Kiln — Restaurant in Newcastle upon Tyne

I used to love this place… …but that seems a long time ago now. 
After my last rather disappointing visit a little while ago, I thought I’d give it another go. Didn’t have a reservation but the friendly staff member 1 got me a table. It was the only table without a candle or light, pretty dark there, I thought they would bring me a candle once seated but that didn’t happen. Small details… The entire service brigade seemed exchanged, I do like a bit of continuity, in particular when they used to have excellent staff and front of house who even knew what my first drink would be and what cocktail I’d have after food. I always wondered why there was such a high turnover of excellent members of staff, they certainly are an asset to the business, it seems strange. I ordered lamb koftas which I had in the past, also some crushed potatoes. The wait for my £9 cocktail was rather long, after perhaps 30 minutes it was eventually presented by staff member 2. I then waited for the food. 1 hour 10 (!) for the two rather sad looking kebabs put in font of me by staff member 3. Potatoes were a no show, I waited another 5 minutes for them and decided not to let the kebabs get cold. The £11 kebabs were very dense and chewy, the pickles required a chisel and I am sure it said cauliflower on the menu but that was missing too. The kebabs from years ago were tender and succulent, pretty much the opposite of what I had now. It reminded me of the burrata that once was really good but then became uninspired and dull. Once finished, staff member 4 asked ‘can I take these?’, referring to the plate and cutlery, without asking if I liked it. I had enough and asked for the bill. The bill still had the potatoes on it so I asked for them to be taken off. While waiting for the amended bill, staff member 5 came with some potatoes. So they didn’t forget them as I had assumed. I said “sorry, these are about 20 minutes too late, I am already in the process of paying”. Also, the £5 potatoes didn’t look crushed, they just looked like boiled potatoes to me. There were occasional problems with Kiln in the past, once I had badly undercooked fish on two separate occasions, I even contacted the place via Messenger with a picture and the reply was “we won’t reply via social … you can ring us” which I thought was very inappropriate, it’s not ‘social’ and I used that from of contact because I didn’t want to write a bad review as I really liked Kiln, then. Based on the pic, I would have been petrified if that had been my restaurant and I didn’t even get a ‘sorry’. Anyway, I won’t go back, I used to wave the flag, now it’s chaotic, the food has gone downhill dramatically, I also find it too expensive for what it is and where it is and I think that the monstrosity of a new bar has ruined a lot of the...

While the food may be decent, no meal is worth the discomfort and second-hand embarrassment I experienced watching a disabled customer be ignored and poorly treated for over ten minutes.

A lady in a motorised wheelchair was left waiting outside because the restaurant’s layout—specifically outdoor furniture and a permanent fire—left no accessible path in. This was easily fixable by rearranging a couple of tables, but no staff took initiative. After watching her sit there unattended, I had to go inside TWICE to let the staff know. Even then, it took another five minutes before anyone came out, and no one immediately acknowledged or apologised to her. She sat for well over ten minutes without acknowledgement.

The interaction between the maitre d’ and the lady’s table was shocking. Instead of showing genuine concern, she delivered a curt explanation that she’d already apologised and offered a free drink—as if that resolved the issue. Her tone was defensive, abrupt, and wholly inappropriate. That table should have been treated with kindness and respect all evening, not made to feel like a burden.

I had paid upfront, as seems to be required for outdoor diners. This included 10% gratuity. But after witnessing all of this unfold while trying to eat my meal, I requested for my tip to be refunded. The maitre d’ appeared stunned at my request and insisted she’d done all she could. From my seat, I saw otherwise. The lack of accessibility, the lack of urgency, the lack of compassion - it was all truly disgraceful.

I’ve enjoyed this place in the past, but I will not be returning. No restaurant should fail so deeply at basic...

Ate today after making a booking online. We thought we’d give Kiln another go after last few visits which were disappointing due to service and lack of staff interaction. We have supported Kiln since it’s very first week of opening, through Covid, through many facelifts & changes however sad to say it’s poor. Seated today pushed right to the back on a tiny table & chair right in the way of main thoroughfare to toilets. The issue we’ve had with the last few occasions is the ineptness of the staff who when you enter leave you standing awkwardly without even an acknowledgment & choose to look away as if it’s someone else’s job to acknowledge. Ordered cake, coffee & lamb kofta. Went to look at cakes and abruptly asked what else I was having, really poor communication with other staff and with customers. Food placed down, no interaction, no returning to checking all ok, just really basic things in hospitality. Kofta overpowered with garlic and very basic for cost, sliced onion , cucumber and mayo in pitta. I ordered a coffee however my partner who wanted a beer was never asked what he’d like & staff member walked off before he had time to say. We watched on awkwardly as a large table had been over charged and the waitress stood there blankly looking at them instead of trying to resolve the situation for around 10 minutes. Paid the bill no interaction again to enquire if all had been ok and no ‘goodbyes’. Just poor...