The Powder Monkey - JD Wetherspoon — Restaurant in East Devon

The chicken in my burger was hot around the edges, but just warm in the centre. I complained and the member of staff said it was strange as the chicken had been through the fryer (evidently not long enough if it was cooler in the middle). The meal was taken away. A few minutes later, the plate returned with the same food. The staff member waited while I tested the temperature of the chicken piece. It was ok, and he left. Sadly by then, the rice (which was a replacement for chips that had run out) had gone cold. The just-warm pieces of chicken that I'd spat out on the first go were still on the plate, and obviously had not been reheated with the rest of the meat. I left the rice and finished the burger bun and the salad. The member of staff who cleared the table could see I wasn't happy and offered me onion rings, which I declined.

The staff were all very polite and apologetic, but I would've preferred that they'd cooked a fresh piece of chicken and reheated the rice (or cooked fresh) so ALL the meal was hot when it returned.

A reminder to Wetherspoons: the temperature of the food when served is as important as the quality of the food and the presentation. It's a crucial part of the enjoyment of a meal. All too often, Wetherspoons food falls down on this detail. We know it's good value, but if you have to put the price up a few pence to ensure all hot dishes are HOT, please go ahead, I don't mind at...

Ate at The Powder Monkey 3 times between 21st and 25th September. All covid restrictions were perfectly explained and done. Firstly ate the fish and chips meal deal with a alcoholic drink. Very nice food, if not a big meal and mushy peas could have been warmer. Then had the 3 small plates for £7.50 offer. A varied choice, but chose the ham and mushroom pizza, delicious, loaded chips and hot spicy chicken wings with a hot dip and an awful blue cheese dip, which was runny and smelt and tasted like vomit. Apart from the dip the rest of the food was lovely. On our final visit it was the day after the table service restrictions had been bought in. A very nice lady member of staff talked us through the new restrictions and explained that we had to order food and drinks via their app. No problem to us, but we did hear several potential customers leave due to them being unable to do this. Don't know whether this was a staffing issue or what goes on in all Wetherspoons, to be honest. We both had breakfasts and I had a refillable cappuccino. Cappuccino tasted okay, but not the best. Breakfasts came quite quickly and were okay, but plates were stone cold ( every Wetherspoons that we have been in are the same), bacon and beans were cold. On leaving we had to go through a side door which led out onto a pokey quiet alley, which I wouldn't be very happy on leaving on my own...

The food was delicious and priced very reasonably, however staff service was a bit of a weak point.

A member of staff led myself and my group to a table which still had not been cleaned. When we asked if they could clean the table, they wiped down at most a third of it, leaving a noticeable amount of lettuce and ketchup still stuck to it before leaving.

After placing my order (classic beef burger with American cheese), I was presented one which had bacon in it, which was not included in the menu description. The bacon itself was not an issue, however, If anyone were to order something, they would obviously expect it to be as described. When I asked the waiter about this, he gestured that he did not hear what I said and walked away promptly before I could say anything else.

Tasty, inexpensive food, just don't expect the staff to care all that much about...