Toby Carvery Ewell — Restaurant in Epsom and Ewell

Went for their Christmas breakfast to meet Santa.

Will not be going back any time soon, if ever. They had no staff on the front desk or pretty much anywhere and those that were there were happy to tell everyone they had no staff, rather than offering an apology.

Had I not paid as soon as I got there for my family we would have walked out like many many others did.

As for food, if you love Yorkshire puddings for breakfast you're in for a treat. Otherwise, its very poor. By 10:30 in the morning they'd run out of mushrooms and scrambled eggs. Although they could still supply under cooked fried eggs that had 0.5cm of under cooked egg white around the yoke. Obviously it is beyond their chefs to actually make some scrambled eggs via the use of a whisk so they feel they can only (part) fry them. The bacon looked anemic and to be honest they just weren't producing the food quick enough so at all times there were around 30 people queuing. Maybe it was there rush to turn to the food out that produced such poor quality.

Had I seen a manager at any point I would have asked for my money back.

In the end I just wanted to get my family out of there.

UPDATE AFTER A VISIT ON 13/1/19 We decided yesterday to go back for breakfast to give the Toby Carvery in Ewell another chance. Fair to say this was a mistake on our part.

We arrived for opening of 9am….. except the restaurant wasn’t open. Just after 10 past 9 the door was opened and rather than a smile and a ‘good morning’ greeting or anything similar the first words that came out of the ladies mouth were ‘food is going to be at least 45 mins as the chef arrived an hour late’. No apology followed, just the excuse, same as last time. I get that the lady was probably stressed and I get that the chef may have had a family emergency, car breakdown, anything that made them late, but it seems to be one excuse after another. If there wasn’t a valid excuse for the chef being late then there should be some sort of performance review put in place on that person with warnings/disciplinary around timekeeping.

Taking a step back whilst we were waiting outside for the restaurant to open, in the cold with 2 bored children, I got speaking to an elderly gentleman who said not being open is a frequent occurrence and he said quite often there is a sign on the door saying they won’t be opening for breakfast, sometimes for several days in a row. This tells me 2 things, firstly he is a regular customer who despite his efforts is not always able to become a paying customer. Secondly there is an underlying problem with the staff, or lack of at the restaurant, so the chef being late yesterday morning, was it a valid one off, I suspect not. What I would say is he then went on to say the food is excellent, when he can get some, I had to take his word on that.

With 2 young children we weren’t prepared to wait ‘at least’ 45 minutes so we left, as did the elderly gentlemen and 3 other couples who had turned up by then, so that’s 9 adults and 2 children who went elsewhere.

It wasn’t all bad news as the elderly gentlemen recommended the Toby Carvery up the road called ‘The Hogsmill’ in Worcester Park. Begrudgingly we went there and we were pleasantly surprised. As such I have now left a positive review for that...

Although we have been to this place many times, on this our latest trip we were very disappointed, the place itself was quiet the service left a lot to be desired!. There was only 2x meats on offer and not much of that left! The vegetable selection was dire, very little available and what was there was baked up Bearing in mind this was around 8.30pm. The guy behind the carving counter was rude and arrogant and really couldn't be bothered about the poor selection on show. However there was a foreign female waitress who listened to our concerns and apologised. Then to add insult to injury we were basically asked to finish up and leave just before 10pm, as we were the only customers left in the place. We were not asked if we wanted a dessert at any point. We visit quite a few Toby's and on a regular basis, however I think we will give this one a wide birth in the future. Update! I thought we would give this place one last chance!, that said "never again". We were seated straight away (right next to screaming uncontrolled kids). We joined the queue for the carvery, in front of me were 3 ( mid to late teens) girls led by an older female (mother?) The older lady ordered 2 x child's plates (that were on offer at the time at £1 each), she was followed by the 3 x girls all chose the kids plate at £1 each? The carver loaded the plates with there chosen meats with a lot of male flirting and banter!, then it was my turn, I ask for a regular plate (a large male but not obese) it ask for a mixture of the 4 x meats, what I got was not enough to feed a small child, a few people in the queue questioned my megree portion, I also mentioned this, the carver bit back sarcastically and said that's all I was getting and the portions were done by weight??. I replied really, i didn't see you weigh it? He didn't respond and moved on to speak to my wife behind me, I added that I wasn't happy and I would complain, he ignored me? As i got to the end of the counter I came across the manager who also stated the weight issue. I responded by the fact that the 4 people who were in front of me were given a lot more than I was given but only paid £1 each?? And i was paying full price?? She offered me an additional 1 x slice of any 1 meat ?? Wow I thought!, still not happy we sat down and ate what we had, ironically next to the lady who ordered 2 x child's meals at £1 each, who now was tucking into the said 2 plates, now tipped onto 1 plate in front of her. After we finished the manager came over and asked if we would like a dessert?, i replied that the evening had been ruined for me and I was ready to leave and I would be complaining. To which she replied that it would be pointless as the complaint whould come through to her!, i responded "no it wouldn't " as i was intending to complain on "trust pilot" and "Google". Suddenly her attitude changed and we were told we wouldn't have to pay for the meals only the drinks!, nice try, but too little too late I'm afraid. I won't be setting foot in this place again and certainly wouldn't recommend...

Update: 17/09/25

Another update of my original review. We were recently served by Cathy (Kathy?) and more recently Diane, who were both efficient and friendly. They both deserve a mention for their warmth and kindness and for ensuring that we had a lovely evening on both occasions. Nothing was too much trouble for them. The food, as always was excellent, and it was lovely to see Laura, who popped by for a chat. Oh, and I thoroughly recommend the oat milk if you need a plant-based milk. It’s delicious! 😄

Update: 06/05/2025

On this occasion we were served by lovely Tetiana, whom we hadn’t met before, but I understand she hasn’t long been working in the main restaurant. Her customer service and interpersonal skills were excellent and she was gentle, efficient, warm and friendly. We really enjoyed being served by her, helped by the equally lovely Michelle and one of the fabulous managers (I’m afraid I don’t know her name, but she is always welcoming, efficient, kind and friendly). We had a lovely evening and the food and service were fabulous. Thank you. My friend and I are always motivated to visit this particular carvery as most of the staff are exceptional and the food and service is consistently excellent. Just to add, you’ll ALWAYS know that you’ll be in safe hands and have a fantastic dining experience if you discover that you’re being served by gorgeous Laura. 😁

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I always love the Toby Carvery, but it's even more attractive now with the new rewards system, which for me, is motivation to choose to dine at a Toby Carvery over another dining option, so well done on updating the app and rewards system. Last night's visit included a £6 meal offer, so there was even more motivation to squeeze in a visit before the end of the week!

The service provided by Roxanne was excellent, as always. She is a delightful person with bags of personality, as well as being efficient, kind, warm and friendly. My food had cooled down as a result of needing to wait for my disabled friend at the servery, so Roxanne popped it in the oven for me, which made all the difference to the enjoyment of my meal, as I prefer my food to be piping hot.

We stayed right up until closing time and had a great time, as always. I'd like to include a shout-out to the lovely Laura, who works on a Thursday, and she is always, without fail, absolutely lovely; so friendly, thoughtful and kind. She wasn't our server last night, but she stopped by for a quick chat and a catch-up, which we...