The Hastings Hill — Restaurant in Sunderland

I stopped for a pub meal on a Saturday evening for an easy tea. We arrived about 6pm and ordered 2 burger meals and a kids meal. The food took 40 mins to arrive which was bad enough. But when it did arrive the chips were cold, the cheese on the burgers had been melted so much it was solid. I asked my husband if he wanted to complain but felt it would be okay as we had waited so long. Then half way through his meal he found a hair in his burger. A waitress heard us talking about it and asked if he wanted a replacement but as we had waited so long he said just leave it, and left the rest. My chips were also cold but the finally straw came whilst eating that I noticed that I had 2 moulded chips. I wouldn't carry on eating. I went to the bar and asked for a refund on my meal which was about £7, to which I was greeted with a very aggressive member of staff who said that I had eaten half my burger so I shouldn't get a full refund. I only noticed the mouldy chips half way through or I would have complained sooner. For some context our meals came to £24 which I feel is expensive for pub food and I am also 9 months pregnant so am angry that food of such poor standard was given to me. In the end my husband told me not to bother any further as they would not refund my meal and wanted an argument which in my condition was too much. I am going to report the pub to environmental health as cold chips is one thing, mould is...

I visited Hastings Hill Pub with my daughter and mam for some food, and we were really disappointed this time—especially because it’s usually nice when we come, so this was a real surprise.

We ordered mince and dumplings, a corned beef panini, and a chicken mayo wrap. The panini my daughter and I got wasn’t even toasted—if it was, it certainly didn’t seem like it. It was just like plain bread. The chips were rubbery and tasted off, like the potatoes were old or out of date.

My mam asked for a half pint of lemonade and was told they only serve full pints now, which seemed unnecessary. When her dumplings arrived, they tasted awful—like fish—and I agreed with her, it was really unpleasant. We mentioned it to the waitress, who did replace the meal with a corned beef panini. But when her replacement came, her chips were a different colour (not as done as ours), and her panini was actually toasted properly—unlike the ones we were served. That just made it clear that our meals had been poorly prepared.

Overall, the quality was not worth the price, and it was honestly a horrible experience this time. We’ve enjoyed coming here before, so we were really surprised and disappointed. Sadly, we won’t be returning...

We have lunch in a local pub at least once a week. We usually go to one of three places but decided to have a change and try the Hastings Hill. I ordered fish cake and chips with peas and salad, the wife ordered corned beef pie with peas and chips. My fishcake looked like a Yorkshire pudding. When I cut into it it was mostly air with a small amount of filling. The base was thick and dry, I couldn't cut it with a knife. Some of the filling had dried onto the base giving the impression the fishcake wasn't fresh that day, or the day before. A lot of it was uneatable which was a shame as the bit that was edible tasted ok. The chips though were very good, as was the bit of salad that came with it, which was moist and fresh. My wife's corned beef pie was alright but had little corned beef, mostly potatoe. Given the price point of the food maybe that was to be expected. The service was friendly, good and quick and prices are alright. The pub itself is a nice environment and our drinks were perfect. We will go back sometime and try something else off the menu. Definitely not fish...