The Chequers — Restaurant in Reigate and Banstead

In previous years, The Chequers has been the best pub in the village and beyond, renowned for its warm, welcoming atmosphere as a lovely village pub. Unfortunately, recent experiences have been more than disappointing.

Firstly, the level of service has noticeably declined. At the end of last year, we were told we would have to wait over an hour for bar snacks because a staff member had called in sick and they were catering for a large party. This was surprising, especially considering the pub was quite empty elsewhere, which made the wait seem unnecessary.

More recently, when we arrived for a 6pm dinner reservation on a Sunday evening at 6:15, we were greeted by a waitress with a dismissive comment, "Oh, you are here are you," which felt quite rude and unwelcoming.

Additionally, on Thursday evening this week, we arrived at the pub at 8:20pm and asked if we could order food. We were scoffed at by the bar staff and told "no," despite the fact that other diners were eating in the pub at the time, including a staff member who had just sat down with their own food. The dismissive attitude and lack of flexibility were quite off-putting, especially as the staff member’s attitude suggested we were inconveniencing her by asking, with no offer of flexibility or explanation beyond her abrupt "no" response.

While I understand that staffing issues and busy periods can be challenging, the attitude and behaviour of certain staff members—particularly one in particular—have been unprofessional and entitled. This has significantly impacted the overall experience, which was once a fantastic, friendly village pub. All of the above examples could have been handled in a far more professional manner, which might have prevented this review. I had hoped that the first and even the second incident were outliers, but it has become clear that this is now the standard level of service at what appears to be a declining establishment.

I sincerely hope the management takes these comments seriously and works to restore the welcoming atmosphere that The Chequers was...

I was very impressed with the look and feel of the pub on Sunday, I was amazed at the amount of seating area in the garden. Although I do feel it's a shame to see the children's play area removed. I did like the cozy areas to sit in, that's perfect for Adults for chatting and chilling, but not much thought has gone into the areas for children to play. Wasn't greeted with a friendly welcome. I felt like an inconvenience, I had asked if we could stop for food as we hadn't booked. The person who greeted us didn't smile and replied you should have booked its mothers day, you will have to sit in the bar area (which was referred to as something else, I didn't understand what was said, to be honest) I was fully aware it was mothers day and that restaurant would be fully booked, I feel a different approach to walk-ins needs to be handled a bit better. I found the food to be really expensive for what it was. I ordered the Cumberland sausages with mash and was disappointed with the gravy, too much a very watery, turned most of the mash to liquid and had no taste at all, not sure what the crumbs were on top of the sausages. My partner had fish and chips which he felt was very average and...

I was really looking forward to dining here, but unfortunately, the experience was very disappointing. The menu promised high-quality, flavoursome food, but the reality fell far short.

The “triple-cooked” chips were clearly just frozen oven chips, lacking any real effort or taste. Everyone at our table was unhappy with their meals. I ordered the pork scratchings, and they were truly unpleasant — cold, greasy, and missing any trace of the advertised rosemary flavour. I barely touched them.

We also tried the ribs from the specials board, which were extremely fatty and very poorly prepared. Most of us ended up leaving food on our plates — which speaks volumes. To make matters worse, my partner suffered a stomach ache later that evening after eating there.

The service didn’t improve things either. The waitress was rude and rather hostile, making the atmosphere uncomfortable despite the restaurant itself being nicely decorated.

Overall, both the food and service were extremely poor. The menu did not reflect what was actually served, and for the price, it was a complete waste of money — I could have cooked a better meal myself at home.

Very disappointing. We won’t...