please note - reviews on this site are purely the opinion of site visitors, so don't take them too seriously.
Probably focuses more on food but any pub that serves Larkins beer gets multiple bonus points from me. Friendly service and a very pleasant beer garden with a treehouse for the over 80s.
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A reduction in menu choice coupled with an increase in prices recently prompts a drop in rating.
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Lovely pub with loads of seating and parking. Mainly a food pub, it sits directly opposite Penshurst station and is favourite stop for those visiting the nearby NT. The ales are Green King and Larkins which are all kept very well (Cask Masque accredited). The food is also good and varied. I ordered Moules today which was not the French style but still very good, and there was about 35-40 of them. All meals are very generous in fact.
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Dear Benton, I have noticed you following my reviews and ridiculing them like a rascal. Maybe you are jealous of my good looks or my beautiful wife, but any further attempts to poo poo my opinions will result in me drawing my sword and slaying you in cold blood, leaving me free to steal your wife and son and hold them captive in a cage in a field somewhere for my viewing pleasure. All kind regards and best wishes, Cakenhoff.
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Revisited the pub with my wife....WIFE. (and son). Sorry ladies, I am taken. CANNOT believe that visiting on 2 different days would result in the food being slightly different - shocking. Who runs this place?!
Some sort of pop culture reference to a much overhyped and overexposed book goes here. Blah blah blah. Insert cliche here.... Yes I follow popular culture and am still relevant and cool despite pushing 50 and getting pleasure from penning reviews on this shit website that nobody reads.
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I was only here 6 weeks ago! And it couldn't have been more different. The girls serving outside looked very moody indeed. The beer was lovely but the food this time was very bad. I had bangers n mash, which I have to admit, was ok, and my wife and my son had the ham, egg and chips. The yolk of one of my wife's eggs was paler than Joan Collins' face, and the ham looked as if it had just had the colour purposely removed from it. Fifty shades of GREY no less. It was a very sorry looking plate of food. Needless to say most of it got left. And I know it's not the pubs fault, but the wasps in the garden drive you mad. We had more fun killing them than we did eating. Say much?
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SLIMY plaice, wife was NOT impressed. Toilets were brilliant, and as a man who went to this pub with the WIFE I might reiterate, I found the toilets to be clean, airy and effete. Do try to go here, at least to sample the toilets.
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Just been here for the first time. Pub is HUGE inside and looks welcoming. Sat in the lovely beer garden and ordered some food, which was nice. The wife had the plaice which was, however, a bit slimy on the underside. I don't get what people are saying about the toilets. They're very nice, clean toilets. Whatever, the staff are really nice and always smiling and the beers fresh. will definitely go back.
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Huge pub but still packed at 5-6pm on a Sunday. Massive garden, very noisy inside - kids and music. Average beer - Larkins and Abbot and a Timothy Taylor that wasn't 'Landlord'. Serves food noon to 9pm Sundays, which is useful, as there seems to be a scarcity of decent pubs around here. Handy for Penshurst station too.
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Very busy place, perhaps too busy at times.... One word of warning, the toilets are very effeminate, as a man I found them to be completely at odds with what I am accustomed to. I went with my missus. MISSUS. That's right, anonymous readers, I am not single any more and rather down with the local slang. Missus. MISSUS. She loved it, owing to the books.
One other thing to watch out for... (to those who haven't been to this pub in the last 2 decades) I took my elderly mother here and she almost collapsed when she saw it had changed hands since her last visit. If you go you must try the chips, they are ginormous.
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Paid another visit to this pub on a recent cycle trip. Was very busy on the Sunday afternoon we visited, with several groups coming here to eat. we, as usual, stucj to the one drink each and of the three real ales on tap, I went for the Hooky which was nice enough. Also had Thatcher's for the Missus. The toilets were a bit poncy
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The missus certainly enjoyed this pub. She spent most of our time here reading the old books on the book shelf. Good selection of ales, and although it seems more orientated towards food, you ccan hardly blame them as most people would have to drive to get here. Overall I thought this was a lovely pub and a welcome stop off as we cycled towards Edenbridge
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Took my aged father here for lunch on Monday, making a return visit after twenty years. My face fell when I saw it had gone over to Greene King, but to be fair it wasn't bad. Alongside two GK offerings they had Roosters Yankee (�3.70 a pint ) and Golden Sheep. Food menu okay, although dad's beer battered haddock and chips looked pricey ( his words ) at �12.95. But the small portion I ordered for him at �9.95 still came with a huge pile of hand cut chips and TWO pieces of fish. Apparently the normal sized order is just one huge piece.
Talking of the chips, they were the biggest I have ever seen anywhere. Staff were friendly, and we sat outside in their excellent garden. All in all, not bad. Well worth a return visit.
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Visited for the fist time in almost a year and was pleasantly surprised. The place wasn't as packed as usual, but it was late on a Saturday afternoon! The food was good and well priced and so was the beer. Maybe just me, but it seems to have improved. However, I guess when the sun comes out the people will flock to this place making it too busy and impersonal for my liking!
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Worked there during 2000 for one brief summer when it was run by an Irishman who is probably the kindest man that I ever did meet, yet no-one's fool. At the time, they had a fabulous idea for food that made the pub a mint - not baked potatoes but roast potatoes, just like your would receive with roast dinner. People came from miles around and it was a great crowd of people there over lunchm many from a number of welder's shop with many a great tale ot tell.
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There's no places round here at JDW prices, though this pub has a slight feel of a JDW gormet location, maybe because its big and has had a harvester pubbification make-over, with quite an emphasis on dining. Lots of different types of people seemed to be there on Saturday night.
Real ale wise, they were not bad.
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I really don't understand why people say London is so expensive. The Little Brown Jug is charging �3.70 for a pint of Kronenberg. Don't think I've ever been charged that much in London.
I don't like Kronenberg that much, so thought I'd switch to a bottle of Budvar. Wish I hadn't as this was �3.40 for a 330 ml bottle.
The pub itself is ok, but it did seem to be based more around food. I didn't eat, as I couldn't afford to after the expensive beers.
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This is the sort of pub - like the Chaser Inn at Shipbourne - that attracts loads of people at weekends and bank holidays, but you have to wonder why. The food is good and the beer is average, but what makes people flock to this place is beyond me when there are so many pubs nearby that are nowhere near as busy, but just as good.
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Much changed since I first went there, but still a nice enough county pub (albeit with an emphasis on food). The signs say Greene King, and that's the beer on offer, but it now belongs to the small Whiting & Hammond chain. Directly opposite the north side of Penshurst station (not 0.4 miles, as suggested, and it's in Chiddingstone Causeway and some distance from Penshurst anyway!).
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Recently refurbished to a very high standard, with lots of pictures, books, and bric-a-brac to interest most people. Note (and follow!) the vacuum tube from the bar to the kitchen which is used to deliver the food orders. Blessed by a very genial manager who keeps a range of beer from the Greene King "stable" in superb condition. This pub is one of 5 pubs run by the "Whiting & Hammond" group. Well worth a visit!
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Nice old style pub with good parking. Roomy & Reasonably clean with non-smoking dinning area. Service ok if a little slow with locals served first before others who had clearly been waiting longer (myself included) the young ladies serving seemed totally indifferent in this respect. Good choice of lager and ales if a little over priced. I had some cod with chips and mushrooms which were tasty and well cooked though took an age to arrive, having said that it was quite busy for a Thursday evening. I asked for some condiments as we got our meal which never arrived and had to ask a second time when I eventually got some attention. On asking for further drinks at our table(I didn't want to get ignored at the bar yet again) I got an irritated look from the waitress/bar maid but at least we got them. Needless to say I didn�t leave a tip. Maybe I got there on a bad night? Who knows. judging by the other more positive reviews this may have been a one off but I wont be going back.
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I ate here last Thursday. The service was excellent, the food was good and arrived reasonably promptly, although I found the portions too large. I had their cheese and bacon burger with homemade chips for my main course and was unable to finish it after having a starter. The chips are, probably, the best I've ever tasted - chunks of potato that are cripsy and delicious. The burger was well-cooked and loaded with cheese and bacon. I was unable to find space for a dessert. The red wine was good, which is why I am hazy about what I had as a starter. I do remember enjoying it though.
It appears that the Jug is thriving under the oversight of the Chaser group. Long may it continue.
The one thing that surprised me was the means by which orders are shipped to the kitchen - via a long pneumatic tube! The whizzing noise is amusing, but I can't help but feel that a simple wireless network would have been cheaper and just as reliable.
Well worth a visit.
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Had Sunday lunch here yesterday. Food was excellent and I had a spectacular pint of Hardys and Hansons "Rocking Rudolph" (which I recommend you try should you be lucky enough to see it!).
Slight downside was one of the waitresses who really had no clue what she was doing but otherwise first rate!
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Recently became a member of the Chaser group, Shipbourne. We had a meal there on Saturday evening (14/10/06). Recommeded by a friend who said it was good. Big referbishment on the way which sounds fantastic, the plans are on the wall to look at. The homemade chips was a nice supprise (although all the dishes are homemage). Our meals were delicious, i recommend the Shoulder of English lamb. A really nice place,lovely atmosphere, we thoughly enjoyed our experience and would recommend a visit to anyone.
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Thechum seems to be a big fan of the chaser people did you ever drink in The Hare? I think one of the chaser people ran it.
juzza - 11 Sep 2006 10:13 |
Have to agree with the chum - up to the usual standard of their other pubs - good work!!!!
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Just been taken over by the chaser people. food great, beer well kept another winner
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