Brettingtons in Tonbridge and Malling

As you can see by my previous reviews, I am I seasoned traveler and always seeking that extra special dining experience, whether it be a road side street kitchen or well presented non chain restaurant. Passing through Rochester on work related business, I happened on this well presented establishment and its decor and that little bit of class I could sense enticed me in. I was not let down in the slightest. Had the pork.l belly starter and 1/2 lobster Thermidor... 1st class. Good value and bang on. I will always be enticed with food that is hard to replicate at home of complicated.. And this was just that ... There is a few 1 star reviews but see straight through these as picky customers and or busy day .. Well done all keep up the good work, atmosphere is great and staff especially Klodian and Reece were fantastic and attentive..

Great ambience and customer service from our waiters, so attentive with every little thing from our evening out for my brother's birthday! Shout-out to Reece, Max and Claudia!

My wife & I celebrated our 6th wedding anniversary here last week, with some friends over the States & Barbados. The service was superb, we were greeted with a celebratory drink, which was an amazing touch. Service was always attentive, never over-bearing - all staff were friendly and the venue is spotless. Was the food the best I have ever had? No - but it was darned good - the steak was cooked well, fries were piping hot. My wife's mash was not hot - but warm - but you know what nothing is perfect. The service more than made up for some of the inconsistencies with the food, the pricing was very reasonable - there were 6 of us - 3 courses each, 2 bottles of wine and 3/4 beers and a couple bottles of bottle water and the bill was £420. We will be back for sure!

The food was very good, the service was excellent - every single staff member spoke to us & all were so polite and friendly. The busy Friday night ambience could have detracted from that but it didn’t. Only small point was some candles on the tables or string lights could soften the green/ wood 40’s vibe! But great overall - especially outside of London - give it a try…

Brilliant steak house. Really tasty food. Lovely ambience. Attentive staff. Really recommend this for a date night. We opting for a sharing platter for two, that had three different cuts. Really well cooked, great wine list.

Our evening certainly lived up to the reviews and expectations. The staff were very friendly and helpful... Max, our waiter for the night, was a star and helped us through our menu choice. We decided to go for the rib eye steaks and added a half lobster... The steaks were cooked perfectly at medium rare and my Bearnaise sauce was beautifully seasoned as was my partner's Peppercorn sauce. The lobster Thermidor was tremendous and we immediately regretted not ordering two!!! We finished the meal with Creme Brûlées... Needless to say "delicious". We came away nicely full but not bloated... and will be back for sure. Would thoroughly recommend Brettington's as a perfect venue for a wonderful experience all round. Thank you all.... Vic and Deborah

Disappointed. Has this restaurant been sold on???. The food wasn't great, tough stringy lamb. Monkfish was tough.Creme brulee was burnt. Can't even make a floater coffee.Was one of my favourite restaurants, will NOT be returning. £6.00 for a bottle of water. Service wasn't great!

Quality and taste of food was exceptional. King prawns weren’t rubbery and weren’t drowning in butter and sauce which is brilliant. For a main we had a bone in ribeye steak for two, medium rare cooked and house salad and peppers as sides. Steak was to die for, tender, juicy, full of flavour and it wasn’t chewy. I enjoyed every bit of it. Would definitely come back again and recommend to my friends and anyone who loves good quality steaks and nice atmosphere. Members of staff were very friendly and polite. This place worth every penny you spend.

Wow we enjoyed a 1st class meal from start to finish fantastic food along with great service couldn't fault in any way at all . Thank you

We went in a group of three to celebrate our friend getting a new job, we had fantastic time a super delicious food. Klodian served us and accommodated all our wishes and made our evening so special with his fantastic service.

Out on a whim in Rochester, stopped by as had been meaning to go for a while. Front of house could not have been kinder or more welcoming, squeezed us both in quickly. We were then introduced to Klodian, our server for the night, who made our night. Suggested menu items from the board, kept us well hydrated with delicious offerings from the bar, and checked in respectfully and with a sparkle which made us feel like royalty. Food was amazing, my partner’s steak was genuinely out of this world, had to hold back stealing it off his place once I had wolfed down mine it was so great, and we finished with some sweets which were to die for. All in, a wonderfully impromptu evening we could not have planned better, and all hats off to the chefs and the serving staff, especially Klodian, who made the night one to remember.

We went for lunch because it was bitterly cold outside and we needed hot food before visiting the cathedral and the castle. Perfect. Wonderful staff, food and choices. Gluten free etc... No problem. Fantastic local wine and great respect for oysters. Not cheap but so worth it! Will go back with visitors, Nickie.

Lovely delicious food and excellent attentive staff. We felt that the starters were over priced with small portions. However the mains were excellent but we thought some were quite dear. However the night was very good and enjoyable.

Amazing food, steak cooked to perfection! amazing service especially Klodian and maja, who catered to every need. Lovely experience 10/10! Must visit

My Dad took me here for my birthday treat and I have to say what a lovely treat. The steak was cooked to perfection, the sauce (blue cheese) was absolutely delicious and the chips were gorgeous. The staff were so attentive and friendly. Didn’t wait too long for the food. Delicious Margarita. The only thing I would maybe say is perhaps the plates should be hot, as our steaks weren’t as hot as they should be, but I honestly cannot fault it otherwise. Absolutely wonderful place and we will definitely go there again.

Great pre-concert meal; excellent food, superb service from Klodian and a relaxing atmosphere. I had the steak and my husband had the lobster - both fantastic!

Brettingtons is a steak and lobster restaurant in Rochester. We were a walk in on Friday night. Staff were friendly, place is nice. We ordered a Rioja Reserva, but the wine delivered was a Crianza. There was no Crianza on menu. We raised it with staff, they said it was delivered by mistake, but still charged me £31 - the price of the reserva wine. Ordered the cote de boeuf. Was very tender, but was overcooked (we requested medium rare). Overall, a lot of money and not the best. There are better places to get a steak.

Delicious evening meal enjoyed in a great atmosphere with fabulous service from Kludian who was both warm and attentive. The Brettingtons platter was perfect for sharing and full of flavour. We will definitely be returning!

The food was amazing. We had a côte de boeuf which was cooked perfectly and more than enough for two people. The waiter Klodian was really attentive and everything about our visit was on point, will definitely come again.

Lovely family meal. The food and service both excellent, lovely atmosphere and would thoroughly recommend. Our waiter Klodian made the visit extra special and was brilliant with the children. The menu offers a great variety of dishes and a good selection of children’s food.

What a pleasant surprise, food was great, and Klodian was very attentive. Nice ambiance Will definitely come again when in area.

As a family visiting the area we decided we all wanted steak for. Dinner, and this restaurant did not disappoint ! It was easy to pre book a table, as it was my partner and daughters birthday I had added that, although we could not stay longer due to journey home they made a real effort to bring them a birthday cake out ! The staff are an absolute credit ! We felt very welcome and enjoyed our meal, thanks again Gemma Paul and Holly &rose

I have eaten here many times and never been disappointed. The ambient guitar/piano / saxophone background music is a perfect setting for the well presented and wonderfully cooked food. Service is attentive and all the waiters/waitresses have a smile. A joy.

Visited for lunch and had a lovely meal. Amazing service by our lovely waitress Carlene. Food was delicious and beautiful restaurant. Highly recommend.

A really great place to dine, super quality food and service!

Couldn’t recommend Brettingtons enough. Food was impeccable, atmosphere was relaxed and sophisticated. Service was professional and we were given space to enjoy our food and weren’t rushed. Price is dearer but the food is worth it! The website menu needs updating and the prices were wrong. Will definitely be going back!

The service was prompt and very friendly, but bit rushed especially at the end only 2 hours. It was a bit noisy but the ambience was pleasant. The starters were a bit overcooked - my husband had prawns and I had the scallops. The steaks on the other hand were perfect and the sides and sauces were lovely, and dessert was scrumptious. Overall it was a lovely experience, will visit again

Really lovely food, excellent staff and service. A little on the expensive side but a nice restaurant and food.

The meal was perfect and the staff very friendly. Would recommend them as a place to dine

I booked this resturant for my partners birthday, the food was delicious. The service was exceptional, I would highly recommend a visit. I will definitely be visiting again and recommending to friends

The service and meal was very good and my husband and I would certainly book to eat there again

The food and service is very good but we followed the dress code only to find it not enforced as many others wore trainers and sports wear, caps etc. The noise level was as loud as a pub playing a football game. This I did not expect. Thankfully the service and food was very nice.

Probably some of the best steak we've eaten and cooked to perfection. Service and ambience was spot on. Friendly staff.

Superb lunch as always, very pleasant and attentive service. I love this restaurant and will definitely be back.

Went out for a date night, and the place was lovely! Food was amazing and service was great Cocktails were delicious ❤️

Brettingtons was closed when we went for dinner due to problems in the kitchen, but we were invited to proceed to Oliver's down the street to accommodate our booking there. It was a nice change to be in a different venue and the food was excellent. We had an "experience" that was well handled and had a wonderful evening!

Restaurant cancelled at last minute, due to reasons we were not told. We had to be seated in Oliver’s. On arrival, no one seemed to know we were coming despite confirmation over the phone. We waited 20 minutes for menus. Our bottle of wine was spilt on the table when poured out. Food was excellent.

Very good experience for our anniversary, staff was very attentive. Unfortunately other customers ruined the experience a little as they wouldn't stop complaining.

Arrived on time and seated at a table by the front window ok but atmosphere probably better in the lower level Service ok Food excellent West end prices in Rochester???

Juicy and delicious steaks, great cocktails, good service. Will definitely return.

Food was lovely, apart from the chips which most of them came out like rocks, even the steak knife couldn’t pierce them. Shame as everything else was delicious and chips are the easiest bit. Have been before and no issues and lovely food, so I guess just an off day. Would recommend.

Attentive staff and a good amount of choice on the menu, steak was cooked well.

This one has been on my list for a while. The food was AMAZING! The only reason it didn’t get full stars is that I got a phone call the day of the reservation explaining that they had no lobster. I appreciated the heads up but unfortunately wasn’t in a position to rebook as I am moving away this week. That being said the food that we did order was 10/10. The service was great! I’ll definitely be coming back when I’m in the area

Amazing food , outstanding service and hreat wine list

Good quality food very nice place, we will visit back again soon. Staff was very polite and professional.

The food was superb, the staff were excellent in assisting with recommendations and suggestions, providing great knowledge and understanding of the menu and the wants and needs from a customer perspective. Had a lovely evening and will go back again definitely

I ordered a 12oz rib eye steak which is an expensive option and I had to send it straight back because it was sent out cold and barely cooked! Waitress made no effort whatsoever shame! Used to be a good restaurant

Concept great, but ran out of what we wanted to order and cooking of 2 of the 4 steaks was not right.

A great experience for my wife’s birthday. We were made to feel welcome and enjoyed great service from our kind waitress.

Restaurant was nice & comfortable, service was very good , food was good also

Fillet steak was a bit tougher than expected, especially when cooked medium rare, but overall nice experience

Quick and pleasant friendly service, food was brought out in a timely manner. Nothing was too much for the waitress even though she was on her own. They are going through some renovations at the moment so has reduced the size of the restaurant but doesn't affect the quality of the service or food.

It's a lovely place, lovely food and friendly staff

Steak chewy. Chateauxbriand Area cold Steak rested way too long and was cold Prosecco was flat Sides great, service very good Not sure I would come back

The staff were so lovely and welcoming and they even bought out a little candle in our dessert for my girlfriend as we were celebrating her birthday. Food was really good. We ordered from the Christmas menu which was great would like to try some of the other options. We will be back again. I would say it is on the pricey side but worth it for a celebration. The cocktails were also gorgeous.

We still could order the X-Mas Menu even though it was New Year Eve. The Menu had a very good variety and the price for 2 or 3 Courses were reasonable. The food was excellent, having Scallops, Steak with Crayfish. Will come again.

This is the third time we have eaten there. We took our son and his girlfriend this time who have never been. The Lobster was baked to perfection and very tender and moist. We had the scallops for starters that were dreamy, not chewy and the beetroot puree complimented it well. My husband and I had the 8oz fillet steak that had no fat on it and cooked just as we ordered it with various side options. The food was a good temperature when served and presented really well. Service from the staff was outstanding. They were very attentive and made their presence known only if we needed anything extra. They were friendly, dressed smartly and were all really welcoming. We will be eating there again in the future as it is one of our favourite restaurants to eat at.

We always go to Brettingtons for New Year’s Eve, we have been coming here for 4 years always wonderful service and perfect steak I had the fillet revise steak, crab on toast to start and brandy snap tart for dessert, all were beautifully presented and tasted amazing our waitress and waiter were very friendly. I love coming here it’s my favourite steak restaurant.

Lovely service and really tasty food. Highly recommend

Excellent evening food was very nice, staff were polite and on it.

My wife had a steak that was chewy. They replaced it straight away

Last minute booking for our 20th anniversary glass of preseco on arrival waiting staff very polite and professional food was Devine and cooked to perfection both left full happy and content will definitely be going back

Food was delicious & all the staff were really friendly & attentive

The pork belly startwe was just fat..... my meat on my ribs main course was undercooked and very stringy and returned to the kitchen by the waitress....

The ribeye steak was cooked to perfection. Bacon jam, so good. Will be going again.

It was our 33rd anniversary and we had a lot of fun. It was as expected.

As always a great meal. It appears that the menu has had a make over and is now cheaper than it was, and that's a good thing. Staff friendly and attentive.

The best steak I’ve eaten in a long time ! Great service by our waiter too. A lovely dinner which exceeded our expectations.

Great food, very good service. I had the ribeye steak my partner had the whole lobster. Tasted amazing

Rushed by staff to choose order possible driven by 90 min window. Poor choice of beverages limited to expensive btld drinks. Staff no knowledge of meal options. Mandatory surcharge not justified as poor service. Poor lighting due to decorations blocking lights

The evening was perfect and food was perfect , the only reason it was noisy is because everyone was on their Christmas parties but did not effect the evening and if anything added to the evening as the atmosphere was lovely

The starters were good, our group of 4 had Scallops and Tuna starters, the Cheteaubriand tha myself and my colleague had was great, however, the duck that two of our colleagues had was not that great, and the mash was not a mash, it looked like a blended potato soup. The meringue and cheesecake desserts were not nice at all. My colleague left at least half of the dessert, and I just had a few bites of my cheesecake, however, our server just took the plates off the table, and did not ask about the desserts being left in the plates at all. The cheeseboard did not have chutney on it, although it is mentioned in the menu. We had to ask about it and the a staff member brought it to our table. The cheeses did not seem of high quality. The service was lacking attention to detail in general, one of the examples would be, that the the server nearly took our plates off the table, whilst one of my colleagues was still having her starter, and there was still quite a lot left on her plate. All in all, I would expect much more from a restaurant like Brettingtons. It felt more like a push pub dinner to be honest, and not a particularly nice one, and I don't think that Brettingtons are going for a posh pub standard.

The food was amazing. I had a ribeye and it was so tasty. We had a great evening and service was brilliant.

Food was amazing, staff were professional and very welcoming. Enjoyed the complimentary champagne, was a very nice touch. The then future Father-in-Law was very happy with the pre wedding meal. I will definitely be taking the wife back there in the future.

Nice place, great location, great food - the steak melted on the tongue - great service and lovely staff!

A thoroughly enjoyable experience and would not hesitate to recommend to family and friends.

My first time and it was really great! Service was excellent and staff were super attentive and friendly. Will be returning for sure. Food was delicious

The starter (scallops and bacon) was delicious, main course was even better and the pudding was ok. The staff were brilliant all afternoon and really added to the experience. I will come here again and have already recommended twice since going there.

The staff coped with a power cut. My friend a (vegetarian) found the squash burger delicious. All in all an excellent lunch a reasonable price.

Excellent food and meeting gluten intolerance requirements.

Always great food & great service. Never disappointed by coming here

The food was good as was the service but the dining room was cold. You need to turn the heating up!!!

The staff was amazing! They even changed us to another table at a busy Saturday evening! The lovely girl did what she could to make our stay enjoyable! Lovely atmosphere and the food and cocktails were delicious! It was our anniversary and they gave us a glass of Prosecco on arrival! Everything was great 👍

Superb steak, lobster, sides & desserts. Great atmosphere & service.

Great food and lovely service, would highly recommend this restaurant

Food was amazing, only negative comment is the steak knives were blunt everything else was excellent

Fantastic food at reasonable price. Great service and great drinks too!

Absolutely lovely! We had 2 Proseccos to start, then fillet and Ribeye with a tasty sauce each, lovely bottle of Chilean Merlot and Disaronno to finish. Staff were spot on and couldn't have been better. Would definitely recommend x

First visit, great service, excellent food, a bit pricey and a lot of missing dishes off the menu as well as favourite Malbec wine. Overall a good dining experience

Easy to book, wonderful, helpful staff. Beautiful food drink and afters. Highly recomended !

Anniversary meal ruined. All going well initially with a nice welcome and friendly staff -then the food arrived. Béarnaise and peppercorn sauces were cold. We ordered medium/rare steaks and both were overcooked and hard . We paid for our drinks and left. This place has a bad reputation but we thought that we would give it a try but never again.

Very happy with our visit. Staff were very friendly and helpful. We were early diners with a celebration. Noise level was appropriate for our visit. The birthday treat for one of our guests was a lovely touch. Definitely coming back maybe a later booking to experience a busier time. The Waiting area looked very appealing and inviting. Thank you very much.

Food was delicious and service was superb. Nice touch with candle on the cake for my boyfriend’s dessert

This was our first visit and we were really impressed with the service we received and the food was amazing. We will definitely be returning.

We are regulars here at brettingtons and keep coming back because of the excellent food great service and lovely staff would highly recommend

Delicious food. Our waitress Liv was brilliant. An excellent venue. Highly recommend for a group or date night. We were seated in one of the booths which was very comfortable.

Came here for a works meal. Food was 5*. Service was great. Plenty of choice on both the drinks and food menu. Would highly recommend.

Popped in or some lunch, not been before. We’d found ourselves in Rochester on a Sunday and hadn’t booked anywhere to eat, anything that looked like it was worth trying had all been booked up and I was starving! Found this place…not at all busy (which initially concerned me so we passed it by). Then came back to it, noticed the food mentions/stickers displayed in the window which reassured. Staff were extremely pleasant and the service was good (hence the 3 stars instead of the 2 I’d contemplated giving). We went straight in for the main courses (as I was hungry). My co diner’s steak was, they said, very nice and cooked to their request, nicely seasoned too. There ends the praise, I’m afraid. My half baked lobster was more than disappointing. It looked good on the surface but a simple scrape of that surface revealed a copious amount of that green lobster substance affectionately known as tomalley, which I tend to pass on eating. The problem was, the tomally was runny and slimy - I’d never seen it like that before, or so much of it…the lobster appeared to have been undercooked. I then started on a ‘find the lobster meat’ hunt. I managed to find a small bit of slightly slimy white lobster meat near the tail but the rest of the lobster comprised tomalley, no nice white meat. Even the legs were devoid of any meat. The one claw offered the most meat actually. I turned to concentrate on the chips which looked nice; upon eating they’d clearly come from frozen and were then deep fried. They were nice enough though (for what seemed to be frozen chips). The salad was a bit limp. I was hungry (did I mention that?) and so, having eaten, the tiny bit of lobster tail I started on the frozen type chips chips and slightly limp salad. I decided not to say anything about the lobster, I didn’t want to make a fuss as we were out for a nice day and I didn’t want to spoil it. However, at mid meal, when our very nice waitress asked me if everything was OK, I felt that I should point out the copious amount of green slime tomalley on my plate and the lack of actual meat. Our waitress spoke to her manager who directed that she should take my plate back to the kitchen. The kitchen then returned my same plate (via the manager, I think she was) with an explanation on the tomally (which I didn’t need), not commenting on the clear evidence of it being undercooked. It was then pointed out to me that I had “eaten the tail”. I explained that the meat in the tail had been minuscule. The plate was then left with me. I wondered what the point was of sending my plate to the kitchen if it was only to have been brought back to me… I understand that some, many even, like the tomalley (the brain and inners of the lobster) but I prefer not to eat it especially when it is undercooked and looking very unappetising. However, my main issue was a lack of lobster meat. Full price was charged…we didn’t argue that as we just wanted to continue with our day and the full price wouldn’t break our bank balance. Did I enjoy my meal? Frankly no. It was the worst lobster I’ve ever had and the kitchen failed to even acknowledge that it fell below par. More than disappointing. Will we return to this restaurant? Mmm, not sure…but I was encouraged by the fact that my co diner enjoyed their steak and the waiting staff were nice and also attentive (and perhaps I was just unfortunate with my lobster). So, perhaps it’s worth another go if everywhere else in Rochester is full and there is no where else to eat. I’d avoid the lobster though. Is it fine dining? Er, no, absolutely not (at least not by my definition). Did the kitchen respond well to the fact that I’d had a lobster that fell below expectations in both substance and cooking? Absolutely not. In all honesty, I feel I’m being generous giving 2 stars, 1.5 probably more like it, 0.5 if just based on my meal alone. This is perhaps a restaurant that thinks it’s better than it actually is… In my photo you can see an empty lobster shell - it looks like I’ve scraped the meat out, there wasn’t any meat in the main part of the shell though…that was me scraping to find some. The lobster mostly comprised the undercooked tomalley which you can also see. I’m still rather astounded by the kitchen’s reaction.

Booked as an anniversary dinner with my partner. This was mentioned in an email and when we booked. We were advised about the specials, or asked about food allergies/ intolerance. I am garlic intolerant and I have to choose carefully. I ordered the scallops ( plain ) and my partner had the lobster mac and cheese. As soon as my 3 scallops arrived i could nd smell the garlic. I couldn't eat them so my partner ate them . Main course was crab/ lobster salad and new potatoes for me. Partner ordered half a lobster . My saladhad miniscule amounts of crab and lobster , with sliced COLD new potatoes My partner's lobster arrived with chips instead of the sweet potato fries he ordered. I asked for salt and pepper . Without looking I ground both pots onto my salad. I then realised they were both salt ! My partner's lobster had a tiny bit of meat in one claw and the tail. I would say a tablespoon full. Total disappointment for a special occasion We won't be eating there again. Our waitress was friendly and helpful The table next to me were celebrating a birthday . I heard the waiting staff who was the birthday girl and explain about the food allergies and allergens

First time visiting and wasn’t disappointed! Staff were attentive & the food was amazing.