The Nevill Crest & Gun — Restaurant in Wealden

Have been there a few times over the years and generally been satisfied. Today we went in for early lunch at 12 with a 3 and a 2 year old. We ordered after 2 other tables close to us which were similar families with young children. The table next to us had finished their meal and paid before we got ours. That was after the waiter told us he had put the order on, but not pressed the button meaning they missed it, but it would be out in 10 minutes. We were offered drinks on the house and olives/bread. The olives/bread didn't turn up and it took a manager to go and get it. It took another 20 minutes for our food to arrive after more promises. When it did our son's meal was covered in butter despite telling them he was dairy intolerant, our friend's 3 year old was given an adult's meal as they got it wrong and our meals had cold chips and cold mushy peas. We were told our son would have another mean in a few minutes, but it was another 10 minutes. By then we had been feeding him with sausages off another plate. By then he was pretty much ready for bed, we had expected to be out of there by 1:30, not just getting our meals. The manager said the meals were off the bill too. We asked the waiter for the bill or if there was a bill to pay. He said he thought there would not be one, but would check. He walked past a few times, but didn't come back to confirm so we left. I think it is unusual as we have been happy there before and it must have just been a bad day, but I certainly think the waiter was out of his depth for a Saturday lunchtime service. I hope they can take this on board. If it had just been us there as adults we would have brushed it off, but with little ones it was hard...

Disappointing experience. Booked a table for 6 for my mother-in-law’s birthday. On arrival I had to search for someone to find out where our table was. We were then shown to a nice table, and left for around 15 minutes. No one came to take an order of any kind. After a few more minutes I went to find someone. Found a young lad with an iPad and asked if we could order as we’d been waiting a while and no one had been over. His response was “It’s probably easier if you order at the bar!” Easier for who?! Told him I wasn’t going to order six meals and drinks at the bar and he reluctantly followed me to the table where he took our orders. Starters arrived fairly promptly, mains took an age. Wrong bottle of wine delivered and my wife waited at the bar trying to rectify it for a few minutes whilst the bar staff pretended she was invisible. My mother-in-law really liked her main, the rest were fine but nothing to write home about. The little one ate very little as by the time her food finally arrived she was over it. All in all, service was a shambles. Apart from the very friendly blonde waitress who visited us once, no other staff member seemed to care or want to be there. The young ones certainly seemed more interested in flirting with each other than doing the job they were very paid for. Another over-priced, bog standard pub pretending to be a gastro-pub to justify prices but with no care for quality of service. Such a shame as the building itself is beautiful, as is the setting, but we would definitely not go back. Probably absolutely fine for a drink on a sunny day but beware if looking for a nice meal and...

Update on my previous review.

Here at the Nevill Crest and Gun tonight for a birthday gathering and I can say that without exception that the food and service was excellent! Thanks you very much for doing such a great job! You have restored our trust in your great restaurant and pub.

(Old review)

I have had excellent food and service here on two previous occasions. The staff were very friendly and attentive and the atmosphere was great. Yesterday was a bit of an off-day and I hope it was just a one-off blip.

For the most part after being shown to the table we were left to our own devices and had to walk to the bar to order every course because no-one came to take our order. It wasn't busy when we came so we couldn't really understand why we were left.

The baked camembert was lumpy and my steak and ale pie was pretty tough to break into.

Staff were not unfriendly just completely inattentive until later when a new shift came on when things did improve.

I'm sorry to give this middling rating as it was so much better on the previous occasions. We didn't make a fuss at the time and I did leave a decent cash tip but that's just me not wishing to make a bad atmosphere as it was my partner's birthday.

To balance this out as I neglected to leave positive reviews before when the food and service were exceptional, the staff are generally pleasant, the place has a good atmosphere and is great for kids with swings and open space...