OK Diner Tickencote — Restaurant in England

Stopped off at this diner to grab a bite to eat. I wish that we had grabbed a sandwich from the service station next door.

We were seated in a both and immediately noticed dead flies on the window as well as a dead wasp next to the menus. This should have been the sign to leave but for some reason we decided to order. We orded the hotdogs. One with cheese and chilli and one original. Firstly a couple of the chips were raw but we ate around them giving them the benefit of the doubt. The chilli cheese hotdog I ordered smelt rancid. I Sliced the dog and bun in half and attempted a bite but wasn't able to swallow it and ended up spiting it out. Whilst returning the food to the plate from my mouth I noticed that my plate was actually filthy. My girlfriend didn't do any better with her original dog. She took one bite and didn't have anymore. We can't speak on the other dishes but heard from the next table that they felt the same with with their meal with them exclaiming that 'this food is disgusting'.

I also ordered the raspberry ripple milkshake which interestingly enough had chocolate on the rim of the mixing cup. The moment I noticed this I didn't drink anymore assuming that they hadn't cleaned their equipment correctly.

When we came to pay we mentioned that we hadn't eating any of the hotdogs ( except one bite my girlfriend had, and a few fries) saying that we don't want to pay for the food as it was terrible. They refused to accepted that the food was bad and demanded that we pay as we had taken a bite. We were also told that ' you'd have to pay if you were in McDonald's' which raises all sorts of concerns and is also wrong. The manager was insistent that we need to take this up with head office rather than resolving the issue there and then. We mentioned about the filthy plates and utensils as well as the flies and bugs doted about and she said 'that is just your preference' and indeed it is our preference to eat in a clean restaurant where the food is edible.

I would recommend not stopping here and rather grab something from the petrol...

We've driven past these restaurants a couple of times and today we decided to give one a try. We had to wait for a while to be greeted and as my partner and my daughter were in a rush to use the restroom I told them to just go and I would wait in the queue. As soon as my partner started to walk towards the restroom, we were acknowledged by staff, as well as the family in front of us, and instead of greeting us, the waitress just shouted to stop filming as this was not allowed. This woman didn't even question my partner if she was filming or in a chat but because she was in a rush to take our daughter to the toilet she just put her phone in the pocket and carried on. I was seated straight away after that and while waiting, I contemplated the dinner. You could see cleanliness was not the strongest of the place but, not horrible at this point. The waitress took our order, not long after, food was served but nothing different from a takeaway, except the short white hair I found in chips and this funny smell on my sprite glass... 🤨 I'm not one to complain purely out if the fact I hate sending food back coz we never know... I've asked a chicken spice burger (not that spicy and could really see the spice relish...) a double BBQ burger and a chicken and chips from kids menu (kids portion of chicken was really tender and fresh) I've asked an afogato and a pancake for our daughter. Pancake was just amazing. Afogato, not so much... You could taste the dried ice. If I would go back? Definitely not, food was expensive for the quality but also due to the fact we were greeted in a way that we felt disrespectful. There was no sign to say we couldn't film and although we were actually getting a recording of the restaurant for our normal restaurant reviews in social media... We can't show the amazing pancake and how the food looked because we were just stopped...

Extortion in Disguise – Avoid OK Diner in Tickencote at All Costs!

I visited the OK Diner in Tickencote, and while the food and atmosphere were fine, my overall experience has left me absolutely furious. Here’s why:

After parking outside their building—where large signs clearly state, “Parking for OK Diner customers only!”—I went inside, ordered my meal, and took it to-go as I needed to get back on the road. The shock came weeks later when I received a £100 parking fine for simply using their own parking lot! Before parking, I checked their Google Maps information page, which clearly states, “Free of charge, Street parking, Free parking lot, Plenty of parking.” Nowhere does it say you need to jump through hoops to avoid being slapped with an outrageous fine.

When I called the diner to clarify, I was told that you need to register your car to avoid a fine. What a joke! Not once while ordering, paying, or receiving my food did anyone mention this. It seems like a sneaky, underhanded way to trap customers. To add insult to injury, I was told I could get the fine nullified if I had my receipt, but since I paid cash and didn’t keep a receipt from almost a month ago, I'm apparently out of luck.

So, here I am, £100 poorer and incredibly frustrated. The food? Was OK. The atmosphere? Just OK. But the complete failure to inform customers about something as crucial as registering their car for parking is unforgivable. This isn’t just poor customer service—it feels like a deliberate scheme to take advantage of diners. I will NEVER return, and I suggest you avoid this place unless you enjoy unexpected fines and a total lack of communication.

This diner is aptly named because everything about it, including their service and treatment of customers, is just "OK" at best—except for the hidden parking trap, which is...