This joint hashad its chips

I can still vividly recall our incredulity when, after ordering a Hawaiian, our waiter informed us they had no pineapples - even though they were growing aplenty in trees we could see from our seats!

I’ve often wondered what the equivalent in Scotland might be, but that question was finally answered on Sunday.

After picking up a Christmas present from Argos in the retail park, we were looking for somewhere to grab a bite to eat and hit upon Frankie & Benny’s, where we’ve previously had an enjoyable lunch.

It all started well enough. We were quickly shown to our seats, our drinks arrived promptly and we spent a few minutes perusing the menu. Then it was time to order ...

My wife ordered the Classico cheeseburger, billed as coming with fries and coleslaw, only for our rather embarrassed waitress to inform us they were out of fries.

Baked or mashed potatoes were offered (if they had potatoes would it have been too much of a task to rustle up some fries?) but while the mash sat well enough with my fishcakes, neither are a particularly good accompaniment for a burger. Assured that a new batch would be delivered soon, Pauline decided to have the burger on its own and the fries when they finally arrived.

However, when the dishes turned up there was a little plate of chips (definitely chips, not fries) with my son’s meal.

When we questioned this we were told they’d been bought from Tesco and customers had complained they weren’t up to the usual standard.

As I said before, we’ve enjoyed meals there in the past but if this is going to be Frankie & Benny’s standard of service going forward we won’t be back.