Toby Carvery, Maidstone — Restaurant in Maidstone

Anyone who has read my other food reviews knows how I do like a good breakfast. It's the meal to start the day with so it best be worthy of the money. I will start from left to right starting with cold and soaking wet plates. Every breakfast needs to be plated, but not on dishwasher water where staff are so visually impaired that they do not notice the water cascading from the plates. It's extra but also free, so although not to my taste anything free has to be mentioned because people like free things. So to reiterate: Free dish water with your cold plates. Next we have burnt large Yorkshire puddings and gravy with a rapidly forming skin (after we removed the first skin) due to being in a draft. It would not be long before it would be inedible as a congealed mess, but that is how they like to serve it here in Maidstone. Perhaps the free dishwater helps keep it liquefied? Next we have baked bean soup and tomato soup. I tried the beans but poured off the extra fluid (some people like beans swimming in sauces but I am not one of them instead I like a little sauce). My observation on the beans is not important as some people love the baked bean juice others not so much and whilst it is possible to run some off the spoon or get just some of the juice if you like it the beans must be considered as good. I did not try the peeled tinned tomatoes, I feel they are best in pasta sauces. However my wife tried them and said they were average, so I will take her word for it. It is not as though you can do much with them anyway. Next came the hash-browns, cooked quite well, crispy on the outside like they should be. Only a few in the tray were burnt and some people like them when they are lightly incinerated along the edges. Next up, bacon. The bacon for me was by far the best part of the meal. Cooked almost to perfection. Back bacon with hardly any fat. Now for the food that made me drive 36 miles to get, "Home made potato, bacon, cheese & onion hash". Oh my word what an abortion this was. It was awful beyond belief. I doubt anyone could make it worse. We will start with the sad fact that there was almost no cheese or onion. In the past you would find the potato and bacon joined together by the cheese and onion plentiful, after all onions are not too expensive so if they were left to one onion per ten dishes like the quantity in this dish was then the establishment is saving around £0.50 every breakfast but losing customers in droves. I have been here when there were about 20 people waiting outside for this particular establishment to open, but today there were just two of us and only two more joined within 45 minutes. I believe they have killed the breakfast trade with poor food. The potato was burnt and made through some sort of cutter that made them all like 2x1 lego without the studs. This helped them cremate well, so the whole dish was burnt and extremely unappetising. The sausages were cremated/burnt almost to a cinder too. Crunchy burnt sausages where the inside is also dried up and about to incinerate. The cook and people selling this rubbish should be made to eat it themselves. Then there was the coffee. More burnt than the cinders in a bar-b-q. I tried it from two different jugs and both tasted like it had be rewarmed from the day before after being made from burnt beans. It did not taste like any coffee I have ever tried anywhere in the world and certainly not the same as other Toby Carverys. I don't know what they are doing here but I will not be a return customer even if they gave me a free breakfast and free coffee. Bread/toast and jam was not tried. This whole disgusting inedible cremated food, which gave us both indigestion within the hour cost us £16.98. We had vouchers that meant the breakfast was just £5 each, so our coffee was £6.98 for two refillable cups of...

We have been here before and had a pleasurable experience However on this occasion this was not the case We walked in and the carver was at the reception desk drinking she didn’t acknowledge us just walked away. When we were finally greeted by a very scruffy looking woman who turned out to be the manager we were shown to a table we weren’t even seated before being asked what we wanted to drink. We were left to decide. Thee was no drinks menu available Or alternative menu A very young girl presented herself and asked what we would like to order (not if we were easy to order) We asked about a drinks menu to be told there the bottomless drinks or we could go to the bar. My partner asked about the alternative menu but was ignored and we were told when you’re ready to eat just go up . When we did go to be served a roast that neither of us had particularly wanted the carver carved me some turkey and when I asked about the non existence of a Yorkshire pudding was told that they would be ready in about 4 minutes and could come back and get one to which I gave her my plate back with the turkey on and told her I would come back when all was being served hot . We returned to our table where there was still no cutlery or napkins or pepper on the table . We waited for at least 7minutes before the yorkshires appeared. We went back to the servery but there were lots of customers who had previously been served and had returned to get their Yorkshire pudding just going straight to the front not even in a queue just being handed whatever they requested. When we did get served the server had clearly had enough. The potatoes and vegetables didn’t have separate tongs or spoons so people were just making do with what serving utensils were to hand When we got back to the table my partner had to ask for cutlery and wait when we did get it it needed to be wiped on the serviette. The meal was tepid and best . Other couples had to query their bill As one had been charged £4 for tap water and another family had been charged for a starter that they hadn’t even had . My partner and I decided we’d had and endured enough but there was no available to request a bill from. Do we went to the area where we had been greeted at to find 3 waitresses and the manager all standing chatting I said we were going for a cigarette as there was no one in attendance to take our money . The manager said oh I can do that at the bar for you .did you enjoy your meal so that was my opening to give direct feedback she asked for a description of the waitress and described her to a T She said she could only apologise but as I explained we only live within walking distance of 5-10 minutes and had never experienced such a bad service in all our other visits . She could...

If I could I would give zero stars...

Myself, my husband and 1 year old went to have dinner at this Toby Carvery on the 5th Nov, after travelling 2 hours in the car. We were super hungry and had a hungry baby on our hands. When we arrived, the majority of the tables in the restaurant were free, so we thought we would be able to sit and eat. After about 4 waiters ignored us standing there waiting for a table, someone (I'm assuming the manager that night) greeted us and asked us if we had a booking. We told her no but we wouldn't be there long as we just wanted to eat quickly and get on the road. She told us that unfortunately the place was fully booked and there wasn't a table available, so they were only taking bookings. I looked a bit confused by this as virtually every table was sitting empty. We asked how long the tables would all be empty for and she said within the next 5 minutes! It seemed a bit strange that the place would go from empty to heaving in the space of 5 minutes, however on that note we walked away. I then decided to see if I could get us a booking online, because if they were fully booked then I wouldn't be able to book a table.....low and behold there was availability! Seeing this I promptly booked a table, however accidentally booked for 2, but considering we had our baby with us, he could have sat on my lap, as no other place ever has an issue with this.

As we stepped back into the restaurant, the same lady greeted us. I told her we had a booking, to which she looked very annoyed because she saw that I had just booked it online. I told her that we should be able to eat because I've booked a table. She immediately told me I'd booked for 2 not 3 and my 1 year old counts as a person, so we couldn't have the table! I told her we could share a 2 person table with him easily, as he won't take up too much room. She flat out refused because apparently his high chair would get in the way of their huge walk way! I then protested he could sit on my lap and she still refused! I've honestly never felt so personally rejected from a place for no valid reason, all because they wouldn't accept my child! I've never experienced a problem like this anywhere before and the sheer lack of empathy, kindness and customer service was shocking! This woman (if she is the manager) is clearly in the wrong role and a terrible rep for Toby Carvery restaurants. It seemed that they did not want us there out of laziness and could not be bothered to serve an extra 2 people and a hungry baby on top of the 3 other tables they were already waiting on.

We left this restaurant mortified and tearful. I will be telling everyone I know to avoid this Toby Carvery...