Cullins Yard — Restaurant in Dover

We’ve always been a fan of Cullins yard its atmosphere, it’s got a great outdoor area and the inside has enough to keep the eyes and mind busy. The offering of beers is good with nice European beers.

The only flaw is the service and the portioning of the food. We had a bit of a ritual of when we are in town that we would go there sit in the sun and order fish and chips. The Cod is good but the sizes vary from order to order on our most recent visit we ordered the large Cod, when it showed up it was slight on the small size and the not many chips mostly hidden under the fish. The salad was tired. We highlighted to the waiting staff that there wasn’t much chips, they responded with that’s the portion. As we finished up we saw three customers food being delivered to their table the sheer size difference was very much noticeable we prompted the waitress to how could ours be considered a large when the one that just went past us had a larger considerably meatier piece of fish.

She then gave us a response that was so undefinable that we couldn’t follow. What we considered might not be large by other large might be small. It was very hard to give a response to the waitress because it it didn’t make any sense what she said.

The waitress continued by saying she couldn’t comment on the size of the portion as she didn’t make the dish. That in all honesty is an undermining the situation and shows a complete disregard for service. We all know waiting staff doesn’t cook the food and a simple we are sorry that you didn’t think the food portion size was not good enough and relaying to the kitchen/management would’ve gone a long way and would’ve been the end of the situation. It’s sad because overall we love cullens yard next time we will go for drinks only.

I’ve included pics of our fish and the gents...

Lack of Communication. Poor Management. Quality of food has declined over the years. Won't be dining/drinking here ever again.

When a complaint was raised about no food service being available, and other customers were served without a booking less than an hour after our arrival, this was the manager's response:

I understand you were told we could only do food for our bookings today, which I recognise is frustrating. I know there were 3 members of staff at the bar who could have served you but it was nothing to do with staff availability out the front.

One of our 6 burner gas ovens has broken and has a 2 month delivery time so our kitchen has literally half of its cooking ability removed. We simply have to stop taking food orders until there clear the back log. I hope this goes someway to explain why it looks like nothing was being done but in reality we are doing our best.

Richard

So you think it's acceptable for none of your staff members to disclose this information to a regular paying customer whilst we sit there watching other people served food after being told you could not. At the end of the day you don't want to take responsibility for what is a poorly ran business and your lack of customer service. As per my response, we will not be dining with you again. In future, maybe let customers know you are struggling, or have a member of staff keep customers posted as to when you decide you can start providing food again. A simple 20 second conversation from a member of your staff could have avoided all of this. A sign on entry point to the restaurant ect. It's clear to me that you're completely opposed to any criticism so any attempt to improve and/or complain about your...

I have not ONE bad thing to say about this place, it is our lunch spot of choice every Saturday. As a pub-loving vegan, and partner veggie, we find it hard to find interesting options to eat out, but this place has obviously put a lot of thought into their menu! They even have vegan chicken options in place of meat which I rarely see.

And re the place itself, the staff are incredibly welcoming, attentive and friendly, even when the place is busy. They are also really helpful with any changes we ask for with our meals.

It is incredibly dog-friendly, they've even brought over biscuits and water for us :) They are also very child/baby friendly which is important to note, having just had a HORRENDOUS experience at a different Kentish pub which claimed to be child-friendly (and evidently was far from it).

The place is super cosy inside for winter, which is perfect for anyone who struggles with the sensory overload of brightness (🙋‍♀️) and is decorated with loads of eccentric bits and bobs, we see something new every time.

MASSIVE garden outside with HEATERS, which is truly such a gem for places these days.

I honestly don't get some of these negative reviews, some people shouldn't eat out. People complaining about 'fatty cheese'?? Sorry, what? Saying the lasagne wasn't made fresh? Do they understand it takes hours to make a lasagne? (The veggie lasagne is actually so delicious too). And the pièce de résistance for me, moaning that they can't be seated for food when the place is at full capacity for food...I am genuinely confused.

Anyway, do yourself a service...