The Forge Kitchen

Visited here for the second time today. Its an impressive looking venue.... and for visitors to Ipswich perfectly located for a stroll to the Waterfront after dinner where you can enjoy a drink or dessert in one of the many harbour-side bars. The Forge is clean with modern, industrial interiors. Both times I have eaten have been on a Sunday.... when there is a specific menu presenting a selection of the usual weekday grill dishes as well as Sunday roasts. We were a party of five who had reserved a table in advance. We were advised that we could dine outdoors. As we sipped drinks in the bar area we were advised that outdoor dining wasn't actually available due to a wedding party. No bother. The menu is moderately expensive... £11.50 for a Sunday dinner plus additional cost for carrots and cauliflower cheese. A selection of vegetables were included in the price which are served communally - each person helping themselves. The issue was all of the vegetables were 'green' - cabbage, peas and green beans.... making the dinner look somewhat insipid. Also there was not enough. The gravy is served in small ramekins.... we were advised that we could ask for more. We did (it was a tiny tiny serving) and were suprised to see a charge of £2.24 for the additional gravy on the bill! We were not advised we'd pay for gravy. Due to an hour wait for mains on our last visit we had a 25% discount voucher. We presented this.... and the overall bill was reduced by £1.50! On a £75 spend. We queried this and on the second attempt the discount was applied to the whole bill.... watch it - they are crafty. I can see why some people like it.... the food is nice.... venue and toilets are spotless.... but with all of the additional charges on the menu (chips, salad, onion rings etc are not included with mains) as well as additional charges maybe you'd be better off at The Harvester.... where the venue may not be so exciting but at least the pricing structure is simple. Disappointing.