Quex Barn Farm Shop — Restaurant in Thanet

The facilities and gardens are great but the restaurant is meat/fish heavy with little choice for the (growing number) of vegetarians. I opted for a Ploughman's minus the ham. My companion chose the same but kept the ham. They both came on a small cheeseboard comprising coleslaw (excellent), salad (excellent), onion chutney (a little too sweet), the cheese and/or ham and one piece of ready-buttered sliced white cut into two (disappointing and too floppy to put the ingredients on). When I politely & quietly told a waiter we were expecting French bread he answered with a smart remark saying loudly "you're in Kent, so you get Kent bread" and turned and walked away. He did get his cheap laugh, but I felt humiliated (and wishing I had said crusty bread). Neither my companion nor I enjoyed our lunch as it looked like a board of make-your-own sandwich ingredients - if, of course, there had been two slices of bread. The younger waiting staff were quick, polite and delightful. My bill came to over £11 for the sandwich ingredients and a bottle of juice. I left a tip as the younger staff were worth it - but one doesn't go for a lunch in a pretty place to be made to feel ashamed by a...

Firstly I'd like to make clear this review is for the restaurant, the farm shop is great, however I wish I could say the same regarding the restaurant. Went inside with the wife in the main eating area on a quite morning around 10am. There were probably 3 other tables seated. The first thing we noticed was the smell, it was pretty bad, I thought it was animal urine smell and the wife said it was human urine! Probably very soaked and dried into the very old wood flooring! (No joke) We placed the order by 10.30 and it took at least 30 minutes to get our basic breakfast. It's wasn't busy! Nobody was waiting, just us, all seated just had drinks. They are very relaxed and in no rush! The kitchen would never handle a busy morning. The only quality thing about the small English breakfast was the sausage, however, definitely not worth £12. Beans tasted cheap and horrible (asda brand is better) The poached eggs were machine made, hardly not runny at all. That's was £7 for 2 eggs and toast! Basic bread. So in general very disappointed, needs massive improvement with the kitchen efficiency,...

I've only recently rediscovered this place and have had a couple of visits now to try out more of the services on offer. I'm blown away by the exceptional customer service. I've sat and had coffee and the best freshly made sausage roll I've ever tasted (and I've eaten many in my time). I've also purchased from the butchery counter who to above and beyond with the meats on offer and flavours available. They are so pleasant and knowledgeable. We've also purchased and amazing array of vegetables and salad items, which taste so much better than supermarket offerings. As well as this we've tried products we've not seen elsewhere and spotted many an item we'll be adding to our future baskets. The fresh bread is also exceptional. We just can't fault the place for choice and certainly can't top the service. The only down side is minor and not the fault of the place. It's so popular, that due to the layout it can get a bit congested in places, due to lack of space. But if they weren't so popular, it wouldn't be able to offer all that they do. We look forward to our...