Carvery pub runs out of meat

The Kings Arms, which is situated on the main A269 directly opposite the B2204 Battle junction, had been closed for many months.

Recently it re-opened after being extensively refurbished by owners Mitchells & Butlers, whose head office is in Birmingham.

Advertising an all day carvery at just 3.50 Monday-Friday, 6.50 on Sunday, and promising the customer that they would be, 'spoilt for choice', Mr Ray Chapman said he thought the offer sounded too good to be true.

Prior to making the trip out to the pub Ray, a leisure and tourism operations manager, decided to call in advance to see if it was necessary to book a table, and to be sure of availability.

He said: "I'd received a flyer through the door giving details about the carvery, and it did seem to be incredible value for a roast dinner, so I rang the Kings Arms at about 6.45pm on the Saturday evening to book a table, but was told that they don't take reservations."

He added: "I said that there would be two of us and, specifically asked if they would still be serving the carvery at 8pm. I was told that it wouldn't be a problem as they served food up to 9pm."

Ray, who lives in St Leonards, said it's a, 'bit of a trek' from where he lives, and had he been told that there was a possibility that there would be no meat left on the carvery when he and his guest arrived, then he wouldn't have made the journey out there.

He said: "When we got there the staff looked a bit frazzled, and we could see that there was almost no meat left on the carvery at all, just a bit of gammon. One of the staff said that they had served around 550 people that day, and that they only had enough food left for six people, which on a Saturday night is just ridiculous! They must have had some idea that there was the possibility they would run out of meat when I rang earlier."

There may have been no meat but Ray said staff pointed out that there were other things on the menu, and that there were plenty of vegetables available which he said is, "great for vegetarians, but we are meat eaters".

He added: "I don't care how cheap it is, you can't advertise a carvery and not have any meat! If the pub can't cope with the volume of people that it's attracting then it seriously needs to do something about it."

Despite this, the experience did not put Mr Chapman off, and a few days later he decided to give the Kings Arms another chance, he said: "I really liked the pub, and the puddings & wine we had were really good, so I thought I'd give them another try."

This time he chose to visit the pub mid-week at about 3pm and was astounded to find that once again the carvery had no meat.

He said: "I couldn't believe it when we walked in and saw that not only was there no meat, but the carvery was completely closed with all the lights turned off! The pub is a bit out of the way for a lot of people, and to drive all that way and once again find it was a wasted journey has made us think we won't bother again."

Incensed, Ray complained to Mitchells and Butlers, and he has since received a reply from a guest services representative who said they are looking into the matter and he can expect to receive a reply to his complaint within seven days.

Speaking on behalf of Mitchells and Butlers a spokesperson said the pub is in it's fifth week of trading after the company invested a "substantial six figure investment in the site."

Serving an average of 3,500 meals a week they added: "The Kings Arms is a popular local pub offering great value food and drink to our customers, many of whom visit several times a week."

"We do take all customer feedback very seriously and are proud of the fact that the vast majority of our guests enjoy eating and drinking with us. As the customer has logged a complaint to our guest care team we will of course respond to him directly to assure him that any issues since opening have been addressed."