Black Horse Pembury — Restaurant in Tunbridge Wells

My boyfriend was complaining that Sunday carveries are always disappointing wherever he goes, so I decided to prove him wrong and show him the One True Carvery! I used to come to the Black Horse for the legendary carvery when I lived in Paddock Wood but hadn't been back for almost 10 years since I moved away, but let me say that it was exactly as good as I remembered - even better, in fact! The carvery is truly the stuff(ing) of dreams - a huge selection of meats, all the trimmings, and you can help yourself to as many amazing roasties, veggies, sauces and gravy as you want! And the best bit? You can go back for seconds, thirds, fourths - as many more heaped plates of meat and goodies as your stomach can handle! Just make sure you leave room for dessert because it's included in the price! You can always take it home if you can't manage it, but I consider that admitting defeat, so you have to power through! Honestly, the Black Horse does the best carvery I've ever had in my life: nowhere even comes close, and the fact that you can stuff yourself until there's gravy coming out of your ears for £20 is simply unbelievable. Add to that lovely friendly staff, and the pub, which has a gorgeous cosy atmosphere, and you honestly couldn't ask for more! Just make sure to book well ahead for the carvery because it gets very full quickly! Needless to say, I will not be leaving it that long until I come back, and not only are my boyfriend and I planning our next visit, he's already planning to bring his friends and family here! You owe it to yourself to come here, and while your waistline won't thank...

Stayed at the nearby mercure hotel. The black horse Pembury was recommended by the receptionist. Booked a table for two for 6pm Sunday. Looked at the carvery menu in advance. It gave the impression that it was an inclusive price for a carvery and dessert. The price was £24 each Both of us don't usually have dessert so we hoped we had an opt out of a dessert choice.On sitting down we were told we could take our dessert home in a box if we didn't eat it at the pub. So we quickly realised there was not a choice.Stopping at a hotel this wasn't really an option. Some desserts were priced at £9. After eating our excellent carvery we were not really up to eating anymore. So we asked if instead we could have a liqueur coffee priced at £8 and a dessert between us. We were told this was not possible. Considering we spent £65 on drinks (the morreti was a bit flat)and meals I thought this was rather petty and poor customer relations The carvery could not be faulted the meat and vegetables were tasty and cooked to perfection. Unfortunately this pettiness spoiled...

The Black Horse has a deceptively large outdoor area and well spaced out tables; there were barriers between tables where distancing was not possible.

We had a late Sunday buffet-style carvery lunch/dinner. It all looked very nice, but was a bit disappointing.

The beef was a bit bland and very tough and stringy in the middle so we had to leave a fair bit as waste.

Gammon was very tasty, as was the califlower/broccoli cheese bake. The roast potatoes were rock solid on the outside, perhaps they were from an earlier batch? The Yorkshire was a good size but again, a bit bland.

It all needed just a touch more seasoning.

Dessert was included in the price of £18.50 p.p. for the carvery meal and were generally quite tasty, well presented with good portion sizes.

Service was somewhat lacking - we didn't feel welcome, noone smiled and menus were not provided when we arrived. They were also forgotten for desserts despite numerous requests.

The staff didn't wear uniforms so we didn't know who worked there or were just wandering up for...