Castle View Restaurant — Restaurant in Maidstone

This was possibly the most spectacular date night we have ever had. Every part of the evening was special. We went on a weekday evening and from the moment that we pulled up to the gatehouse until the moment we left was perfect. My wife was blown away, as a historian and as a romantic she was speechless.

Due to the time of year and the time of week we were one of only 4 reservations that the restaurant had that night, but by either freak luck or circumstances we had the restaurant to ourselves.

Ben, our server was excellent, he was attentive to our needs, humorous and likeable but ultimately allowed my wife and I space to enjoy each others company and the food.

The atmosphere was lovely with quiet classical piano music and candles setting the scene perfectly.

The food itself was exceptional, better than many other London fine food establishments. Not only delicate and flavourful, but well presented and full plates to make sure you are satisfied.

The drinks too were excellent and paired with the food well.

Having not been during the day I still feel I can say is that at night the castle is transformed. Truly a magical scene for a magical meal.

While we didn't stay for the night, we were still able to enjoy a quiet post meal walk down to the castle and enjoy a quiet and spectacular view.

An evening my wife and I will never forget, a hidden gem apparently as we were quite alone!

My wife went from sceptical as we pulled up to the gatehouse that we were even in the correct place for a meal out to crying with joy and shock on being allowed in and seeing the castle for the first time.

It was even reasonably priced! I cannot recommend this highly enough, except to maybe keep other people away so that we could get another private night at the restaurant!

I look forward to returning in the future, my wife is already calling for a...

We had an overnight stay, inc. Dinner and Breakfast. On the Dinner menu, there is not much choice for Vegetarians. Bottles of wine are very expensive (Prosecco, £38) The wine waiter was curt in my opinion. Apart from spilling the wine, and saying he was tired, he couldn't wait to leave our table. The restaurant manager/head waiter was totally different. Very polite and recommending various dishes. Both our starters and mains were very good. My Sea Bream was probably the best fish dish I've tasted. We ordered a portion of seasonal vegetables, which were well cooked and enough for two. We shared a Cheese board, which we thought was poor value for money. £11.50, for three small pieces of cheese, six crackers and chutney. We had to ask for two plates and knives.... A bit like Fawlty Towers

Breakfast, the next morning. There was a good selection, Continental (cereals, croissants, pastries, cheese, meat, yogurts etc). The hot breakfast was a full English, inc. hash browns and black pudding. All the Breakfasts were buffet style. You could order Veggie sausages, if you wanted them. The hot breakfast was ok, but the scrambled egg, in my opinion, under cooked. Plenty of tea and coffee available. The restaurant was nicely laid out and clean. The breakfast waiting staff were very friendly and polite. Don't expect white table cloths I only gave three stars because of the lack of choice on the dinner menu, eye watering prices. Breakfast was £20, ours was included in the price The dinner waiter, (spilling wine, we all make mistakes) I don't want to know if you're tired. There is a large patio, where you can eat your meals. It overlooks the Castle and moat. Unfortunately, there were a lot of leaves and rubbish scattered over the patio. Although not spoiling our meals or stay, it doesn't create a...

Very odd experience all in all - I'm staying for work at a cheap hotel nearby where the only option is McDonald's. And I'm here for the week so I thought I'd try to find some local alternatives. I entered the grounds of Leeds Castle on my bike following public footpath signs. I was blown away by the beauty of the place. I was having a look around when a security guard came to ask me in a rather confused way what I was doing but as I was en route to the restaurant I thought little of it. I was quite late so I was pleased that the restaurant was able to accomodate me. After I had ordered the waiter approached to say that they had had a message through from security about me and that they needed me to pay in advance for my meal. This was odd, but I naturally obliged. The meal was nice. As was the setting. I got the impression that the staff were treating me differently (less attentively) than their other diners. But that suited me fine, I prefer to be left alone. As I left and was unlocking my bike I could hear the waiter speaking on the radio about me leaving. And it wasn't long before the security guard had arrived in a car. He said that he wanted to escort me from the premises..! I refused and thus ensued a rather heated argument about how I was within my rights to use a public footpath and visit a restaurant. He was really pushing his weight attempting to intimidate me into accepting his authority. But I knew he had none in this instant and his attempts made me rather cross. I really don't understand how this whole experience came to pass but as I say it certainly...