The Royal George, Appledore

It's that time of year isn't it? When everyone is off out in groups for Christmas lunches and dinners - we eat, socialise and spend to excess for the sake of the festive season. I generally avoid works 'dos' like the plague as a general rule - they normally deteriorate into lengthy discussions about work issues and then everyone has too much to drink. This is normally followed a day or two later by a piece by piece dissection of how drunk everyone got and what silly things were said and done. However, a certain few of us have developed the tradition of having two meals a year together, one ... more

A memorably disappointing evening. The owner's attitude changed from oily to frosty as soon as it was politely pointed out that the limited range of dishes on offer bore little relation to what had been cheerfully promised when the booking was made, One of our party has special dietary requirements which we had been assured would be easily catered for. As it turned out the only suitable dish, prominently advertised on the specials board, was not available, even at 7,45pm with the restaurant less than half full. Another dish was found, but it was a poor substitute for what had been expected. No ... more