Kingfisher on the Quay — Restaurant in Surrey Heath

I've been to Kingfisher on the Quay many times over the years with mixed experiences but felt compelled to write a review after our most recent visit this week to celebrate my elderly mother's birthday. We'd booked a table for 6 on a Wednesday evening at 19:30 and upon arrival, the car park was pretty full but we soon found a space. We were shown to our table immediately (the same one we'd been seated at during several previous visits) and there was plenty of space for all of us with nobody feeling squashed or uncomfortable. Almost immediately our waitress Fran introduced herself and welcomed us with menus and took our drinks orders. Cold tap water was provided in bottles without havinbg to ask twice which is rare these days!

I've noticed from previous visits that there's always a great atmosphere in this restaurant, with many families celebrating birthdays / graduations etc. This visit was no exception and there were quite a few larger parties of guests. Restaurant visits with elderly guests can sometimes be difficult or frustrating but Fran was extremely patient as my parents ordered and never appeared rushed, despite clearly being very busy. She even suggested that we get our orders in quickly before a large party on a nearby table so that we'd have less wait! Drinks arrived after about 10 mins. as the bar staff were really busy and starters soon after. Wine selection OK and fair pricing too. The food itself, although good, is nothing exceptional but there's plenty of choices and prices are reasonable. A lot of the choices are breaded / deep fried and were tasty and well presented. Their 'smaller plates' 4 for £28 deal was very popular and portion sizes OK.

Main courses followed shortly after we'd finished the starters and again, nothing exceptional but all well presented and decent quality / size. Fran again came to check that everything was OK and it most definitely was.

We even had room to try their desserts which included a sticky toffee pudding and a tasty selection of ice cream.

Once we were all done, Fran brought the bill and despite some troubles with a faulty card terminal (I do suggest getting some replacements as it was clearly very battered and didn't even print!), we managed to pay.

It was around £200 for the 6 of us which included a bottle of wine so was pretty good value. Most importantly, the entire experience was immensely enjoyable and flowed smoothly with no excessive waiting between courses and absolutely fantastic service from Fran!

I'm fairly sure we'll be...

Did £1k damage to my car in their car park so it ended up being a very expensive Sunday lunch! Told the company that owns the restaurant who sadly refused to take any responsibility for locating a short post right at the end of the disabled bay. Short story: I had reversed into the disabled bay when taking my elderly mum out for lunch and, as leaving, the post was invisible to me in the drivers seat as it is much lower than the car windows. The end result was that I hit the post which did so much damage that it meant that I needed a new front passenger door and some cosmetic work too. You can see from the damage inflicted to my car that the post was much lower than my car windows so impossible to see from the driver's seat! My car is still with the garage now so I don't know the full and final cost of the repairs. All I do know is that the post that caused all this damage to my car doesn't need to be there and should at least be high enough for people to see it and avoid hitting it... see the photos to see what I mean! The chap I liaised with at McMullens was very polite but, of course, refused to take responsibility for the damage to my car despite me finding at least one other person who had experienced the same thing and previously did £500 damage to her car - the paint on the post (shown in my photos) demonstrates that quite a few other people have hit it too yet they still refused to take any responsibility for the damage to my car! About the restaurant itself: the staff need more training as they lean over you to pass plates to other people on the table and the young lad who was helping twice tried to give us another table's food. Wine bottle was placed on the table with the screw top still on and wine not poured. Food is ok but the menu is quite limited and fairly pricey. The location is lovely... it's just a shame about the mediocre service and...

Four of us visited for Saturday lunch for the first time yesterday.

Some of us have been to the other resturant in Fleet and found this was very similar.

Pros: Chicken burger is delicious and the Steak Frites were just right with good quality meat.

Lamb was just the right size for lunch but would not fill me up come dinner time. Great quality meat and saddleback potatoes were divine.

The resturant is bright, feels modern and cosy at the same time with tables a good distance apart. Very clean with great views of the quay with some nice cosy corners and hideaways if you prefer.

All the staff were very polite and welcoming and seemed to be very well staffed for the size of resturant.

Cons: (constructive I hope)

The food was served in good time but there were 4 of us eating, and there was a long wait between being served the 1st two peoples meals, and the last two meals being served. Almost long enough for the first two to down most of their food. If its not all ready at the same time it shouldn't be served in my opinion.

The glass door at the front of the resturant jams on the floor and only opens half way. Its clearly been like this for a while and its a bit of a hazard when the door doesn't open as expected.

The service was good but we had so many different people serving us that we weren't sure who our waitress was and very difficult to get the bill for the meal brought to the table. A bit impersonal and not what we are used to.

Oil on the lamb was a bit to heavy but maybe that's just my personal taste.

We will definitely return again at sometime but maybe we will wait for...