The Hand & Sceptre in Tunbridge Wells

I visit the Hand and Sceptre most days as I have a project just round the corner. It is a great place to work, have a coffee and/or something to eat, whether it be breakfast, lunch or dinner. It is also an excellent venue for business meetings. The pub is warm and cosy in the winter with the open fires and it has a great outdoor terrace area for warmer weather. The service from Jay and the team is always excellent and the food is really tasty. You know you visit somewhere too much when they know what you are going to order without asking!

Manger Jy and Grace, were wonderful. Gave us a great night. Excellent hospitality and good vibes all round. Thank you so much Stan

Amazing manager,l jay and grace gave us an amazing night, brilliant service and stories !!!

I tried the trio roast, & honestly have to say it's one of the best roasts I've ever had. The pork was unbelievable, as was the beef & then the chicken. Outstanding. Jay & Steff were fantastic also. Superb service. I recommend the Sticky Toffee & Rum pudding with ginger ice cream... awesome. Fantastic meal

Really lovey pub, with a good outdoor space, sometimes the field infront will have arts and crafts fairs as well. The food is excellent, especially the Sunday roast, and the staff are very attentive and friendly. Thank you!

Nice roasts. Seabass also delicious.

Great service from Grace and food from George and Gabor

We hadn’t booked anything for Easter and were so lucky to find a table at The Hand & Sceptre for two! We ordered the fabulous pork belly roast which came with all the trimmings and most amazing gravy! The Yorkshire puddings were second to none! A cute little combo of hot drink and mini dessert was a real treat to finish a wonderful meal! Jay was our wonderful waiter for the afternoon - he was super friendly and attentive making sure we had everything that we needed! The service was fast, food was hot! We will definitely be back with the whole family!

Thanks to Jay, Andy + team for successfully managing to look after my 97 year old Grandma!

We had another great lunch today, thanks to Jay for his friendly and professional service, and to the chefs for wonderful food. Looking forward to the next time.

Restaurant was very quiet yet took almost 20 minutes cocktail to be made and was then made wrong by member of staff. Staff were talking about taking drugs whilst in earshot of customers. Very immature staff which ruined the experience. Food was okay. Yasmin served us and was professional and seemed to be the only one cleaning tables and serving whilst the rest stood around the bar area including the “manager”.

Lovely room Great dinner with even better service from Yaz. Thank you :)

The food is okay, our waitress Yasmin was lovely and attentive but our evening was soured as the bar staff talked about whether than had tried cocaine or not, instead service drinks. (No judgement, but there’s a time and place) My husband ordered a chocolate bomb and I a baileys martini for dessert, his dessert came out and my martini hadn’t even been started, so we waited and waited and we finally hear one of the bar staff (a lady with blonde and brown hair in a ponytail) shout how much baileys goes in this, and the proceed to walk around the pub with half the cocktail shaker in her hand, after about 5 minutes I think my cocktail is done and some else goes over to her and points out she’s put cinnamon in it (not supposed to be included). My husbands dessert was cold so we set it back and cancelled the cocktail. Left disappointed, surprised as it wasn’t very busy to cause delays in service.

Great food in pleasant surroundings. Special thanks to Leigh, Andy and Jay for great service.

Stopped here with friends for dinner. Great food and friendly staff. Excellent service from Steph, Jack, Caroline, Sarah, George, Andy, Chris, Grace, Amy, and Bruno. The chocolate bomb was amazing.

We had a lovely meal. Thanks so much for the helpful and friendly service - Grace and Steff were excellent.

We had our Diamond wedding theyvery nice Freindly staff Food and Service Excellant.

What an amazing transformation from our last visit Jay and his team were more attentive that I could have ever dreamed. The food was excellent and the service was gold standard I can not recommend the hand and septer highly enough. What an improvement thank you for your amazing service.

Service and food excellent. Andy, Leigh and Jay made the whole experience really enjoyable. Thank you,

Very good staff and nice ambience. One piece of small, but important feedback. Please serve Guinness in the appropriate glass. We got there in the end (see photos after a couple of attempts), so it can be done. Many thanks

My stay at The Hand & Scepter in Tunbridge Wells was simply delightful. The moment I stepped into my room, I was greeted with a cozy, clean, and modern space that felt like a home away from home. Equipped with everything I needed, it provided the perfect retreat after a long and hectic course. The view from my room was simply spectacular, and the overall atmosphere of the place was exactly what I needed to unwind. The breakfast and dinner experiences were nothing short of amazing. The staff were incredibly welcoming and helpful, adding to the warmth of the stay. Throughout my two days there, I indulged in delicious meals, including a fantastic soup, sea bass, and a mouthwatering burger. The breakfast spread was equally impressive, accompanied by lovely coffee and a selection of teas. What truly stood out to me was the lively ambiance of the place. From customers enjoying their dances to the sound of laughter filling the air, The Hand & Scepter was brimming with positive vibes. It was heartwarming to witness special occasions being celebrated, adding to the overall charm of the experience. I can't thank the staff enough for making my stay so relaxing and unforgettable. The Hand & Scepter truly exceeded my expectations, and I look forward to returning in the future. Thank you for a wonderful stay!

We had a wonderful meal, the service was excellent and the atmosphere was friendly Only gave rooms a 1* as we only went to the bar and restaurant

Steff looked after us really well Great service and food . Many thanks

I love this place! Will always return ❤️

Lovely meal, service and amazing cocktails

Lovely time visiting the hand for the first time since its refurb. The food was top notch and can’t wait to return

Beautiful burger. Food was 10/10 thank you chef

Lovely dinner. Really great staff and the manager was so helpful with my two small children. Will definitely be visiting again.

Had an amazing lunch was expecting it to be good but was amazing beautifully cooked well presented served quickly and with a smile would highly recommend

Lovely Mother’s Day, great food & Aneta was such a lovely waitress! Thank you :)

my husband took me out for lunch yesterday to the hand and scepter tunbridge wells, the restaurant was empty apart from 1 other couple, it took 20 minutes to take our order then another 20 for the luke warm very over bitter coffee to arrive ,i ordered the margarita pizza which had next to no cheese and what cheese it did have was dried to a crisp ,completely inedible .hubby had the burger which was also cold . we will never go back

I order a roast from here today , It got delivered by Deliveroo , It was missing food from the order and freezing cold , I had the pork belly , no Yorkshire pudding , no stuffing balls with bacon and I had a side order of cauliflower cheese which was just cauliflower roughly costed me about 26 pounds I think with delivery, I rang them up to be approached with we don’t give refunds only with me saying I’m missing food , no we will send out the missing pieces no sorry no nothing so I told them straight can’t be selling food like that , I will ad pictures , but just so people know I’m future reference not to order definitely more school dinner vibes if anything and definitely no cheese on that cauliflower

Restaurant: We all enjoyed the food but the customer service was disappointing. There seems to be a lack of coordination of the staff. After we sat down, we ended up waiting a while until some took our drinks order. Throughout we were waited on by four different staff. After starters, we had to wait over 40 minutes for our mains to arrive! I ordered a mini dessert and coffee, however the coffee took nearly 10 minutes to arrive after the dessert came out. Finally, a lady who appeared to be some sort of supervisor / senior member of staff served some of our food, but it was never done with a smile. It came across that having to serve us was a real inconvenience to her! This place had the potential to be really good, they just need to fix up the customer service.

Came for a business meeting. Team treated us amazingly and will defo consider for future.

Booked for me by my work. I always give 5 stars. A reasonable room in a pub. Fairly clean. Comfortable bed. The bathroom was a bit tired and needed a lick of paint. Didn't have breakfast so I am unable to comment on it. Important context: My experience was a 1 night stay and does not represent this establishment in it's entirety. No-one in hospitality sets out to provide a poor experience. Anyone can have an off day.

Very pleasent, buffet as I was at a funeral. Nice food.

Great food and atmosphere. I had the seafood linguine which was delicious. I followed with a mini desert and coffee which was great as I still got a pudding even though I was quite full. Lovely service from Jay and Char who were really friendly.

Great belated Valentines Day meal, would highly recommend. Char, Jay and Aneta were excellent

Me and my partner came here for valentine’s and it was because from the service to the food! Shout out to Jay our server who made sure we have everything we needed! Would definitely come again!

amazing food, great value for money. The manager Jay very curtious and respectful. All the staff were amazing. Great night..

Very clean and friendly. Staff go out their way to help. Would definitely return and recommend to friends The Manager Jay was exceptionally accommodating

I was pleasently surprised with my visit here! It was my first time and it was on valentines night. The place was immaculate and the vibe was lovely and cosy. Let’s move on to customer service… it was on point I was served by a gentleman called Jay. What a lovely chap a real credit to your business. I can’t wait to return. See you all again soon!

Bruno & Ollie gave us excellent service and were very accommodating. We ordered the camembert to start and the chateaubriand as a main and it was perfectly cooked and good value for money. Thank you team!

Great food & drink with very friendly welcoming staff

The food was decent as it always is however one of the 5 servers that was covering our table came across as fairly rude, busy or not having my drink slammed down in front of me is uncalled for. On top of that it took half an hour to flag someone for the bill then nearly 40 minutes to get someone to take the payment, eventually the front of house staff had to do it. It's a shame, after regular meals out there, this time round was really disappointing. Myself and my Fiancé are unlikely to return

We popped in for a lunch, The food was lovely. My mother is 90 and she had a lovely time. Jay waited with her while I went and got the car. Couldn't ask for better service. Thank you

Came into the Hand and Sceptre for Valentine's Day menu at 7pm. Had the Chateaubriand which was delicious. All the staff was attentive including Jay and Aneta. The wine and desserts were also amazing. Definitely recommend a visit to this establishment!

Was served by the lovely jay tonight for a tasty valentines meal, everything about the service made me feel relaxed and come away having enjoyed my evening

Went this evening for a valentines meal with my partner was such an enjoyable experience felt very welcomed and felt as if all questions were answered perfectly their member of staff jay was incredibly accommodating and for £35 I think it’s reasonably priced for what you get absolutely amazing evening no complaints

Had an excellent meal out with a friend, we were both delighted that we could still order off the valentine’s day menu and all the food was still available! we shared the camembert for a starter and then had the chateaubriand which was cooked to perfection! portion sizes were perfect and the service by Bruno and Ollie really made the experience by making us feel very welcomed. would definitely recommend!

Fabulous lunch here. The food was great and the surroundings lovely. The staff are really welcoming and provide excellent service. Will be back!

I would highly recommend booking, we Had an en suite room it was so cozy, clean, staff members are really friendly one of the staff members that was really helpful was jay grief he was so kind lovely mannerism high quality service so glad you recommended us to go there.. couldn’t of chose a better place to come as your made to feel so welcome really cozy atmosphere and food and drinks was lovely.. top quality, lovely place to take friends or family for a lovely meal and the en suit rooms are so cozy.. nice and clean bathroom we will definitely be coming again this is now one of my most favourite places to go for a nice relaxed weekend ❤️ thank you everyone who works there your amazing because of such good customer service I will be recommending to friends and family. Many thanks Charlotte.

Aneta and jay thank you for the great service and lovely food, lookl forward to visiting again soon.

Had a wonderful meal in such a welcoming environment. The food and service were fantastic and was so looked after by Jay. He couldn’t of done more for us. We will definitely be back soon and have already passed on recommendations to friends.

I visited here with my family for a Sunday roast and it was amazing, my partner had the trio which was delicious and plentiful, the Yorkshire puddings were out of this world yummy! Jay who was looking after us was so friendly and attentive, I brought my three young children who are special needs and Jay went above and beyond to make sure they were happy and comfortable! The whole experience was wonderful and we will defo be returning, oh and the cocktails were stunning! Great place great atmosphere, family friendly what more do you need!

Amazing venue and the service from Jay is second to none. Highly recommend it for a great day/evening out!

I had such a great time here! The manager, Jay, took great care of me and my husband. We will definitely be visiting again.

The Hand and Sceptre is a beautifully quaint premium country pub nestled in a perfectly picturesque corner of the Garden of England. Surrounded by the rolling green and pleasant hills of the Kentish countryside and a mere stones throw from the historic town of Royal Tunbridge Wells, this establishment could simply not be situated in a fairer location. Just opposite this most lovely public house sits a landscape affording a view of all that the people of this corner of the world hold most dear. Southborough cricket ground in its quiet shining glory, lying just in front of a centuries old church adorned with its majestic spire soaring up towards the great blue firmament that rests above the ancient oak woodland stretching out in wondrous, silent expanse before the grounds of the Hand and Sceptre, as it sits there solemnly, strong in it's regality. I visited the restaurant on a quiet Wednesday afternoon, and as I stepped out of the biting late winter cold into the warm and soft embrace of a lovingly traditional country pub I was greeted immediately with friendship, respect and reassurance by a delightful young Irish waiter by the name of Jay. He took me to a cosy corner table whereupon I was offered a bottle of ice cold water to prepare my palette and left to ponder the varied and delectable à la carte menu. The water arrived, with a choice of either sparkling or still. Jay filled my glass and I cocked my head back and guzzled with reckless abandon. How refreshing. For my starter course I chose the pan fried wild scallops, accompanied by a light parsnip purée, a fresh and inviting tomato and spring onion salsa and two moorish and rich dauphinoise chips. It arrived in great time, carried gracefully on deft feet to my table by my new friend Jay. Oh, the luck of the Irish! The scallops were cooked to perfection and seasoned masterfully. The pairing of the various components of the dish came together to form an angelic culinary orchestra of mouth watering brilliance. A rather delicious start and a sign of great things to come. As to my entree I opted for the freshly battered line-caught cod, served with a locally sourced minted pea purée, chunky tartare sauce prepared in house and thick cut artisan rustic chips. The meal exceeded expectations and broadened the horizons of my reality through it's humbleness and traditionality while simultaneously pushing culinary barriers with bracing elegance and sophistication. The crisp, crunching sound given life by the breakage of that firm golden batter entombing the wild north sea cod will surely echo through the ages. Coming to the tail end of this opulent feast I found myself utterly gorged and nigh on immobile, unable to continue on to a tertiary course. Though let me say I have heard tell of the magic that emanates from the pastry section that crouches, lurking and waiting in the corner of that noble culinary vineyard, referred to simply as “the Kitchen” by the upstanding and hardworking, diligent and humble members of staff that toil its fruitful fields. I passed the next half hour or so idly chatting with my emerald chum, lamenting on things past, present and future over another bottle of still mountain spring water. To say that I walked out of that pub forever altered would be an understatement. A sorry collection of fractured parts in vague human form entered and a new man made whole and true left. A day well seen out and I hope I soon shall return. My endless thanks and praises I sing gladly to the Hand and Sceptre and it's unit of well trained and unerring warriors of service that walk it's hallowed halls.

Amazing services!! Excellent staff Jay was wonderful. Highly recommend food and drinks was excellent. Service was amazing definitely recommend and coming back.

Aimee and her team took great care of our big group.

Full of kids...with mummy's not bothered to cook. We arrived at 6pm.. kids eating...not engaging....whilst looking at mobiles, parents drinking, ignoring their kids. At one point, baby plonked on the bar!! We are doomed!!! Horrific, will never go there again.

It’s okay! We are new locals, so when we received a voucher for buy one get one free on starter, main and dessert we thought we would try it out. Starters were lovely. Mains were okay but had to send the chips back as they were hard & overdone. Dessert took absolutely ages to come out and I had an overdone very thin chewy (not in a nice chewy way!) brownie. I asked if it was meant to be that thin and the waiter (think he’s a manager?) said ‘sometimes they just don’t rise how we would like it’ - ok cool that’s fine but don’t give it to me then if it’s substandard. For a drink it’s a nice pub but the food is below average and I don’t think we will eat here again sadly! Service is also so slow, we had to wait ages to pay & in the end we just stood up & started getting ready to go.

Great food, decor and atmosphere. Staff friendly

We stayed overnight. The bed was very hard and the pillows far too bulky. It was very noisy late into the night, then wakened at 7.30 am by music from the bar. Terrible!

Very enjoyable lunch with 1st class service from staff.Very helpful and friendly.We will be back.

Really enjoyed my visit here yesterday. I had the prime burger which was incredible. pub was clean and modern and service was impeccable. compliments to the head chef. will be coming back here again soon!!

Had excellent service and food on New Years Eve on 8.00p.m seating with 6 friends.The price for evening event for 2 including bottle of Moët rose was £150 for 2 an excellent price for 3 course meal.

Went here on Christmas Eve for a Christmas lunch, staff were wonderful and the atmosphere too. My only criticism would be the food, starters good, dessert also good but the main, which was turkey, was luke warm and the vegetables over cooked. Saying that, the roast potatoes weren't roasted enough! We had a good time, but the mains let it down. Would I go back? I'm not so sure.

Overpriced slow service average food

Great food and service 👌 We showed up a party of 10 as we were just passing by TW, without reservation and they accommodated happily, impressed!!

Food was amazing, service was great, and the drinks were phenomenal. We will definitely be back!

All around delicious food, fabulous drinks, a wonderful place to be. We love to go up and ask for Jay. If you are looking for an all around great experience check them out!

me and my boyfriend came for a meal last week, we had a lamb shank and a steak and Malbec pie, the service was wonderful thank you to bruno for serving us and making the moment memorable will definitely be returning

Haven't been here in a while, but have to admit, the service I received was great, Jay was an absolute delight and when chatting to him I can tell he had great ideas in making this venue a place to be. Worth the visit even if for a drink

Simply dreadful service. We are local so visit fairly regularly and it’s always the same. It’s a running joke. Everyone we know shares the same opinion. I can’t really understand why this review section isn’t littered with similar comments. Essentially, either staff don’t care, aren’t being held to account or simply don’t understand good service. They do the barest minimum. Clock watching. Only semi present. Inattentive. Earn a wage and go elsewhere. Stay under the radar. Seem irritated if a customer asks for service so they don’t ask again. Call time at 10:15pm but don’t actually tell customers. The place seems to lack effective shift management who care about the business and want customers to return regularly. I weep for the owners. They are missing out on significant turnover both from staff not maximising customer spend and customers not choosing to return. The place is a potential goldmine that is consistently let down by poor service. I’ve genuinely received better at McDonald’s. The place is very local to me. H&S ticks all the boxes. I eat out regularly. However, I don’t think of H&S as an attractive option. Until something significant is done to raise the consistently poor service to an acceptable level, my opinion (and the opinion of many, many others in the local area) won’t change. I’ll drink and dine elsewhere. Big shame.

All lovely. Looked after well by the whole team and the manager Amy

Food ok,service ok.....it is what it is....

Had a fantastic meal and wonderful service received from Bruno. Will be back again

Sea bass was lovely as was the Camembert starter Pizza was tasteless and the pineapple drunks were totally dry. Onion rings very very oily. Did not like the outside of the mini cheesecake that ruined this favourite dessert Other desserts very good Non alcoholic cocktail delicious

Fantastic service and really great food.

Beautiful meal in a lovely warm and welcoming environment. The food and service were fantastic and the team seemed to have a great respect for each other. We will definitely be back soon. My only gripe: As my mum is elderly and has problems walking it would have been good to have direct accessibility access from the car park. We had to walk around the pub despite being parked directly in front of a door which could have gone straight into the dining room but said no entrance.

Great atmosphere. Fantastic and friendly service. The food was amazing, we had roast and the portions were very generous.

Never disappointed always yummy 😋 always polite and friendly staff very accommodating, Although the berry pavlova has changed since my last visit - the meringue / fruit balance wasnt to great. But still very nicely presented and tasty.

I hired the hand and sceptre function room for my 30th birthday the food was brilliant. Jay & Yas were amazing too nothing was a trouble, very helpful throughout. All of us had a lovely time. We will be back! Thank you 🙏

Despite the heating, Jay the manager was amazing at getting it all sorted, rooms were lovely and clean, great location and great welcoming atmosphere…. Thank you for making our stay wonderful xx

Stopped here for breakfast. Lovely staff. Breakfast was great value and nicely cooked. Can’t fault it! Amazed it was so quiet bearing in mind the quality and value for money

Nice waiter who was very friendly & attentive. Nothing was too much trouble. Service was slower than normal, but luckily we weren't in a rush! Food was delicious, as it always is.

We came for a lovely meal. The restaurant had a nice Christmasy feel to it. We were seated by a friendly chap (maybe irish) and a nice sever. Our great service continued with Ellie, who gave us the time we wanted between courses. The food was delicious and well cooked and presented. We enjoyed the baked camembert, nourish bowl with prawns, seabass, and a cocktail and mini dessert. George gave us a friendly goodbye, wanting to know if we'd had a pleasant time. Will definitely return.

Came for Sunday lunch today to celebrate my son's birthday (the booking was in the name of Ella Gibbs). I rang the evening before to check a few things and the lady I spoke to was very helpful and didn't make me feel awkward for asking so many questions. Very warm friendly welcome from the young man on the welcome desk when we arrived. Top notch service from Annetta who made our experience brilliant from start to finish. The food was excellent too. Piping hot and a good choice - something for everyone! They were even happy for the kitchen to warm up a gluten free yorkshire pudding that I had brought with me as I am coeliac. The rest of their roast dinners are gluten free except for the bread sauce. We will definitely return - in fact I have already said I would like to come back for MY birthday meal next year! Thank you so much for making my son's birthday treat so enjoyable.

Ellie was fantastic, always looking after us and making sure we had everything wr needed. This is not easy with a 2 year old and being heavily pregnant, so I really appreciate going somewhere with such great service. Food was lovely too as always, and the atmosphere was great.

Just an epic pub/ B&B. Amazing service, and very tasty food. It is worth the 30 minute drive every time. Can't recommend enough.

The Sunday lunch is very expensive for what you get, although food quality is good. The bill was wrong and we were over charged so worth double checking and the fact they charge £7 for 4 half slices of toasted bread and some olives sums up the over pricing.

Lovely atmosphere, fabulous service ( Ellie) and great food. Would highly recommend.

We were lucky to get in on a very busy Sunday. It took a while for us to get our drinks order taken, which meant our drinks didn't arrive until 40 mins after we had sat down. However the service was friendly and efficient after that. The food came shortly after and we all had ordered roasts, including the V option for me which was great. The portions were large and the side greens were delicious. The kids loved their ice cream and homemade cookies.

Our room was spacious, very clean, well equipped with a great power shower and comfy large bed. Every member of staff we came across were friendly, helpful and a credit to the company. Bruno and Sam had a great sense of humour and were exceptional at delivering customer service. Food was delicious. Great location, would definitely recommend as excellent value for money. Great stay, thanks!

Service a bit slow but it was a Sunday so they were busy. So waited quite a while before being served drinks. Roasts were good but peas and green veg hard and undercooked. Not just al dented.

Menu looked great, came out looking nice, but I was still hungry after 😔sauces were nice. Service was great then went down hill once received meal, never saw waitress (2 tables Inc ours were taken) had to clear our own table when we went to bar to order desert, as never saw any one to order from.

Food is good, works well for families.

Lovely service from Emma who was friendly and helpful and fast to respond. Food was lovely and good value for money

Beautiful restaurant. Came today for Lunch with a client and my 15 month son. Jay was outstanding looking after us and my son adored him. Duck noodle salad was delicious and my son had sausage and mash that came out at a nice temperature which meant I could feed him straightaway, handy when you have a hungry toddler. Really enjoyed the non alcoholic elderflower sherbet which was delicious! Thankyou for a lovely lunch and we shall be back even if its just for my son to high five Jay again 😆🤣