The Pheasant at Buckland — Restaurant in Mole Valley

A nice pub let down by the service as a number of people have already mentioned. There were only two of us and we hadn’t booked (just out for a drive) and although they were busy, it wasn’t overcrowded. We got a table within seconds and the staff were friendly. Good start. We were given a menu, but it was probably 10 - 15 minutes before we saw anyone again or even acknowledged our presence - there were clearly staff milling around seemingly not doing a great deal. You give them the benefit of the doubt - I hadn’t pre-booked after all. Eventually the waiter arrived and took our drinks and food order and we settled back to chatting. 10-15 minutes go by and no sign of the drinks but I did clock two drinks on the bar that looked to be exactly like my order. Long story short, those drinks stayed there for the next 5 minutes or more - many opportunities for any number of staff to bring them over. Eventually I walked over to the bar and brought them over myself - first world problem I guess, not the end of the world! Food eventually arrived, within an acceptable amount of time to be honest. Burgers were great, the chips were over cooked and mostly very greasy. Obviously I didn’t complain or send them back - I’m English after all! Anyway, food was eaten, drinks were consumed and plates removed. Same friendly waiter who took our order (food was delivered by another staff member) asked if we’d like to see a dessert menu. Of course we said yes - be rude not to! Menus arrived a few minutes later... that was it. The friendly waiter never came back. He must have passed us a dozen times - never looked at us once. Other staff passed by our table many times - never gave us a second glance. So 20 minutes went by and we just went to the bar to get our bill. It’s worth noting that during this time the restaurant was a lot less busy (easily 50% less). Could easily have walked out the back door and nobody would have noticed. Asked the server at the bar for our bill - she just confirmed where we were sitting, didn’t ask us why we hadn’t just asked our waiter for the bill. She did ask if everything had been alright with our meals. I informed her that the burgers were great, the chips not so much and that the service was pretty much nonexistent. She apologised for this but not to the extent that made me feel I was receiving any level of customer service, i.e. reduced bill or calling the manager over, etc. So for about £35 we got (decent) burgers and horrible chips, two drinks (one coke and one pint of ale), friendly waiter but no real service to speak of. Went to McDonald’s on the way home for dessert - less than £3 for two Galaxy McFlurrys. Bargain! I won’t be rushing back to The Pheasant anytime soon. Obviously take my review with a pinch of salt, it might have just been a bad night. Or maybe the other bad reviews all got the same waiter! That said, there were many other people milling around not actively providing a good service and a place like the Pheasant will live or die based on this. I hope it improves and thrives, because it could be a great place. Right now it is mediocre and...

Visited The Pheasant at Buckland with my family, sister and mother. All in all it was a fairly pleasant visit. One thing I will point our from the get go, please replace your steak knives they're pretty blunt... the pork serviced to me in the end also was also like boot leather.

To clarify, I had ordered the pork tomahawk, when it came to the table I had to ask the waiting staff to return it to the kitchen as parts of the tomahawk were undercooked, and other parts were raw inside.

The "duty manager" came out for damage limitation, all hurried and flustered saying the "chef" temp checked it and inferred the thermometer said it was cooked. But the evidence on the plate said otherwise, I had cut it in several places to check. I'll happily eat beef rare and maybe on occasion, even blue. However I wont eat undercooked to raw pork.

The "chef" might have checked it with a thermometer but you wont get a reliable temp reading as the tomahawk steak was thin and really not thick enough to get a reliable temp through the entire piece of meat.

The tomahawk was returned to the kitchen. There might have been an apology, I'm not 100% sure as the guy waffled on so much, I 'd pretty much checked out. There wasn't any mention of making amends, no round of drinks, no mention of cooking new fresh tomahawk or anything to make things right, just slapping my existing tomahawk back onto the grill to cook for longer.

When it returned, I'll admit, It did look better than before, and it was definitely cooked. Because the tomahawk steak was a thin piece of meat, the loin end had dried out somewhat and was a challenge to chew, (the blunt steak knife didn't help). This isn't just a cooking issue, this is a supply issue of who's supplying your meat.

I'm an avid cook and a know how to cook meat correctly and I'm sorry, the tomahawk was badly cooked, I was very disappointed!

I didn't want to make a scene in front of my family and potentially the many well wishers at the 60th birthday party occurring close by. I decided not to say anything further, I wanted to enjoy my time with my family and follow it up with this review.

Just to round off everything else regarding my dish. The Portobello mushroom was dry and probably never saw an oven to be roasted, just had been put on the grill. The tomato was seared on one side to show sear marks but wasn't really cooked. The onion rings were amazing but oily and the chips were just... fine. What through me was the weirdest salad I have ever had. Rocket, Shimeji mushrooms and dressed with what I can only describe as maybe a citrus dressing?!? So weird!

Lastly, there were other neutral to underwhelming comments about my families about their menu choices, nothing to rave and delight about in which we come to expect from an establishment like The Pheasant. Please, do better if there is...

Passed this pub a few times on walks around Buckland during Covid when it was closed for eating in. As we were out this way today I thought I'd treat family to a surprise. I rang about 30 minutes before going. The phone took a while to be answered but I expected that from other reviews, so just let it ring. Eventually answered, I was told they were fully booked inside but seating and heating outside is on first come first served basis. Fire pit with a plentiful supply of logs (you can top up as and when you feel the need) along with patio heating made it just right for a sunny but sometimes chilly day. As I didnt have a coat I was delighted to see they even provide blankets! Perfect. What a bonus and thoughtful touch. Ample parking. Dog friendly. I think there we're two options for vegan or vegetarians. So I went with the fish cakes. I like them with a little crunch but these were well overdone. The breadcrumbs browned and hard but not that hot in the middle. One of my guests went for the butternut squash option and their potatoes were overdone too, their roasties looked more like well done jackets! My other guest went for the beef roast, no complaints there. Time wise, we were a little outside of what I say was the busiest period, but they were packed inside and out (almost) and they serve until 5pm. This was about 2ish give or take half an hour so I'm not sure what went wrong. The dishes are above average, so are the prices, so I was disappointed. However I didn't mention it because it was a family get together at a difficult time. If i went on a Sunday again I'd go earlier, I don't think being seated outside made a difference. Maybe a weekday would be different. Our table service was spot on, orders taken, food wait not long. A polite, happy character not too much humour but made us smile with good banter, not all over us but noticed us in very good time when we asked for more drinks and condiments. Would have given 5* review if not for overcooked food, that said rather overdone than under!! Such a shame if the reason was due to food being kept on a hot plate and no fault of the chef... Skimmington...