Verdigris Tonbridge — Restaurant in Tonbridge and Malling

Been here twice now and the food is phenomenal . This time we went all out on the beef rib and it was the best bit of beef I have ever had. My husband is a bit of a beef fanatic - yet we have never had anything close to this. Quality ingredients cooked to perfection. So the food was that good it would take something major to Knock it off five stars for me but I will continue! Our server was friendly and very knowledgeable about the products. Initially service was timely but towards the end of the night we did seem to get forgotten about a bit. In all honesty this is probably due to the widespread staffing shortage in hospitality and how busy the place was.

We sat outside on the shady terrace overlooking the river. In hindsight, for a "romantic meal", I would recommend booking inside as it's much quieter. That said the terrace was lovely and once some of the louder, "laddier" tables had left I did enjoy the atmosphere. It nicely decorated inside and out fitting the theme and would work perfectly for a romantic meal or just cocktails and nibbles with friends. The menu has a good selection not too much - suggesting it's been well thought out. As with the amazing and creative cocktails. The wine list on the other hand is VAST - I'm not a wine drinker so couldn't tell you if this was a good thing. Cocktails themselves were not cheap, I don't know enough about the spirits to know if the quality of them would demand a higher price but based on the quality of the food this would add up. I believe the outdoor area is also dog friendly, we didn't take ours but I have seen dogs in there and water...

Visited yesterday Saturday 27th June for wedding anniversary. Ordered cocktails and were told we could not drink on the premises in line with government covid regs - this was said without irony as a group of 4 sat in armchairs about a metre from the bar. Helpful manager said we could sit on some benches a little further down the towpath as these were off premises - I’d regularly seen patrons sat on all the terrace seating during the pandemic so I thought ‘fine’. After a rubbish sake based cocktail and a half decent mai tai, wife and I decided to order a couple more mai tais - it being our anniversary and nothing else in town being open. Returned to bar, was served by who I assume to be an owner who was having a meeting in the restaurant area. ‘Owner’ said we could not drink cocktails on the benches, including the benches that had been described as ‘off premises’ 30 minutes previous by the manager. ‘Owner’ then attempted bizarre small talk by asking if I lived on a boat and why I would bother ordering a takeaway cocktail especially considering the weather wasn’t great - odd approach to customer service which left me without doubt that I should regret paying for this experience. Walked past later in the day and the following morning - both times outside areas packed with people despite the apparent takeaway only rules. Inconsistent, rude approach - won’t be back unless forced. Hopefully no more ‘any port in a storm’ predicaments when other venues open in coming weeks. Keep the owner away from the punters - especially if criticising her...

I was willing to put the glass of spilt wine that soaked me, my trousers, shirt and jacket down to bad luck, but in view of the other shortfalls, I can’t. Here are some of the other low points: • The replaced drink glass appeared to only contain the volume left unspilt. • The brioche that came with the crab starter was as dry as dust. • One portion of the crab came with a sizable chunk of cuticle. • On asking what shellfish came with the haddock the waiter did not know and had to find out. • The smoked haddock with shell fish and sea vegetables came without the aforementioned shellfish or a timely apology when highlighted. • The bowl containing the haddock dish contained a large chip and a crack. • Even though the place was nearly empty, at no point during our meal were we asked if all was OK, or if I was drying out etc. Yes, the drinks were not included in the bill – hardly adequate compensation for having to wash and dry clean my clothes. The price of the smoked haddock was reduced by £5 to that of the version on the fixed price menu, but this was made to sound as though we had been given a special deal rather than simply being changed for a dish I did not order. What would have made it all OK? Possibly the offer of another free drink, or a free dessert or a bit more attention, but we just wanted to leave as soon as possible. Pity, it could be quite good, but all...