I joined some friends at the George Charles on a Sunday afternoon, tempted in by the sight of their delicious roast dinners. The problem for me (which isn't usually a problem as such), is that I'm gluten free.
Not expecting an establishment to outwardly display their gluten-free options, I promptly went to the bar to ask how they would be able to accommodate my dietary requirement. I was sat at the bar for, in total, 15 minutes as 3 different members of staff tried to help me. My initial request as to whether they can have gluten-free gravy was met with the response, 'we have vegetarian gravy!' I then reaffirmed that it was only gluten I'm intolerant to, to which the staff responded - 'hmmm, I'm not really sure what gluten is in'. They ran to the kitchen to check with the chef. 5 minutes later they informed me that I could have the English breakfast (I promptly discounted that as sausages often have flour in) or the vegetarian breakfast minus the bread. But that was all they could offer. So, not wanting to be the odd one out among a table-full of diners, I ordered a vegetarian breakfast without the bread.
After a 25-minute wait, what came out really shocked me. A huge plate with two spindly meat-substitute sausages, a tiny fried egg and a small pot of baked beans. Not even enough to constitute a snack, let alone a £10+ meal! I wish I'd taken a photo of the plate to show how extreme it was, unfortunately hunger won out and I divulged the snack placed in front of me. It was made so much worse when I looked down the table and saw all of my friends tucking into their piled-high roasts telling me how delicious they were.
I have since written a complaint to the George Charles about this visit, along with a request to consider providing for food intolerances / allergies on their menu. I received a brief and delayed responses saying they would develop some alternatives and invite me back for a meal on the house - sadly this has never happened.
A promising exterior leaves a lot to be desired on the inside. read more