A pub in Lancashire has come under fire from diners after asking them to pay £1.50 extra to add a Yorkshire pudding or more gravy onto their roast dinner.
Unhappy diners have left reviews saying they would never return, blasting the pub for adding on the extra charges -with one saying they were left ‘totally disgusted’.
However, the owner has defended the extra charges – saying that they are justified because the Yorkies and gravy are both homemade.
One customer said they would never return to the pub, as they found the extra charge for their Yorkshire pudding – not included with the roast – to be completely outrageous.
The guest, named Steve, left a one-star review of his experience, writing: “Went there for a Sunday roast. In all my life I have never been in a restaurant for a roast beef dinner and told it does not include a Yorkshire pudding.
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Image: The Kicking Donkey
“It costs an extra £1.50 and if you want gravy with that, it also costs an extra £1.50.
“Totally disgusted. We will never be going back there. First visit. Never again.”
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A quick look at the sample Sunday roast menu on The Kicking Donkey’s website shows a standard roast priced at £12.95, with no mention of additional charges for Yorkies or more gravy.
The Kicking Donkey in Omskirk, Lancashire, ranks at #5 of 67 restaurants in the area and boasts a Travellers’ Choice Award, with an overall rating of 4.5 stars on TripAdvisor.
Image: The Kicking Donkey
189 diners have rated it as ‘Excellent’, however, it seems that not everyone agrees – with some diners left completely outraged at being asked to pay £1.50 to add either a Yorkshire pudding or extra gravy onto their roast dinners.
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Steve was not the only to complain about the extra charges, with another diner named Larry also leaving a review to register his disappointment.
Larry wrote: “Roast dinner was bland, hardly any taste. You want a Yorkshire pudding or more gravy, fine, but you need to pay extra.
“Dogs allowed in eating areas, not great idea – so not for me. Tried it, but no more.”
Image: The Kicking Donkey
Its owner, writing online as Matt F, has replied to both reviews – justifying the extra charges for both Yorkshire puddings and more gravy on the basis that they are both homemade from scratch.
In a reply to Steve, he wrote: “Hi Steve. Sorry to have upset you so much.
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“The reason we charge for Yorkies and extra gravy is that they’re both home-made from scratch.
“In the past, people have asked for extra and then it comes back untouched.
“I believe that the staff’s work should be reflected in their pay, and so we do need to charge for things like this. They cost us money to make.
“It’s a disappointment to hear that you won’t dine with us again, but I felt at the very least you were owed an explanation.”
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Notably, on their December Christmas menu, the pub has now released a beef dish with a Yorkshire pudding included for just £13.95.
Feature image – The Kicking Donkey
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Manchester City ‘strongly condemn’ racist abuse towards first-team players at Everton
Danny Jones
Manchester City Football Club have released a statement following yet more troubling racist abuse in the Premier League this May bank holiday.
Pep Guardiola’s side faced Everton in a fixture that ended in a 3-3 draw, which could prove pivotal in their pursuit of leaders Arsenal.
Sadly, however, one of the main stories to be taken from the game once again revolves around abuse and discrimination.
Match officials were quickly made aware of racial remarks directed at winger Antoine Semenyo on the day, and, unfortunately, defender Marc Guehi has also been the subject of hateful messaging online in the aftermath of the result.
Sharing a short, but simple and emphatic statement, the club wrote: “Manchester City strongly condemns the racist abuse directed towards Antoine Semenyo at yesterday’s match.
“We welcome the swift action taken by Everton and the police to identify the individual responsible.
“We are also incredibly disappointed to hear that Marc Guéhi was subject to a series of vile racist social media posts last night.”
They go on to add that they will “continue to offer our full support to both Antoine and Marc and never accept discrimination of any kind in our game.”
Everton themselves have since confirmed that local authorities swiftly identified at least one individual alleged to be responsible for the unacceptable behaviour.
As mentioned in their own post, the culprit is said to have been a 71-year-old man who was quickly flagged by fans and stewards inside the Hill Dickinson Stadium.
While this may be the first incident reported at the Toffees’ new home ground, regrettably, it’s just the latest in a long line of similar cases raised not just in English football but the top flight, specifically.
It goes without saying that we’re sorry to hear that stuff like this is still happening, and we send our strength to all those who continue to be affected by this despicable treatment.
As ever, ‘the beautiful game’ is for everyone and racism has no place in society, let alone football – kick it out once and for all. In other news surrounding Man City, there’s also been some controversy surrounding their upcoming FA Youth Cup final.
Manchester City turn down Old Trafford offer for FA Youth Cup final in favour of Joie Stadium
Danny Jones
Manchester City have turned down an offer from rivals Man United to hold the FA Youth Cup final at Old Trafford.
The Cityzens have instead chosen to host it themselves, only not at the Etihad Campus’ main ground, but rather the Joie Stadium.
Primarily used for City Women and the club’s EDS (elite development squad) and academy teams, the arena was formerly and simply known as The Academy Stadium, was renamed for sponsorship reasons back in 2023, and has seen several updates over the years.
Seating just a fraction of the amount possible across the city at the ‘Theatre of Dreams’, the decision has disappointed many, but has been seen as a shrewd bit of gamesmanship by some, as it could effectively see any home advantage handed over to their opponents.
With this set to be the first Manchester derby FA Youth Cup in four whole decades, many supporters were hoping to go along and back their young teams in big numbers.
Proving somewhat divisive among both fan bases, with each of their under-18s squads having enjoyed promising seasons, to say the least, literally tens of thousands look set to miss out on potential tickets as a result of the announcement.
For context, the last time Man United won the coveted academy tournament – which has often served as a key first piece of silverware won by entire generations of young talent – they welcomed a record youth crowd of 67,492 in May of 2022.
In comparison, even with a sold-out stadium, the Joie would only be able to match around 10% of that figure at most.
That being said, it goes without saying that United fans have been some of the most vocal on social media following the controversial confirmation.
best two youth teams in England meeting in the FA Youth Cup final and playing them in small stadium at MCFC is such a shame. 60,000 would watch this game if it was done right.
On the day, the winning team featured the likes of now fully graduated senior stars like Kobbie Mainoo, Alejandro Garnacho, and Joe Hugill, along with several still-rising prospects.
Some of the starlets that lots of fans would have been looking forward to seeing live in a large and historic sporting arena include Jim Thwaites, Noah Ajayi, Kai Rooney, JJ Gabriel on the red half, and the likes of Kylan Midwood, Divine Mukasa, Stephen Mfuni, Reigan Heskey and more in the blue.
Head coach Oliver Reiss (who took over in July 2024) led his City side to the U18 Premier League North title at the start of this month; meanwhile, Darren Fletcher has returned to oversee his young Red Devils after a spell as caretaker manager of the men’s first team.
While tickets were expected to be snapped up rather quickly already for the all-Manc FA Youth Cup final, it’s now set to be a race for followers of both teams to get their hands on their respective allocations.
Georgina Pellant -
13th December 2021 
