Caulkheads — Restaurant in England

I came here today with my girlfriend, along with 6 kids (not all mine, phew!!). We had a warm greeting as soon as we arrived from a young blonde waitress and was seated straight away on an 8 seater table, which was perfect. The kids made a beeline for the play areas inside and out. We gathered the food order from the kids and ordered our food from the bar. The barman with green hair was fantastic. He was friendly, knowledgeable and prompt. The food arrived pretty quick and all at once, which was perfect... Unfortunately that is where the good news kinda ends. All seemed OK at first, but that was until 2 of the kids (who had burger from the kids meal) tried their burger. They really didn't like it. Apon me trying their burger I found it incredibly dry and burnt. Not just overcooked burnt, it was also cooked on something that hasn't been cleaned and left blackened debris all over the burgers. My kids didn't want the burgers replaced for like or try anything else from the menu. I had ordered "The Spicy One" pizza, which consisted of IOW sausage and "signature" chilli con carne. I have never tried chilli con carne on pizza before, but this one wasn't for me. I don't know if it is just personal taste but the "signature" chilli had the texture, taste and consistency of tinned stuff you can get in the shops and too runny for a pizza. The sausage I found was over processed with no flavour. Sorry, not for me. The chicken nuggets, fish and chips, and scampi were all OK, but nothing grand. When the young looking waitress came to clear away the plates, I did mention about the burgers. She gave me a funny look and said: "Why didn't you tell me earlier when I asked?" In a not so nice tone. I explained that when she came and asked earlier, the kids hadn't tried the burgers at that point. She just said "oh" and quietly cleared the table without another word, not an apology, nor an attempt to see what she can do. The kids ice-cream was good enough and all the children liked that. It comes with a pot of marshmallows, pot of chocolate sauce and a pot of sprinkles which was nice. My girlfriend had the lotus biscuit sundae, which was delicious. Apon leaving, the young blonde waitress who seated us and who I mentioned the burgers to, looked up briefly then looked back down without a goodbye or even smile, which is a puzzling reaction to a customer who just mentions about a food quality issue on part of the order. More training is needed there. Luckily, a very pleasant waitress with glasses gave us a very nice and friendly goodbye as we left. I'm giving a 3 star as all but one of the staff were professional, friendly and a credit to your team. Both the indoor and outdoor play areas keep the kids entertained and the food came promptly. Unfortunately, quality control needs to be more rigorous on some food items and staff training is needed for one particular member. Overall, after spending £150 we feel it wasn't...

The Caulkheads, Sandown, IOW (7.50 pm Oct 26th 2014).

Positives: None.

Negatives: Food and Service.

Decor/Ambiance/Service.

Pub looks ok from the outside and I’ve been before under different management at which time I was very happy with the food, service and ambiance. Currently the decor is ok, but the whole place could do with cleaning. Food is served (orders taken) until 8pm. We arrived at 7.50 and were put under pressure to order quickly. That’s not necessarily unusual, but the barman was arrogant and unpleasant. In my view this barman’s place is not in a customer facing role. Apologies for not having photographs. Also I do not remember exact prices.

Food: I ordered a lamb burger from the Specials Board with chips and salad (around £8) my partner ordered fish, chips and peas (around £8). My 17 year old son ordered a pizza and my 5 year old son ordered a burger chips and peas.

The lamb burger was some form of puréed meat formed into a burger. Very clearly not made on the premises, but bought in frozen and microwaved. It was shocking and had even been microwaved far too hard, not that there is any place for microwaved burgers in a pub/restaurant. I felt like I was eating a shoe. The chips were good (exactly the same frozen chips that are found in most British pubs, but good). The fish was not large, but was ok. Peas were undercooked. The pizza was small and was certainly bought in frozen and heated up. The child’s burger was shocking, overcooked, dry and truly unpleasant to look at or eat. When asked by the waiter whether we had enjoyed our meal, I said that mine had been very poor. The barman advised me that I was wrong and that I’d enjoyed the meal so much that I’d removed the pattern from the plate in my haste to eat it. It’s the only time I can remember becoming angry with a staff member in a restaurant. The barman backtracked and sullenly offered a refund, which I did not accept. I will not be returning to this pub/restaurant in a hurry.

Overall the food was bad, the service was bad and the pub was dirty and well off it’s best. I would not recommend a visit. The only reason I've given it 1 out of 5 is that the format of Google reviews doesn't allow me...

Unprofessional, sarcastic service with average food.

We booked for 3 adults and 2 children, and stayed on a table indoors. Upon arrival no-one welcomed us.

We ordered our meals and they came out quickly enough, apart from one which never arrived without explanation, until I asked them where it was and it took around 5 minutes longer than the other meals.

Once that arrived, we asked for 2 portions of BBQ sauce and this took nearly as long as it took for my son to finish his meal, and when they came out they were in sauce pots only quarter-full! I mentioned this to a lady behind the bar who said she'll bring some more sauce out.

This time it came much quicker, so much so, that the same waitress brought more out and slammed one massive pot on the table without saying anything and ran off - it was as if they wanted to make a mockery of my request for a more reasonable size sauce. (See picture (on tripadvisor/facebook) for the difference)

I mentioned it to the lady behind the bar (at that time she was eating a dessert in full view of customers). She seemed very defensive saying how they are sometimes busy and during those times standards slip but she felt that was ok.

Also she said the reason the first sauces were small was because the kitchen told the waitress they had run out - and this time the kitchen gave that pot instead. She stated they weren't trying to 'take the mick'. It certainly didn't feel like that.

Eventually she also remembered to apologise, clearly an afterthought.

Of the meals, the batter on the fish was very soggy and the rest was just average. A very disappointing difference from our more positive experience last year.

Looking at their other review responses where they asked someone to go to 'The Savoy' in London I very much expect a sarcastic & unprofessional response like their service.

That attitude will lose you customers, for which my family & I are lost...