Portals Hartlepool — Restaurant in England

We chose here to go with a group of about 16-20 people. We called and arranged everything weeks ago. We are traveling from the West Midlands. Rang today to make sure everything was definitely still set. And they decided to tell us that we needed to have a £5 deposit per person by this Friday(we were due to go in 2 weeks). We were also told we needed to tell them what each member of our party was going to have to eat by this Friday. If the deposits and choosing everyone's meal is policy, that's fine. But state that when arranging the party there. Dont wait until weeks later to suddenly state "We need deposits and everyone's meal choices in 2 day." Again, we are traveling from the West Midlands. And have people from other areas also in our party. So this was simply not an option. And choosing your meal 2 weeks ahead of the visit is simply ridiculous. Again, I wouldnt have given this place such a terrible review if they had simply stated this policy weeks ago when we first contacted. Incompetence and terrible business practices. They lost a group of 20 customers.

IN REPLY TO OWNER: This was in 2019 or 2020. My review seemed to have been hidden for naming the venue who took us in last minute. My main review still stands.

IN REPLY TO OWNERS REPLY: The deposit is understandable. But was not stated when making the booking weeks ahead. And was only requested within a couple of days of the party, which at that time was not possible as many members of the party were in the middle of traveling from out of the area. Again...the deposits weren't an issue. But mention this when booking to give us time to get money from everyone in the group. And don't spring it on us weeks later(AKA 2 days before the party).

REPLY: At no point did we have a call or email from the business until 2 days before the party, asking for the deposits. No missed calls. Nothing. Again...the deposit would not have been an issue. But when booking, we were simply told the table was reserved. Then weeks later, which was 2 days before the party, we received a phone call saying we owed a deposit. You can call the review petty. But bottom line is, there was poor communication. And it almost ruined a party that people had...

Lovely location. One thing though I asked for skinny fries, when they came they where soggy and limp soaked with grease. Nothing like skinny fries. Revisited yesterday and it's not as good as it was. When ordering my wife asked for chips but received veg which was crammed into a small pot. Also the Pork tenderloin medallions weren't medallions just a poor pork cut! The source wasn't right either. The chunky chip where fine. When paying for the bill they tried to charge for a bottle of wine when I'd only had a glass. This seems to happening quite a lot lately not only here but all over. I think we'll be giving it a miss for...

Service is over and above , very friendly and efficient staff. third visit for sunday lunch, the gravy is ti die for ,(licking my lips thinkg about it,almost taste it) The meat is a little to tough for my liking ,same as last visit (had the trio ) pity, spoiled what could have been a perfect meal, The chef needs to work at this. The vegatables are cooked well and tasty although a little too much brocolli every time. The carrot tops are left on so needed to prune these, Maybe its a fasion im not sure but I dont eat the stalks on pears ,apples ,turnips so Forth,,A little more effort and it would be...