atmosphere was dull and iveral experience disappointing after travelling such a long time...