The Sheppey — Restaurant in England

Visited The Sheppy Inn today as part of a group meal. The venue as we found it was full of house flies which were constantly landing on your dinner and flying in your face as you were trying to eat. I mean I'm not just talking about a few flies but flies en masse everywhere. I have never encountered anything like this in a restaurant or pub diner before as a customer or in my many years working in hospitality.

I ate my food very quickly because I found the constant flies in your face off and on your food very off putting and to be honest pretty gross. They ruined the experience of eating my food completely.

Eventually I decided to complain about the issue after several flies landed on my child's dinner at once and she burst into tears and refused to eat her dinner. The member of staff I spoke to was pretty dismissive of the issue. He said there was nothing that could be done about them, it's "just an act of God if you will". I suggested using fly traps or deterrents but I was told they were not legally allowed to use traps of any kind. Not completely convinced of this i decided to look this up and a quick Google found this to be simply untrue- fly spray is not allowed however electronic ultra violet light traps that catch the flies are allowed as long they are not installed over food preparation areas. The food standards agency also recommends preventative measures such as fly screens on windows of which none are installed at the venue as far as I could see. I feel like the venue could be doing alot more to resolve this issue and that it is bizarre they think their customers should put up with eating their food surrounded by a rediculous amount of flies landing constantly on their food. Surely that is a food hygiene issue? I just hope the fly problem was not the same in the inns kitchen as it was in the resturant although I fear with how dismissive they were regarding there being an issue that the problem could very well be in the kitchen too.

The staff member did agree to do my child's dinner again fresh which we accepted and thankfully she did eat although we had to cover her dinner with serviettes the whole time to stop the many flies landing on her food once again. The serving staff were also extremely friendly and helpful about my son's allergies which is what stopped me leaving a 1 star review. It is a shame because the venue seemed to have promise on arrival and the menu looked good. The fly problem however was so extreme and gross that it just made the whole experience completely...

An Expensive Way to Ruin Your Evening

If you’re looking for overpriced food, glacial service, a menu designed by someone who’s just discovered oat milk, and a manager with all the charm of a parking warden, this is the place for you.

We booked a table for three (plus three small, well-behaved dogs) a week in advance. Despite giving them a heads-up about the dogs, we were thoughtfully crammed next to a large, noisy party in the busiest corner of the pub, like being seated in the mosh pit of a Coldplay concert.

Then began the Great Wait: 40 minutes of being spectacularly ignored, watching other tables — who arrived long after us — enjoy drinks, starters, and main courses before anyone even glanced in our direction. I’ve seen glaciers move faster.

The menu? Sparse and uninspiring, like they hired a “Head of Creativity” from a tofu conference. It leans heavily on vegan and gluten-free options, which is fine if the food is good, but not when you’re being charged artisan prices for supermarket-standard fare.

I ordered the chicken burger, allegedly marinated in gochujang. Now, I’m not saying they lied, but if there was any gochujang involved, it must have been whispered to the chicken from across the kitchen. The burger was basically fine.. think Wetherspoons on a good day, but at £20, you’d expect a little more than “vaguely edible.”

All of this could have been forgiven — overpriced, underwhelming food is practically a national tradition — but the real lowlight was the manager. Rude, grumpy, and radiating the energy of a man who peaked around 2003.

After one of our dogs (who had been quietly snoozing under the table) barked when a waitress nearly stepped on him, the manager stormed over to deliver a stern warning: “One more bark and you’re out.” Good to know they take noise so seriously, if only the same policy applied to their karaoke-sized party next door.

In hindsight, we should have left right then, sparing ourselves the disappointing food and a final bill that felt like it should have come with a ski mask and a note saying, “Hand over the cash.”

In summary: this pub is trading entirely on fond memories and pre-pandemic TripAdvisor reviews. Avoid it unless you particularly enjoy being overcharged, underfed, and scolded like a naughty child...

Rang to book a table, they picked up the phone and put it on the counter but it didn't put me off, I tried again a week later and managed to get a table.

There is insufficient parking, signs saying no pub parking suggest their success has not gone down well with everyone.

I parked a fair way down the road and walked back.

The pub is very comfortable, it is a bit shabby around the edges, the restaurant is an old barn like building, tall decorated with a comic book theme, there are cobwebs and dust on the light fittings adding to the laid back casual feel, it is clean it is relaxed, it is comfy. At the end of the building is a large set of bi fold doors that let plenty of air in a very pleasant change from stuffy and over warm places.

Drinks were great I had a great point of Mystery Tor, they have good old fashioned handle glasses here, not only that they actively promote the use of them by asking what sort of glass you would like. My co diner had a Gin and Tonic, the selection of gins was good and they had a choice of tonic water, they have huge home made ice cubes with spices and herbs that made it all the more interesting.

Food selection was good for me, my co-diner, as a vegan, had less choice but that is not uncommon.

The service was cheery and good.

The music was great, there was some live music later, a little loud, but not deafening, the flashing performance lights we a bit annoying.

The food itself was all awesome, my co diner is a sharer and I can say both meals and starters were well above the norm, prepared with care and consideration by a professional kitchen, not factory made food re heated by someone on minimum wage.

The portion sizes were fine, I couldn't eat all my main course (and it was very nice). Perhaps if I was very hungry and had just a main I might want more, but hey, if I was that hungry I would have starters and desserts.

The bill was a shock, I hadn't really paid attention to the prices of anything I was just out having a lovely time and I was surprised that the bill was not more.

No option to tip on the card machine which was a shame.

If it hadn't been for the telephone incident they would be getting five stars not four.

I...