Kennedy's of Goswell Road — Restaurant in London

Got multiple items in the order wrong!

That’s the main issue! Ordered through Deliveroo and the fish was not the fish I ordered. I ordered a regular haddock only to get what I believe was regular cod.

Now, I’m not a fish expert, but I’ve had enough fish and chips over my time to be able, I believe, to tell the difference. Haddock usually has a slightly sweet taste and isn’t as flaky as cod. Cod tends to be more mild and breaks apart more easily. And what I got definitely seemed more like cod.

To be fair to the restaurant, the price difference was nothing both cost £12.75 on Deliveroo and the quality, I thought, was decent. The fish was cooked perfectly, no complaints there. But still, I can’t give it top marks when it wasn’t the correct fish.

Secondly, the gravy was very watery and also incorrect. I ordered onion gravy, not just gravy. And I received just standard gravy. Again, we’re talking about minor issues, but I think it matters. Unlike the fish, which had redeeming qualities (because it was cooked very well), the gravy was very basic. You could tell it wasn’t homemade very watery and probably from a packet or tub.

Now, don’t get me wrong, the gravy wasn’t bad or unpleasant, but it was extremely watered down and clearly not homemade. Not worth £2.50 at all. Considering it wasn’t the best and wasn’t homemade, I’d say it was probably worth only £1 or £1.50 at most. £2.50 for this sort of gravy is simply overpriced.

Then coming onto the chips but chips were good to a large extent but slightly, ever so slightly, on the hard side. Could’ve done with just 30–40 seconds more cooking time. But honestly, chips seemed like the best thing in the meal.

My drink and peas were nothing amazing, but it was Coke and peas to be fair, I wouldn’t expect anything crazy there. Both perfectly fine and acceptable.

Scores!

Fish: Had I ordered the cod, I would’ve given it a 4.5/5 or close to a 5. It was cooked very nicely. But I didn’t order cod. I ordered haddock. That’s got to be at least 1 mark removed. So, 3.5 out of 5.

Onion Gravy (main side/dipping sauce): Going to be harsh here but 2 out of 5. Not only wrong, but watery, and clearly not homemade.

Chips: 4 out of 5. I think the chips were good and yes, could’ve done with that 30–40 seconds longer, but they were still nice, soft and fluffy with a good outer coating.

Speed my order arrived: 3 out of 5. Food was prepared and got here quickly, but maybe too quick? Was it properly verified before being handed to the delivery partner? Clearly not, as the fish wasn’t what I ordered and the gravy was also wrong.

And let’s say maybe the restaurant didn’t have the items in stock and that’s no excuse. No phone call was made by the restaurant to check if the substitutes were acceptable. I think that’s important because it shows a lack of care. What if I was allergic to cod? I’m not, but that’s not the point. People can be allergic to different things in food and in life in general, and it’s the restaurant’s duty to follow the order correctly and fulfil it correctly. If they can’t, then it’s their responsibility to either substitute correctly or check with the customer first.

So that’s why I am giving that a 3 out of 5. Yes, it got to me quick, was warm and arrived in good condition, but I can’t ignore glaring issues.

Overall these things knock it down a lot.

Overall = 12.5 out of 20 Average = 3.1 out of 5

Not the worst experience, but definitely frustrating when basic order accuracy is missing. Could’ve been much better with just a...

UPDATE: Having Visited Kennedy's again, I can say that they have vastly improved!

Original Review: My wife and I visited Kennedy's today for Take Away. We ordered a piece of cod and a chicken mushroom pie with mash and gravy. They informed me that the fish would need to be cooked, and I was perfectly fine with this. So we waited.

20 minutes later, which is fine with me, I am not complaining with regard to the time waited for cooking, I was told that my order was ready. I watched the lady behind the counter package my fish and wrap up the pie. Put it all in a bag and hand it to me.

I asked about the mash. She looked in the bag and had a puzzled look. She then walked to the back where the chef's are and asked about the mash. I was watching and listening. He then laughs and says there isn't any. She, quite seriously asks him to stop messing around. He says tell them (us) to wait half an hour.

She comes back and asks us to wait for 'a little bit' or whether we would prefer chips.

Did I ask for chips? Why do people think this is an acceptable suggestion? I told her, that we do not eat chips. I did not ask for chips and I do not want chips. Mushy peas? She asks?!?

I asked how long it would take for the mash. She said that she did not know, maybe 15 minutes. Would I wait?

While my cod is sitting in packaging and the pie crust softening with every passing second?? Of course not.

Why was this not done during the cod's cooking time? They have an electronic ordering system, the chef knows the order!!

Was there a suggestion that they would start again?? Fresh fish, a fresh pie once the mash was ready? No.

Could you even trust them if they made such a suggestion? Not now!!

I therefore asked for a refund and very annoyed that over 30 minutes of my time is now wasted and I would have to go elsewhere for food.

Not knowing how to process a refund, she called over a manager. The Manager proceeded to process a refund, all the while asking if I wanted chips or mushy peas. She then asked me to insert my card into the machine. I was about to, when i realised the amount was wrong. It was a refund for the pie and mash only.

What is going on???

Did they believe I would take half the order?? Is my wife going to watch me eating a piece of fish while she goes hungry??

What lunacy, what greed, what disgusting behaviour!!! And with what right do they have to waste my time.

Consider this, I went into Kennedy's and came out 30 minutes later with nothing. No loss for them, I'm sure both the fish and the pie simply went into the hot cabinet.

But I lost 30 minutes, and a card refund that will take at least 7 days to go back onto my account.

Stuff like this has to stop. Businesses should compensate for their mistakes. In my restaurant we do. On the very rare occasion one of my waiters spills a drink on a customer, not only do we pay for the cleaning, but a free round of drinks.

Kennedy's lost nothing, wasted my time, tied up £13 of my money and had a good laugh!!

This place came highly recommended, and the food may be good, I cannot say. But this experience ensures 2 things.

I will NEVER go there again. I encourage and will always encourage that people do not visit such a business ever again.

They have ZERO customer service and ZERO concern for their customer and 100% interest in your money. Trying to sell me half my order is proof of that.

Some advice for Kennedy's: A) Don't laugh at the customers. B) Don't cheat...

I've been to this particular Kennedy's store several times with the same friends and my most recent experience was atrocious to say the least. On the lunch time menu I noticed it displayed at the bottom of the page that they cooked in groundnut oil, now I had never seen this before. When I enquired about it whilst the waitress was taking my order I asked whether it was a recent addition and she said it wasn't. I asked her since my friend and I are both allergic to nuts if there was an alternative so if the chefs could cook without the groundnut oil.

I was astounded by the fact that there was no alternative to your traditional cod and chips so we were forced to choose another dish on the menu that was actually more expensive. Our first choice wasn't in stock when we were the first customers through the door? That doesn't make any sense at all. My friend was forced to change his order to Seabass and thus had to pay considerably more for an unacceptable portion of Seabass which left him hungry after he had finished.

The waitress was also awful, she seemed very moody and ill tempered and when I asked her to change my order since I didn't want the cod she made a horrid face out of disgust. The garlic bread we ordered was the worst I've ever encountered, it was glorified cheese on toast. When we had finished our meals we decided to go over and speak to the manager who turned out to be the same waitress that we had.

Now I was bewildered by how somebody as unprofessional as that became manager in the first place and all she kept saying was "I don't know what to say" there wasn't even a single apology. If your allergic to nuts stay away from this grotesque 'restaurant' and go to your local chip shop instead heck even if your not allergic to anything stay well clear from this disgrace of an...