Chequers on the Green — Restaurant in Ashford

Horrifying. Neither I nor my family have ever felt so racially discriminated in our lives. Being the only non-white family there, as soon as we arrived we were greeted with questioning looks and glares. We were not welcomed very amicably & from first impressions alone felt slightly uncomfortable. Upon arrival we were told we were to be seated indoors, after then requesting whether we could be sat outside we were told our booking was made for inside. Regardless of the fact there were only 2-3 tables (of the many outside) occupied, without question, we followed the lady in. As being seated we were told our waitress will be with us shortly so we can order drinks. Upon our first waitress’s arrival to take our drinks orders we were not aware of what the pub offered so requested a drinks menu, we were then told they do not have any. Again, this was understandable so we went onto ordering our drinks. As we ordered, because we were unaware of what drinks they sold, we asked the waitress which drinks were available ‘Pepsi Max or Diet Coke...’ she was visibly uncomfortable with taking our order & was rather cold to us. She told us she will be back shortly with our drinks& menus. The drinks came reasonably promptly and were brought by our second waitress. We were not met with our menus so asked for them again (in case they had just forgotten to bring them). After being told they will be brought straight over we waited for 15-20 minutes. Within this time only one man was seated outdoors and two families were seated either side of our table. Upon both of these families’ arrivals they were warmly welcomed and given menus immediately. The whole ambience and energy of the staff greeting these other families had been shifted. After seeing the evident difference in treatment between the other customers and us, we decided it was best to leave. We had been made to feel unwelcome and unwanted.

I hope future ‘ethnic’ families that are to visit this pub do not get made to...

My husband and I have been visiting The Chequers for almost three years and the experience we have today is as warm and welcoming as the first day we walked in as newcomers to the village!

Having relocated from London post-Covid, we were looking for a different lifestyle and following the advice of my father in-law, searched for a village with a ‘proper pub’ at the heart of the community. I didn’t really understand what the big deal was about that advice but having experienced the kindness, warmth and sense of belonging that you get when you experience the hospitality at The Chequers, I completely understand it and don’t think our new life would be quite the same without it.

Diane and Andrew have created something unique and extremely special. From the fabulous team they recruit, to the thoughtful decor, delicious menus and array of familiar and new exciting drinks, along with well thought out events - every element hits the mark and places them firmly at the centre of our community.

Well trusted and respected, nothing seems ever too much for them and we always prioritise taking all of our friends and family to The Chequers when they visit us. More recently I’ve also been blown away by the excellent private dining catering that they have provided at our home for business events.

Thank you to Diane, Andrew, and the entire team. You are incredible and it’s because of you we have found a true sense of community in our village and made a great group of friends for life.

Life...

We went here for lunch, we opened a tab and my husband gave his card over, which they kept safe behind the bar, we had a lovely lunch, which I cannot fault and the service was good, when we wanted to settle our bill, one of the barstaff came out with a card reader and our bill, she tapped the amount into the reader, she held the reader in front of her and asked my husband to tap the end of the reader, which he did and we left, it was not until he was on our bank site that he noticed that the amount paid was around £6 more than our bill receipt, so he phoned them up to ask why, he was told we had paid a tip to the staff even though we had not been asked if we would like to give one, when he told the person on the phone that we were never asked or given the opportunity if we wanted to give a tip it was just put on without our knowledge, they did not care, this has put us off ever going to this pub again which is a shame as the food was nice

Edited My husband received a phone call from the owners mortified about this review as they were not aware about this incident, it was an unfortunate mistake and they were very sorry, we were very impressed and happy that they took the time to get in contact and apologise which...