Ramblers Rest Coulsdon — Restaurant in Reigate and Banstead

Just disappointed really, heard good things about this place so planned a nice meal and pint after a dog walk on a Friday afternoon off on the run up to Christmas.

Upon arrival the place looked very nice and characterful with a nice outdoor area which looks nice for the summertime. Once inside I didn't realise it was basically a substitute creche with nigh on more screaming babies and toddlers than adults. This is an awkward one especially in this day and age to comment on as I'm sure somehow I'll be in the wrong just trying to have a quite pint of guinness in an adult establishment not a playground and I also understand that this isn't the pubs fault and can't pick their clientele, however I also am of the opinion that Public Houses that serve alcohol do so on the premise that it is to adults, however anyone visiting should be aware of the fact that whether you plan to drink or dine it will be to the sound of screaming toddlers. Possibly an adult dining area maybe appropriate unless that's in some way offensive.

Moving on, the food is nice, not amazing but good, well presented and tasty. The service was a let down though, on the hunt to find a quiet place away from children to dine in peace we sat in the back area near the entrance to a smaller outdoor space. There were an abundance of dirty tables with old glasses and cutlery left for our entire stay, I've gotta say I find this just lazy, poor hygiene and unbecoming of such a settling, wiping and clearing dirty tables costs nothing especially on an easy Friday late afternoon.

Just basic things like filthy salt and pepper shakers, cluttered wobbly table, and met with a very nonchalant attitude from the staff that clearly had better things to do rather than wait. Had to get up to ask for the menus after asking at the bar whilst ordering drinks, still had our starter course dishes on the table when our main was served and again had to go up and get dessert menus after I'd already asked while the main was being cleared and then have to get up to order the dessert to be met with a @rsey attitude by one in particular and with 3 people standing behind the bar.

It would have been nice to possibly give a little feedback personally at the end but wasn't even asked once we finished how the meal was, which kinda underpins my thoughts on the service as a whole, just very lacking.

Overall like I've said, just disappointing, would have loved to have enjoyed it more but unfortunately not. May pop back for a beer in the summer but doesn't warrant the short diversion after walking the dog otherwise.

Maybe we were unfortunate and turned up on an off day but hey first impressions last so for me definitely one to miss, there are plenty of other establishments within easy reach more deserved of your custom in my opinion unless your child's daycare is closed then by all means...

Extremely disappointed. Took my Dad here for his birthday, with my Mum. We didn’t have a reservation, completely understandable and more than happy to sit outside. We’ve sat down, every table was getting cleaned - prior to us sitting down, other than ours. Benefit of the doubt - the member of staff might have not wanted to intrude as we sat down. I kindly asked if we could wipe down our table. Staff has come over rolled her eyes, didn’t even speak to us, and gave the table a wipe over (spraying us in the process). We’ve then ordered food - it came with no cutlery. We asked if we could have some cutlery, they said they’d come back and bring us some. Nearly 10 minutes passed and the waitresses completely forgot about us. I’ve gone in to ask for cutlery. Another staff member said I can get some myself in a tray that was outside (the tray had no cutlery in there and the tray itself was dirty). I came back and explained, and had to wait a few minutes. By the time I came back the food was stone cold - albeit it was nice, just stone cold. Parents a bit deflated and upset, ate and left. I went to explain to the manager - he apologised said it could be because it’s busy - I said I could understand but thought important to share the feedback, he offered us food, I said we had left and already paid, offered us a drink but I said my parents were a bit deflated and had left. He said he’d call me back to get us back in, and in all fairness was apologetic in the moment. No one else had the issue we had, everyone else received service that was very attentive, very quick considering it was fairly busy, and didn’t have to get up once. We couldn’t help but feel a bit treated differently. Being treated different is far from a nice feeling. Gutted and as mentioned credit where it’s due - manager was very apologetic in the moment, and the food was somewhat decent. Just a real shame with the...

The passion star martini was not very nice and very watered down so I had to return it. Then when I asked for some lemonade the waitress asked if I wanted a half or full pint. I asked for half. When it came it was a pint. When I pointed out the error the waitress just stood there holding it and asking if I wanted it or not. I said I wouldn't drink it all, but if they charged me correctly for a half pint I wouldn't bother changing it. But she seemed annoyed and took it away to change. My friend who could see the till, noticed an angry exchange between the waitress and another staff member. She was clearly not happy at having to change the drink.

When ordering food I asked for no mushrooms with my steak and for it to be medium/well. Two of us had the steak and when they arrived they were not distinguished between the medium she had ordered and the medium/well I had orders. The watercress on both plates was extremely wilted and dried out and looked very unappetising. The chips were just a touch overdone and dense. The steak juices were swimming on the plate under the little bowl of chips and the cress. All in all the steak plates looked very underwhelming, compared to the sea bass and pork dishes that our friends had. They were presented beautifully and apparently they were very tasty.

Unfortunately the mistakes with our orders and the frustrated attitude of one for the waitresses on a couple of occasions during the night, made for a less than ideal experience. We felt that we were inconveniencing them.

One of the my friends had raved about Ramblers Rest before we went and we were all keen to dine there, but I definitely would not recommend over other venues right now.

In addition the toilets were dirty, not well maintained and overall not...