The Duke - Hastings

We arrived at 12pm as we were going the game at Twickenham and only received our final 6 main courses at 1.35pm over 40 minutes after the first 2 main courses were served. Overall the service was terrible and we do not intend to ever go back again.

The first time I’ve been to The Duke in a few years and unfortunately it’s appears to have gone down hill. The bar area is still nice and welcoming, but the restaurant feels dull and cold by comparison. The food was also very average; some dishes were off completely and the Sunday roast consisted of a tasteless lump of pork, frozen Yorkshire puddings and ‘roast’ potatoes with the texture of boiled potatoes. A real shame, but there are better options in Richmond.

Disappointed that we had to wait nearly 15 mins for any service despite being shown straight away to our reserved table. Our wine was delivered and we had to ask for glasses after waiting another 5 mins. After finishing starters the cutlery was refreshed but again had to ask for replacement steak knife. Staff were extremely pleasant which was the saving grace and food was about par for the course.

This was a first visit, although we had passed many times and the location was ideal for a pre pantomine drink and snack. The £26 Pinot Noir was excellent and the £15 meze plate was perfect for a snack but certainly not enough for 6 if hungry (you would need two lots).

This is the 2nd time I have visited The Duke and the experience this time was not as good. Unfortunately, the waiting staff seemed very disorganised and were not very attentive when taking the order. The cutlery, serviettes were not brought out all at once but they kept coming backwards and forwards. One of the party had the gnocchi and when the waiter asked if we wanted anything else, ie, sauces, etc, they requested some parmesan cheese. The waiter returned to say that we could have parmesan but there would be an extra charge of £1 ! I have never in all the times I have visited restaurants have been asked to pay extra for parmesan cheese. We then asked to speak to the manager, who came over and said she would have to speak to the chef as she was a temporary manager. I am not sure what that had to do with making a decision on whether or not we had to pay for the parmesan. I pointed out that a member of the party was having the fish chips but had requested at the time of ordering that they did not want the mushy peas or tartare sauce. We would certainly not have expected to receive a reduction in the price ! The temporary manager then said she did not want to argue about it so would bring a portion of parmesan for no extra cost. I was a bit annoyed as there should have not been any argument at all as surely a small grating of parmesan should be free anyway, or the price incorporated in the cost of the meal !