How would you have complained?

Probably have asked to speak to a manager, and taken it from there.

You ordered chicken nuggets. what exactly did you expect would arrive? some wonderful gourmet version? to say "all dishes are freshly prepared" is naughty, but its accurate isnt it? since they are in fact preparing the dishes, whether they are frozen or not.

This is going to sound incredibly snippy but to order chicken nuggets and chips for your 18 month old is grim in my view, and i find it impossible to have any sympathy at all. you chose to go to that restaurant having seen the menu. so, suck it up.

How would I have complained? I would have said exactly what the problems were there and then. I really can't understand why people are happy to eat rubbish when they've forked out for a restaurant meal. Was it a Happy Eater or a Harvester? At least if it's a chain you might get some mileage out of complaining to a head office.

Thanks for your replies. Nick, I prepare fresh, homemade chicken nuggets for my son and homemade fries which are both healthy. I buy good quality produce to cook with and he doesn't have them every day, just occasionally for a treat. When I read that all the dishes were freshly prepared I assumed (obviously incorrectly) that they would be similar to those I make at home, not the mass produced rubbish Birdseye churn out. You are right that I chose to eat there after seeing the menu but the menu lead me to believe that the food they served was 'freshly prepared' and from that I think it was reasonable to assume that we wouldn't be served something frozen and out of a box.

I wasn't after sympathy over my choice from the menu, simply advice on how others would have complained in the same situation.

Baron, no, it wasn't a chain and you're right, I would usually have complained if the food was cold/not what I'd ordered or similar, I was just a bit stumped over what to say really. 'Excuse me Mr Manager but I have ordered pasta with sauce and that's exactly what I've got but I strongly suspect that your chef has simply popped to Tesco and I'm eating the results' didn't seem to cut it somehow [:-)]

It does rather come down to that clever word 'prepared', doesn't it? The pasta and sauce - unless it was actually poor quality, I'd have just eaten it. Some of the fresh supermarket offerings are really pretty good, so it would have to be a bit yuck as well as suspiciously Tesco-looking for me to say anything. But the chicken nuggets... that would depend on the restaurant. If it wasn't a Harvester type place, and the quality of the rest of the menu was priced and prepared at a higher than mass-market rate, then I probably would have said something there and then. They are still freshly 'prepared' - but I would have just called the waiter back, and asked for them to be taken away and left off the bill. I think that's reasonable if they're below the quality you could expect from the rest of the menu and price. I'd have just given the child some (Tesco!) pasta, or asked for something more suitable. I don't have children, but when I take my nieces out, it annoys me that all restaurants seem to bother to offer for them is cr*p. You should have just refused it there and then. At this point, I might just write a letter expressing my disappointment. Although - actually, I'd think about doing, but not get round to it!

Rose, i didnt question what you do at home. but if it was a harvester type place or similar, surely your expections were such that you wouldnt expect something scintillating? as it is, i agree with MG, you could have said that it wasnt up to scratch and asked them to take it away, and remove it from the bill. in terms of the pasta, same again really, but its all about expectation isnt it? if you went to a great restaurant and were served that, then you d have every right to complain, but if it was a chain type place, then you really cant expect gourmet food. same applies though, if you really felt it was crap, then i dont see anything wrong with asking for the manager, telling him youre disappinted and saying you suspect it was either frozen, or from a packet, and refusing to pay that portion of the bill. they cant MAKE you pay, all they can do is ask for your name and adress and then choose to pursue you for it, which in reality is extremely unlikely.

A bit of a tangent, but it riles me that restaurants so often assume children = nuggets and chips. We went out to a middlingly good pub last week, which was pretty good, but the "children's menu" dishes that I saw were, well, nuggets with chips and baked beans.

ditto. but then why do parents order it as opposed to asking for a smaller portion of a more...usual meal. if no one ordered it, they would change it. so there must be demand, as demonstrated by rosencrantz.

I could eat nuggets chips and beans right now. When i was a child my favourite meal out was at little chef and i always had the bumper burger grill.

We were proper posh.

<tangent> I work at Litten Tree (Yates) and you wouldn't believe the amount of chicken nuggets/fish fingers/burgers we get through! As nick says, they're on the menu because people order it.

I would have complained then and there if I wasn't happy with something, at least then they might have had the chance to do something about it.

I know in some cheaper places I have eaten they have provided a seperate childrens menu which has been sh*te, and when I have asked for a small portion off the adult menu I have been refused but if you are persistant and ask for manager then you can usually get what you want. If they wont provide a smaller adult portion then I would rather go elsewhere.

Not sure what I would have done exactly but if I was going to feed my children I would go off of the adult's menu and just asked for a starter size/kid's size portion. I wouldn't eat nuggets and chips myself, so why would I want to feed them to my babies?

Anyway, like some others have said saying food is 'prepared' is different from saying it is 'home made'.

Thanks all, you're all right in that I should have said something there and then, I really didn't know what to say really. I suppose it does come down to expectations. It really wasn't a cheapy chain kind of place, and much of the food (the steaks for example) were cooked very well.

I'll know for next time now (although I hope there won't be one!)