The Ivy House Tonbridge — Restaurant in Tonbridge and Malling

The Ivy House has always been a favourite of ours (whenever in Tonbridge), with good food and service.

Unfortunately, our experience last weekend was rather disappointing. We were a table of 4 (3 adults, 1 toddler). The first issue was that my two year old daughters meal was missed off of the ticket when the waiter took our order, and so didn’t arrive with the rest of our meals, resulting in a very unhappy toddler. The waitress that delivered the meals was very apologetic, and to her credit arranged for our daughter’s meal to be made up as quickly as possible, but this still took around 15 minutes, by which point our other food was cold.

Upon finishing our meals, I ordered a coffee, which prior to it arriving another waitress came over and advised us that we needed to vacate the table within the next 15 minutes as there was a subsequent reservation that needed the table at 2.45pm - but that we could move to another table in the same area instead. We were a little taken aback as it wasn’t made clear to us at any time that our booking was for a limited time, nor had there been any appreciation that our meal had been delayed by the error in not registering my daughters meal appropriately, and finally no comment was made with respect to them needing us to vacate the table when placing my order for a coffee (quite happy to take the money).

The waitress then came back after 5 minutes saying she didn’t want to rush us, and that they did have another booking but if we’re not quite done that they would cater for the other reservation using other tables so not to worry (as half of the dining area was empty..).

The waitress then came back again after a further 5 minutes saying that we would need to vacate the table and us move elsewhere as she needed our table specifically.

At this point, the mood was sufficiently ruined, so I had one gulp of my coffee, left the rest, and requested and paid the bill - where we were charged in full.

I’ve never had such an experience at The Ivy House, and was taken aback given how lovely it has been on all other occasions.

I did email the restaurant for their thoughts, prior to posting my review here. My email went by...

ABOUT THE LOCATION: There's parking out the back, more than enough for visitors and the restaurant/pub is easily accessed (might be a little tricky for disabled patrons, although I'm sure they have removable ramps or some workaround). There's a small area outside for the smokers or those who prefer fresh air.

ABOUT THE FOOD: It's well priced, delicious and brought to you just as you like it (steak cooked to perfection for example), it's also very prompt considering the preparation time needed for quality food. I had T-bone steak while my dining partner had goats cheese on something - I wasn't looking at her food because she was gorgeous :-) No complaints at all, everything was perfect, compliments to the cook, who rarely gets credit as he's tucked away!

THE STAFF: This is the important bit, if the food and location is great, it makes no difference if the staff aren't nice. This is the reason for the 5 stars, they really were the best. There's no pretending to be someone other than themselves, and they have the perfect character to do a fantastic job. There are too many positive things about them to list - they knew it was my 'first date' and added the little touches which make it a perfect meal and provided the foundation for a perfect evening. Thank you so much.

I'm not really a fine dining sort of person and rarely go out to eat, but places like this motivate me to go out more. It's not pretentious, it's just a beautiful building filled with wonderful people who do their utmost to ensure you enjoy your evening. I'll definitely be back,...

The Ivy House is one of the nicest pubs in Tonbridge. A beautiful old Kentish building maintained and decorated well inside and out. Terrace in particular is really good with an abundance of outdoor heaters and covered areas.

Good drinks selection with plenty of premium lagers. Wouldn't mind seeing maybe one or two more experimental options like a hazy pale ale or stout other than Guinness.

Staff are great, professional and friendly.

Food is great quality and the menu offers a lot of choice. A personal thing, but it would be great to have straight fish and chips as an option. Veggie options could be stronger. What veggie options there are seem overpriced (£16 for a mushroom burger doesn't feel quite right when meat options are the same price.)

Broadly the place veers on the pricier side compared to others in the town, but not by much. Most burgers with chips for £16, or £18.50 if you want the chips with toppings. You can clearly see the investment in...