Smith & Western | Lingfield — Restaurant in Tandridge

My family booked a table for my brothers 21st birthday at the Lingfield restaurant this evening and to say were incredibly disappointed with the service we received is an understatement.

We arrived at 7pm and were seated in an area of the restaurant that was noticeably cold before we'd even sat down and taken our coats off. Our first round of drinks took 45 minutes to arrive after having to chase them up with a waitress. When they eventually did arrive the "bus boy" who delivered them placed the three bottles of cider on the table without another word. My father very politely called her back to ask if he could have a glass with ice, not an unreasonable request especially since he asked the waitress who took our order 45 minutes prior for one. He was rudely dismissed and told "we're very busy." We're all human, this would be an understandable response had my dad been rude, but this just wasn't the case. Our starters didn't arrive until 8:15 and our mains took another hour after that, bare in mind we had now been here in an incredibly cold section for over 2 hours! Our party ate our dinner with our coats on and when we asked the waitress about the temperature she said they were aware the section was very cold and usually used a heater to warm it but it had "blown up" the day before. If staff knew this was a uncomfortably cold section then why was it open? Once our meals were finished we were left with our empty plates in front of us for yet again another 45 minutes before we finally caught the attention of our waitress. We expressed our disappointment which my mum had already gone to the bar and done multiple times, stressing it was my brothers 21st and we had chosen Smith and Western for this event as they have a reputation for making a fuss of customers on their birthdays and we wasn't even receiving bog standard service. She left to get a manager, with our empty plates still left in front of us. When the manager returned he offered to get us deserts and take some money off the bill. By this point we were all cold and fed up and made the decision to cancel the Belly Buster dessert we had ordered for my brothers birthday and asked for the bill. The waitress that bought the bill over to us causally asked "whose paying the damage?" If that wasn't insulting enough the amount deducted off the bill was the grand total of £18 leaving the outstanding balance at nearly £250 for the disgraceful service we had received. Fourtuantly for the noticeably young and very inexperienced staff, my parents are polite people who do not like to make a fuss and paid the bill without hesitation. I am disgusted at the service we have received and was even more appalled to see the staff laughing and joking around the bar as we left. This wasn't an under-staffing issue, this was negligence. We left at 10pm with the plates still on the table 3 hours after we had arrived, which speaks for itself seeing as the online booking service states the table has to be returned after 2 hours, by which point in time we hadn't even been served our mains.

We're a very understanding and laid back family, it's a Smith and Western after all we wasn't expecting silver service and having worked in hospitality myself I understand the high pressure environment it is to work in, especially for young adults but with that being said some serious management and training needs to be put in place at the Lingfield restaurant. Slow service is a common occurance in chain restaurants, but I am outraged by how the "bus boy" spoke to my father who is never rude or unkind to hospitality staff! This particular individual appears to lack basic social skills lets alone any customer service experience. How she made it through the interview process with her attitude...

American smokehouse restaurant,family owned with several other branches in the Southeast. A great western theme throughout with servers dressed in cowboy / Cowgirl uniforms, country music playing etc. The menu is filled with smokehouse BBQ classics like low n' slow smoked brisket and ribs plus mexican fajitas,chilli and burritos as well as great nacho sharers, Mac n' cheese and a range of steaks. There's also great American style thick shakes and some great desserts too! I had nachos to start with added chipotle chicken, they were loaded with nacho cheese and melted cheese with red chillis and jalapenos and served with a side of salsa,sour cream and guacamole, just delicious and gooey and served in a hot skillet. For main I had chicken fajitas which came to the table all sizzling with 5 tortillas and everything needed in the way of sides. The peppers,onions and mini corn were beautifully caramelised by the juices and spices from the chicken. Portions are generous so I couldn't manage pudding but that just gives me an excuse to return. Oh, I forgot to mention, they have a great range of burgers too! Veggie options are available. Drinks wise, there is a wide range available including cocktails which are different from the norm, not cheap but they do have a happy hour. The restaurant is large with various different areas plus on a pleasant day there is a covered outside area. They have occasion live music and this is country themed too! My nacho starter which was really a sharer, the fajita main and unlimited soda came in at about £37. I really shouldn't have had all those nachos as they're too big for one person as starter but they were just so good, I brought some of my fajita dish home with me. I must give a shout out to the server, she is called Grace and was very attentive,friendly and had a good knowledge of the menu,checked back and also had a good knowledge about...

It's a lovely restaurant great atmosphere and in general the food especially the steaks are lovely but on this occasion we decided to have the Chilli Con Carne.. when delivered was told the plates were extremely hot! The Chilli was very dry and the rice was just as dry, in fact it resembled for the want of putting it politely a dried up (COW PAT) it was hard to swallow.. clearly too long in the Microwave hence the plates being too hot to touch!! There was no melted cheese as described on the menu but a dollop of sour cream and the flat bread was like chewing cardboard. Gutted to say the least but didn't complain or make a fuss as the 2 children were having a lovely time. but we won't be having that again. We booked a table for 4 and expressed that a member of our party was large and disabled, when we arrived it was clear the table was not ready which is expected when such a restaurant is as busy as this was and that's not a problem.. but we were put on a table by the kitchen where staff are up and down the whole time as well as people in and out of the toilets, ok we tolerated it but trying to get service from a waiter/waitress was hard work!! they were constantly taking or bring back plates so we sat there for quite a while before we were actually served and this continued even after taking the plates away when our food was finished and requesting a dessert menu or a top up of drinks.. which I might add the Mock Mohito cocktail was just a glass 3/4 filled with Ice & some Mint leaves basically a glass of chilled water that after 3 or 4 sips was left with just ice! Tasted of pure water, complete waste of time and money. We we put on a table that took you away from the heart of the Smith & Western atmosphere of happy birthdays and general chat and laughter etc.. which was a shame for an evening out with our...