Inn on the Pond — Restaurant in Tandridge

We booked a table for dinner on Friday 2nd June and will never return. We had to wait 20 minutes at the bar to order drinks as the queue was so long and only one member of staff was serving. We then decided to order food so had to queue for another 20 minutes. We ordered 2 garlic breads and chicken wings to start. These took just under an hour to come out (arrived at 8:30pm). The garlic bread portion was tiny! One half of a ciabatta roll with some garlic on it and they charged £4! If we had not been so hungry, we would have sent them back. We did mention to the manager that we were unhappy with the wait time (no one warned us that the wait would be that long) and how small the portion of garlic bread was. The manager, after some back and forth, reluctantly offered to refund the 2 garlic breads but nothing more. When I said I was not happy, she said she would refund the chicken wings as well. I agreed to this and asked her to bring out our mains as soon as possible as we were so hungry. About 20 minutes later, our mains arrived. One dish was meant to be a veggie tart with couscous and salad. The plate arrived with a dry veggie tart and dry rice. When we asked why the dish was not served with couscous, the waiter went to the kitchen to check. After a couple of minutes, he came back and created a whole story about the menu suddenly being updated. The manager then appeared and after saying the menu was subject to change (even though I asked how it could change since we ordered), she admitted they ran out of couscous. This was my mums meal and after all the hassle that evening, she sent the food back to the kitchen and asked for a refund. This meant she had no dinner and didn’t dare ask for a different dish as that would take another hour…! Even at this point, the manager was very dismissive and quite rude (rolling her eyes etc.). The rest of the meals were average pub meals but were low in quality (the bun for the burger was like cardboard, the gammon steak was mostly fatty and the portion of peas for a meal equates to a teaspoon). The manager came over, whilst two people were still eating their food, and asked aside from the tart, did you enjoy the meal? At this point, the evening had been completely ruined so I said it was fine but I hadn’t enjoyed it. The manager then rudely replied to me saying ‘oh you didn’t enjoy it, even though you finished all the food on your plate’. To say I was shocked is an understatement! Given how long we’d waited, and how hungry we were, we ate the food but most of our plates were not empty. However, the main reason I said we didn’t enjoy it was the overall experience, not just the food. No one would think that meal was enjoyable and especially not for £125! The manager was clearly implying that I was complaining about nothing and trying to get some food for free. It then became quite unpleasant with the manager and she became more aggressive, whilst also claiming she was trying to sort the situation. The refund was issued incorrectly and whilst I understand mistakes happen, this whole experience was unacceptable. There are plenty of lovely pubs in the area to go to instead of here which we unfortunately made the...

Whilst the pub is set in beautiful scenery and has the ability to be the place of choice for locals looking for a good food and a few drinks, sadly the service lets it down to a point where it would deem it woeful - and this is not a one off, its been several times to a point where i wont be going back until the service has improved.

once example is where myself and two other in the group had not booked and asked for a table. Given there were around 8 free tables available we assumed we'd be seated to one of the tables, in the main area, instead we were told they were "fully booked" and shown to whats described as the "peasants table" which is basically in the car park and miserable. We had to wait 20 mins to order the first round of drinks even though only half of the tables were occupied and those that were only had 2-4 guests so hardly busy! after 45 minutes i challenged the bar manager and asked to move to one of the 8 tables which were still empty which she eventually let us do. i would expect a bit more service to invite us to a nicer table if after 15 mins those who'd book had not turned up. i cant imagine many people want a view of the car park!

another time i did book, and got a table, we again had to wait 20 minutes to order drinks, and an hour for food to arrive! when challenging the bar manager ,she tried again to tell me it was busy! when the food did eventually arrive i told them i had to leave and put it in a take away box as we had to leave to take my son back to boarding school. thank for spoiling what should have been a nice evening!!

if you class an establishment with 50% of the tables not occupied and the others with only 2-4 guests then there i must be missing something, i would hate to see it in full swing with 8 guests per table and all occupied.

if you are happy to wait for 20-30 mins to be served any drinks and an hour for food then go ahead, otherwise take a picnic and sit on the cricket pitch instead!

the staff need to consider that patrons often pop out for a "quick drink" and dont expect to wait 20 mins to be able to even order a drink regardless of if your busy or not!

Given everyone has been in lockdown and desperate to pop out for a few drinks, customers should be desperate to come here, instead they are saying dont bother as its a waste of...

My cousins moved to nearby Merstham and wanted to explore the area and came across this lovely pub with outdoor seating. On a sunny day, like it was when we visited, the location of the establishment was well worth the visit as the surrounding landscape boasted lush countryside views as we took in fresh countryside air dining al fresco. Definitely worth the trip.

However, the reason for the 4* and not 5* was due to the fish & chips. It was the highest priced item on the menu (£24) and by far one of the most expensive fish & chips I’ve encountered, and that’s coming from someone who lives in London. All would be forgiven if it was the best Fish & Chips I’ve had, but unfortunately no. The batter wasn’t crispy or fried enough, and was lacking depth of flavour. Also, for £24, we felt that they were a bit stingy in the amount of potato wedges served. I’ve seen other photos from other reviewers on the Fish & Chips, and ours looked lacklustre compared to theirs.

Other items we ordered, i.e the chicken burger and onion rings were delicious. Dessert was ok.

Another reason for the 4* was that they included service charge to the bill. If we had table service that would be fine, but we had to order from the bar, so not quite sure what that charge was for. Was it merely for entering the order on the system?

All in all, a good find and recommend visiting this place on a well-weathered day. Be wary of the fish & chips and service charge. Not sure if there’s service charge for ordering just drinks,...