The Red Lion — Restaurant in North Tyneside

Do not go to this pub. The food is absolutely awful. I had the chicken in a creamy garlic sauce and my mate had the burger. The creamy sauce was exactly that, no garlic to taste at all in it, it was so creamy I'm sure they just chucked a carton of double cream over the chicken. It was like custard! It even had the skin on it! It had been lying there for a while. The burger was doused in grease, along with the onion rings and chips. My mate asked for it to be well done and it wasn't. So with all this being said as we couldn't eat our mains, the waitress (both waitresses were lovely btw), got the supervisor, called Jordan and she was so unbelievably rude! She wouldn't refund us our main, she said it's a personal preference for my main that I didn't like it. I'm sorry but you want me to pay for something I can't eat.. How is that good customer service? She was guna give us a 20 quid voucher but couldnt refund us but refunding us would have cost less! I told her that we wouldn't be coming back here again as we don't live near the area (and now wouldn't want to come back anyway), so we would prefer a refund, she kept saying she can't give us a refund but she would ask for the chef to come out.. So I asked would the chef be able to give us a refund like even though your the manager in charge and she said yes. She came back out without the chef and said she would give me mate her refund but not mine cos its my preference that I don't like the food. But isn't it my mates preference that she thought her was too greasy? It's all preference at the end of the day. And then she really just started talking out her arse cos then she said if you had seen me sooner I would have maybe been able to do something sooner.. Erm first of all the waitress came out and I spoke to her straight away, after the first bite of our food and then that waitress got another waitress and that waitress went and got the "supervisor". And then the supervisor said that she was on her break! So how is that our fault, so we couldn't have got the supervisor sooner but we're not working there we don't handle that so that's their preference how they deal with things. How much sooner did she want us to say something, when the food was being cooked!? from working in customer service, you do not respond how she responded, she was in charge but acted like an absolute baboon. She didn't act with authority at all but more like a bully. I said this is a piss take to my mate and then the supervisor says don't swear at me.. Eh, I wasn't swearing at you love, you'd know if I was. But she was obviously just trying to make the other customers feel sorry for her. And she kept going on and on even though I asked her to just leave it but she was purposely enticing me. Never in my 30 years have I experienced customer service like that, I bet shes a horrible person to work with if she can't even being nice to customers. When I worked in the Premier Inn, if a guest wasn't happy with something you would do anything you could to accommodate to them. Just go to weatherspoons you'll get better tasting food...

Called and booked a table for 2 and room for a pram for Sunday at 3pm. Arrived and the staff behind the bar cockily asked if we’d even made a booking, rolling their eyes (lady who took the booking misheard the name over the phone). We were told we were on table 18, great, any chance of telling me where table 18 is or even walking me to the table considering I’d never been in this place before?! No, I was just told it’s table 18 and it’s back out the door we came in. How helpful. Walked around the the bit where the carvery is, to be told there wasn’t space for the pram (don’t honour a booking if you aren’t going to listen to the requirements). It’s hard enough going out with a baby, without being made to feel embarrassed standing in the middle of a busy place because yous didn’t listen to the space for a pram. We were then told to sit on table 5, which was practically on top of the carvery deck. Right in the way with the pram, having to move my daughter about whenever the table behind us wanted to get up to the bar or carvery. I asked the young girl if we could move to the table behind as it was vacant and I could have moved a chair out of the way for the pram and was told no it’s booked out soon (by the time we ate our carvery and we were leaving still no one had turned up for it - we were in and out within half an hour as I just couldn’t stand to be in there any longer). I asked for a highchair and the young girl got it promptly - thank you, that was appreciated. That table was completely unsuitable for a pram and for a 6 month baby to be sitting so near the carvery section. I’d rather had just been told on the phone you couldn’t go ahead with the booking and we could have went somewhere else and been comfortable. Had a carvery - nothing spectacular - carvery guy was polite and made conversation. Yorkshires were flat and burnt. Beef was nice. Carvery deck needed cleaned, other people’s gravy and veg all over the deck. Mash was lumpy and dry. Savoy cabbage was ok. No mint sauce and no one around to ask as the carvery guy was busy. Best thing was probably the peas. As quite a relatively new mum, it’s a stressful experience enough going out to eat, so when we do decide too, I’ll be going somewhere else where I’m made to feel welcome and appreciated. Not eyerolled at and not shoved at a table. We wanted to stay and watch the match but we drove somewhere else, due to the terrible service. I’d avoid in future, there’s much better establishments that are happy to accommodate you with much better food around the area. Thank you to the young girl who got the highchair and the carvery guy, otherwise this would have...

We visited yesterday as a family of six and unfortunately had one of the worst customer service experiences we’ve ever had in a pub or restaurant, which is such a shame because we’ve always enjoyed popping into The Red Lion for a Sunday roast or a catch-up over their lovely food.

After waiting around 45 minutes (which we didn’t mind too much, as the younger staff were clearly doing their best and were really lovely – a few of them seemed new but were doing great!), our food finally arrived. My brother had ordered a pie and politely asked for chips instead of mash at the counter. When the plate came out with mash, he very kindly asked the waitress if it could be swapped. She was incredibly helpful and said she’d sort it – no problem.

What happened next completely soured our entire visit.

An older woman with short hair and glasses (possibly the manager?) came storming over to our table with a frankly shocking attitude. She stood with her hand on her hip, loudly disagreeing with my brother in the middle of the pub, insisting that he didn’t “really” order chips. It was so unnecessarily confrontational and embarrassing – the situation was painfully awkward. I must say, it was eventually resolved, but all 6 of us felt deeply uncomfortable after her confrontation and we wanted to leave as quickly as possible.

Her tone that suggested customers are more of a nuisance than anything else. It completely ruined what could’ve been a lovely afternoon.

The food itself was good, and the younger girls serving were a credit to the place. But the unprofessionalism and aggressive tone from this one member of staff has put us off ever returning.

Such a shame to write this – but people deserve to know what they might be walking into if the same member of staff...