The Ship — Restaurant in Gateshead

Upon arrival we were greeted by the sight of a female kitchen worker leaning against a waste skip in her chef jacket while making a phone call (not great). We went inside and were met by a lovely young lady called Nieve who directed us to a table and gave us menus. We ordered 2 “dirty burgers” with chilli salt fries and a couple of kids meals, 3 soft drinks and a Moretti. All tasted great and were served in correct glassware, etc… There were a decent amount of guests and there was a nice background burble of chatter and laughter from the bar and dining area creating a nice atmosphere.

When our food arrived, I pointed out that neither burger had chilli salt fries, and they were taken away and “fixed” by dumping a hefty tablespoon of seasoning over the top. Maybe the chips could have been quickly put on a bowl and tossed in the seasoning? Not just a “that’ll do” and throwing it over the top, it’s just lazy. The burgers themselves were overcooked and very dry and chewy, the mac and cheese on top was lukewarm and bland. Nieve came back to do a check back after a few minutes and we asked for the beef dripping gravy that was meant to come with our burgers, she came back from the kitchen full of apologies as they didn’t have any available (it was almost 2pm, kitchen should probably communicated this when food service started). Kids burger was also very dry, nuggets got a thumbs up though.

Upon leaving, a group of people outside were also talking about how the chicken on those plate was “awful” and “dry as sticks”, so it looks like it wasn’t just us who were less than impressed.

This is my second visit, and second bad experience with the quality of food on offer. There...

Very disappointed with the service we received going for Sunday lunch. First of all we were kept waiting a while before we could go up and get our food. Then with me being vegetarian when I said no meat just Yorkshire puddings please I was told “no you can’t because they have a stuffing ball sitting on the top” I then asked if they could just remove the stuffing ball so I could have a few with my lunch instead of just a plate of veg which I got one but was told I wasn’t allowed two because there were people behind me. The attitude was shocking and they should have had enough/plenty to feed people.. we then realised that 2 of us out of the group received small plates when we ordered large so after eating our food we made the manager aware then we had tokens for large plates but were given small so asked that is changed on our bill. After going off to the kitchen for a few minutes and hearing the staff kick off about what we said, the manager returned to try and argue the reason why we got those size plates and that we still have to pay for the large. Because of the poor experience we didn’t want to argue, we felt too uncomfortable and wanted to leave. Shocking...

Nice, dog-friendly pub.

We ordered the Rack of Ribs, the Sloppy Joe Burger, and the Steak Frites.

The ribs and steak came with fries, whereas the burger was ordered with hand cut chips.

All were accompanied by a mixed salad with balsamic dressing, and a side of coleslaw. The coleslaw was an odd pairs pink colour which was slightly off-putting, although I guess it probably has beetroot in it.

The food took approximately 30 minutes to arrive, despite the pace being relatively quiet.

The burger; It was OK, nothing flash unfortunately. The pattie was a decent size. But the cheese had cooked and solidified and dried. There w very little in t way of any relish (if at all) and the burger was dry, as a result. The chips were fine.

The ribs; It's was good size rack, but there was very little meat on them. What meat there was, though, was tender. The BBQ sauce was bog-standard sauce you'd find anywhere.

The steak; It was a 6oz steak, therefore thin. This means it requires only a quick fry on the grill. Nobody asked how the steak was to be cooked. It's canlme out dry and tough.

Would I...