The Blazing Donkey in Ham, Sandwich, Kent

vikingaero

maninthestreet wrote: »

From the reviews on Trip Advisor, I'm puzzled how it stays in business.

I concur. The Martins run 4 establishments to avoid:

http://www.kentinns.com/

fengirl_2

How sad to see they have got hold of Harveys - a fine old Ramsgate institution.

qetu1357

goater78 wrote: »

Surely this is pretty much impossible to do! Unless you know people who have been to the exact same places you are going to. Sometimes you just need to gamble and take a risk, sometimes it pays off, sometimes it doesn't. This place obviously sounds awful!

Impossible to always do.

But if I was spending £5k on anything, I would make sure it wasn't a gamble.

trumpton

These are exactly the kind of companies Trading Standards should be hammering, but I suspect that you had to do all the work and now you have your money they will close the case. I am so sorry your big day was ruined, I hope you can rearrange and have the wedding you want elsewhere.

beks

ljonski - :rotfl:!!! Pretty much sums it up!!

trumpton - trading standards were involved near the beginning of all of this but once we got to the court stage, they didn't follow it any further. They are well aware of this establishment and have helped others through the court process.

I have done a lot of research into this establishment and its background. I know of at least 5 people now who have taken this venue to the small claims court and either won or won by default. There is one impending one which I know about. I really can't understand how he gets away with doing this over and over again.

I feel lucky now that we didnt have to get married at the hellhole but having said that, I know that all weddings don't turn into a shambles, I think that is the only way in which he keeps going. Weddings are a big business. I also know of some people who have lost their deposit to him and he refused to give it back but they have not persued it through the court. I do wonder how many people this happens to but have no idea. All the problems seem to have started since the venue changed hands a few years ago from father to son.

vikingaero - yes you are correct. The 4 establishments this man owns are run under the name of Kent Inns (of distinction :rotfl:) and the accounts on companies house make an interesting read.

hollydays - lol! Nice thought but shame it wouldnt match up to your expectations. I would expect a pet rat to dine in there (no offence to rats), let alone have my wedding there.

paulofessex - I would love to go to the local papers (we were considering national at one stage due to an additional factor which I wont go into again) but OH is really not keen. I have done my best to persuade him but he has his reasons not to and I have to respect that (although I do keep trying to persuade him). Hence, I am doing what I can on the internet and will hopefully keep spreading the word.

qetu1357 - indeed yes. I felt very gullible and very naive at the beginning of this saga to be taken in and fobbed off. However, through this experience, I feel I have increased my legal knowledge and I am now a lot more aware of consumer rights (having said that, one solicitor we had through our house insurance said we had a less than 50% chance of winning the case *confused smilie*).

We do hope to get married still but this time, we will do our research thoroughly and will be on top of the venue from the start.

qetu1357

beks wrote: »

ljonski - :rotfl:!!! Pretty much sums it up!!

trumpton - trading standards were involved near the beginning of all of this but once we got to the court stage, they didn't follow it any further. They are well aware of this establishment and have helped others through the court process.

I have done a lot of research into this establishment and its background. I know of at least 5 people now who have taken this venue to the small claims court and either won or won by default. There is one impending one which I know about. I really can't understand how he gets away with doing this over and over again.

I feel lucky now that we didnt have to get married at the hellhole but having said that, I know that all weddings don't turn into a shambles, I think that is the only way in which he keeps going. Weddings are a big business. I also know of some people who have lost their deposit to him and he refused to give it back but they have not persued it through the court. I do wonder how many people this happens to but have no idea. All the problems seem to have started since the venue changed hands a few years ago from father to son.

vikingaero - yes you are correct. The 4 establishments this man owns are run under the name of Kent Inns (of distinction :rotfl:) and the accounts on companies house make an interesting read.

hollydays - lol! Nice thought but shame it wouldnt match up to your expectations. I would expect a pet rat to dine in there (no offence to rats), let alone have my wedding there.

paulofessex - I would love to go to the local papers (we were considering national at one stage due to an additional factor which I wont go into again) but OH is really not keen. I have done my best to persuade him but he has his reasons not to and I have to respect that (although I do keep trying to persuade him). Hence, I am doing what I can on the internet and will hopefully keep spreading the word.

qetu1357 - indeed yes. I felt very gullible and very naive at the beginning of this saga to be taken in and fobbed off. However, through this experience, I feel I have increased my legal knowledge and I am now a lot more aware of consumer rights (having said that, one solicitor we had through our house insurance said we had a less than 50% chance of winning the case *confused smilie*).

We do hope to get married still but this time, we will do our research thoroughly and will be on top of the venue from the start.

Hi Beks.

Hope you find somewhere nice.

jackieglasgow

What did you say that place was called? The Blazing Donkey? Where? Ham, Sandwich. Thanks.X

ariarnia

Not directly relevent, but this was a most entertaining and well written review on Trip Advisor that I greatly enjoyed reading - I'm not the author and have no idea who is, but still.

“Not a great experience”

KimHoll 1 contribution
Sandwich
7 Feb 2008


2
people found this review helpful

The Blazing Donkey, Ham, Kent

When Paddy Burt visited the Blazing Donkey back in 2003 she expressed her disappointment in the food and the service. It seems that lessons have not been learned. Certainly it would be a brave girl who entrusted her big day to a kitchen that cannot produce good food for 14 covers over 5 tables! But to start at the beginning…

I have eaten at the Blazing Donkey several times before and the food has been quite good, if characterised by unfortunate mistakes in presentation. A pat! with no toast or other carrier; an outfacingly large portion of pork – admitted to be a double portion in error – but these things can happen when a sous chef produces food designed by an absent head chef. Last night, however, proved to me that these were not isolated mistakes but a sign of serious systemic problems.

Ignoring the garish new green and orange exterior lighting, wholly inappropriate to a country restaurant, we entered the inn soon after 7.30 p.m.. To be fair, the interior is lovely. The new bar is unobtrusive but reassuringly solid and the chunky tables and comfortable upholstered chairs beckon alluringly.

Nobody was there to greet us and the first section of the restaurant was completely empty of diners. At the far end, beyond the bar a few – possibly 9 or 10 – diners occupied four tables. We approached the bar and proffered a cheery ‘hello’ to the apparently empty space. ‘Oooh you startled me!’, came the reply as a little waitress of mature years bobbed up from nowhere. Not too surprising, as she must have become acclimatised to the sound of her own heartbeat in the hushed restaurant.

I told her that we had booked a table for four. She didn’t ask my name but looked around, locating a table and said ‘You could sit over there’; clearly not the maitre d’, then, but welcoming in her own way.

As we took our seats, she asked what we would like to drink. I reached for the wine list and she disappeared. No help to be had there. We chose a couple of bottles of young Italian fruity wine – quite drinkable, it turned out, and only a little overpriced. We awaited the return of the waitress. And waited. And waited. Finally she did arrive and I ordered the wine, pointing out that we had still not been given menus. This was rectified and we began to peruse. We were told that certain items were unavailable but that they had instead a filet steak and a halibut. It was at this point that we spotted something familiar: the menu was unchanged since July when we had last visited. On the menu, printed along with the other offerings, were filet steak and halibut. Not exactly alternatives to the missing dishes, then!

We ordered some bread and oil to nibble whilst we made our choices and this was delivered quite promptly: lovely walnut bread from the Wingham bakery. Yummy. The oil was not particularly aromatic but there were some excellent, fresh anchovies on offer; so quite a good start to the meal. Decisions made, we awaited the return of the waitress. Still no sign of anyone in overall charge of proceedings, so nobody saw that we were looking around expectantly. We continued to wait. Milton assured us that ‘They also serve, who only stand and wait’. He didn’t quite mean it in this way!

At this point a lone diner pushed away his barely-touched food, got up and walked out. Perhaps he wasn’t hungry. The waitress eventually arrived and took our orders.

It is just as well that I have known our two guests for many years. We had a great deal to talk about and it is always good to catch up with the gossip. Eventually, however, even I could think of nothing more that needed saying except, perhaps, ‘Where on earth is our food? They’re hardly busy in here!’

After several millennia, the waitress reappeared with the first two dishes: ’pork belly’ for me and ‘corned beef hash with duck egg’ - without the duck egg! The waitress had already disappeared back to the kitchen for the other two dishes but we pointed out the paucity of egg on her return. (How can a ‘chef’ miss off half the described elements of a dish?). Back to the kitchen - to remonstrate with the errant duck, no doubt. We decided to eat immediately so that the food did not get cold.

What a thoughtful chef: he had anticipated our concern and provided food that was already stone cold! Well, to be honest, the protein parts of the meals were somewhat above lukewarm; it was the vegetables, including potatoes, that were cold. The waitress returned with the duck’s offering and was dispatched back to the kitchen for the chef.

He duly appeared looking reassuringly apologetic and confirmed that the food was cold. He did offer to heat it for us, give him his due, but we hadn’t actually come to eat reheated food. Furthermore, if the food had been properly cooked before, reheating it was only likely to result in overcooking. We had waited far too long for the meal already and my wife in particular needed to eat, as she is diabetic and has to eat regularly or she ends up with a very confused pancreas! I explained this to the chef and said that we needed to eat now but would expect a reduction in the bill (no figure mentioned).

At this point, it is only fair to say that the food tasted very good. But it should have been a hot meal, not a salad!

The chef returned. (Where was the maitre d’/manager/owner? Why was the chef running around like a headless chicken?) He had spoken to the missing manager and had been told that, as we had eaten the meal, no discount would be forthcoming. We were offered a meal at a later date in recompense.

Now call me old fashioned, but to offer more of the same doesn’t feel like recompense to me! Furthermore, imagine the atmosphere in which such a meal would be eaten! This concern was confirmed later when we finally met the manager read on!

I told the chef my feelings and reiterated that I would be looking for an adjustment to the bill.

We continued with our meal – some very enjoyable puddings. The ice cream was cold – they’d been practising!

Eventually, I approached the bar to settle the bill. The manager finally put in an appearance. He told me that it was ‘house policy’ that no discount would be made as we had eaten the food. I told him that it was my policy to pay 90% of the bill and he could sue me for the remainder if he wished!

I was told that I had been unreasonable and had demanded that one of our meals should be free. News to me! I raised my eyebrows at the chef who looked rather sheepish at this point. I repeated that I would be happy to pay 90% of the bill and that the food had been well flavoured and therefore not wholly unsatisfactory. I was told that my opinion of the food was irrelevant!

The chef had made a few mistakes, admitted them and could, if left alone, have made all well. We might have felt comfortable enough to give the place another chance on the strength of previous meals. The ‘manager’ didn’t manage. I shall not be returning. Readers may, of course, do as they wish!

• Date of stay February 2008

zax47

What did you say that place was called?

The Blazing Donkey, Ham, Sandwich, Kent.

Thanks.

creased-leach

Hubby used to drink in there as a teen- before it went upmarket.

Just wanted to but in & mention that there was an infamous local roadsign that read "Ham Sandwich"- but it got nicked so many times they changed it!