please note - reviews on this site are purely the opinion of site visitors, so don't take them too seriously.
Went here for the first time today with my disabled wife in a wheelchair. For a newish building (2001 I think) very badly designed. Mostly raised areas with no wheelchair access. No wheelchair accessible toilet that I could see.
Four pumps but only one working was Spitfire Golden.Ale. Sorry to those who like this tipple, but I have tasted better mouthwash and left most of mine.
Food was reasonable but not good. I had sausage on bubble and squeak. But B&S did not have any cabbage or greens in it. (Is that Bubble or Squeak missing?) Sausages were nice. My wife had a very nice steak ale pie, but it came with cabbage so tough it should not be eaten.
Normal pub prices for the area.
Good point, the service was polite and friendly.
Piped music was too loud for a pub selling main meals, more suited to a kids pub at night.
This was a visit about 13.00hrs, no idea what it is like at night.
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Not a favourite of mine, it has a shopping mall feel to it. That said I've not had a poor pint there so far, a good place to pop in for a quick pint after shopping but not somewhere to settle in to.
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I quite like this place. I like the modern look, but slightly dirty. Attention to detail needs to be looked at. Great location.
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Not my cup of tea as a pub, but had an excellent pint of Early Bird.
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Not an atmospheric pub but clean and comfortable if meeting friends for an after work drink. Shepherd Neame Early Bird was in good order and they also had Spitfire (untried - stay with the Early Bird anyway). Not tried the food as very good eateries in West Malling.
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Very much agree with the comments below. A terrible, atmosphere-free pub with no character in an area that has a reputation locally for being a man-made plastic monstrosity. I hated the pub and the poor service - I went once at lunchtime when it was full of depressed looking workers (they work/live in Kings Hill, can hardly blame them) and once in the evening when it was completely empty. Terrible, leave well alone.
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This pub was generally designed for people who live and work on the Kings Hill Estate.
This means that, during lunch hours, it is generally full of white collar businessmen enjoying a liquid lunch. Outside of those, it is generally quiet, dull and quite depressing. At night, it is even worse; the silence only punctuated by a few well-heeled locals talking about pony lessons for Toby and Alexandria.
The food is of poor quality; you can tell that it has occupied a microwave or been frozen for some considerable time and dressed up with ubiquitous garnish. The beer is standard and nothing more.
It has no soul and no heart, which is why people who live in the area tend to head to West Malling Village or into Maidstone itself where there is more choice and much more quality.
Overall, one to avoid. The main problem is that it is on an estate with a deservedly poor reputation as a manufactured, heartless mess. There is no community or reason for living or travelling there and the Spitfire encompasses that feeling perfectly.
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Visited friends who live within a short walk of The Spitfire and so with their 2 kids in tow we went for lunch. First the important bit, 4 ales on tap and both the Spitfire and Bishops Finger were well served and taste wise were spot on. The food was exellent and well priced and the pub was bustling on a Saturday lunchtime with a good vibrant atmosphere. Certainly not souless and far from sad.
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Souless and sad. How this place can be called a PUB is beyond me. Oh, yes it sells beer but then so does ASDA! It's OK if you can't be bothered to travel and live within walking distance. I am happy to travel and I am prepared to walk a bit further.
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Shepherd Neame are probably the only major chain who could get away with a big new build pub in an ugly new town for the super rich. Not a bad atmosphere, but not sure why so many flights of stairs on a flat site. Great for escaping from the shopping at ASDA.
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