1 /5 Connor McCann: Really want to be fair with this review. For context we arrived early for a drink before a 30th birthday meal.
Pro: Love the fact the venue is dog friendly and had borad games for guests.
Cons: Upon entry I asked the barman if they had a drinks menu and was told no. Limited drink selection due to being a Shepard Neame Pub. Later found drinks menus readily available the opposite side of the bar and upon asking staff, I was informed all drinks are available both sides of the bar. So I can only assume the barman couldnt be bothered to provide one or make some of the cocktails listed on it.
Then during the Birthday meal, I had pre ordered the thai chicken pad thai. Sadly the chicken was very visibly pink (undercooked cooked). Upon bringing this to the attention of staff, I was gaslight into being assured the chicken had been probed before leaving the kicthen and that "authentic thai chicken is often pink".
Im no food critic, however I can appreciate that certain spices can give chicken a pink colouring and I can also appreciate coming off a grill and under a heat lamp you want it slightly under to be perfectly arrived at the table. However in this case it was very clearly and visibly undercooked. When its so clear for everyone to see, defending the indefensible isnt the best course of action.
The dish was returned to the kitchen, everyone else had eaten and we had to follow up before being presented with a new dish. The new dish went from visibly undercooked to what felt like and looked like, deliberately overcooked chicken.
The chicken aside, the pad thai itself was actually really nice.
The meal was removed from the bill and still paid service. Everyone else appeared to enjoy the meal and I was the only person to have ordered the thai chicken pad thai.
Can I recommend the Royal after my first visit? Sadly not. Its post Christmas and maybe on another day the service could have been better.
