Smith and Western in Tunbridge Wells

Terrible place; dangerous food. Only need to look at the below review of completely raw chicken served to a child to assure you to NEVER visit - and the response of basically “oh sorry we’ll have a chat with the staff” tells you all you need to know about their priorities and how seriously they take the (numerous) reported cases of food poisoning, particularly with chicken based meals. Couldn’t pay me to return.

Howdy Smith & Western Tunbridge Wells. I Booked a 3 night stay for my husband & I for a long weekend away in April 5th Sataurday till Tuesday 8th April Really loved the wild west theme. Loved listening to the country music played in the salon(Bar) restaurant area. Welcoming staff. Throughout our stay we ate in the restaurant, wonderful service from all the staff. Dan, Leo and Trisha and other staff members whos names i did not catch. They all looked after us very well during our meals and stay. We booked direct with the hotel. Great Price, Great Location and the food was all fabulous. The Room was extremley Clean. Fresh Towels every day. Tea bags etc also topped up each day. We stayed in the Mowhawk room. Great decor too. Wild West Theme Room. Would Highly recommend and I would be more than happy to stay at this location again. Thank you to all the staff and keep up the great work. Steve & Julianne

Stayed and dined at this awesome place. We were welcomed by Russ, who was an absolutely lovely chap who gave us a warm welcome to the Restaurant/Hotel. He kindly showed us to our room and asked if we needed anything, he was there to give assistance. I requested for a reservation for 7.30pm and he jotted it down on the back of his hand immediately upon saying so. Really great service. Very down to earth to talk to, took real interest in our recent engagement, that we shared the news of. Russ was attentive and always had a smile on his face, (even in service!!) during a busy Saturday evening! which was packed. We enjoyed our meals. Portion size is amazing and the staff were really nice and reassuring. As for the night stay, the room was clean and the bed was comfortable. Was very quiet too. Breakfast was yummy also! We will be back again soon! I highly recommend bumping into Russ as he's a nice guy who'll make you enjoy your dining or stay over experience way more special. (Christopher & Sarah-Jane, Brighton)

Brilliant mother day breakfast. Really good attempt and a genuine American breakfast with unlimited filtered coffee and free coke refills make this quite authentic. Defo will go again great atmosphere.

The Tunbridge Wells Smith & Western is set in a lovely old building not far from the Pantiles with a good amount of parking. Its fun decor is great for families and groups and I'm always happy with the food. Bring your appetite as the portions are generous (in a good way). My husband and daughter got a fantastic sharing platter. The service was really friendly and attentive.

Absolutely devastated. Are kids food was raw. This isn't acceptable. My 3year old eat 2 nuggets before we release it. We asked to speak to the chief To explain why the food was raw he didn't want to come out and talk. Will not be returning.

Friendly staff!! They did seem like they didn't know a lot of information in the food on the Menu, but everything else was prefect!

We had a lovely breakfast Sunday morning, the restaurant's theme is out of this world with staff helping each other to deliver excellent service. Trish was serving us, she made sure we had everything we needed for our breakfast and Russ the manager was equally great, we travelled an hour to get here and it was all worth it.

The service was extremely slow (waited over 20mins for drinks and an hour for food). However, the waiters were really nice and apologetic. The quality of food was poor. The ribs weren’t tasty at all. They had a very strange flavour to them. The corn on the cob was overcooked so went mushy. Overall, a very disappointing meal.

Dissapointing, ordered the chicken burger with mac and cheese, and a banana, chocolate, honeycomb waffle I was asked if I wanted the sauce that came with the chicken burger "tnt sauce" as people miss it and complain it's spicy, I tasted no spice in the burger, theres so much cheese sauce the cream massively countered the sauce, bun was cool and not toasted so didnt hold well and soon became flattened and well abit of a mess, chicken seemed and tasted frozen-cooked for £19 ish I'm definitely expecting a freshly made chicken burger, the waffle was pretty good, although the waffle needed heating longer Overall a shame, maybe the real stars are the ribs and steaks and so fourth, wouldn't recommend or go again in a hurry

Quirky hotel and great vibrant restaurant with exciting food and drink options.

Absolutely love this hotel, have stayed here a few times now. The theme is brilliant, but not over the top or tacky. The staff are very friendly, and even showed us to our room and explained everything clearly. Having breakfast included is a real bonus too.

The hotel rooms are really nice and the Western theme is carried through the whole place. We loved it. The food is good, but there were some signs that the restaurant part of the hotel could do with more staff. Some of the food didn't quite reflect the pictures in the menu, but it was good food and reasonably priced. Just need to make sure they don't move away from the Western food and become just another 'pub grub' location. All this considered, it's still a great place to go, and we will definitely be back. Thank you.

We was here on 8th March and had an amazing time. Great food, fabulous atmosphere and fantastic staff. Nothing was too much for them. The rooms were in theme, clean comfy and just perfect. Breakfast was, again, spot on. Lots of choice and great portions. Shout out to Russ and Carys. See y'all soon!

amazing food and beautiful setting

Had a great surprise being taken here for my 40th birthday, dinner was great and breakfast was exceptionally fantastic. The rooms are clean and great with the theme. Caris our waitress was fantastic and russ the manager was just as good.. will definitely be returning

astounding restaurant went here for mother's day celebration, wonderful experience,good food ,good service,back again with friends and it's it's even better what a brilliant time 😊😎

Absolutley amazing breakfast and fabulous service from Russ!! Thankyou!!!

Ate here as a couple; we weren't happy with the location of our first allocated table but it wasn't too much trouble for the helpful staff to find a more suitable table. The venue was extremely busy. The venue was fun in décor and the menu was a standard with a bit of everything. Great for families, casual venue. The food was hot, tasty and filling. Would visit again.

First time visit with the family for a birthday meal - Good selection of food with something everyone. The children’s menu was more than adequate. Meals chosen varied from ribs, fajitas to meat combo (not forgetting one salad) with no complaints by anyone. Staff / service great.

Great family meal with children

Drinks took over half an hour to come, so did food which was cold. Food is pricey. Theme and decor is cool.

Popped in for late lunch was absolutely delicious 😋

My partner & I arrived Fri evening for a well deserved meal and night in the S&W Tunbridge Wells. We weren't disappointed, the decor was definitely Western. Our check-in was easy, straight to our room, which was very clean and had everything we needed (toiletries, kettle, coffee machine and all the supplies). Our evening meal in the restaurant was delicious, our lovely lady server was attentive, friendly & always smiling. Our breakfast server was a delight too. We also met the cleaner, Vicky, nearing our departure Saturday morning, who very kindly let us view the bigger room (obviously vacated by guests) so we had an idea of size for a possible future family stay (would comfortably hold 2 adults plus 1-2 children on a put-u-up bed positioned beside the double bed). She had time for us which was lovely but it didn't interfere with her work. All in all a wonderful stay at Smith & Western Tunbridge Wells and we'll definitely return. Note: all 9 rooms are on the first floor & there are no lifts or disabled access to the first floor.

Went for a meal with friends, the food was nice (I had the ribs) although a bit pricey for the portion size. Especially thr puddings. Kids meals were good price though, £12 I think it was for bottomless fizzy drink, main & pudding (pudding was an extremely small portion) my daughter was not happy lol

what a great place, food was brilliant, staff was fantastic , will defiantly be going back, will try the hotel next time.

Special meal out for my Birthday. Great food and service. Leo was very polite and we had very good service. Thankyou so much. We will be returning.

Fries was cold,ribs no taste just glaze on top.Food quality gone down,compare previous visit year ago

Lovely to meet up with 18 of us all around a table, food was good and so was the service, my only criticism was 18 ladies in a confined caged area so we couldn't get out to visit the loo very easily without disturbing our friends dining experience or go and talk with our friends, to there was an empty dining space below us a few steps down which would have made our link up with friends very perfect indeed ...the cage is a quirky design but not comfortable to sit 18 people for 2 or 3 hours ...so sorry but just being honest!

We stayed at the Smith and Western for my partners birthday weekend. What a great time we had. There were 3 couples. On arrival, we were met by friendly staff who advised that we couldn't check in until 3 pm. We were able to have a good look around and asked for a specific table for our evening meal. The rooms were great, all very clean and tidy with fabulous Western touches. The food was wonderful. The southern comfort glazed sticky wings came highly recommended and didn't disappoint. All our food was great and there were no complaints at all. Breakfast the next day was equally good, plus the service from Rowan made it even better. All in all a faultless weekend which we all enjoyed and will live long in the memory

Very friendly & excellent service, lovely food and reasonably priced. Wonderful setting and atmosphere with relaxing country and western music playing, me, my partner and our little boy all had a great visit and we will definitely return!

Amazing building great atmosphere staff brilliant food was lovely 100%

I was out shopping in Tonbridge Wells and me and my family decided to get some food at this location and it was a HUGE mistake!!! I ordered a dish with chicken with cheese on the top and all I can say is what a mistake... The chicken was dry and a terrible job to cut through. I continued eating the chicken until my stomach began to feel uneasy. I began my 2 hour drive back home and my stomach began to turn. I have now had food poisoning since. I ate there on the Sunday and it is now Friday, I have had to miss a whole week of work. Now we are over the worst part, I would also like to complain about the slow service. The food took over 45 minutes to come out. After eating the younger children in my family wanted a dessert so we ordered 2 ice creams. That took another 40 minutes to be given to us. We also decided to ask the waitress to turn the music down since it was so loud, they left and turned it down but with in 5 minutes they had turned it back up to be louder then before me complaining. For this I would never return and if you don't want food poisoning then I suggest you do not go to this resturant.

Easy to park but the disabled parking is at the back and the accessible entrance is at the front. Once inside the music is very loud, we asked to be moved away from the speakers. Service was good, the food was yummy but not cheap. However, we would visit again.😄

Staff were really helpful, and most seemed to enjoy their jobs . Food was good and well cooked and we were also happy with the service considering how busy it was , would definitely return

Great evening with great food. The service we received was amazing, Leo was looking after us and went above and beyond even though he was so busy. The staff really do work as a team they are always offering help to colleagues when they can see they may need it. S&W you have a fantastic team working here Leo especially. Thanks for the great food. We will be coming back.

Had to wait for our booked table for around 20mins before we sat down, was overly loud that you couldnt hear each other, food ok but for what it was over priced. Service was better than our last visit, but was hard to get more drinks at table as only returned when food arrived or was cleared away Will not be returning to the Tonbridge bridge one again

Nice food, big portions. Definitely get your moneys worth.

Clean and so well decorated. Incredibly friendly staff with good banter. Delicious and perfectly cooked food.

Great hotel. Lots of character. This is our 3rd / 4th stay. Staff lovely, very welcoming and helpful. Great food, definitely value for money. Great variety of drinks & cocktails. Highly recommend

Fantastic night and food delicious. Amazing breakfast is included. Really good value.

Had fabulous dinner at Tunbridge Wells location. Great atmosphere. Great service. Nate our server was wonderful.

First time here, there was a table of 8 of us to celebrate our daughters 23rd birthday and had a great night food was really gorgeous, generous portions, great country & western themed with great country music, staff were really happy & friendly from when we first walked in the door and too the bar to order a drink Nate our waiter he was great very happy, helpful and friendly even though he was so busy, even sang a big & loud happy birthday song to embarrass our daughter was a great night all round would definitely recommend it here & if you love country & western its a plus, great atmosphere 😊

A great place to stay with excellent staff.

Fantastic experience..Waitress was the best, The food and drinks were good quality, So all good..I returned for lunch the next day..!

Fantastic modern, clean place to stay with great staff and a marvellous attention to detail with all their finishing touches. Including: heated mirror, good water pressure in shower, great sized rooms, coffee machine, proper keys and fobs for easy night time access.

Loved the food and the service staff were great

Lovely friendly restaurant, portions are massive and so tasty

Quirky place , not overly expensive very handy for the heritage railway .

Brang the kids for an ice cream after school break up. They had the ice cream and doughnuts, although you only get 4 small doughnuts which was abit disappointing. I had the wings and cheese bits which were delicious 😋 did not appreciate that they put the service charge on and we all payed abit extra and the girl still said that we owed a couple more pounds ( even though the service charge is optional ) so she should have minused off the last bit as we still did tip ( just £2 under the 12% that they ask for ) but no, she made us pay the full 12%. Only realised when we had left.

I visited this place for the first time with three other people. We all enjoyed the food, service, and ambiance. However, the music was uncomfortably loud, making it difficult for us to have a conversation without shouting. This ultimately ruined our experience, and we decided to skip dessert and leave early because we were getting headaches. As much as we appreciated the quality of the food, the convenient location, and the good service, the excessively loud music means I won’t be returning.”

Visited after a trip to the spa valley railway it started well and went down hill. We had booked and the staff were very accommodating when we asked for a slightly larger table as we had 2 young children with us. The lady who served us was lovely and informative answering all our questions about the menu. Unfortunately our food... We ordered the nachos to share and the Christmas Cob. The nachos for just under £25 came out with maybe 3 tablespoons of chili on a giant try of nachos. When it says you haven't been to smith and western without trying the nachos .... This is a lie if you wish to pay £25 for a plate of tortilla chips then go ahead and order. This then leads us to how the rest of the food went. I ordered the steak, chicken and rib combo ... The ribs were ok, the steak I ordered rare, the steak had been touched on either side ... Normally I would enjoy this .... However not being able to cut your steak with the steak knife and having to go caveman style was not what I expected but necessary. The chicken I took home for the dog as It was rather dry. Some of my family's comments about their dishes were that the wings were cold and dry. My sister mentioned her ribs were also cold. The cocktails were really small and tasted like fruit juice, we had the Christmas Cosmo. In total our meal came to £200 which was well overpriced for the food we received and we were disappointed as the idea of the western themed restaurant sounded great and on arrival we were already looking to come back to one of the live music nights. Unfortunately we won't be returning, the location was good for the railway but travel only a little bit further and you will find much better restaurants at a similar price.

Ash and all but 1 of the staff members were brilliant, so welcoming couldn't do enough for us, table checked us at each course, came to check we were ok for drinks, we were sat in the wagon which my son absolutely loved we was there for his 9th birthday so this added to our experience and he loved it. Sadly at one point we asked a staff member Connor (actually we didn't get to ask him anything) we said excuse me and he literally hushed us with his finger and than gestured like he'd be back in a moment, he had a glass in his hand (we only wanted a condiment) 5 minutes past so we managed to ask another staff member cradling a load of plates if we could grab what we wanted when she had a minute, she was literally back in seconds, (i asked her who the rude one was) Connor never did come back and he literally walked past our table multiple times after and you could actually see him deliberately not looking our way he was extremely rude and ignorant. No sorry i forgot to get back to you did you get what you wanted sorted, nothing, he deliberately ignored us. As someone that has worked in hospitality for many years can i suggest you give this member of staff some serious training on customer service because his us apalling. Other than that experience. We had a lovely time food was real good, deserts had obviously been sat waiting for a while to come out because our Biscoff sundae was literally a mousse by the time it got to us, but we will be back, thank you Ash (asked him his name) for looking after us so well. Places like this thrive because of staff members like you.

First time visiting restaurant it was so nice welcoming and staff friendly 100%

First time visiting Smith and Western and it certainly won't be my last. Great atmosphere, good tasting food, and friendly staff - a winning combination. Went for three courses, but the standout was the Seasonal Stack burger. Steak burger, pigs in blankets, stuffing, brie, cranberry, the works.👌

Food is always top notch Very friendly server Very happy

Fantastic atmosphere and even better staff. Fabulous place highly recommended 👌

Whilst the atmosphere and service was great, the food was okay and in my opinion not really worth the price

10/10 I loved it here! Our server Nicky was so kind and polite! Belly Buster was HUGE! Portions were HUGE! Atmosphere was amazing my family loved it all! Wish instead of traditional xmas music they had country xmas music! No complaints!!

Food is lovely. But the drinks are very expensive

We have recently moved to this area and were excited to try Smith and Western. We went this evening and stood for 10 minutes at the desk whilst staff walked past us and ignored us. After asking, we got seated and were given menus. We waited for another 25 minutes while staff walked passed us and no one came to take a food or drink order or even looked in our direction. The restaurant wasn’t exceptionally busy either. After looking around and no one coming over we left. No one even noticed us getting out of our chairs or leaving the restaurant. Extremely disappointed.

We are addicted to Smith and western! The food is always incredible as is the service! We make time to visit often as its our favourite place to eat! In the 6 times we've visited We have NEVER had a bad meal or experience.

I've been coming to Smith and Western for years. It's a lovely place and it never fails to disappoint me. The staff are very nice and very good with customers😊

Family friendly with a great ambience we were lucky enough to have live music which was unexpected. The food was great, quite big portions too, we will definitely be going back.

Family pub with food. Revitalised landmark in Royal Tunbridge Wells. Friendly staff.

Fantastic atmosphere, fantastic food and wonderful staff Kristina that served us was excellent with our young children. We will absolutely be back!! Thank you so much 😍

Amazing food & staff are so helpful. We attended the night before our wedding and were treated so well and looked after! Thankyou!

I went here for the first time for my birthday meal at the weekend, and was really disappointed that as a lifelong vegetarian I was served a meat dish, which I didn't realise until I had started eating it. They were apologetic and corrected the dish, but this then put me off the rest of my food. Mistakes happen but I was also really disappointed that they didn't offer to remove it from the bill. Partner liked his dish, but I wouldn't go back.

Nate and the other staff were great, could not fault anything at all. Would definitely visit again, especially for the mini donuts!

Amazing experience, friendly and accommodating staff, big tasty portion sizes! Couldn’t fault it, would 100% recommend.

We have visited this restaurant several times and we cannot fault it. The staff are friendly , on the ball, keeping the place clean, the food is delicious!! The atmosphere is always lovely and fun, great music!! We stayed in their rooms once which were beautifully presented and clean. Perfectly located if you fancy a walk into the centre or going on the Spa Valley steam train. Delicious breakfast!!

Very good service. And done out very well for Halloween .meal was quick coming and drinks.and were kind and sang happy birthday with firework to my little grandson. Made his day.

Amazing place, the waiting staff were fantastic and super friendly, great for kids, food was big and tasty! Such a good price for that experience, would definitely recommend!

Portion sizes are huge. Plenty to choose from also. Busy but still plenty of space as venue is quiet large. The waitress was very friendly and happy. Car parking available

To visit the establishment you need to book a table, we booked it in honor of a friend's birthday, there is a special survey for birthdays on the website, but the staff was not aware of what we came for, although they have an option specifically for birthdays, but no one reads the wishes of customers that were left when booking. But the food was delicious)

Lovely food and friendly staff. Great atmosphere. Always make everyone feel welcome.

Fantastic place especially for cowboy 🤠 lovers. Brilliant music as well 👏 👌 👍

First time visiting and WOW what an experience. Brilliant food, good portion sizes, tasty sauce and excellent customer service to top it all. As we walked in, I rather sarcastically exclaimed “wouldn’t be surprised to see cowboy hats and boots here” and to my surprise that’s exactly what all the team were wearing, and the general vibe and energy matched! Lovely experience and will be returning!

We only stayed 1 night but had an evening meal and breakfast, food and service was top notch, all the staff were really good and made us feel so welcome, really interesting hotel, will definitely return

Good food, great atmosphere and staff. Immaculate toilets.

We ate in the western-themed restaurant. Full of character and fun, we had a great family brunch at Smith & Western. Our waiter was very friendly and helpful, the food was great, we'll be back.

I haven't been in the rooms but the restaurant it's a unbelievable good. The food mmmm can't say too much just go there and try it.

Fourth overnight stay. Good location for me. Nice rooms. Food is okay, breakfasts are very good but not your normal English sort of thing.

Food is brilliant. Staff are brilliant couldn't fault it.

Wonderful food, hotel room and service from very friendly staff

My husband and I came for lunch and we had the Ranchers Feast and it was absolutely fantastic and so was the Mac'n' cheese. Superb Lemon Drop Cocktail too. We had a lovely young lady Ella who was our server and she was very polite and she is a credit to your business. We will definitely be back very soon and Thank You.

Great experience and great food

Excellent food, fantastic decor and theme, 5* service from Dan who definitely looks after customers. All staff also were spot on. Highly recommend

Excellent service from all staff, fantastic food, theme and decor is amazing. Server Dan C is spot on. Highly recommend.

Absolutely terrible waiting time booked table for 8 to celebrate my sons gcse day promptly but it was so loud we had to shout at eachother starter came quickly but we waited 1 hour 25mins for main meal kids were so hungry and the food came out cold berry disappointment will not be coming back

I am a regular visitor and always enjoy the food and the atmosphere. The staff are always very friendly, welcoming and accommodating. On Sunday I had a table booked for 6. We arrived and were seated within seconds. Unfortunately the music was so loud we had to shout at each other to be heard. When the member of staff came for our order even he put his finger to his ear to show he could not hear what we were saying. I asked for the music to be turned down. It wasn’t. Our meal arrived and the ribs were not hot but we saw no one to tell. After our meal we wanted desert but again the wait for someone to come was boring and we thought we would forget about desert and go to Sainsbury’s. I managed to catch a member of staff so as I could get the bill in order to pay. If I had not contacted them I think I could have walked out without paying. Very disappointed because like I said it is usually very enjoyable

Such lovely people and great service. Had a great night's sleep. Immaculate room. A pleasure to visit. Highly recommended and will definitely visit again.

The room was nice. The bathroom was roomy with a roomy shower. The bedroom was big enough with tables on each side and a closet and desk with a kettle and a pod type coffee machine. The veiw was of the road but it was not as loud as I thought it maybe. There were 2 things as far as our room and stay that were not soo great. The bed was not the most comfortable and as crazy as it sounds I think there may have been a ghost thumping the floor near the window or closet... NEVER HAD THAT EXPERIENCE BEFORE ANYWHERE.. that could be a plus if your into ghosts. We also ate dinner it was kinda a mixed review... my husband's was not to his liking, mine was OK for steak but I am not sure it was up to the prices. They ended up serving our starters after the mains so that was kinda not ideal either... we did sit and have afternoon drinks after we walked to the Pantiles it's a little walk away but not too far. I was kinda between 3 stars and 4 because the meal did seem over priced ... the atmosphere was very country and Western... or Cowboy. The western saddle bar stools and covered wagon table were interesting. The decor was nice for the cowboy theme. The rooms seemed to be Indian related our room was the Mohawk room incase you was to see if the ghost will thump on the floor for you too.

Had a great meal out last night, the staff are all friendly, on the ball and helpful, the food was lovely, piping hot and great portions, I would highly recommend a visit here, thank you.

Had a cracking night out here, all the staff were friendly and very helpful, the whole place was very clean and well laid out. The beer was good and the food arrived well presented and piping hot and was very good value, we all had a fantastic time and will come again, thank you.

Sorry but this Smith and Western is so unpredictable. I stopped going when it really lost its way, then it seemed to have sorted itself out. I had a great meal here in March 2024 for example and gave it a glowing 5 star review. Tonight was disappointing again though. 7.15pm Friday. I had requested a booth when I booked and on arrival, one of the booths was free. But they didn't want to let us sit there at first because they wanted to close half of the front section and start laying it for breakfast! At 7.15pm on Friday! Unfortunately the food has slipped again. The "serves 2-3 Nacho Platter" £14.95 was more like a single portion and the plate was swimming in a strange yellow liquid. Mains were uninspiring: the Steak Fajitas was a small sliced steak on unsizzling seared veg, with mini tortillas, and the Rack of Ribs was tiny. There's usually a nice ambience, but I'm afraid it's off our list again. Might risk it again in 6 months, as it has so much potential.

We were taken there for a meal. The service was fantastic and the food delicious.

Ok. But loud music rather reflects my age tbh.

So this is a cool place, had the steak and eggs and being a bit of a steak connoisseur I was not expecting much but it was delicious, good cut of sirloin which was cooked really well 👍🏻 service was superb, our waitress really did go the extra mile to make us feel welcome and comfortable.

Been here a few times, it is what it is, good honest burgers, ribs, and alike with a wild west theme.(Google suggests it's a hotel, if it is I wasn't aware but not a bad location for one), Country & western music plays constantly, but not at an intrusive volume. The servers wear the obligatory cowboy hat & "western themed clothing" but are very good & attentive. I was surprised how quiet it was for Sunday lunch time, but it was very hot or maybe the good people of Tunbridge Wells prefer traditional Sunday roasts. Either way the food was good, including the puddings & the price not unreasonable. They were advertising live music, later in the month, I'm guessing country will be the genre.