Vauxhall Inn, Tonbridgeback to pub details please note - reviews on this site are purely the opinion of site visitors, so don't take them too seriously.
This pub has a great atmosphere and the staff are really friendly , there were three ales on and the staff told me that this was normal as there were only three pumps London Pride, Adnams & Hob goblin we had a lovely meal and the beer was excellent
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Been a local here.. and often bring a group of work colleagues with me, for a few years...and only now reviewing this after 'trying' to give it another chance (and another and another..)
For the last year, the service and food have been soo bad.
the last 2 times, they have not had any ale on (even though they have 3) and 'no1 knows how' to change the barrel?!
In the passed :
- i have had a chicken caesar salad, drowning everything in a overly strong dressing..leaving ALOT of sauce after, about 2cm covering the bottom of the bowl, not joking.
- sadly the steaks have always been alittle over cooked (i can live with that..) but last steak i had came with almost WHITE chips... god knows how there were cook, but very nasty white/flowery/soft chips (i took a photo of them..)
- on the whole, the burgers have always been a safe bet, not too bad (i have not had one, but my colleagues have
Today- i had diet coke.. perfect..
then the mixed grill :'((
the grilled mushroom and half grilled Tomato were both cold and raw in the middle! the chicken 'breast' was a triangle cut piece SMALLER then the half tomato!!!
the small steak was over cooked,
the small gammon steak... nice! :)
the 'pepper and pork' sausage.. i sware it was a crappy plain pork sauage (small, bland and again over cooked!)
egg... perfect!
the final line... i asked for a mixed salad insed of chips, i got a handfull of wilted rocket (really wilted, not joking... like, floppy- old rocket) and 2 cherry tomatos!
as i said, im a local, living 100yrd away, i have given it a '2nd chance' for to many times, and i walked away today, after paying FULL COST, very upset.
although i have not said anything about the service, tends to be ok. today i got the feeling that they wanted me out quickly, because they knew how bad that mixed grill was... almost feel sorry for the waiters!
... dont know whst else they can do.. im speachless (after all that!) and doubt i would ever feel happy about going there again.
SUCH a BEATUIFULL pub.. stuning!!.. but thats all.
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I didn't think this place could be as bad as it seemed to me after a brief visit the other night (encouraged by its iclusion in the GBG). However, after reading the comments below, it seems that other people agree about its awfulness, so perhaps I was right after all.
As stated, the service is bad. I stood at the bar,alone, for some minutes while the 2 children behind it completed their chat; then one of them looked straight through me, while the other one placed herself in front of me without saying anything. Taking this to mean she was prepared to serve me, I ordered a pint of Pride, which was drinkable, but on the dead side.
rpadam's right about the way this genuinely old and interesting building has been treated; in trying to make it look 'olde worlde' they've merely succeeded in making the whole place look fake - and as someone has said, it's gloomy and airless to boot. It is indeed truly sad; you can do up an old pub without ruining it - and you can certainly do something about lousy service.
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Just a chainy roadside eatery come pub.
Nice building on, but the lack of a decent air con, or open windows makes it uncomfortably hot even in the winter.
The outside area is ok, if a little overcrowded with tables.
Food is the general fayre you get in these places, cooked (heated up) rather well. Not cheap though.
Now for the drinks.
They have clearly always had good intentions here, with 2 or 3 beers on with a rotating guest. However, i've never known any of them to be kept well and are more akin to soup than beer.
The Guiness and largers are usually flat.
Bottled beers from the fridge are usually warm.
As is the white wine.
The reds are kept, on the back of the bar area, under floodlights which could illuminate wembley and are thus boiled to an inch of their lives.
I've always found the bar staff pleasant, if rather thin on the ground.
mrse1 - 24 Jul 2009 13:10 |
Truly tragic.
Great pub - I remember it before it was done up.
But the MOST obnoxious staff I have ever encountered. I've never seen the same barstaff twice (tells you all you need to know), but they are always hateful.
Used to go there with a group of us (sometimes 12 or more) every week, and every week the same: everything is too much trouble. You'd think they'd want the business. Service slow to the point of collapse, and they never know anything.
Customer: "Can you still serve food? Have you got any crisps? What's this beer like?"
(Drippy voice): "Oo, I don't know. I'll go and ask."
One time we'd waited so long for the glasses to go with a bottle of wine (one dim girl on duty) that I nipped behind the bar and helped myself. Quick as a flash, some jobsworth appeared out of nowhere: "Do that again and you're barred."
I was a gnat's beat away from walking straight back round behind the bar - verrrry tempting. But for Pete's sake, if you've got time to monitor your customers helping themselves, make time to give me some SERVICE.
Never eaten there (wouldn't dare!), but menu looks pretentious, too long (ie it's all frozen), badly spelled (ie created by ignorant pigs), and expensive. At your own risk, then...
Whoever is managing this pub needs a good kicking: your staff are miserable as sh*t, and your customers don't like it.
Bloody shame.
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Potential goldmine but restricted by pettiness! NO bar tab (Even if you're eating) in the garden - offer of credit card refused. "not allowed to do that!".
Beer ok though but staff sullen and oppressed.
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A long time ago this was a nice old building, but it has been 'done up' to make it look old instead of leaving it as was (i.e. old). As a Chef & Brewer establishment, the emphasis is naturally on food, but there are three real ales on (including a reasonable pint of Directors). The adjacent Premier Inn adds to the corporate feel, but if yoy look at certain angles you can still just about imagine the country pub it once was.
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