Tempus Restaurant and Bar at Wotton House Dorking in Mole Valley

This restaurant is superb for the quality, presentation and freshness of it's food. Also, as a vegan they catered without any fuss to accommodate my preferences. I enjoyed the food immensely, it was so full of flavour and as I said before, the presentation was exquisite. Also, Ella, our waitress was so lovely. She was extremely professional, very pleasant but without being intrusive in any way. She was very smiley and it was lovely conversing with her. The meal and Ella's attention to detail, made for a wonderful experience.

Fantastic service from Sarah, beautiful decor, relaxed ambience & good food. I particularly enjoyed the honey cheesecake! Haloumi burger was also tasty & my partner enjoyed has fillet steak with delicious new potatoes on the side.

Great service and good food We ate in the restaurant on two evenings as we were staying in the hotel. The food was good. I had the cured salmon followed by the Collin which were well presented and tasty. My husband had torched mackerel followed by fish and chips both, he said, were excellent. Our waitress Ella was great very friendly and attentive. Other restaurants need to up their game service wise but we couldn’t fault the service we received

Lovely meal. I had gazpacho followed by cote de boeuf and a fine cheesecake for desert. Poppy was our waitress and made the meal very lively and fun. I wish her well with her endeavours.

We had an afternoon tea on a Friday (so maybe busier at weekends) and the food was excellent as was the service from Ella, the one downside is there wasn’t much atmosphere in the hotel as only two tables having afternoon tea. This was served quite unusually in a box which was a nice touch and the cakes we couldn’t eat were boxed up for us to take home.

Could not fault the service at all. We were served by Ella who was excellent. She really made us feel welcome and was attentive to every need. Sadly the same could not be said for the food. The stuff we’re quick to reimburse us for the food, and it may have been a bad night, but it’s not what we would expect considering the cost.

The area that this restaurant is in was formed in 1877 when there were major renovations being carried out at Wotton House. The decor is in keeping with the era and is very grand. The food was outstanding and the staff amazing and very attentive - especially Jose who was extremely accomodating. Again as with most staff in this House, nothing is any trouble for them. We would highly recommend dining here.

Almost the best beer battered fish and chips I've eaten. Two young men were on duty on 2 occasions. Outstanding service from them. Found us a table in the bar as everywhere else was occupied. Two lookalikes. I can only find one name at the moment: Callum. They'll go far. Very attentive and helpful. Excellent Mocktail makers. Very skilled.

Really delicious food and great service. The goats cheese and smoked salmon starters were really good as were the cod loin and halloumi burger mains. George was a great and attentive waiter. We had a lovely evening with a good laugh with the staff and will definitely be back.

Had an amazing dining experience at this restaurant! The food was exquisite and beautifully presented. Our waitress, Sarah Silva, was outstanding—friendly, attentive, and incredibly knowledgeable about the menu. She made our evening special with her impeccable service. Highly recommend this place and be sure to ask for Sarah! Five stars!

Lovely evening meal. Our waitress, Sarah Silva, was great. She had suggestions for a superb wine pairing and despite a couple of issues with one of the mains these were sorted out quickly and professionally. A fantastic evening- thanks Sarah!

Spent a week at Wotton house hotel and a lot of time in 1877 bar. Had lovely food and wonderful service from Callum and Megan. Couldn’t recommend the bar and staff more

We visited Wooten House and the 1877 for Afternoon Tea and then a meal later in the evening. Firstly the Afternoon Tea. This was served in lovely surroundings, the Tea was excellent, beautifully presented and delicious. Sheryl, our server really looked after us. Evening meal. We had the 3 course special booked on line. Again all of the food was delicious, well presented and hot. However the Chalk Stream Trout was on a different scale of amazing, one of the best meals we have eaten in years. Our main server Poppy was really helpful and friendly, and definitely added something to the experience, but both the other servers Raz and Alfie were great too. The 1877 is not the cheapest restaurant in the world, and it is definitely worth getting one of their online deals. But we felt we had a really memorable dining experience and will definitely eat there again next time we are in the area.

you’d expect a good service at a prestigious country manor like wotton house, yet the staff were overrun, the food was poor and the the only redeeming feature was that it arrived quickly. We started off okay with some artisan bread with a nice paprika butter, although the hummus was showing signs of dryness on top, as though it had been left out or potted a while earlier. The goats cheese was lovely and creamy. There wasn’t much on offer for two vegetarians as a main. A halloumi burger felt a bit out of place, so we both chose a celeriac fondant with wild mushrooms and green cabbage. The celeriac was tasteless, while the wild mushroom was oversalted, and the green cabbage was tough. We asked to see the dessert menu, which took 15 minutes to get to us. The list was good but we decided we would rather leave than stay as we could barely hear each other speak. It took another 20 minutes for someone to come over to ask if we wanted anything, we said just the bill. Another 20 minutes past and another waiter came over and asked if we wanted dessert. We asked for the cheque again, but were left to wait another 15 minutes before one arrived, despite multiple attempts of the universal sign for the bill. the waiting staff seemed more interested in the group of rowdy diners who spent the evening pointing at other guests and making rude comments about what they were wearing. It’s disappointing that such a large group were not put in a different room to the everyone else. Especially on Valentines. Listen, I never write reviews, and I hate to be negative about wait staff, i’ve been in their position and it is thankless task, but it seemed to me that they lacked clear management/leadership. There was no one pulling the strings, making sure everything runs smoothly. it was disappointing, particularly on Valentines, that nothing seemed to be thought through. No roses on the table, a distinct lack of staff, blaring music. The only reason we knew we were at Wotton House and not a Travelodge was the price of the evening.

Visited as part of a hotel package deal which included a dinner credit. The food was of a good standard, and associated prices were reasonable. The outstanding factor that made our visit was our service RICKY. The level of service would be on par with any Michelin star restaurant, which was an unexpected surprise. A true professional who deserves praise. Thank you to RICKY and the chefs on shift Sunday 25th evening.

We had breakfast and dinner at the restaurant. Good food and friendly and attentive staff. A shame that they only change the menu every season - it might get a bit boring if we had stayed a week.

This is the second time we have eaten at the restaurant 1887. Yes, it is hotel-ish restaurant but what do you expect in going to a hotel! But what made it lovely in no particular order was firstly the quality of the food ( yes, I am a seasoned fine diner) and second, Roxanne our waitress. They were busy tonight but the friendly, attentive and personable Roxanne made it alright. This is our second visit here, as the first time the food was fab and Sarah our waiter was a star. So, we will book in for afternoon tea, this time with the kids. Let's see how that goes. It should be fine.

A terrible experience in this place. Service was surly and unhelpful. Food was lower pub standard or worse. Burger took forever to arrive, and was burnt on both sides. We didn't have time to return it. Salad was old and soggy.. and was 20 POUNDS! Bad service... Bad food.. Stupidly overpriced! AVOID!

Last weekend, five friends and I had a much anticipated pic nic lunch at Wotton House, Although some individual members of staff were trying hard to make our lunch as pleasant as possible, others seemed rather out of their depth. We were very disappointed with some of the service we received, the food, the presentation and general lack of forethought. It was a wet afternoon and no thought had been given to the fact that we could not possibly sit on the lawn on blankets. Although we had pre ordered everything 2 weeks in advance, the smoked salmon dish was replaced by a mackerel dish, without this being mentioned (we were just presented with the boxed up alternative). One of the individually boxed up meringues had broken into several pieces and all the bits were strewn around the box in a 'jammy' mess. This was pointed out and met with a simple 'oh dear' response from staff. We had to ask for serving spoons as these were not given, the potato salad had not been seasoned and one dish did simply not arrive until we asked for it. We paid £25 a head and although the food was plentiful, what we were presented with was really not worth that amount of money. We were disappointed.

A girldfriend and I celebrating our 60th birthdays wanted to treat out mothers to a good old fashiioned afternoon tea. We could not had a more wonderful time. Excellent servcie and food fit for a queen. More than enough and recepticles provided to take home extras for later.

I first ate dinner with my family at Wotton House on 24th February. The first 2 courses were delicious and cooked to perfection for the 4 of us. My chocolate trio volcano desert was disappointing, given the lava didn't work as I was given cold salted caramel sauce, when I let the waitress know, I was given an additional hot sauce to go on top changing the balance of the desert with too much salted Caramel and still no lava effect! I was not offered a replacement. The service was generally very attentive and high quality. My second visit on 11th March was a letdown. I can only imagine that the chef was different. I had the same starter and same main (previously delicious), on this occasion my smoked wood pigeon Breast was overlooked and tough and a considerably smaller portion size. My friends duck and orange pate was excellent and the same as my brother had previously (big portion and very smoooth.) The waitress did not ask how the food was during or after the starter as Lee precious visit. For mains, my Tuna Loin with poached egg was overlooked and dry and the poached egg was overdone (previously cooked to perfection and a runny poached egg.) My friends chicken was good. The waitress asked after our mains how they were I gave the feedback that it was dry and overlooked and she said she would give the feedback to the kitchen. Prior to ordering I'd given feedback on how excellent the tuna was on my first visit. The service was certainly less attentive during the dinner, to see how things were. I have just spoken to Mark at Wotton House, who I booked my table with on both occasions and provided my feedback.He said he'd pass on my feedback and try to find out why the standard was not as it should be. I was not offered anything as a means of compensation ( I didn't ask any, but generally an offer is made when a quality/service is poor.) I would eat at Wotton House again if I could be sure that chef was the same as my first visit. The venue is exceptional. Palatial, stylish and elegant. Mark

Loved the food, the staff, the prices and especially the room the restaurant located in. Only for this restaurant I would like to back to this hotel.

We visited here a few times whilst organising our daughter's wedding. We decided to try the bar out for food. Well that was a BIG mistake. It took over an hour from ordering. 3 burgers and A sandwich. We asked the bar staff when the food would arrive but they had no idea. Eventually the food arrived. But my prawn and crayfish sandwich (£8.95) had about 10 small prawns and no crayfish. I complained. They offered to get something else. But given we waited an hour we didn't want to wait again so I ate it. They took it off the bill but really such a disappointment. Maybe it's a way to get you to buy more drinks whilst you wait. We had to cancel the wedding (booked for summer 2017) but they kept our deposit of £1,000 when we cancelled 13 months ahead.

We went on a Secret Escapes deal, in which a three-course dinner was included with our overnight stay. We were presented with the special menu for this, for which I have to say there was an excellent level of choice. Pity we found out only at checkout that some of the choices carried a surcharge. Not sure if that's Wotton House's or Secret Escapes' fault. Service was excellent: knowledgeable about the food, if English still somewhat of a struggle for the wait staff. Food came quickly and none of it was bad. Unfortunately, none of it was exactly good either. Nothing specifically to complain about, but nothing to recommend either. Had a started of pate that could have come straight from a packet. Main course was a steak that was good quality, but overdone and this a little tough. And they forgot my bearnaise sauce. The chips with it were overdone and soggy. Dessert was a lemon/lime tart, which was actually pretty good. The wife had giant cous cous with some other stuff. It was alright. Then slow-cooked lamb, which was nice, though VERY fatty. The accompanying roast potatoes were not crispy in the slightest. Suspect they were rewarmed in the microwave. Her dessert was prosecco strawberry jelly with floating fruit. Surely made from packet jelly. Final verdict: eat here if you're staying here. It's good enough for that. But to travel here to eat you'd have to be a chump.

Had lamb which was lovely but had to cut off large quantities of fat. Breakfast black pudding not properly cooked, had to leave it, tasted very strange. Complained to hotel but they did not even respond or apologies. I was very ill later that day. We won't be back. I notice from other recent reviews that other customers have had similar problems with the food.

Before I wrote this review I looked at previous reviews. Disappointed in a lot of them. Three of us booked for Dinner this Monday evening. Restaurant wasn't busy but a few tables taken. We were seated immediately and were given menus and wine list by very attentive young lady. She came back after a few minutes and took our drink requirements. She returned almost immediately with these and took our food requirements. This arrived 10/15 minutes later and was absolutely superb. Venison. Chicken/ham hock pie and half a roast chicken. Food could not be faulted. Good selection on menu and wine list. Served with a selection of vegetables. Sweets were very enjoyable. The staff were excellent particularly our girl, who was from New Zealand. Very pleasant and efficient. I would recommend this Restaurant.

Great location and beautiful house. Rooms a little Spartan and no fridge. However the offer in the restaurant is great value! Will return.

We were lucky to win a prize for bed, breakfast and evening meal here- Terrible service! The waitress tried hard but not enough staff, food mediocre, waited along time for drinks then bread arrived which was horrible black/brown colour and tasted yuk! main course the veg were so Al dente that they were raw! We ordered cheese and biscuits but it never arrived after waiting ages, I even asked another waiter but we just gave up in the end and left with no coffee or desert! We will never come again or recommend to anyone. Unprofessional and unbelievable!

Only for breakfast. Lots of food, but the quality was not so good. I wish I could have some more variety of bread. Coffee was OK, but maybe tea the better choice?

Cant say enough about this place. We were with friends celebrating their anniversary and the meal was exquisite. Apparently they have a new chef, and he certainly knows his stuff. The home cured salmon with beetroot and cognac tasted so fresh and was beautifully presented, followed by 18 hour slow cooked lamb that literally melted in the mouth, and finished with a modern take on a black forest gateau. We couldn't fault it.Together with the amazing setting and beautiful manicured landscaped gardens it really was the perfect setting.I can't wait to return.

You need a sense of humour to go for "dinner" to Tempus. Time is something you need as nothing happens quickly.A very limited menu with no prices. One of each of the 4/5 starters, 6 mains and 3 dessert choices was not available. The chicken spring roll starter had no chicken. The catch of the day was "fish cakes"! (No other fish option). Of the two available desserts (ice cream or cheese cake) there were only two flavours of ice cream - strawberry and toffee. Cost £32.50 / head with one bottle of over priced Prossecco between four.What we had planned to be a special birthday dinner turned into a farce.You are lucky Tempus, if I could have given a zero points score as a supposed 4 star hotel you rated zero.

Food was very good and plenty. Staff brilliant and the whole place is amazing. The pool is great with steam room and sauna.

Good choice good value freshly prepared,tasty .waiting staff knowledgeable about the menu .would recommend

Stayed at the hotel for several nights for business and ate with colleagues in the restaurant for several nights, and had terrible service. Wait for food each night at 45 minutes to an hour was unacceptable; one night my colleague and I waited over two hours for two courses, on another night there was a piece of metal in my food (possibly from a scouring pad?) and when I complained the waiter wandered off and wasn't seen again all night. On all nights the staff were almost totally absent, and could only be found by walking away from the table to find them. Breakfast selection was good, but again staff were totally absent.When the food finally arrived it was acceptable (apart from the metal in it) but nothing stood out on the menu as amazing. My colleagues and I ate our our way through the very limited menu in less than a week, and although nicely presented the food was bland and uninspiring.If you really want to waste your money, by all means stay there, but DO NOT EAT DINNER THERE.

Visited the restaurant it looked lovely, but as soon as we sat down, we waited for the wine menu for about 10 mins. There was already water on the table so we drank that, then we noticed other tables getting served, we called over the manager again an asked for the wine menu, he said I go an get one! He then went missing, so we then asked the waitress finally we got it. We then ordered from a very shorter menu than, that was advertised on the Internet so with the shorter choice went for chic pancake roll an steak an ale pie with triple cooked chips, an seasonal greens.The starter,was ok not made fresh! The pie looked like a pukka pie an the triple cooked chips were soggy the seasonal greens were carrots an mange tout, the pie was dreadful, I actually asked if it was a bought in pie as it still had the lines imprinted on the side. , to be told it was! I may as well as cooked it indoors. The dessert again was not fresh cheesecake. Looked like a slice of Iceland ! Absolutely so disappointed with a meal we was actually looking forward to trying , an was given bought in food. Nothing fresh whatsoever. An the service was second to none. So no we definitely won't be back.

My wife and I went to this hotel for a celebratory dinner we arrived and were impressed by the building and the environs. A little pre-dinner walk in the grounds before hoping for a pre-dinner drink. We went to the bar an sat down where we were totally ignored had several looked from the staff but no service. After twenty minutes we left for the dining room. Dinner was reasonable but not pretentious the main dishes choice did not seem to be commensurate with a 4* hotel . The quality was good for all the food but dishes lacked imagination for the main courses. Soups from Thailand main dishes from Brazil were just some of the choicesService was good and presentation of food good the desserts were excellent

My wife booked us a meal here for my birthday,Starter at £6 pate a sliver of tescos cheapestMain was a beef shallot and parsley burger A piece of cooked shoe leather would have been nicer I will never return here and would actively encourage others not toThe wotton hatch next door is infinitely better Don't let the beautiful surroundings fool you

The bar area is very nice, food is good although a bit pricey, but that's how these hotels are. They need to have it maned better on several occasions you had to wait a while or go and find someone to serve you.

Very impressed with hotel and beautiful surroundings.After eating in the Tempus Restaurant we were very disapponted. It was our first visit with friends, while my husband was still eating his main course we were offered the dessert menu. We were going to have dessert but not with the main course! After we had dessert we felt as we were outstaying our welcome, and it wasnt late.To add insult to injury on our way out the waitress said they would be there for a few more hours.So we could have stayed at the table a bit longer and enjoy the evening.

Called up earlier to check availability for an afternoon tea and had the misfortune to reach an extremely disengaged and irritated young man who made no attempt to be pleasant, polite, friendly or professional. He told me he was 'in the middle of checking some people in' and then dropped the handset without putting me on hold so I could hear him trying to fob them off too. He then told me there was no space so i asked for alternative dates. 'I'll tell you when we're not free' and read out all the dates so Effectively i had to work it out for myself and do the job for him. Truly it was like a sketch from Little Britain. Then we found a date but when i said children would be coming he suddenly announced there wasn't enough space! Err obvious! 'The trouble is these teas are popular' as though i had no right to be calling up and should change my request to be more helpful to him! Awful awful awful. Clunky, rude and very poor indeed. Dread to think how he has impacted the business with this type of attitude. Gladly taking my custom elsewhere.

Following a visit to Denbies Vinyard I tried to find a nice restaurant for 6 people and, lo and behold, up pops Wotton House in the Gourmet Society brochure. So, having booked for 6pm we arrived at 5.30 for drinks only to be told the restaurant wasn't opening till 6.30 with no explanation. So we carried on to the bar which was run by a very pleasant young man who was obviously hassled (by food orders for guests who could not be found; Guinness as flat as a pancake, real ale we were told had been off for 4 days, and generally in need of assistance). We waited 20 minutes for service and when it came the coffee was cold!. We were presented with two menus, one which had steaks on it and one without. We were then told this was a mistake. They didn't do steaks on a Sunday!!! Finally we were told the delay was due to a wedding over-running. Then I asked another dissatisfied guest whether he was also eating there. He said "No way, the food and service is far better at the pub at the end of the drive". When we told the very pleasant waitress we had decided to go elsewhere she kindly offered to book us a table at the pub at the end of the drive and declined to charge us for the drinks. On arrival at the pub we were greeted with "You must be the party from Wotton House. We get all their dissatisfied customers!" And it was great!