George Inn — Restaurant in Gravesham

The food is very nice, the waiting and bar staff are very pleasant. My review is low because of the appalling experience we had when we visited yesterday. We had booked weeks in advance, going to the pub in person to talk through the accessibility requirements for my 96 year old grandmother, who is very immobile. The woman (manager?) we spoke to said she would put us at the table by the fire exit as it was the closest point to the car park and the most level -- one step, which they said they could provide a ramp for. Perfect. We gave our phone number in case there were any issues in the meantime.

We arrived on time and were forced to wait while a member of our party reminded them that the back door was to be opened and the ramp provided. I'd be very surprised if this ramp was DDA compliant -- it was so steep we had to help her push her rollator up the pitch of it and it would have been far too narrow for a wheelchair -- and making her wait for a couple of minutes is a long time when you're frail. Never mind, we made it work.

However, as we entered the whole back door was blocked by a long table, where the nice waitress told us there had been a last minute booking for 12, so by the time we would be leaving that exit would be inaccessible. She assured us that the 'staff only' doors that also led from the patio into the restaurant could be used. Fine. We had a nice meal and all was well. When we came to leave, the waitress brought the ramp and advised that, for reasons not entirely clear, we now could not use the staff only doors and needed to use the side entrance (to be clear, waitress was very apologetic, I'm not complaining about her). This exit was entirely inappropriate, The ramp was far too steep and she would have flown down it like Tony Hawk, so we removed that. The step down was too high for her to manage, so we ended up having to lift her down, in full view of other patrons in the restaurant. Then it was impossible for her to push her rollator along the loose concrete slabs dotted along a muddy, loose-pebble path. We ended up holding her up as she shuffled the long walk around the building until the patio.

If we'd have turned up without a booking and expected new-build level compliance for accessibility, I could understand the issue. The fact we went out of our way to check well in advance that they could accommodate low mobility and reneged on this is disgraceful. They had our number, they could have called and advised that a new plan needed to be formed. But they saw pound signs when a table of 12 booked and couldn't be bothered to find a solution that didn't cost my grandmother her dignity and her health -- she is in a lot of pain from the extra effort expended.

We've been coming here for years, but now we know they prioritise numbers over customer safety we won't...

The pub is still as beautiful as I remember with a lovely garden. We came to have lunch for a 70th birthday, however firstly we were disappointed to find a more limited menu to the one we found online. The menu online was one of the reasons we confirmed to book (excellent choice of burgers online as well as more refined dishes). I had visited several years before and knew the pub was great for food, however no children's menu, removal of several of our favourites was a bit disappointing. Whilst they did offer child friendly alternatives, these were limited, and no simple deserts offered for kids such as ice cream. Whilst the service was generally good, there was a few mix ups, e.g. child sausage comes with chips, but came with mash instead (however, they did provide the chips as well when we asked so not a major issue). The food was a decent standard, and tasted good, for the most part. Most of these are teething issues though I think as they are under new management quite recently so hopefully there will be some improvements soon. However, I think the vegetarian options need some work as they were the less tasty options on the menu (panang tasted a bit like something from a jar). The wine list also needs updating as not all the wines...

Ordered a lovely dish from the menu, but not the £20 Salade Nicoise which is a tad overpriced. It was basically meat gravy veg and potatoes. Sadly the meat and gravy arrived less than room temperature so I assume it was frozen but had not defrosted correctly.

There was no steam coming off the meat and gravy which was a big giveaway. I put my finger in the middle of the plate to test and I was right, it was stone cold. Had to send it back to get reheated which is not a good look. So I sat on my own - starving - while watching the other people at my table ate their dinner which made me even more hungry. You know that frustration feeling when it starts to rise and eventually you lose your appetite because you are thoroughly fed up? Yes, that one

By the time I got my meal back, the others were nearly finished. I hate it because I was starving. It was lukewarm at best and I couldn’t be bothered to send it back in the end because I would’ve end up eating my dinner whilst everyone was leaving the table

Luckily I spotted the cold plate of food before I ate anything otherwise I would’ve been most unwell.

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