The Fox and Hounds, Toys Hill

Went with my family for Sunday lunch the other week, as the garden looked ideal for the children. Having settled in, entered, menu in hand, to order. Before I could say anything: landlord said "You can't order. Kitchen's too busy. It may change in 45 minutes." "Oh, so there's a 45 minute wait?" "No, I'll tell you in 45 minutes whether you can order". This was at around 1.15. On a Sunday. Pub was fairly busy, but not rammed, and garden relatively empty of diners. After discussion with my wife, went back in to order drinks. "It'll be twenty minutes" - "oh great, well I know what we want, so can I order now so when the kitchen takes orders again, they'll have it?" "No." "Sorry?" "You can't order now - there's nowhere for them to put the ticket". I had a pretty good idea where he could put the ticket, but it was now gone half one, I had some hungry children to feed, and I wasn't sure where else to go in the area, so I went back outside to wait it out.

Apparently "outside diners" are second class citizens, who have to slink off and wait for the landlord to come to the door, to shout across the garden to them that they are now lucky enough to go back indoors and be granted permission to order food. Which is what duly happened.

On a more positive note, once I had gone back in again, stood in a queue to place the order I'd tried to place half an hour before, and sat down again, the food did arrive promptly. Roast lamb itself was tasty, and at least hot, with decent roast potatoes, but the plain assortment of veg looked suspiciously microwaved and although not raw, was certainly in no danger of having had its vitamins leached out by over-boiling. No mint sauce (available in a plastic sachet at the door, though), school dinners level presentation, and no garnish or added finesse of any description. Now, all this would be fine if it was reasonably priced, but at �11.95 it is simply larceny. You can just about get away with that sort of price in a London gastropub with pretensions of fine dining, but out in Kent, with that level of cooking and presentation it is just cynical.

Oh, and when I went to pay, I was ignored by three members of staff for some time - so at least the service levels are consistent.

So, I'm afraid the other posters' views (which I wish I had read before I visited) are on the money - a fine looking pub, in a very pleasant location, ruined by unwelcoming or at best indifferent staff, dreadful customer relations and rank over-pricing. It seems from other posts that the locals don't go there any more, and the location presumably brings in a lot of hungry passing trade (from the walks and National Trust properties around) so the tactic appears to be not to worry about repeat trade and to wring as much money as possible out of customers who are likely (as I was) to be too polite to complain at the time.

I've worked behind bars in my time, so I know that it can be difficult to maintain a "customer is always right" attitude, but to show the level of indifference, bordering on contempt, to the paying punters that the management here displays is truly bewildering. Avoid.

24 Sep 2010 14:35