"Oh dear, where do I start We had horses we own running at Newton Abbot and having made the journey from Salisbury by train, decided to look for a restaurant on the way back and were pleased when The Thai Orchid took our online booking...A short while after booking we took a call asking us to delay our booking slot due to a large party arriving simultaneously, no problem I said. Anyway with our taxi already booked we arrived in the lovely Cathedral Close setting at around and enjoyed drinks outside an neighbouring bar. With no sign of the large party arrival at just after we enquired as to the availability of our booked table, but readily agreed to our previously agreed delayal On sitting at our table at around it became apparent that the proprietor (an ageing plump and goatee bearded gent) was a rather stressed. We were presented with foldered menus and a wine list as well as a tatty single sheet ‘temporary wine list’, ordering from the more elaborate list seemed to irritate ‘mine host’ , explaining he had issues with his normal supplier, hence the temporary offering, one wonders why on earth we were tempted by the normal offerings and subsequently questioned the nature of said dispute! Anyway a perfectly acceptable bottle arrived followed by our starters, part of the set meal we chose An hour later, my wife gently enquired as to the likely arrival of our main course, with it now being and our train departure being She was chastised by the proprietor for not making him aware of our ‘tight timescale’. I would not have thought an booking to catch a train at a station nearby was overly reckless On quietly discussing this with my wife, I mentioned that I thought our chosen venue appeared to be rather ‘a shambles’ This seemed to light the proverbial touch paper… ‘did somebody say the word shambles’, muttered our host, through gritted teeth… I duly admitted, explaining our disappointment, quietly and rationally, only to be roared at… telling us to get out and that we a year old couple) were banned for life My wife was consoled by what appeared to be a senior waitress, ‘oh no, not again’ she said, a history check on this very site, proving such aggressive outbursts are not uncommon here. We were escorted to the door where our charming host told me how keen he was to ‘knock my f…… block off’ Please do review my history here on Trip Advisor and judge my rationale . Never, ever have I been treated like this… This man is indeed A SHAMBLES"
