A woman has claimed she has been barred from a pub after complaining on social media about the food she received after ordering Sunday dinner there.
Katie Lou, 31, took to Facebook to write a complaint about the food she had from The Hope and Union, a popular pub based on Silver Street in Stockton.
During her visit to the renowned pub, Katie says she was left disappointed when her Sunday roast came looking "like a kids meal" and was "freezing" when she bit into it, report Teesside Live.
After paying £15.50 for the food and a total of £20.83 when other costs were included, such as delivery, the 31-year-old raised her concerns to the venue on Facebook messenger.
However, after hearing no response, the mum then threatened to post her thoughts and pictures of the meal on the social media site for all to see.
In response to this, The Hope and Union immediately wrote back to her and called the situation "deplorable". They went on to inform Katie that she was barred from visiting again after she made her intention of posting photos clear.
Despite being a popular place for a Sunday lunch across the country, and recently featuring in The Guardian's 30 of the Best UK Pubs for Sunday Lunch, Katie says she was left far from impressed at their service.
Reviews on Tripadvisor say the venue punches 'well above its weight' and is praised for its 'relaxed atmosphere' inside, and overall holds an impressive 4.5-star rating based on 407 reviews. And on UberEats, the venue holds a 4.6-star rating from 37 ratings - with a five star food hygiene rating.
One user even described their Sunday lunch as "absolutely faultless" and another called it the "best-hidden gem."
However, Katie says her experience was far from this, saying: "I thought I'd order [a Sunday dinner] from The Hope and Union in Stockton, and I ordered it and it came to about £15.50, and that was with an extra Yorkshire pudding. The dinner was meant to come with pork belly, crackling, apple sauce, creamy mash, seasonal greens, roasties, roast carrots, parsnips, and red cabbage."
She continued to list her dinner, saying: "The apple sauce was missing and I got three carrots, two roasties, two parsnips, loads of peas in a pod, and a small portion of red cabbage. It also came with gravy on the side in a pot.
"I was not happy - I paid £15.50 and it looked like a kids meal. It was freezing cold and the potatoes tasted like they had been sat for a while and been re-cooked - they were dry."
The mum said that she firstly attempted to call the venue through Uber Eats and complain, saying: "I explained to a person on the phone [from the pub] who told me to message their Facebook and said they would reply straight away. I messaged at 5.30pm and they replied at 6.22pm."
The 31-year-old then posted screenshots of her messages with the venue on Facebook, where she threatened to take the matter to social media if they did not respond.
In the messages, which were seen by Teesside Live, the pub then called the situation "deplorable" and added: "our record for customer service speaks for itself."
Speaking about this, Katie said: "I thought it was a bit rude and unprofessional. Everywhere that does food isn't going to always get positive reviews. Sometimes negative reviews are a good thing so you know what to improve on."
She then once again made the intention to post her opinions on social media, which saw the pub respond with a simple statement: "You're barred." Regarding this response, Katie said: "I thought it was ridiculous. I ordered a dinner and it has come the way it did and I was complaining - it's not my fault.
"I have left it at that - I would've gone back for dinner to try it inside but I can't now I've been barred so I won't be going back."
The Hope and Union gastropub has been contacted by The Mirror for a comment.
