Oak Restaurant in Dacorum

This was a Sunday lunchtime meal for 9 people 25 years after 2 of the diners had their wedding reception at this hotel. There were only 2 other tables occupied in the restaurant during the visit despite being told on booking that they were very busy and hoped to fit us in. The meal took 3 hours and 20 minutes for 3 courses in contrast to being told that the table needed to be vacated 2 hours after the booked time. Scallops for starter was £13. There were 2 scallops! Looked Queen rather than King. £6.50 a scallop is on the dear side! It took me 90 seconds therefore to eat my starter. One scallop less and it would have been scallop not scallops. My main course was fish and chips. Haddock fried with skin on which is unusual these days. Chips were more numerous than the scallops-eleven in total. Undoubtedly the smallest portion of chips I’ve ever had and I’ve eaten an awful lot of chips. The rest of our table had similar complaints. The staff although pleasant were conspicuous by their absence and I spent most of the meal staring at an empty plate, only slightly more empty than when it arrived. The bill as usual was presented with an additional 12.5% service charge. When are we going to outlaw this ridiculous practice in the U.K.? Pay staff a decent wage and include staff costs in the cost of the food.