The Haycutter — Restaurant in Tandridge

We have been here several times and always had a fantastic time and amazing food, sadly this time, it was extremely disappointing and will never be returning.

Couldn't wait for our Sunday booking. We brought our 18 month old and 3 year old at 12.00 booking, sadly but unsurprisingly after an hour and a half, they didn't want to sit in their seats any more and no snacks would keep them still any longer! We took them in the family garden and then brought them in while we waited for our deserts. They wandered around happily, with me apologizing for getting in anyones way. All staff were kind and welcoming as you would expect for a family pub on a Sunday.

I was then gobsmacked when the manager came past huffing and puffing rudely and dismissively asked me to "keep my children in their seats", he then walked off whilst I was in mid reply telling him sadly that was impossible!

My 18 month old would not be kept in his seat again! The same manager with even more of an attitude this time told me, mum, to get my children "in their seats". I question whether he would talk to a man with the same disregard.

We have always taken our well behaved children everywhere since small babies, Nobu, the Dorcester, Claridges, every pub in north London and most restaurants, we have always been welcomed and accommodated, I have never once been spoken to with such rudeness and attitude! Definitely not what we were expecting from a big family pub in the country! Another lady who saw how I was spoken to told me how it was completely unjustified it was and how well behaved my children were.

Obviously, I was extremely unpset, and in complete shock, we then felt there was no choice but to cancel the deserts and asked for the bill from the same manager. The manager was unapologetic. My husband was very upset to hear how I was spoken to not once, but twice and thought it was unacceptable. Again, he was met with rudeness and was told not to come back, to which he understandably lost his temper!

I would be really interested in talking to the ownership about our experience and if they think the way we were treated was acceptable, or like the management they considered children as an inconvenience and if they're not sitting down they're...

I really thought that I would be giving this place 5 stars, sadly not the case. It has a beautiful countryside location, a great outside terrace to enjoy the sunshine and lovely farmhouse feel inside. The menu has a good variety of dishes, something for everyone. So where did it go wrong? Serving burnt toast with pate and overcooked chips with a burger (the burger itself was delicious). Prawns in the tacos were overcooked and the Nut Roast was dry and came with just a few potatoes, half a carrot and some cabbage. The £40 bottle of wine which should have be cold was room temperature.

I would point out that the customer facing staff were very good. When we were asked how things were we told our server who was very apologetic and said that she will speak to her manager. The ‘manager’ who eventually turned up said she needed to speak to her manager which seemed odd. It seems as though the real manager didn’t want to speak with their customers and let the serving staff deal with any issues.

I think the place is mismanaged, not even taking accountability for when things go wrong and expect the serving staff to deal with disgruntled customers, that’s a sign of poor leadership which is clearly affecting the kitchen that are producing sub standard food.

I’m giving an extra star because of our server Lucy who was very friendly and attentive. She is an asset to your establishment and handled our feedback with empathy and professionalism, perhaps the manager could learn a thing or...

Before Covid we used this pub regularly - it was very good. We had a very average yet expensive meal 5 months ago but decided to give them a second chance - big mistake. Four of us booked for lunch today and the experience was abysmal. Menus arrived promptly but it was ages before our order was taken. Our drinks arrived reasonably quickly and then we waited - and waited... After 25-30 minutes a waiter came to tell us that 2 of our main courses had sold out and could we choose again. We did - and then waited some more before the starters arrived. My squid was very overcooked and the arancini balls were tasteless and bland. The plates were cleared... and then we waited some more. It was well over half an hour before we asked what was happening and were told our mains would be 5 minutes. Two of us had ordered steak burgers which arrived together, one being ok but the other cold. A few minutes later the other 2 meals arrived, one very small fishcake (at £11.95 no less!) and a 'spiced grain with feta' - that was missing the feta... It duly went back to the kitchen, coming back 5 minutes later with a few chunks of feta. You should be getting the picture by now! This pub used to be very good but standards have plummeted in the last 6 months or so. It's not cheap either, which adds insult to injury. We're happy to pay for quality but it seems the Haycutter can't deliver anymore. We'll never return as there are many much better and reliable alternatives within 10...