The Hay Waggon Inn in Wealden

Tried the Hay Waggon, which is under new ownership. Great barbecue with seafood kebabs and amazing local rump steak. Homemade ice creams are to die for. All served up in a wonderful garden

What a fantastic place - I turned up at the Hay Wagon unexpectedly early and was given a warm welcome by the landlord. The dining area was empty, but it didn’t lack atmosphere, and the brunch (a home-cooked sausage sandwich) was perfect. I will definitely be going back.

Ab Fab night at the Hay Waggon, mein host Stuart or the Commodore as he calls himself was an absolute hoot who insisted on footing our wine bill as was my partners birthday, the lobster was an absolute treat & very keenly priced. Will definitely be coming back, cheers Commodore .

This pub has been empty for several months. The owner successfully applied to convert it to housing . A petition from local residents to the council failed to preserve it as a pub.

Este es un gran pequeño pub que sirve comidas fantásticas con un verdadero ambiente familiar. Paramos aquí un domingo por la tarde como en ningún otro lugar todavía estaba sirviendo comida y estábamos hambrientos! El Haywaggon era todavía sirviendo y fueron muy amables y nos cuidó muy bien. La comida era deliciosa y muy generosas porciones demasiado. Tenían sus deliciosos postres pero nos estaban llenos, así que tuvimos que compartir uno!

Nos comimos aquí a principios de enero y todo era tan agradable que volvimos para el almuerzo tres semanas más tarde. Por desgracia, el segundo el almuerzo no era genial. Mi marido eligió el mismo plato en ambas ocasiones y la diferencia en la presentación, calidad y sabor era extraordinario. Era evidente que había preparado dos personas diferentes en las diferentes fechas y el segundo chef tenía poco talento. El primer almuerzo era preciosa, bien cocinado, sabrosa y excelente. El segundo, no es muy agradable. Este establecimiento debe mantener los estándares porque el comercio de alimentos es el lugar donde se encuentra el dinero y los clientes no apareció si la comida es mala. Los beneficios disminuirá y el negocio no tendrán éxito.

Paramos aquí después de un paseo por el almuerzo de domingo. Tuvimos que pedir una mesa dos veces, teníamos a atraer la atención de los camareros de la etapa más de una vez- para bebidas, a llevar nuestro pedido, por nuestra cuenta, etc. la comida no era muy buena.

Went for lunch, had a fantastic lunch of pizza! Choice of toppings and base, brilliantly cooked and very tasty, bit different for a proper English Pub. Great atmosphere and nice beer, really impressed. Plenty of parking too.

Excellent 'posh' pub food rather than just pub grub. great knowledgeable staff and a warm atmosphere, not to mention the lovely pub dog!

Hemos estado en el vagón Hay 3 o 4 veces en los últimos 3 años y siempre he disfrutado buena cerveza y comida.

... después de un paseo por la tarde en el bosque de Ashdown maravillosa!

mira el menú todos estábamos muy contentos con las opciones sin embargo los tamaños de las porciones contra el precio de una comida realmente no le pegaba. 15 libras por jamón de mostaza (3 rebanadas de jamón, un pringue barato con mostaza dulce) 20 patatas y huevos. La otra mitad del plato estaba cubierta de ensalada - con cebolla! Esto habría sido aceptable si el menú indicó servido con ensalada como me hubiera después tuvieron la oportunidad de decirles que era alérgicos a cebolla ... 6 libras por un flan que era muy pequeño. En general, no es una buena cena, £100 por 4 personas, para las comidas que nunca nos llenó.

Tenía un fantástico almuerzo con amigos aquí ayer. Fantástica comida, servicio y decoración y gran estilo antiguo en un precioso pueblo. Recomiendo totalmente este lugar, no es demasiado caro.

A friend called and advised "grab the kids, we are going out for lunch". Not one to argue, I packed up my 8 and 10 year old, and we headed off.Where are we going?Hartfield. I drove through there recently, and saw some nice looking pub/restaurants replied my friend.We arrived at The Haywaggon Inn, on a Friday, and it was very busy for the lunch period. (A good sign I would imagine for a village pub.)Service from all we encountered, right from our first steps to the bar was excellent. We were seated immediately in a lovely area at the back of the restaurant, and had no need to move from the spot with attentive and very friendly staff looking after our every need.My fussy eater children were easily won over with a range of options that they would consider, and after choosing to go for Pizza advised me they liked that they could build what they wanted. When it arrived, it was really nicely cooked, and they happily ate it. Phase 1, kids happy. Now for the adults.We perused the menu, and found a lot of lovely looking options. Two of us went for the Steak and Ale Pie, one for "The Haywaggon Burger" option. The pies were crammed full of the best steak, and a beautiful pastry topping to boot. The burger, well, it looked amazing, and according to the new owner, tasted just as good as it looked.I have to say, we all came away feeling that we would definitely return soon. A great experience, and one that made me comment on here promptly.

Visited this pub for lunch after a long country walk recently and the food we had (poached salmon, hake) was good and reasonable value for money so this was a positive for us. However the woman behind the bar, if not actually rude, was certainly very offhand and surly right from the outset for no apparent reason and she certainly did not make us feel welcome. The initial "difficult" attitude of this person, a blonde middle-aged lady, continued whenever we had any contact throughout the lunch although we did not react to it at the time. She even made quite a fuss when we decided to move indoors because it was suddenly getting chilly, having originally said that we would eat outside. My friend and I both formerly held very senior positions in our separate service businesses before retiring in the last few years and in our professional lives we have always adopted the maxim that "the customer is king"; we were certainly not treated as such here (in contrast to other local pubs we have also visited), in fact quite the reverse and this attitude spoilt our overall experience. Additionally we noted that the pub decor looks very tired and old fashioned despite the attractive old fireplaces and beams. We have both independently decided to "vote with our feet" and we will not be going back to this place again with our respective extended families, despite living in the locality, which is a shame as we could not fault the food.

Hartfield is a nice village and the Hay Waggon is a comfortable pub. However, is probably best for a drink rather than for food. I had a disappointing Sunday roast (Yorkshire pudding was good but the rest was reheated veg and meat) and my wife had fish (pretty good) with reheated chips. Not especially cheap either at £13 per meal. If we had arrived 10 minutes later, I would not have even got the Yorkshire pudding as they ran out and tried to serve the customer without him realising - they failed.

We attended a wedding breakfast at the Hay Waggon yesterday and the food was absolutely fab! Great service, great food and good company made for a fabulous end to a lovely wedding day! Well done! :)

Whilst on a short midweek camping break nearby, we thought we'd have a well earned meal in the village of Hartfield. After having a slightly tepid reception at a neighbouring pub earlier in the day, I was pleased with the reception I got here. The landlord wes friendly and made me feel welcome from the moment I approached the bar. There was a good, friendly atmosphere in the pub; nice to see midweek. The burger was lovely and the stuffed chicken breast was fantastic. There was a wide variety on the menu and I was spoilt for choice and the portion sizes were generous. If I pass that way again I will definitely be stopping here again.

Met old friends at Hartfield which is exactly halfway between our respective residences.Lunch menu had a wide interesting choice but we were not very adventurous three of us having fish and chips and one the steak and ale pie. Food was well cooked and nicely prepared with generous portions. For sweets we had one cherry bakewell tart, one apple pie and two selections of profriteroles all nicely presented on a bed of slate followed by coffee.

There were 12 people in our group. The lunch was pre: ordered and the majority of people had a roast-so not 'rocket science' really. We went in at 1pm and finally got served at 1.50pm. The roast was already dished up on a plate-gravy poured over the top. The fish that was ordered by 2 of the group was served whole-head and tail still firmly in place-as was the customary 4 roast potatoes-cauliflower-chopped carrots and courgettes-but no gravy-which was comforting!!The dessert was nice and I enjoyed that. In total we felt it was very expensive and would certainly not recommend or visit again.

We went to the Hay Waggon as we have relations recently moved to Hartfield and were stopping on our way to Gatwick. The pub is very nice, olde worlde, and the menu is varied. Some of us had the Sunday roast, one had pie, another the thai curry. It was all very nice and there was plenty of it. Most of us had a sweet where again we had a very good selection to choose from. Presentation was excellent. We didn't eat in the dining room as the table was booked late and had a very nice table in the corner of the bar by a window. Cost for 7 of us was around £180 including 2 rounds of drinks so pretty reasonable considering the part of the world we were in. We didn't use the beer garden at the back of the pub - as is the parking - but it looked very nice.

We stopped by in Hartfield for refreshments during a bike ride from Tunbridge Wells. We were served our drinks quickly and the bear garden to the rear is pleasant. It was a nice day and we didn't need to rush back, so decided to order some food and went for their Sunday roast. It was OK and not the worst roast we've had in a pub but certainly not the best either. From this experience, I would say that the food up the road at the Gallipot Inn is preferable.

Lets start with a positive. The building is an historic pub with a good bar atmosphere.However,The Harvey's was cloudy and not well kept.A miniature tonic water was £1.65Let's move onto the restaurant.The service was amateurish with staff clearly given no training whatsoever.There were only 2 tables occupied for the obvious reasons to follow.The "daily changing menu" had 3 items not available after orders were placed, which is just very annoying and a failing in the kitchen and management.As there were no customers they could not have run out that day.The wine was forgotten, the water was forgotten and so was the ice."No worries" was the ridiculous oft repeated phrase from the well meaning waitress.Yes there were!The wine was plonk, undated on the wine list and overpriced at £24.One glass was cracked.The soup of the day changed 3 times before we found out what they had left!They ran out of duck.They ran out of cream as "the last customer had just had it on their dessert."Strange as no customer was on a dessert as I looked at the other table.If you run out of stock on a Friday night-you have no chance at the weekend.The food, whilst much of it was reheated, was not too bad and deserves 6/10The asparagus was fresh as was the sauce and poached egg.The rest was way below par.Get yourselves sorted and you could have a good food business.Expensive and not worth a visit as you will be disappointed.

Stopped off here for lunch after visiting Pooh Corner and so glad we did!The food is to die for and the staff are lovely. It's nice to eat in such a friendly, lively atmosphere. Save room for pudding, the homemade banoffee pie is delicious. It was so well presented I almost didn't want to eat it :-)

We had visited the Hay Waggon twice already 3-4 year ago and were pleased to find that the quality of food, atmosphere and service remain the same! Staff was very pleasant and both kids and parents enjoyed their meal.Highly recommended!

Went out with 2 friend for lunch and did not really know where to go so ended up by chance in the Hay Waggon. What a lovely surprise it was. On a Wednesday lunch time it was nice a busy so had a lot a atmosphere about it, the food was excellent the portions a good size and the staff really helpful - Well done to you all and thank you

We had a Christmas meal there with friends and the food was very good. I had duck followed by berry crumble-all lovely. A couple of our party didn't show up which must have been annoying but the manager was so pleasant. The decor was nice and Christmassy and very welcoming.

The food here was really nice and the service excellent as usual. Everyone had good food which they really enjoyed. I had the tapas prawns and then the fish pie. Fish pie was average. Atmosphere was excellent and there was sufficient space not to be squashed in. Helpful staff.

We went for evening food, I had burger which was cooked to perfection, homemade coleslaw, other half had a lovely steak, juicy & well cooked, the banoffee pie dessert was home made & to die for!! Will def be going back.

We went to the the restaurant on Saturday evening, very good food and Harveys Beer. Enjoyed the Tapas, The baked Camenbert was fabulous, The main courses were all to a high standard, the 16oz T bone enjoyed by friend was super. The vegetable stir fry I had, could have had more vegetables, It was a plate of noodles with minimal veg. that would be my only negative comment. The staff were attentive, without being over powering. Overall food good, lovely evening out.

We popped in at lunchtime & this was my Australian inlaws first British pub experience, fortunately it was a great one & just what eating in a quaint English pub should be about. Experienced, professional serving stuff, traditional decor (pub dates back to 1500's), diverse but traditional menu.My husband & father in law had the bangers & mash served in a Yorkshire pudding, my mother in law had the ploughmans (personally I thought more suited as a sharing plate) & I had the green Thai curry. Medium priced, tasty & due to the generous portion sizes none of us could finish our meals.Many pubs seem to be going down the gourmet eatery route, whether they provide high end food or not they are charging top end prices, but it was great to not be overcharged for really good, hearty, honest pub food for a change.A general good alrounder & certainly somewhere we would return.

We came across the Hay Waggon Inn in Hartfield after a walk round Pooh Country – thirsty and hungry. A customer standing outside told us to try the pub – dated back to 1540. The inside was very nice and quaint with beamed ceiling. We sat outside in the beer garden at the back (really some grass with picnic tables overlooking the parking lot). I had the Ploughman’s Lunch which turned out to be the best Ploughman’s I had on the trip round England (and 15 pubs visited!!) It was large and varied with three types of local cheese, egg, pork pie, apple slices, chutney, bread plus a sausage for an extra GBP2 – much better than anything else we had. Wife had the chicken curry which she loved. Choice of 4 cask beers.Great service and a very enjoyable, relaxing lunch. Good value. Highly recommended.

We had a very enjoyable and relaxed evening here with excellent food, 2 x starters of baked camenbert with an ample supply of crusty bread went down very well with the 2 x men in our group. For main I had king prawn stir fry and it was delicious , others had swordfish steak ~ large portion and perfectly cooked, rib eye steak and a lamb dish ~ all of a good size and cooked to perfection. Good choice of desserts as well and all served by cheerful and helpful staff ~ will certainly go back.

Booked at the last minute but probably did not need to. Very friendly staff and food served with a smile. The food was good. The menu has traditional pub grub but also another more refined menu too so it offers a good choice to a range of people. I enjoyed the asparagus as a starter and the salmon and risotto (quite rich). Pleasant atmosphere - a mixture of the local crowd and the out of towners. Good value .

Had a lovely pub lunch & whilst the place could do with a good lick of paint & updated decor, the place had a real family run feel about it, great food & great portions & great service. Really enjoyed.

Stopped in at the Hay Waggon after playing Pooh sticks about 5 minutes out of town. It looked like a nice old building, and the pub was packed, so it was obviously the place to be for lunch. The food was reasonably priced, and pretty tasty. There were also some games to keep my daughter entertained, which was appreciated.

Great pint of Harvey's but the interesting menu doesn't deliver what it promises. We had booked a table and still had to wait over an hour for any food. Starters include 'Soup of the moment.' That moment is 1974. I haven't been to a pub that could get ham egg and chips wrong. When asked if he could check how much longer the food would take, waiter's reply was 'no worries.' oh yes there are. Over-priced as well.

I stopped off here with a group of Ramblers and was treated to an excellent pint of 'Harveys Best' along with a lovely lunch and the service was exceptional.

Just ate a fine home cooked meal at this fine old friendly inn. A nice warm atmosphere on a bright sunny winters day. The homemade fish and chips excellent, the lambs liver, black pudding fritter with bacon and colcannon mash delicious. Great Harvey's on tap and a fine selection of wine by the glass. No room for their wonderful looking puddings...a shame.

Pleasant enough. I understand the food is quite good in the restaurant. basket meals nothing to write home about.

Visited with a group of people for a Christmas evening meal. Inside the decor was warm, festive and welcoming. Our meals had been pre-ordered, the starters were served all were well presented and everyone appeared to be pleased with their choice. I think that the kitchen staff were 'stretched' and the waiting staff appeared to be less than confident in getting the meals out. Those who had requested Turkey or Duck were served quickly but everyone elses meals came out in Dribs and Drabs! It took nearly 10 minutes for all the rest of our table to be served, so some of the people were half way through their meal before others had anything to eat, also the vegetables did not arrive until the last people were being served. Having said that the food was of good quality created and cooked beautifully only to be spoiled by timing. It will be interesting to see if this is taken on board

I have just had a lovely evening at the Hay Waggon in Hartfield. The food was excellent. For starters, I had the fish cakes and my partner had the butternut squash soup. We then decided on the confit of duck and the belly pork. Being a massive fan of belly pork, I have to say that this is some of the best I have ever sampled, simply stunning. We then over indulged in the delicious deserts. We will definitely be back soon. 5 stars!

A friend had recommended The Hay Waggon saying it had really improved. When we went the bar looked exactly the same rather tired. We ordered our meal, the starters were well presented and tasty although I am sure the roated vegetables had been microwaved. Our main courses were really disappointing. I had fish cakes whish were ok but not crispy and very salty, they were served with roasted butternut which really did not compliment the fish cakes at all, just tasteless. My husband ordered a beef and ale pie which turned out to be rather fatty pork in cider!!!

had a beautiful meal Pork loin, bubble in a cider sauceand a creme brulle for dessert.friendly pub restaurant, dog/friendly would definitely recommend

It was never a top class establishment, but one would get a decent meal for not to much money, in a nice atmosphere with friendly staff. The last time my wife and I went there with friends, whom we had invited, the quality of the food was poor. We felt embarrassed! The fact that there were unusually few people on a Saturday evening should have been a warning we did not heed.We really hope it was a one off, so we'll try again.

Only popped in for a snack one lunch-time and had 'ploughman's' (Beef and Cheese options available and both tasted between us) were excellent quality and more than adequate quantity.Price was at the higher-end of expectations but they did give value for money so no real complaints. Aim to go back in not too distant future.

I would say "Good" if needing more for Very Good, but better than Average.Arrived with a walking group of about 12, we were required to choose and pre-book lunch, which is a bit of a faff as you miss out on 'daily specials' when pubs insist on this. Fair enough though. A twenty minute wait after due arrival time, 30 minutes in all. As other reviewers mention, a group gets a fine section of the pub to itself although the main part is delightful too.Good sized portions and no complaints in the group. Two examples of fish and chips had only a large spoonful of mushy peas, which seems par for the course nowadays but wouldn't have satisfied me. I went for the chicken Caesar salad with anchovies, which doesn't often appear on pub menus but was well prepared. Anchovies rather strongly salted, if this also being rather typical.The owner was happy for group members to pay separately rather than the wheez of a total bill which usually leaves the publican/restauranteur better off and customers struggling with their cash.The main saloon is dog friendly.

My partner ando went out for a meal at t he hay wagon after recommendations and it was fabulous and not disappointing at all.the service s good, staff friendly and the locals very friendly too. We will definitely go back when we come back to this area again.

We went to the Hay Waggon on a Saturday lunchtime as a party of eleven. The dining room is pretty large so given that we expected to be fairly noisy it was possible for other lunchtime guests to keep their distance if they wanted to - which they did!It had been quite hard to find somewhere that would cope with a big group with a wide range of tastes as well as being reasonably priced but the Hay Waggon worked out just fine. The menu had few surprises but there was something for everyone - we weren't aware of any specials. Many of the party preferred to drink beer at lunchtime so the choice of a pub suited them very well. Tap water was served in jugs and kept topped up throughout our lunch.Our first courses were all OK and included: deep fried whitebait, prawn cocktail, pate, soup etc. Main courses were better and ranged from very good liver and onions; excellent fish cakes (but you need a big appetite to finish this, it's enough for two to share); sea bass; roast, salads; ham, eggs and chips. Puddings included the usual range of sorbets and ice cream but one trio of chocolate went down well and was reportedly very good indeed.We were a fairly noisy and dis-organised group and we all enjoyed ourselves. We had a relaxed time and were never put under any pressure to leave which was great. Service was good and very welcoming.

The once nice menu featuring fresh food has been replaced with frozen food of below average quality. New owners trying to cut corners- don't do it! The Haywaggon was always about high quality grub!

My husband and I, plus two children have eaten in the Haywaggon on numerous occasions over the years. Today my husband and I had Sunday lunch, not realising that new owners took over 6 weeks ago. First impressions, the pub and restaurant area looked pretty much the same as our last visit. The menu apparently was now just on the sheet of paper at the bar, not on the big chalk board any longer. On closer inspection the menu was a lot shorter than before and I found it disappointing. My husband and I, minus children as we had a babysitter, ordered the roast beef and waited for our meals. A family with small children arrived and asked where the children's menu was? The barman said there isn't one but you can order most things of there normal menu. I do not like this as you are never sure what you are going to be charged! I didn't find this very child friendly. Our food arrived and my husband and I looked at each other in disbelief. We both thought wheres the other half ! Also the vegetables were carrots, sweet corn and peas all mixed in together as though they'd been prepared earlier without much thought going in to it. Sorry this is my opinion and a Sunday lunch should have lovely fresh vegetables served! The beef was nice, but served on top of the roast potatoes, so they were all soggy from the gravy.Needless to say we will not be returning, with or without our children. Too expensive £10.95 for a roast that was only worth £5.99 and it wasn't that friendly in there!

This is such a lovely place with wonderful owners, food and rooms! I just adore this place as much a The Spotted Dog!

Having visited off the cuff whilt staying with friends down the road, we tried this little gem having heard it had recently changed hands. We found the staff to be very helpfull with great big smiles. Sunday lunch hit the spot, with good portions and fine quality, I have to admit that the staggering was mostly on my part when departing...Well worth a visit 5*

The last time I went to this pub was a few months ago and it was looking a little tired and needed some TLC. I happened to be passing and noticed the “under new management” sign and being nearly lunchtime thought I’d look in for a pint and sandwich. It was obvious on entering that the new owners had installed new carpets and the whole place had been decorated. The bar was pristine with three local real ales available and a forth pump which I was told would be used for a guest ale. I spoke to a couple of locals at the bar who seemed pleased that there local had a new lease of life. The staff were friendly and efficient and my prawn sandwich was served as described, with a salad garnish (great dressing) and crisps. All in all a good experience and one that I shall repeat one evening to sample the menu which looked interesting and varied.

Having been a regular for many years at the Haywaggon we stopped going about 12 monthsago mainly because of the same old menu and the general downturn in the state of thepub. We heard it had changed hands so paid a visit 2 days ago. What a lovely surprise, its clean, fresh and very welcoming, just what a pub should be.The very friendly landlady introduced herself to us and explained that the new Chef wastrying out different dishes on the menu so it was changing regularly, GREAT, unlike somepeople we love change and trying new dishes. We thoroughly enjoyed our crispy Pork Bellyand fresh asparagus risotto followed by beautiful homemade desserts, we shall definitelybe calling this our Local again from now on. We live in Hartfield so feel really pleased that someone has taken over and giving the pub a new lease of life,just what it needed after the last few years. Good luck to the new people and keep up the good work !

Fab menu, helpful staff. Great pub garden, I had the ploughmans and it is a good size meal. Been quite a few times, its always a pleasure to go.

We ordered Hot Roast beef on thick cut Granary bread and what we got was cheap sliced white bread, a complete rip off

Nous avons mangé une épaule d'agneau et un risotto dans ce restaurant. L'agneau était un peu trop gras et le risotto trop cuit. Sinon, bonne ambiance et emplacement agréable, spécialement l'été quand on peut manger à l'extérieur.

We ate here on a Sunday evening. There was so much choice on the menu it was quite difficult to choose. In the end we all had the roast dinners - really nice food and vegetables served seperately, plentiful and the service was fast and friendly. Will visit again when in the area.

We came to this pub three nights running and each time our meal was delicious - very generous helpings - excellent and friendly service and we didn't wait ages to be served.An imaginative menu - can't recommend it highly enough.We would come back any time we are in the area, and possibly stay here next time - I believe there are three bedrooms open now.

Das Haywaggon Inn hat in den letzten Jahren mehrfach die Pächter gewechselt und genauso schwankte laut Aussagen der Einheimischen auch die Qualität.Ich habe es vor 20 Jahren als eines der besten Pubs und Restaurants Südenglands kennengelernt, als sogar Londoner die Stunde Fahrtzeit auf sich nahmen, um dort zu essen.Leider hat die Qualität nun wieder abgenommen. Das Ambiente ist nach wie vor sehr gemütlich, das Personal aber unpersönlicher als in anderen Pubs.Das Essen war allenfalls Durchschnitt (bei meinem Cottage-Pie schwamm mein Kartoffelpüree auf einer Gemüsesuppe mit Hackfleisch).Schade, es bleibt zu wünschen, dass das Haus die Kurve kriegt und wieder mit der Qualität nach oben geht.