The Coniston Kitchen - Swale

We decided to give the restaurant a second chance to see if it had improved since our last visit shortly after its opening. Unfortunately, it has not. The staff was seen shouting at each other, promised ingredients like fresh raspberries were missing, and the so-called "Rustic" chips were clearly just reheated frozen ones. The Gourmet Burger I ordered was dry and flavorless, almost as bad as something from McDonald's, topped with what was supposed to be cheese. The dessert, labeled as Death by Chocolate, was a bland brown cake with a drizzle of sauce and tasteless ice cream. Overall, we do not think we will be returning anytime soon.

I’ve never come across such a surly and miserable waitress as I did in this place. Unbelievable! We then heard her telling other patrons at the bar in a loud voice that she was leaving. Well, hurrah for that. I bet the management are delighted. God, she was grumpy. Such a shame as after she plonked the plates down in front of us, the food was actually quite tasty. I had the salmon which was perfect. Food great..... shame about the service!

The staff were lovely. That's the redeeming feature of this Holiday Inn restaurant. I ordered the potato gnocchi with a creamy chive sauce, mushrooms, spinach and peas. The meal that was brought to me was gnocchi indeed, but with a creamy pesto sauce. There were no mushrooms at all, and the spinach had been swapped for rocket. None of these changes had been announced, and it felt like I was just eating a different meal to what I ordered. The meal was decent at most; to be honest I expected nothing more from eating at a Holiday Inn. I did however expect to be served what I ordered. Also, for the vegans out there, avoid no vegan options are offered.

This was the worst dining experience I have ever had in terms of both food and customer service. I went with my work colleagues for our Christmas party on a Thursday evening in December. We paid £40 per person, so I had certain expectations for the quality of the food. Unfortunately, the starters were lukewarm, the turkey was full of gristle, and the cheesecake was inedible. The vegetarian in our group was told they had run out of her pre-ordered option and instead given a plate of plain vegetables without gravy. Despite asking for vegan options in advance, another member of our group was given a poor meal on the night. When we requested to speak to the manager, he initially declined and later blamed the event manager and an agency chef for the issues. He was extremely rude, insinuating that we only wanted free drinks. The waiting staff, however, were polite and apologetic. Overall, it was a terrible experience and I will not be returning. It reminded me of a scene from Fawlty Towers.

Food was ****! Only one person behind the bar during the meal. A Muslim colleague had a sausage on his salmon meal and the turkey meal was swimming in gravy. Staff were couldn't care less. Not very helpful. The poor fellow behind the bar was run of his feet.