Aspendos Folkestone — Restaurant in Folkestone and Hythe District

I would just like to start by saying this was my first time ever coming to the restaurant though I have frequented the take aways numerous times both in and around the Folkestone area.

Sadly my experience with this particular branch of Aspendos wasn't without its down falls and here are the reasonings for my review.

We will start with appearance -

The overall look the owners were trying to achieve with a little slice of rustic elegance and a homely feel was definitely achieved. If anything I felt over dressed but the seats were comfortable, the room was clean and I liked the finishing touches from the sculpted wall features to the kitchen window where you could watch your food being made. It was actually a very nice place with the added bonus of being able to sit outside on the patio terrace to overlook the leas area of Folkestone.

Unfortunately for me and my personal taste, this was where the magic ended.

The service was just below par due to the simple task of having a drinks order taken and the miscommunication, I had to ask for my drink 5x before the manager had to step in and help the waiter find the drink I had asked for multiple times.

After this we had ordered our food and it was swiftly brought to us. The starters were fine and an experience as I had never tried them before but the bread was lovely and we thoroughly enjoyed this.

We did attempt to order more drinks before our mains came but sadly getting the staffs attention at this point in the evening proved to be a struggle, not because the place was busy but because they were either people watching or speaking to other customers for long periods of time.

Then came onto the mains where again, unfortunately things weren't as good as what they could have been. We had the chicken shish and normally from the take aways it had always been juicy and very filling but this time me and the people I had dined with all bit into one piece that almost had a jelly like consistency in the middle. This could have been due to a number of possibilities such as the chicken being frozen in the middle when cooked or another reason but either way with it being chicken and having a strange texture we sadly left this part of the dish. On a positive note the lamb chops were delicious and I could have happily had more of those. The sides to accompany our meat were fine and cooked well and with all of the elements combined, I give the food score an average rating.

So to sum up the evening as a whole, it was average but I probably wouldn't return.

We didn't stay for desserts so I cannot comment on this but I will say the service got better as we ate our meal as we had other servers come over at well timed intervals to make sure...

Don't tell collection customers their order will be ready in 15 to 20 mins.

It never is.

Arrived to collect an order 23 mins after placing order over the phone (having my phone number repeated back to me incorrectly should have been all the red flag I needed to avoid the following inconvenience of an experience) and of course, it wasn't ready.

Was told my order would be another couple of minutes however, I've been told this before at this establishment and actually waited a further 15 minutes for my order to be fulfilled. Its almost as if they don't take takeaway telephone orders seriously. Maybe something to do with the person who took my order not having functional ears and repeating a VERY different telephone number back to me in relation to my order. All in all an absolute bleedin' shambles of a service. Ultimately I cancelled my order as I can't afford to have my time wasted due to others incompetence.

Would have rated food higher than 1 star but never got to taste it.

Service would have been zero stars had it been option.

Atmosphere was definitely soured by being told my order was not ready.

I can provide timelogs for telephone call made to order, also timelog when I arrived to collect as my...

My review on 30.05.24 - Absolutely loved it here! Staff were friendly, welcoming and attentive form the moment we stepped our foot into the restaurant. Definitely recommend dining here if you come to Folkestone - thank you guys for making mine and my aunts first meal in Folkestone a good one :). (5 stars for everything!) Unfortunately today 31.05.24 - I was really disappointed that the atmosphere (staff attentiveness) was not the same as yesterday and today there were MORE staff! Also, I witnessed one of the chef lift his top and scratch his back, touch his phone and scratch his beard, touch various areas of the kitchen corners then use his hands to garnish food... YUCK! Addressing this with the manager he was sorry and surprisingly offered nothing to compensate except to speak to the chefs. The two who this did not relate to are the two who were spoken to despite me explaining it was not THEM! I explained to the manager that I was upset to witness this as yesterday I had a great experience and wrote a 5 star review however I will be changing my review, he just said "Of course, you have to be honest". Very surprised by this service. So disappointed... After today's experience would I...