Home Cottage — Restaurant in Reigate and Banstead

Four friends and I chose the Home Cottage to get together to celebrate a 60th birthday on Saturday. We booked at least a month in advance. I was asked whether I was coming for the Rugby and I said no and that I definitely didn't want to be near the screens/ fans cheering etc. Anyway when we arrived we walked in and up to the entrance to the restaurant area where we were soon met by a lady who having asked my name took us back into the pub area to an alcove and showed us our table. She didn't say anymore. We sat at our table for a while looking at our menus . No one came to offer us drinks or take our order. We then noticed a small blackboard which said order from the bar or something else which I supposed was an app. We wanted a waitress to serve us not spend time downloading apps then trying to work our way through an online menu. I made a note on my phone of what everyone wanted and went to the bar to order. I had to wait a while to be served and once order was placed I had a card machine shoved at me to pay. I didn't want to pay at that stage and I certainly don't expect staff to assume that I'm paying by card, which I wasn't! Also my friends and I wanted to split the bill at the end, 3 of us wanted to pay cash and 2 by card. Anyway the staff member asked the manager if it was ok for us to pay later to which the manager agreed. He was friendly enough. Our meals were not great. The mussels were tasteless as was the fish pie which two of us had. The fish pie was about the size of a jam jar, was two thirds potato and and contained just white fish as far as I could make out . As I said it was tasteless as was the veg which came with it even though the veg looked nice. One friend had the quinoa salad and the other the burger which they said was quite nice. Our table was cleared but we weren't really asked if everything was ok. We were not offered desserts or coffees or drinks. I eventually went up to the bar again, this time to order coffee and once again had the card machine shoved in my direction. I spent far too much time queueing at the bar which should have been spent with my friends, therefore felt totally out of the conversations. I had to go up to the bar once again to get the bill. No one came to take our payments so we trotted off back to the bar to pay. There was quite a large party in the restaurant area hence I assume why we were put in the bar area. I think we should have been informed that we wouldn't be in the main restaurant, told we wouldn't be waited on and given the choice to cancel. A very disappointing...

My husband and I visited recently, making our way to the restaurant without booking because despite ringing on numerous occasions, the call was not answered. The restaurant was very quiet, almost empty, apart from two occupied tables. We had to wait a ridiculous amount of time for our starter and even longer for our main to arrive. Quite absurd, given the restaurant was practically empty. We were conscious of the kitchen staff taking regular trips outside for cigarette breaks, obvious by the fact they were carrying cigarettes and lighters. Two of the waitresses were standing chatting and playing on their mobiles near the kitchen. They looked over at us numerous times but just looked away again. We had to wait another age before the main dishes were cleared away and no dessert/coffee menu was offered at this point, as would usually be the case. The waitress returned to chatting with her friend, both seemingly blissfully aware that they should be doing something, namely their job! We paid good money for a very average meal and extremely poor service. When we left, we had been there for over two hours. Had there been a manager present, we would have taken our complaint to that person. However, neither of us saw a manager on the restaurant floor for the duration of our visit, and neither did the waitresses enquire if our meal was satisfactory. We don't complain for the sake of it, and I have never left a poor review for anything before, but felt I had to on this occasion. I wrote to the manager who several days later sent a very weak apology and advised that the use of mobile phones is banned, but that the waitresses update a Twitter account for the pub. That is definitely not what it looked like to us! A second letter from the manager offered us a 20% discount on a future visit. No thank you. Would not wish to repeat that awful experience. Will never go there again. I don't even think it is worthy of one star. We will stick to the Pendleton and Joshua Tree when we want a local decent meal and service...

What a lovely English exterior. A place that proved to have excellent food but lacked the level of service that merits an excellent rating. Upon arriving we entered through the front door, apparently the pub area (which has its own menu) and waited. No one came. We then kind of explored the pub, went through a corridor until we saw the dining area. Did I miss something? The first waitress who seated us was very welcoming. She seated us (at a tiny table for two) and provided menus. She was one of 3 or 4 waitresses we had. The first waitress, possibly the maître ď, was excellent then the service slowed down considerably. At one point of a long wait the manager was meeting with all the service attendants going over the evening’s menu and specials. Once we had our meal there was never a follow up service til near the end of our meal. Then we waited considerably a long time after the end of the meal to be able to ask for and receive a dessert menu Once we received the dessert there was no return to see if all was okay. The food — really good. Everything we ordered was so good. Our appetizer was the foccia toasted bread, cup of incredibly seasoned olives and oil/vinegar for dipping. Truly excellent! For dinner we ordered a meal that consisted of the most delicious sausages (pork, rhubarb, …) with a red onion topping , roasted buttered potatoes and stewed cherry tomatoes. My suggestion to the chef is to be a bit more generous with the topping and switch out either the potatoes or tomatoes for another vegetable. Both the potatoes and tomatoes were cooked well but a bland mix. My husband ordered the cabbage as a side and this was spectacular. For dessert we ordered a toffee pudding and a custard dish w apple, figs, etc. Both good. The cappuccino fair. The overall price of the meal was fair but merits a better level of service. The table next to us received a great deal more service then we did. If we had received the service they had I would of given a 5...