Skimmington Castle in Reigate and Banstead

Been to this pub before and it’s always been lovely, quiet and out of the way! However, today the young waitress was absolutely rude! I am so shocked that people can act like this for absolutely no reason! We didn’t complain we’re quiet etc! She totally ruined our experience with just her miserable aura for absolutely no reason! It’s such a shame as food was nice, atmosphere was nice but some people should not work in a customer face to face experience!

My friend and I attended this afternoon for a walk on the heath and catch-up. We booked a table and were seen to our seats. Our main waitress couldn't have made us feel more unwelcome. Every question/request we the had received a very short answer without any eye contact or smile. No -one asked if we were ok or wanted any further drinks. We had to re-ask for drinks we'd ordered and our bill was basically thrown at us. Our meal although lovely was stone cold and we weren't offered any more bottomless potatos and told our cauliflower cheese was to share.i have been here before and recommended we return. I feel like service made the whole experience quite upsetting and ruined the end to lovely day out.

Came here for a late lunch/early dinner and couldn’t have been more pleased! The service was impeccable and all the staff were so friendly! Being of ethnic minority, i tend to feel out of place in pubs with stares and comments being made but this place was totally different! Everyone from the staff to the customers were all so friendly! And the food… well… it was all just delicious! The portion sizes for the roasts and burgers were great and definitely value for money! What makes this pub stand out (for me personally!) are their bottomless roast potatoes! I was literally in heaven! If you’re lucky to get the table near the fireplace in winter, it’s lovely! Such a cosy little pub! Overall great service and great food! I would definitely recommend going here! I’ll certainly be back again! Maybe not after a long muddy walk though! :p

Two of us had the fish pie which was excellent. One of us had the burger which was overdone and horribly dry. Unfortunately, he was too polite to say anything.

The best coconut and butternut squash soup I’ve ever tasted thank you mageul 5stsr plus

Quick stop in for coffee, lovely chatty staff, v attentive

After a long cold muddy walk, this pub really did us proud. We were late but they kindly accommodated us. The pub is reassuringly old fashioned and unpretentious, cosy and welcoming. Our food was fabulous. Proper home made pie (steak and ale) was delicious with good pastry and really tasty generous filling. But the gravy, oh lord, the gravy was excellent. So far removed from the fake thin bisto cr@p you so commonly find in pubs, this stuff was deeply savoury and just thick enough without being glutinous. Well done chef! And thoughtfully served in a jug knowing we'd all want more ... Wish more pub food was this good.

I booked a table for 2 at short notice and then changed the time on the day as a meeting overran. When we turned up, I was apologetic about our lateness but the lovely blonde lady behind the bar was extremely friendly and brushed it off. We made our choice quickly and settled in for more business chat! I’ve been here many times with the family and dogs when out walking but was a little u sure about bringing a colleague visiting from london…. Needn’t have worried! The food was incredible- haddock on a bed of potato and spinach and a sea bream en papillotte. All in all a very pleasant lunch and I will return much sooner!

i have been to the skim before and the food and service has been amazing so i decided to bring my girlfriend here and when we arrived the waiter behind the barnwas very rude to us as if she couldnt care less and then when we got a seat the same waiter was rude and showed low effort towards us. anyway we ordered the food and the chicken in the burger was completely raw in the middle which was dissapointing however we did send it back and in the final bill we got a refund for it but overall experience wasnt how i remembered it. this place has changed

A lovely meet up with friends for Sunday lunch. We all chose Roast Beef, really good, cooked well, hot, plenty of everything, even bottomless gravy. Staff warm & friendly. Our server Kathy was really lovely, nothing too much trouble. Highly recommend. I'd advise to book as gets quite busy😍

A lovely Sunday lunch with friends. Thank you

Really lovely roast lunch, good price, excellent quality and generous portion size.

We has the most amazing time today the food was absolutely amazing and service equally as good kind friendly would definitely recommend, will definitely be back thank you.

Friendly and welcoming staff. Excellent menue choice. Service exceptional. You must visit!

Simply the best. We are greeted like family, food is excellent, served piping hot , and with a smile from the waiting staff. The beer is kept excellently, and nothing is too much trouble. From the management, kitchen staff to the atmosphere and ambience , the Skimmington Castle is THE place to visit for a family meal. 10/10 Love, The Heywood/Rodriguez family xx

Delicious Sunday roast. We’ve not eaten at the Skimmington Castle for a long time and I’m so glad we went back. The Sunday roast was delicious, generous portions and bottomless potatoes which are the nicest I’ve eaten out. Lovely crisp roasts. My husband had the brioche bread and butter pudding and I had a sneaky bite and it was heavenly. Everything is homemade and you can tell. The service was lovely, attentive without being intrusive. This will be our got to for Sunday roast now.

Nice small pub with ample parking and dog friendly, good food reasonably priced, nice atmosphere and friendly staff

Very good food and service, thank you. Excellent cauliflower cheese. Good child portions.

Just had first order delivered,of Roast Beef . Beef overcooked veg good quality but cold yorkshire pudding soft and whole meal under seasoned Best thing was the gravy

Such a cute and cosy pub with warm and welcoming staff. Love how it's small rooms rather than a massive open plan pub, makes it feel so much more intimate. Great selection of beers and the menu was classically pubby and perfect! Recently had the burgers and the coffee/tart for dessert which hit the spot perfectly!

I have been coming to the Skimmington for a few years now and it is always an excellent, attentive, and friendly service, with delicious food and good portions. It's a family run lovely old pub, in a convenient location, for meet ups with friends. Tonight I had the white bait, steak and ale pie, and mars bar brownie. My friend had a nutty warmed camembert, and fish and chips. The food did not disappoint. I highly recommend it.

Always one of our favourites to visit when in reigate, lovely evening to sit outside, ordered the chicjken fajitas for a change, but how i wish I hadn't the Dips & wraps came out first followed by what looked like dried up chicken not sizzling or anything, on top of very megre thin slices of onion & a small amount of thick cut peppers or whatever it was, really disappointing.... and the 2 wraps inside the pot were dry & rubbery... Short staffed different chef 👨‍🍳 I don't know, it was edible but definitely below standard.

First class service . Lovely atmosphere and great food. Kids think this is one of the best pubs in Surrey Lovely location at golf course

Very slow in serving. Took about 30 mins just for a coffee. Dont know if they had enough staff. Food great but again waited ages.

Great food, excellent beer, good service. Our goto Sunday lunch in Reigate.

We only go on Sundays for their roasts which are great, also recommend the fish and chips, sad to see prices have increased on last visit 😢

Great local pub ... wonderful food very reasonable & delicious!

Had the most amazing Carribean food here today. The Jerk chicken, rice and coleslaw was so good along with the rum punch. It's a pop up that the Skim are doing on Sundays from 3 till 7.30pm in addition to their normal menu. We will definitely be back with friends and order a take away with deliveroo in the future. It was so fresh and tasty that we could well make it our regular Sunday treat. The only downside we forgot to buy some of Jermaines home made sauce to take home. Good excuse to pop back next Sunday though 😊

We had a great time, would definitely recommend.

The food was ok a bit expensive for what you receive. The service is very slow there was three people behind the bar with two of them serving one customer it took about 15 minutes to get served. The atmosphere was ok it was supposed to be a reggae afternoon but the music was on off on off the whole time. Overall expensive and not really worth a visit.

Found this little hidden gem of Surrey today, Tucked out the way, jerk chicken on a Sunday with a rum punch! Just what i needed.. Will be coming back here alot more often 👌🏼

If I could give this 4.5/5 (rather than just 4) I would. The only things holding it back are, it would have been great to have a few more gf options on the menu and service was a bit slow, our food took a long time to come out, compared to others around us. However I don't want to downplay that everything we had we really enjoyed, the staff were all friendly and this pub is in a great secluded location and it has a lovely, dog-friendly outside seating area with lots of tables and plenty of parking.

We enjoyed a mid week lunch - a bit short-handed in the kitchen so the food took a while to appear but it was good. The ham, egg & chips was tasty, fish & chips offered a huge piece of fish, and the Pie of the Day was exceptionally good. Pretty good wine list - we liked the Sauvignon Blanc - and the local ale from Brighton was spot on. Good car park and nice approach across countryside (watch out for the speed bumps).

lovely pub, tucked away in the trees. beautiful

A lovely pub off the beaten track and nestled away in Reigate. Not a drinkers pub by any means but a classic old style pub on the inside with a log fire and a huge range of brilliant meals on offer ranging from sandwiches and toasties (with proper homemade chips) to full roast dinners, burgers and fish! Has some wonderful walking opportunities on their doorstep for when the weather improves. We settled for an extra beer instead due to the torrential rain we had for our visit. Update: August 2024 Had a lovely meal outside. Food still excellent and this time had my children (5 and 3) who really enjoyed their food too. Lunch was well earned after a 4 mile walk around the heath and local pillbox locations.

It's a pub that's hidden -but that's what makes it so unique! Food was delish and it came sizzling, table service was great. :)

Visiting from the US. Cathy and team were fantastic!

Amazing food, lovely staff and great dog friendliness. I don’t have a dog but I like seeing all the dogs all around :) Cathy and her team are fantastic. We will be back.

Excellent Sunday lunch care if Cathy and team. Much recommended

An excellent meal with excellent service. We were delighted to be in at short notice. Thank you for your care with the wheelchair access. All successful. Good value at under £30 a head for 2 courses and drinks.

Traditional bar and restaurant, great food and staff.

Sunday Roast was a good feed,Harvey's was lovely. Staff are friendly and talkative. (If that's the word) lovely pub .

I wanted to give these guys another opportunity but sadly again didn’t work the location is wonderful if you’re going for only a drink in a nice warm day however just avoid ordering any food .

Only just found this place. Great food. We will go back many times. Lots of outside garden space to sit and enjoy

I heard many good reviews about this place so me and my family came and honestly it wasn't the best. First we sat down and the table was still dirty and we had to ask twice if anyone could clean it and they forgot to give us napkins. Then we ordered my youngest daughters food and asked for extra side and they didn't bring it, they only brought it when we finished eating.

Had a lovely meal. 😍 Staff very Friendly. Will be back.

Lovely place to grab some lunch, especially on a nice day when you get to sit on the terrace. Friendly helpful staff.

Fabulous food, great and friendly staff

Had a delicious main course, beautifully hatted and coated chicken leak and bacon pie. Good service, in a great location

Gorgeous Plaice dish. Melts in the mouth. Lovely place. Lovely peiple

Traditional old skool pub out of town and great spot to take a breather on a dog walk.

grace (waitress) was absolutely phenomenal. so kind and welcoming. really made the whole experience 10/10. would definitely come again just based on her being an absolutely great host. can’t have experienced better customer service

Great pub with friendly staff and great food.

The food and overall service were good. The atmosphere was spoilt by a child watching some programme on a device. Unfortunately the staff didn't feel that they could tell the family to turn the volume down.

Good food, good service and a nice setting but lacking in atmosphere.

Good walk for a first spring beer, wine and monster sandwiches

A recently converted small outdoor area (now covered in) has been converted to a coffee shop. Very obliging staff, lovely strong coffee served in large cups. Reasonably priced - £3 for an Americano.

Local gem hidden in the woods! This pub is easy to find on foot and by driving. Large car park and it is dog friendly. I recommend the Roast dinner that comes with a wide range of trimmings.

We attended as part of a group, arriving at noon for lunch. Our service and main course were really excellent but it was disappointing to find that there were almost no dessert options left.

Went for the first time last night for a meal with friends for my birthday. Service was great, food was so good and clearly made fresh. Will definitely go back with the family.

Fantastic place-lovely atmosphere and attentive staff

No options for plant based food, vegan burger was terrible, dry bun and greesy tasteless bean patty. Please, at least have one decent dish for plant based or vegan diet otherwise you completely missing out on this segment Service and staff could be improved too.

Really nice atmosphere and surroundings Friendly staff Dog friendly

Such a superb hidden gem of a real boozer. Always pop in when walking Reigate Heath, the service and welcome is impeccable and the Guinness is extremely well kept. Never eaten here but food looks fantastic when brought out. There is a selection of tables out front and is a decent sun trap.

Dropped in for a quick one and to order some chips. The bar was wet and sticky, no one seemed interested in keeping it clean. Chips were soggy. And the pint of Bonnys Best I was served looked and tasted very average. Will probably give it another go, as I do like the pub - but this time I was very disappointed.

Always try & come him when visiting reigate lovely friendly welcoming staff ... both had the steak n' ale pie for lunch one with chips, other with mash absolutely delicious 😋 pie filling was generous & tasty, lovely veg & gravy to accompany very satisfying.

Nice pub, very dog friendly, great for a drink and some food.

Great pub, lovely food, great service, will definitely be going back

Came back here after a while. Stuck on a table next to the loo. Food wasnt great. Burger was fine but chips not crispy, pie and veggies were dry and gravy had a skin on it. Told waitress I wasnt happy but she didnt seem that interested. Wont be going back any time soon

Lovely food and great service. Loved the Brie toastie. Will come back soon!

One of our favourite stops on the Pilgrim Ale Trail. Fantastic traditional pub

A fabulous Mother's Day meal here with family - and one of the best roast dinners I've ever eaten out! And staff were friendly. Thank you for making Mother's Day special.

A lovely quaint pub with character set back in the outskirts of Reigate. Food was really good however service seemed to be ‘abandoned’ when we asked for the desert menu as the lady of the house never came back to us for ages so we left without.

I had a Sunday roast here. The portions are large and tasty. The pub itself is hugely atmospheric, with a real fireplace and low wooden beams. The staff have fun working together and chatting with customers, making for a welcoming vibe. Setting is beautiful, surrounded by quintessential British countryside. If you're lucky, you'll spot a wild horse wandering up the pub's driveway!

Paws for Coffee is a great initiative, The hot chocolate in particular was spot on, and the flapjacks got the thumbs-up as well. Very welcoming for dogs and those that brought them whatever the weather

Relaxed family and dog friendly new morning coffee venue in the garden room. Lovely welcoming hostess making the excellent coffee.

Brilliant pub if you want a nice big Sunday lunch. Food is good and portions are massive! We will be making it a monthly visit ☺️

We went on a Monday and that should've shouted that we were on a hiding to nothing. Traditionally you get the leftovers of food from the weekend when the food is superb. I had the garlic shrimps and brioche as a starter, which turned out to be prawns in garlic butter and brioche, which was OK. I ordered the mixed fish pie which arrived with rather solid, burnt cheese on top. It had obviously just been re-heated. As for the fish filling, it was almost non-existent. Most of the room under the gloopy potato was taken up with a whole poached egg, so there was very little room for any fish. As I was being treated to lunch for my birthday I felt I couldn't complain, but I just made a mental note NOT to eat again at the Skim on a Monday!!!

Good quality food and drink service is good nice rural surroundings around heath golf course walks dog friendly excellent staff and management

We have been regular customers at the Skim for 25 years and had many a great time celebrating many events there . We visited this week and ordered the chicken burgers x 3, the chicken breast was superb cooked in bread crumbs. However the chips were soggy and what looked like re cooked many times, not up to their usual standard. One of our party ordered onion rings and they were disappointing they were obviously from a packet and were tasteless not like proper onion rings in fresh batter as used to be.. Not sure what is going on in the kitchen as the basics have always been very good. However the staff are friendly and helpful. I didn’t complain at the time as it was a busy and didn’t want to embarrass the waitress. Hopefully this review will help the chef to get their act together. After all it’s a locals pub.

It's a favourite go to place to have a meal and couple of drinks. Fantastic ambience. Friendly staff. Good food.

Today I went to my pub in my Town for the second time. Like the first time, I also enjoyed the place, the staff and of course the food. I want to thank chef Miguel, who prepared the burgers for us, the burgers had everything delicious 🤣🤣🤣. The bad news was that it was so big that I had no room in my stomach for dessert. Thanks guys.

Lovely meal with friends, always enjoy our catch ups here with great food and service.

excellent lunch of salmon horseradish mash & french beans

Very good food good service dog friendly and nice dog walks around the pub😃👍

Group of nine of us. Food was good. Couldn't fault the service. Out in the "annexe " part of the pub which is a bit basic and lacks atmosphere but the main pub itself is charming. Olde Worlde.

Good food and excellent service

Lovely pub in a great location for walking. We had three dogs and staff were more than happy to seat us.

Lovely lunch with keen and capable service. Reasonable price.

Used to be really dog friendly but unfortunately now they’re only allowed in the conservatory at the back? (No music in there, fluorescent lighting, not cosy like the pub part). Really rude lady who told us “you need to move” after we took a free seat in the bar. Felt really unwelcome and spoiled a lovely walk, wouldn’t recommend.

We stopped off here for lunch after walking. There were five of us and we had an assortment of toasties, sausage sandwiches, snack food. We all enjoyed our food and were pleased there was an option to get a light lunch rather than a full meal.

Lovely pub. Great food. Friendly staff. All on a nice circular walk!

First time in about 40 years I’ve not had to cook Christmas lunch for the family. This year we thought we’d give the Skim a try and what a fabulous lunch it was. 3 beautifully presented courses and lots of it, all carefully packaged which kept hot while we brought it home then we popped into a warm oven while we had the starters. The turkey was fantastic alongside all the trimmings and heaps of vegetables. Thank you so much Jules and the staff, we’ll be top of the list for next year ! Made for a relaxing day with plenty of time to play with the grandkids

Ram packed on Boxing Day, staff rushed off their feet and running an additional outside bar to accommodate all the festive walkers (this is definitely a walkers pub, dog friendly). Beer was still kept beautifully in spite of all, great atmosphere, and fast and friendly service.

Sat outside not to cold in middle of a walk

Food spot on as always, service great, always welcoming not just us but our dog. The best roast I have had in Skimmington, and I have had a few they just get better.

Great venue, service lack lustre. Food was fine, time to seat, order and lack of table service not good , bill charged for drinks not received, rectified but pointless pointing out there's no service charge if you don't check your bar bill or on customer service ? Just felt really disorganised..

Stupidly long waiting time even though booked a table was half a hour before we got a drink and order taken then they got the order wrong!! After waiting another 3 qtrs of an hour! Not impressed

What a place! Fabiana and Cathy were amazing hosts, treated us so nice! The service was great and the food was great!

We love Fabiana and Cathy they are the best ever, food is amazing. Banter is of the charts and Tom is a So fun, up the chels!