The Malt Shovel in Dartford

Really nice buffet and a nice atmosphere too. Worth a visit.

Have been to the Malt Shovel a few times food always lovely. However this time i was left with a sour taste. Sunday lunch ordered 2 non acoholic drinks waiting for food, arrived with veg and gravy of which whole jar of gravy tipped over my leg all down my trousers thankfully did not burn me nobody offered me any assistance a cloth to wipe myself. Took myself to the toilet had to use soap and my hand and toilet paper to remove the worst trousers were sopping wet. Went back to table were floor was slippery food was on the table no gravy had to ask and wait for that. Not one person asked if i was ok. Ate dinner theb had to pay but gave us the drinks for free very big of then. Hope my trouser and new too clean up otherwise a very expensive and disapointing lunch.

Amazing stuff. Had a lovely experience.

After reading the good reviews we gave it a go. Sadly we were disappointed. Service was pretty poor, we felt like an inconvenience and the staff seemed quite indifferent towards us. Waited for a table to be ready for us even though we booked, then waited ages to even see the menu. Asked the waitress for drinks and it was as if we were hassling her. Hoped the food would live up to the hype, but it was distinctly average. The roast was ok, not the best, not the worst. Slightly better than a carvery, however the beef was chewy and the roast potatoes weren’t nice at all. Roast chicken and pork were nice, as was the cauliflower cheese. I got the ploughman’s, which again, was mediocre. Puddings were ok, sounded nicer than they actually were and no custard available for the treacle tart. On a Sunday the only option for children was a child’s roast, that’s it. Sadly we probably wouldn’t return.

Great food and staff so friendly.

Great traditional pub with pleasant outside space. Good beers. We were here for a family wedding reception and were very well looked after.

Cracking little pub with friendly staff. They serve food as well. There is a small car park that holds about 6/7 cars.

First time here, Sunday roast, lamb melt in the mouth and the cauliflower cheese was to die for 😋 finished off with the roulade and ice cream, perfect day, great service and lovely atmosphere, thank you 🙏

Been here numerous times and the Sunday roast is always good , but unfortunately the service is getting worse ..If your lucky enough to get the tall Irish guy your be ok but if not , you might have to get your own cutlery ,condiments and drinks . Spent numerous time going to bar to get stuff which isnt good when your in the garden and the furtherest table from the bar.. We even cleared our own table before we sat down . There was 3 staff serving but not sure why the service was so bad . Food is always great though.. Had our family Christmas get together here a few times , and had excellent food and good service but this time the service was terrible

Just had a drink there as guest...

We had a fabulous afternoon at the Malt Shovel for a retirement party. Neil and his team exceeded our expectations. The food was amazing, the staff were lovely and nothing was too much. They even reserved us a table after so we could stay and watch the football. I would thoroughly recommend trying the Malt Shovel it's a friendly and welcoming place and I can't wait to return soon. Thank you Neil for helping me organise a memorable day for our dear friend.

Really nice relaxing place staff friendly

Really tasty freshly cooked food. Sunday lunch with lamb that melts in the mouth.

One of my favourite places for a drink and a meal. It was a shame the weather was so poor we could not make use of the garden. 2 drinks ordered, now time to chat then look ate the menu. We both decided on the Chicken, Gammon and Leek pie, one with mash and mine with chips plus veg (peas, parsnip, carrot and broccoli) with gravy. We have never had a disappointing meal here and tonight was definitely no exception! The pies were so tasty, plenty of filling and the pastry just right. I know a lot of people do not like it but I love gravy on chips (with the right meal.....not fish). The plate was full of lovely looking and tasty food. At £15 each it was a bargain. We have been coming here on and off for a few years now and it is a gem of a place.

We had Sunday lunch with table of 11 for my father in law's 90th Birthday. Food and service were amazing. Keep up the hard work and great standards. The team at The Malt Shovel made a special day so much better. Thank you

Good food Good beer selection Friendly staff

Ever given a 5* review after visiting a place for the first time, because you've had a great experience, only to be disappointed next visit? Not here! 3 times we've enjoyed Sunday lunch at The Malt Shovel - and it's been superb....EVERY time! Me, my wife, my elderly dad...and our little Chihuahua......Great food, great value too! Wondering where to go for your Sunday lunch? You must try The Malt Shovel.....you won't be disappointed!

Didn't eat here, so unable to score. However, delightful pub and beer garden. We'll worth it

Food was tasty apart from overdone veg, meat portion was very, very small on the lamb roast. Took 50 minutes for the food to arrive which wasn’t ideal as I was with two tired kids 5 and 7. It wasn’t very busy either. It wasn’t terrible. I’d go again if I was local, I just feel there are better options out there.

Everything was amazing. Eight of us had Sunday lunch in the garden and we all had a great time.

Sat in the beautiful garden today soaking up the sun and heard they were doing Ploughman's lunch today as well as the usual fayre offered on a Sunday. Just what was needed on a lovely sunny day. Hubby had cheese and ham, and I had cheese. It was absolutely amazing and plenty of it - grapes, apple, salad - plenty of beautiful different crusty bread and different cheeses with baby onions, coleslaw and pickle. Highly recommended.

Live jazz once a month is cool and worth checking out.

Another 5 star review for the fabulous food and lovely service from all the staff. Huge portion of very well cooked food. Highly recommended.

Visited again, great beer great food what more can l say,pop in you will love it. Tha liver and bacon is amazing.

WOW! If you haven’t been yet then you need to go! This is THE BEST place in Kent for a roast dinner! Soft meat without the gristle, crispy roasties, meaty gravy, proper cauli cheese & then the service from Jen, Kyle & Neil was just amazing. Who knew this little gem was just 5 mins drive from our house. 10/10 thank you so much!

I had heard such great things and was really disappointed. We had to wait for the menus too be printed!?! The food was ok, and the service was shocking, the bar lady seemed like she had no clue what was going on and the food, 4 toasties and a burger, took 45 minutes. Such a pity.

Food is nice. Just shame about the service, ruins it.

Food really good & staff friendly but service for Sunday lunch slow

Nice place, food excellent only thing I could fault is the terrible blinds!! Remove them or replace them. If I had not read the reviews about the quality of food I would have not come in ….

What can I say. As soon as you walk in ur made to feel welcome table service was amazing couldn't fault them one bit. Food was amazing highly recommended. Customer service on point. Thank you for a lovely roast dinner.

Came here a while ago. The staff are friendly and put me and my friend at ease. The outdoor area was nice too. I recommend.

Great pub, visited as an away supporter on way to match at Dartford FC.

Came for a Sunday roast with a few people. Was very excited cause in the past I’ve always raved of how good this place is for roasts. Have to admit the roasted leg of lamb was underwhelming, the broccoli tasted a little overdone and have no flavour. We was all underwhelmed. Hope it does improve again.

Good food. Not a great deal of choice but good quality. We did book but it was very quiet. They only do food on Thursday to Sunday. You can have afternoon tea there which I have been told by a friend is very good

Quaint old pub with low, beamed ceilings. Lovely staff and the food was amazing.

In October we held our wedding reception at this wonderful pub. A very big thank you to Neil who supported our every need on the run up to the wedding and on the day and his lovely staff for organising everything for us. Thirteen of us thoroughly enjoyed a lovely three course meal of roast dinner and gorgeous desserts. We are very grateful to all involved in making our day so special. Highly recommend everything about this lovely place. Regards Tim and Hazel

We had my daughter back home for a wk after 1.8 years working in Singapore & had our Welcome back with family & friends here - what a lovely pub & buffet! Everyone enjoyed even 3 yr old great niece too, thank you to Neil & the super helpful & friendly staff too 👍 Can highly recommend 👍

Fabulous Sunday roast, the food was cooked to order and was very good. We had a small issue which Kyle (i think!) sorted very quickly and was so nice and such a brilliant host, really mattered to him that guests were well looked after. We also had good service from Tallulah and Jen (i think - sorry rubbish with names!) who were clearly super busy. Recommend highly, and suggest you try the treacle tart as it’s spot on!

Well priced drinks, friendly staff, nice and quiet atmosphere.

Pub is ok nice if you sit out the front, the landlord is just rude and spoiled the visit for us. iFit wasn't for the fact we had hungry kids I would have cancelled the order. Won't return here again

Lovely old pub with spacious and pretty garden. The staff could not do enough for you. Food was really good and very affordable.

Nice, very clean and friendly local pub. Pricey pints compared to nearby pubs which keeps riffraff out. I didn't get any food although the food served to other publicans looked very good. Accidentally made it to observe cribbage tournament which was very interesting in itself. Very pleasant garden at the back.

Good food, friendly and efficient staff. Garden and Ladies could do with a bit of tlc, but that's the only negative.

Banging roast dinner, roasties were so crispy and fluffy inside. My family enjoyed the steak and kidney pie and the cauli cheese, even said it was the best cauli cheese they'd ever had at a pub, as well as overheard the next table saying how much they enjoyed the roast dinners here! will definitely be back again. the staff are also so police and welcoming, definitely recommend.

Einwandfreie britische Kneipe. Zu empfehlen. Auch für Familien

Had a Sunday roast here. Good size portions particularly the cauliflower cheese which was a lovely addition. Meat portion was generous and well cooked and nice to have the choice of 4 meats. Staff were very friendly, helpful and obliging, especially towards my two young daughters. Would definitely recommend.

We only had drinks and a superb dessert as restaurant was fully booked for Sunday lunch. We will definitely be back for Sunday lunch. The garden is superb too.

The place is nice.... Old English pub.... food served on Friday and prebooked on the weekends... Select few items, out of which we tried the tempura prawns, which was really nice... Great place to have a few drinks

Wonderful food and service. Lovely atmosphere 💯

Great for Sunday lunch. Always my favourite

This pub has so much potential, but is let down by the one beer that I love. we purchased a round, and the beer was(in my opinion), on it's last legs, and should hae been discarded, but was still on the tab. I checked with the group that has the same beer, and they were of the same opinion. I brought this up with the server, and after a 5 minute looking and tasting. was told "Tastes OK to me mate" and that I think was the end of the conversation as he turned and walked off. Now apart from that the pricese in here, are extortionate. This is Dartford guys not the South Bank, London. Adjust your pricese to reflect that. we probably will not be returning

My friend and I decided to make the most of a lovely afternoon/early evening and go to The Malt Shovel and sit in the garden there. We got there around 4pm and found a spot. We had pint each (I had the ordinary) as usual good service and good beer. Food is served from 5pm so we sat in the sun and chatted. It was great to see the pub quite busy both in the garden and inside. After 5pm I ordered a sausage and onion sandwich on brown bread which comes with chips and slaw. My friend decided on the cheese and tomato melt sandwich which also comes with chips and slaw. Not long after the food arrived. It looked good and tasted wonderful. It seems silly to praise what is after all just a sandwich. However the bread was fresh and just the right thickness (for me anyway), the sausages very tasty (not like some of the tasteless ones around), for me the right amount of onion, well cooked chips and lovely slaw. A very tasty treat. My friend was very pleased with her melt. The bread was the same as mine (brown) so it was layered toast, cheese, tomato, toast.cheese and tomato. Yes the sandwich was actually topped with another layer of toasted cheese and tomato - now that was a surprise to us. She enthused over the melt and said she enjoyed every mouthful. Well worth the money - I am sorry I cannot remember the cost at the time but I found it worth it because it was glorious. Probably my only gripe is that there was a lack in plants in the garden. Usually the flower boxes and baskets would be coning though about now but they all seemed to have the last knockings of last last years plants. Still that does distract from, once again, a lovely meal in a lovely pub. Thank you Neil.

Fantastic service! Came in early evening on a Sunday for a couple on our grandad's birthday, only one other group in the pub. The barman served us out in the garden area for our second and kept open while we had a third when he could have easily closed up for the night. We left there with one very happy Grandad. Thank you!

Great roast dinner & good service

Great Sunday roast, went with friends who said it was the best roast he'd ever had, which as his wife was there he had to retract

Garden area is amazing. Food is also very nice toast are tasteful.

Went for Sunday lunch here with my family last week. I had the roast beef dinner, followed by lemon and white chocolate pavlova. Both were to die for! Staff were all lovely and very attentive - especially given that we were a table of 7 people who all ordered different meals. I would highly recommend and will definitely be back!

Went for Sunday lunch here with my family last week. I had the roast beef dinner, followed by lemon and white chocolate pavlova. Both were to die for! Staff were all lovely and very attentive - especially given that we were a table of 7 people who all ordered different meals. I would highly recommend and will definitely be back!

EXCELLENT SUNDAY ROAST. We took our family there for a day off from Sunday cooking. Wow very impressed with portion size, quality, and service. Great little pub. Very friendly atmosphere. Couldn't do enough for us. Will definitely revisit.

Perfect roast, service, puddings, everything

It was lovely! Lost 1 star because i was informed by pub to call in advance to confirm how many meat or veggie eater, i did this but turned up and they didn't have what we wanted! Frustrating because 2 of us do not eat red meat!! They did give us the baby menu on chicken instead so was ok! Could have been better on customer services

Good food and friendly staff. Craft beer was good but pricy. Real ale a bit disappointing

Always welcoming especially with our two dogs

Sunday roast was excellent large portions and the roasties were crispy and fluffy centers.

Fijne sfeer, aardig personeel, lekker eten en drinken.

Nice cosy atmosphere- normal pub prices - nice little fond

Initially made a booking for Thursday lunch for 3 people using the pub’s online booking system, this received an immediate emailed generic confirmation that someone would be in touch to confirm the booking. After receiving no contact within two weeks I telephoned and was told that nobody checks the online system and it would be better to telephone to book!! Anyway, the booking was made. As this was a lunch for my Mother’s 85th birthday I was keen for the lunch to be a good one, however, the service was very disappointing. Food was very good quality but trying to get any attention was difficult, my wife and mother both preferred to have coffee rather than a drink from the bar when we arrived as it was a cold day, but I had to go searching for the staff to find out where it was after my drink was initially brought over. The coffee was tepid and had clearly been forgotten, which was surprising as the pub was hardly busy. As said, the food was fine, but after finishing there was again no sign of anyone to have the plates removed and after about 45 minutes I went to the bar to ask what desserts were available, to be told that the chef had gone home and none were available! Why we were not notified that there was a time limit is anyone’s guess, this was 3pm so hardly beyond the lunch time. It wouldn’t have been difficult to advise us when we were being served the main meal that if we would like desserts that we would need to say so. I’m not sure if the pub is under new management as we have had lunches here in the past but never experienced disappointing service such as this. In summary, food quality very good, service very poor.

Lovely roast on Sunday. Plenty of and great sharing bowls of vegetables. Staff friendly and attentive.

Nice cozy pub, but we left after one drink as the quizzers were in and we had taken someone's seat, - that's what my husband heard at the bar- so we went to another pub after one drink as it made him feel uncomfortable, funny enough as soon as we got up, the quiz people hot footed it over to where we had been sitting, all very clicky

We went here as a family for food and drinks after a funeral service. (It was my first time there.) It was arranged that we would have a buffet and drinks. The buffet was amazing!! There was a great selection of cold food such as sandwiches, ham, pork pie, sausage rolls, mini scotch eggs, coleslaw. There was equally a great selection of hot food from sausages, chip's (really nice), chicken drumsticks, spicy chicken wings, spicy prawns, mozzarella chips. It was superb and very well presented

Had a great roast dinner plenty meat and vegetables, service was very good, and definitely would return

Excellent food and service,all seven of us really enjoyed our meals. Service was really good even though it was a very busy Saturday lunchtime. Prices were very reasonable to. Would highly recommend.

We visit for a monthly meet up with friends and its a lovely little pub. Prices are ok but the atmosphere is the best, especially in summer, though the beer garden is open throughout the year.

We took our mum for a lovely afternoon tea, for her 80th birthday at the Malt Shovel! Not the first place you'd think to go for afternoon tea, and it is quite a recent thing for the Malt Shovel, but I can highly recommend it. It was laid out beautifully - various sandwiches and sausage rolls served with some chutneys and pickles, homemade scones, and a fine array of little cakes. There was lots to eat, and we did, all washed down with tea, and we had also each had glass of Prosecco too. Excellent, friendly service too. Compared to other places I checked out (and tried) this is very competitively priced...and worth it! Give it a try!

Just had a beautiful roast lunch. You'll go a long way to find better quality than this. Always plenty of it and absolutely delicious. Thank you Neil and team x

Nice friendly place enjoyed a quiet pint

Booked a table on thurs via email for Sunday lunch .Got a response by return to say they would be in touch to discuss our requirements. Received no email, so phoned to confirm on Sat and was told they didn’t email back because they were...

Great jazz jam night, band were amazing and there was great local talent in there too 😍

Had an absolutely brilliant experience at the jazz jam night. Everyone performing was absolutely great! Large variety of styles and instruments, with a big crowd who appreciated every minute. The drinks were local and lovely, as well as well priced. The barman was also very nice :)

Silent. Lifeless. Solemn. Cold. Dull. Soulless. Expensive. Otherwise ok.

Top quality Sunday roast. Very well looked after in all respects. Good selection of beers.

Wonderful little pub with excellent staff happy to have a chat and swap stories. Only had access to the small, separate portion of the pub as there was a, what looked like a wake in the other section. Wonderful place ,slightly hidden off the main road but worth the effort. The Guinness was excellent and the Tribute also.

Excellent quiz on Monday night. Landlord is excellent host. Friendly staff. Not a cheap pub but worth it for the ambiance and the quiz.

This pub is a little oasis, the terraced garden is very well thought out with an abundance of Olive trees. Food smelt fab too

Nice pub & friendly staff but roast dinner wasn't great, tasted like it all came out of the freezer!! Coffee wasn't great either

Yes ale very good. Disappointed on menu as at saturday lunch time few customers and on menu fish and chips when ordered told there no fish and chips.

We were a group of 7 friends from London visiting Eynsford on a Saturday for the lavender fields they have nearby. After the lavender walks we decided to go to a pub but everywhere was fully booked. The Malt Shovel was the only one which had availability and so we went with low expectations but were happy that we found a place to eat. It turned out to be one of our favourite pubs, the food was absolutely amazing. You could taste everything fresh. The portions are huge. Not to mention the staff who was lovely and friendly. 5 stars!✨ We will come back!

Visited with my daughter (and we brought our dog) on a Thursday evening. There's a side entrance to the beer garden so our dog didn't need to go through the pub. The garden area itself is pretty and the staff friendly at the bar. For...

Vegan fish and chips was nice definitely recommend. Staff slightly confused, instead of fish fingers we got fish but nobody mentioned why. At least we paid the price of the fish fingers. Whilst we were trying to figure out who pays what out of 4 of us staff disappeared never came back. Get fed up went to pay to the bar. It's a so-so from me.

Lovely pub, excellent Sunday roast and very nice staff.

Lovely pub with friendly staff and reasonably priced food.

Lovely pub, friendly staff and great atmosphere

Great pub with a friendly atmosphere.

Lovely pub. This is now our regular in dartford having moved just over a year ago. Lovely pub garden (with heaters if it gets cold), great food with a decent vegan selection and the staff are lovely too. Brought our family and friends here on a few occasions now.

A great, hidden pub! The staff were really friendly, well-mannered and impeccable with checking little things – like sugar in hot drinks. They took a huge amount of care with my vegan option – coming out to double check ingredients as it was being made. Our only gripe is it could do with a more regular clean – we wiped the table, to make sure it was clean for our little one, and the wipe came away quite dirty.

Amazing Sunday roast as usual. Booked a table on Mothers Day late afternoon. Service was great very attentive, making sure we had everything we needed. This is my go to place for a roast, it really is amazing. Thank you again.

Had Sunday lunch pre-ordered food.sat at table at 13.00 and food did not arrive until 14.05. No apologies for wait then they gave us menu's for the desserts but they didn't come back for our order so we gave up and got the bill and guess what, it was the only thing that we didn't have to wait for. Throughout the 4 yes 4 hours we were there not one of the staff smiled and looked like they were rather not there. We have been there many times before and no problems but we are now taking it off our Sunday roast pubs.

Since last review below we went back for Friday night dinner They try is the best I can say this time I wanted pie and they had steak and kidney also chicken and ham on menu - none left so went for burger My wife wanted fish and chips- none left so went for steak Waited at table for food, waited and waited and waited, after an hour we asked if we were going to get fed - they said kitchen busy but as only about 10 people eating this seemed hard to believe Food came 1 hour 15 mins after ordering with food served on a plank of wood - what's wrong with a plate ? Food OK steak not how ordered more like well done burger ok at best They were very kind there and didn't charge for some of the drinks due to wait but not really the point Wife gets hangry when not fed !!!! Not a pleasant sight - lol We may have been unlucky this time It's just a shame as the pub is very nice and could be so much better than this visit suggested Previous review below Just came back from Sunday lunch Choice limited for main course chicken beef lamb or pork and a vegetarian option but all we had was hot plentiful and tasty Didn't know there was a pudding option as was not shown a menu which was a shame as we would probably have squeezed one in😊 Drinks pub priced - it is after all a pub! Worth a visit Also been there just for a drink before and all very nice clean and tidy including toilets which is a big plus to me They have a TV for sports i think They have a small car park but there is plenty if on road parking when full and small beer garden which is nice on a hot day like today A well run pub Just try to let people know about puddings as this was not at all clear they were available for Sunday lunches

Fantastic Sunday lunch highly recommended 👌

Friendly staff. Nice atmosphere. Very good Sunday Roast. 😌 Cauliflower cheese was delicious! Good choices for Vegetarian and Vegan options. Happy to host birthdays or private functions. Child and dog friendly.