Vine Inn — Restaurant in Ashford

Nice staff (particularly the main barman that day who was incredibly warm-hearted to my daughter and let her have his pad to draw on) and nicely looked after place let down pretty dramatically by the food. I had a couple of Mexican dishes - the amazing sounding prawn, mango, coriander and chilli Tacos and the Nachos. My girls had kids' macaroni.

Expecting some kind of homemade mango salsa, the mango in the tacos was jarred mango chutney lathered over those tiny pre cooked supermarket Atlantic prawns in a packet fajita wrap. It was home ec cooking. Except there wasn't any sign of cooking it was just arranged out of packets for service. If theyd made the guacamole themselves it was bad. It was blended to within an inch of being juice and there was no hint of freshness about it. It actually made the nachos less appealing.

Had to more or less force the kids to eat their macaroni... apparently it didn't taste cheesy and was more white sauce.

Then desert (which took an unfathomably long time) was ice cream which was full of ice like it had been thawed and refrozen and was sent back... Other daughter loved her brownie though.

That was pretty scathing, granted, but it's honest. And it's a shame because it's a great place for a beer. It has a nice courtyard and there's a nice vibe but there appears to be some disappointing work going on in that kitchen i'm sorry to say and that really let the place...

A lovely pub in a good location in tenterden. Lovely large (and sunny beer garden)

Nice kids menu, we did forget to ask for the kids food to be served with the starters. Would have been nice to have been reminded (or asked), but that doesn't loose any points, it had just been a long day and exceptional service usually trains staff to ask if kids meals are to be served as soon as/first

Four stars as my reviews are based on gluten and dairy free dining.

There was one safe option which was lovely however if you are gluten and dairy free this bowl is your only option (a single visit would be fine but on a more frequent basis it would definitely be upsetting)

My previous visit, 6-8 months previous, the menu was different and I ordered a different dish (can't remember, might have been a vegan burger with no bun) the kitchen did make an effort to provide roast potatoes (no dedicated gluten free fryer for chips)

From a service point of view and knowing you are eating safely, it's 5 stars - from a variety/choice point of view, the star was lost here, but not sure what the demand in tenterden for a gluten AND dairy free diet is particularly high.

Standard dining seems to be of a good standard. Kids menu was well priced and as expected. The Sunday roasts are apparently extremely popular!

gluten free beer - bottled peroni, however they were out on...

Our 1st visit was for Christmas lunch with a group of about 30. The venue is cozy and the decor very homely. The staff were brilliant considering the size of our group - I'm sure it was frustrating dealing with so many demanding people. The chef did a brilliant job since he appeared to be almost alone in the kitchen. He deserves praise and a bonus! The starters were enjoyed by all. We had the liver pate which was excellent. The mains, the only complaint we heard were that the brusslesprouts were under cooked and that they couldn't eat a lot as it was a healthy serving. We had the festive burger - while the pig in blanket and stuffing on a stick was a great decorative touch it had been left on the grill a long time and was very dry. The burger though was brilliantly tasty. The deserts had mixed review, with the frangipani being lovely, the Christmas pudding dry as there was not enough custard, the cheese board was enough for 2. I was unfortunately 1 who had to change my dessert due to no stock/delivery of the parfait. I opted for something of the menu, Apple and Blueberry pie I think it was. It was so hot I was still trying to eat it long after everyone had finished so I didn't really enjoy it, sorry. Overall though it was a lovely afternoon. Thank you to everyone who worked so hard to make...