Rubbing House — Restaurant in Epsom and Ewell

Please eat here if you wish to be insulted by Staff / Manager.

A tale to be told.

On the 7-5-18, a group of friends and myself visit the Rubbing House.

The sun was high in the sky and the heat was evidently on. The pub was pretty busy with most of the patrons sitting outside to enjoy the summertime delight. At first glance it looked heavenly but this was not the case upon entering.

We proceeded to sit around the side of the Rubbing House, utilising the tables and chairs provided by the venue. We sat here because it was in the shade and we had guests with us who couldn't hack the heat for too long, understandably.

When we went to order food, we were told there is " NO WAY " we could sit at the side of the Rubbing House, god forbid, purely because there was no table numbers. Logic and reason clearly was overseen when we informed them we were the only party to the side of the pub. But, alas, we HAD to have a table number.

Thankfully, with no help from the staff, we found a table that would fit 8 of us comfortably. We proceeded to order the food and then returned to the table. The bar staff were incredibly nice and helpful. Polite, efficient and relatable.

The waiting staff, however, were AWFUL. One of my guests stated he had specifically asked his burger to be plain (free of mayo) when he ordered the food. The waitress replied " Well it does say it on the menu " under her breath. I wonder if she is able to grasp the concept of " If you don't have anything nice to say, don't say it " or maybe just the fundamentals of Customer Service? We'll leave that here.

The Waitress circled us like a crow feeding on dead remains by the side of the road. We were hounded practically every half an hour by her returning to either clear our plates or to ask questions. It was irritating to say the least.

As the heat was getting higher, we retreated back to the side of the pub to hide in the shade. We moved tables so that we could be seated underneath the cool shade of the building when all of a sudden the manager, in an awful pink shirt, appeared practically flabbergasted as to why we had DARED moved his precious seats. He stated we were blocking a fire exit, we were not, and then retreated back to his very authoritative position.

20 minutes later, my friend placed her feet on a chair. I know, the CRIME of it all. I personally suggested her to be placed in a jail cell with hot acid thrown at her, but this didn't go down too well. The manager practically ran out at us to ask that we do not do this. I mean for people to relax and feel comfortable was NOT allowed at the Rubbing House, afterall we had only spent £150+ on food and drinks.

After a while we left with no goodbye from the very important manager.

Trust us when we say, DO NOT GO HERE. The food was delicious and the surrounding area is absolutely beautiful. However, the service is awful. It dampened our day.

And to the manager of the Rubbing House - I believe my personal thanks are in order for yourself. Thank you for confirming what a self righteous, stuck up and intolerable human you truly are. I hope you feel VERY important to know you put people down the entire time we were there.

Have...

In respect to the pricing and the menu, this place has a prime location, but doesn't give prime location vibes.

The service wasn't good, the table staff were quite abrupt and not very personable.

The food was nothing I haven't seen in a good bar/pub setting before, I wouldn't call this a restaurant as such, the detail was missing..

As the images show, chicken was undercooked, mussels were musselless, empty shells, although they did bring out a second serving that was exactly the same. It was excused by saying it happens when they are cooking, as if I've never cooked them myself before and for the record they never fall out of the shells fortunately, and they are usually much larger in size too The fish and chips didn't come with Tartar sauce, I had to ask for it, it's Fish N Chips, I asked for vegetables instead of mushy peas, I was told I would have to order a side of vegetables at £5 for the privilege. A few frozen peas had to be my greens for the day instead. The Bangers and Mash dish was delicious. The Sausage was very good, the gravy was delicious, seasonal vegetables were good, would have loved broccoli in there too but overall a very nice meal

We ate our evening meal here three evenings concurrently as it's the closest establishment to the hotel I was staying in, so I feel this review is worth it. I wasn't offended by the place at all and it was ok overall as to why it gets 3 stars.

The service/table staff really let it down for me.

Although the front of house team seemed welcoming, it wasn't reflective of the service/table team.

Because we had questions regarding some of the food it was like they had an issue with us being there again, I work away all over the country, so after work I don't really want to be searching for places to eat and travelling all over to find places, I go for what is close and convenient to the hotel. This way I can decompress after work with a meal and a drink with colleagues.

I can see a lot of hard work goes into keeping everything running as a business, but maybe the detail has been lost due to the fact they just need to get as much out of you as possible while you're here, this was especially clear throughout the time given how many times we were asked if we would like more drinks.

A farewell was offered also, I...

If I could give more than five stars, I would. I was at The Rubbing House the night this “family” claims they were treated poorly, and let me tell you, their review is completely inaccurate.

The truth? This group of men and their children spoiled the evening for everyone around them. The children, around 9 years old, were loud, shouting obscenities, and disturbing diners, while the fathers at the next table were even louder, shouting and behaving aggressively. The staff calmly and professionally spoke to them multiple times about their behaviour, which was completely unacceptable in a family-friendly establishment.

Eventually, the group was rightfully asked to leave, and one of the men decided to pull the discrimination card when in reality, the issue was their own conduct. On the way out, one of them kicked something, soaking another customer with water, and even pulled down his trousers in front of his own children and other diners—hardly dignified behaviour. Another member of the group returned after leaving to continue threatening staff and management. Thankfully, the venue has CCTV that captured everything.

Through all of this, the staff handled the situation with grace, prioritising the safety and comfort of all customers while dealing with incredibly difficult people.

Apart from this unfortunate incident, the atmosphere at The Rubbing House was fantastic once the group left. The service was excellent, the staff were attentive and warm, and the food was delicious—the moussaka in particular was outstanding.

Thank you to the owner and all the staff at The Rubbing House for keeping your customers safe and for providing exceptional service under challenging circumstances. You have our full support, and we will absolutely be returning. Thank you, Sir, to you...