Sportsman — Restaurant in Doncaster

An email I felt the need to send to the pub nearly a fortnight ago. I have still not received a response so posted here.

My partner and I decided to have dinner at your pub last night (01/10/25) We chose your establishment for two reasons: you’re local to us, and we had hoped to find a nice nearby place to visit regularly. We were also considering booking a table for a family meal on 10/10/25 for 10 people. Unfortunately, our experience was extremely disappointing — both in terms of service and food quality. We placed our order using the QR code (Cowboy Burger, Ultimate Spicy Burger, a Pepsi with no ice, and a Pepsi Max with little ice), and the process appeared to go smoothly. However, shortly after ordering, we were approached by a staff member who explained that there were no hash browns left and offered garlic bread as a replacement. Although I hadn’t been aware that hash browns were part of either meal, we accepted the garlic bread. The first meal brought to our table was incorrect — a Chicken Butter Burger, which we had not ordered. A staff member offered a free alcoholic drink as compensation, but we declined as neither of us drink and I was driving. The second meal then arrived, but this was also wrong: it was a cheeseburger instead of the Cowboy Burger, missing the bacon. We were told that there had been issues with the app. I showed the staff the correct order, but as we were short on time and had already paid, we reluctantly accepted the meals. Our drinks were also brought over incorrectly, both filled with ice despite our specific requests. While mistakes can happen, the pub was not busy, and the number of errors was unacceptable. Unfortunately, the quality of the food made matters worse: The garlic bread was so hard I couldn’t bite into it. The lettuce on both burgers was brown and had to be removed. The burger buns were hard and crispy. The fries were overcooked. Most concerning, the beef burger was undercooked inside. At that point, we decided to leave without finishing our meals and ended up at a local takeaway to ensure we had something to eat. This not only cost us double what we intended to spend but also left us feeling frustrated and let down. Sadly, this experience has completely changed our view of your pub. We will not be returning, and our planned family gathering will now be held elsewhere. I wanted to bring this to your attention so that you are aware of what happened and can hopefully address these issues for future...

We visited the Sportsman to celebrate a family occasion. I had rung forward in the morning to reserve a table but was told it wasn't necessary because they weren't busy on a Saturday. That should have been my first clue. Why wasn't a community pub/restaurant with little competition around not busy on a Saturday night?

When we arrived we were seated a a very nice table but there were no other people dining. We ordered our starters and main meal. The starters were served without much delay but to our surprise it was the chef himself who served us. When asked why, he said that he was 'it' for the night. The starters were very good. As soon as we had finished them, the chef popped his head around the kitchen door and called for help from one of the bar staff. Our main meals were brought out before the starters where cleared away giving us a feeling of being rushed through our meal. The mains were left on a separate table while the starter dishes were cleared away. Our steaks should have been well done but were medium. However there are no complaints other than that about the food. No one visited our table during the meal to ask if everything was OK. At the end of the meal the chef came out in his ordinary clothes to clear our table. When asked why, he said that he had finished for the night. No chance of desert then? We spent the remainder of the evening surrounded by knifes and forks which had been abandoned in the rush to call it a night as far as the restaurant was concerned. If anyone wanted to eat after 8pm they were out of luck. I visited the toilet half an hour after we finished the meal to see the chef enjoying playing a game of snooker. Until the Sportsman begins to take their customer service seriously I would give it a wide berth. TI Customer...

Went here for Christmas dinner. Prior to this i had been in for food and was a vit unsure as it wasn't grear, but everywhere else was booked. We paid approx £50pp. We had no confirmation email, text nothing. When we arrived we hadnt a clue where to go, who to inform as bo one greeting. We arrived and as we were the 2nd sitting we were waiting ages to be seated, all the tables in bar area were packed. Waited ages at bar to get drinks and find out what we were meant to do/where to go. Big staffing issue with hardly any on. Got shown to our table which wasnt laid. The lady doing it around us looked so stressed and flustered so we didnt say anything Starters were ok. Mains well where do i start. As we had ordered out preferences months ago we had pretty much forgotten what we had ordered veg was waterlogged. Roast potatoes microwaved. Beef chewy overcooked and vland as hell. Had to put a ton of salt on everything. Barely aby gravy, no boats fetched out like other tables had. Nopigs in blankets in bowls as ordered. Lots of food left. Desert again bo one knew what they had ordered. Lemon and ginger cheesecake was the highlight. No condiments offered. No one asking if everything was OK. very haphazard and olay it by ear. Could have easily left without paying, bo one would have known. Will never...