The Lost Dene — Restaurant in Manchester

I rarely write reviews, but I felt compelled to share my experience at The Lost Dene because I genuinely believe it has the potential to be a great establishment with just a little more focus on customer care. While it's in a fantastic location and could be a welcoming spot, my visit was unfortunately let down by poor service, which had a noticeable impact on the overall atmosphere.

The issue arose when I ordered a burger meal through your app. The signage around the pub, as well as the app itself, clearly states that a drink is included with all burger meals. However, when placing my order through the app, there was no option to select a drink. I assumed this might be prompted at the end of the transaction, as certain drinks may not be included in the offer, but I expected some sort of selection process.

When I realised no drink had been added, I went to the bar to clarify the situation. I spoke to a young man with short black hair and explained that the app did not provide an option to select a drink, despite the offer being clearly advertised. I asked if he could provide a Coke, as part of the meal deal. Unfortunately, he refused, stating that I should have added the drink separately on the app. This was not made clear anywhere, and given that there are usually limitations on which drinks are included in meal deals, I had expected some guidance during the ordering process.

What made the situation worse was his attitude. Instead of trying to understand the confusion or offer any assistance, he dismissed my concern outright, saying, “It’s not my problem.” When I asked if he was the manager, he admitted he wasn’t but said, “You can try with the manager, but he’ll probably say no.”

Thankfully, when I spoke to the manager, he resolved the issue immediately with no hesitation, which I greatly appreciate. However, the lack of customer service, empathy, and professionalism from the first staff member was incredibly disappointing. A simple misunderstanding could have been handled in a much more professional and helpful way, but instead, the interaction put a real damper on my visit.

Additionally, I couldn’t help but notice another member of staff, a gentleman wearing a red checkered shirt, who appeared visibly unhappy and disengaged. He seemed frustrated and unapproachable, which made for quite an uncomfortable atmosphere.

I completely understand that everyone has bad days, but in a hospitality setting, customer service is key. If there are any underlying issues affecting staff morale, it may be worth checking in with him. However, if this is simply his approach to customer service, it might be worth considering whether this role is the right fit.

I wanted to bring this to your attention in the hope that staff can be trained to handle customer interactions with more understanding and professionalism. The Lost Dene has a lot of potential, but poor service like this can really discourage people from returning.

I appreciate your time in reading this and hope my...

We came to the lost dene back in December at that time there were no issues and everything was perfect so due to this I recommended this establishment to my family. We ate here on Good Friday 29th March 2024. Unfortunately the experience was beyond unbelievable I ordered some food and 1 dish came out which wasn't even anywhere close to the meal that had been ordered. The replacement dish was then made up for it to be brought out half an hour later causing us to be delayed with our evening. The second dish that I found utterly disgraceful and wouldn't have served this to anybody was a fish which appeared to have hardly any fish in the batter. As for the server who served our food. Well I have to say I have never seen such poor and disgusting customer service in my entire life as she basically pushed my husband to the side and barged him out the way. Her whole demeanor shouted rudeness. She wouldn't acknowledge what she had done to my husband. When asking for the manager or even their name no one came to discuss anything with us, we were told that someone would be right with us and no one came to speak to us about the issues that we had!!! I have included a picture of the fish that was...

AVOID for food! Visited with a first time visitor to the UK and Manchester on a quiet Monday lunchtime and had 2 meals from their deals menu. Standard stuff, difficult to get wrong really. After waiting for over 40 minutes, the fish and chips and a burger and chips arrived. The fish was clearly pre frozen. No problem there but it was only half cooked inside and overcooked outside. Peas were cold and like little stones. very hard. The burger looked like it had been cooked 3 times. I have never seen any meat that shade of brown and crunchy! Absolutely vile. The Coca Cola was more like light brown mineral water. Tasteless! We left in disgust and left a not so polite note on the table. No wonder the Brits have such a bad reputation in Europe for food. I can´t believe that someone would spend all that time and effort going to a catering college to want to cook prefrozen food so badly?! If not the chef, then the people who plan the menu seriously need to taste their own food. Are fresh ingredients and a little inspiration in such short supply in such a prosperous city? There was certainly no pride of Manchester in that meal! Dont eat here. Find a good local restaurant as we...