A ROMANTIC night out at a Bolton hotel was wrecked for furious diners who were served under-cooked chicken. Many customers who paid £18 per head left the Moat House Hotel's Cloister Restaurant having eaten just a starter, sorbet and dessert.

A hotel spokesman admitted: "There were problems on that evening. It was a very unfortunate incident especially with it being Valentine's night.

"All we can do is apologise. It was an oversight on the part of our kitchen staff. We have records of all cooking times and temperatures and one batch did not get cooked thoroughly enough."

A diner who was booked in as part of a party of eight said: "The chicken was red and with what looked like blood clots in it.

"The waitress apologised when we complained and sent the head waitress over to us. She agreed that she could see there was a problem and was very amenable.

"The restaurant manager arrived and said he could not give us a refund but would look at some way of compensating us instead. "He told us part of the oven was not working properly. It soon became clear that there were other diners at other tables with the same problem." Unable to gain satisfaction, the group once again went in search of the manager.

The diner said: "We tracked him down and again he said he would not give us our money back but instead offered us a couple of bottles of wine and a discounted meal.

"We told him this was not good enough and asked to speak to the hotel manager."

Eventually a manager from Wigan arrived and looked at the uneaten chicken.

He offered a refund, free drinks to compensate and the opportunity to book in free to the hotel in the future.

The diner said: "We arrived for our meal at 7.30pm and it was not until 10.35pm before we were finally given a refund. I have never had service - or a meal - like it."

The hotel spokesman added: "A number of people were complaining and they were compensated. Complimentary wine was also given out.

"This was a very unfortunate incident which has previously been unheard of in the Cloisters Restaurant. The hotel is obviously very upset."

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