The Mayfly in Shepway

We had booked a table online for lunch on boxing day. There was a bit of confusion because the booking showed up as regular dining but we thought we had booked the festive menu. The manager and staff were brilliant about it. They were able to give us the festive menu without making a fuss about it. The food was cooked to order and was delicious. The portions were large and they were able to give us advice on gluten free tweaks to cater for our needs. We were surprised at how quiet it was in there (we were the only diners), which meant there wasn't much of a Christmas atmosphere.

Great carvery good management and team will be back next time I'm in the UK from france

The Mayfly has been transformed! It’s now a lovely pub with great food, staff and atmosphere! Definitely try for yourself.

Went to the carvery for christmas day lunch the staff were lovely, very friendly and approachable. Pub has been freshly decorated looks great! Food was well presented and hot look forward to visiting again in the new year. Well done to paul and all the staff at the mayfly!

Having a lovely Christmas eve night in the mayfly food was exceptional got my New Year’s Eve tickets staff are amazing Paul, Amanda and team are great merry Christmas too you all and see you in the new year.

Glad to see the mayfly back on its feet! Everyone needs there local and had a fab carvery on Sunday. Myself and mother are looking forward to New Year’s Eve party get your tickets

Great food, amazing atmosphere. Gemma and the team are fantastic 👍

Carvery at the mayfly last Sunday was beautiful. 3 hot meats big Yorkies and loads of veg Busy place now had to book. Will deffo be back

Great food now Good selection of drinks Staff very friendly Love going there.

A fabulous local pub Lovely food and a great selection of drinks and snacks

Went for pizza on Monday, absolutely lovely. Also bought my tickets for news year eve. Gonna be a good night. Beers good too.

Went to mayfly for Christmas works do. Brilliant night Great food Good beet Great fun was had by all. Staff much better than ever before Thanks

Sunday carvery is back! We had a great experience last week at The Mayfly Hawkinge. The carvery food was excellent and terrific value. The service is back to being friendly and professional. The Mayfly looked clean and well run. Finally I think they have turned the pub around. Highly recommend. I also booked a Christmas meal for a group of 11 friends and we were not disappointed. The service again was great, the food was great and plentiful. Nothing was too much trouble. It was superb value for money and the whole group was happy with the whole experience and said they would now return to The Mayfly.

Food was good. Service very slow, our table was booked for 1:30pm we got our food at 2:30pm. Should also be informed to order food at the bar.

I had a meal with some friends at The Mayfly last Friday and the food was good, the service was good and there was a very pleasant atmosphere. We will certainly be visiting there again.

Incredible staff offering great value for money with quality food. Definitely worth a visit,

Enjoyed a great evening, with great service and good company, would recommend it

Really friendly staff. Quick service. Food cooked perfectly. Comfortable relaxed atmosphere.

Great place for us to meet family and friend. New manager is turning the place around and making it a good place again. Will be back soon

Went to the Mayfly today for a belated birthday meal . Staff were lovely , polite , attentive and understanding , and the food was enjoyed by all of us . Will definitely be going back

Sunday Carvery, great value, but no signs outside to let you know the deals that are on :-)

We had booked a table for Sunday carvery with my Nan who struggles to walk long distances and immediately the staff were attentive and allowed her to sit down when she arrived which was very important to us, so thank you for the lovely warm welcome. We have been a few times before and the staff are always so friendly and approachable. Pub is always a lovely atmosphere and family friendly which is lovely to see. We have had the carvery there a couple of times and it is always so fresh and delicious. We will definitely be visiting again soon. Thank you very much!

Food came out on hot plates. As it should do. Good value for money.

We have been to the Mayfly 4 times since it became under new management. The first time the food was good but service was mediocre. But it has got better every time we have been. Yesterday was faultless. Made to feel welcome. Food was great. First rate.

Paul is lovely Thank god his taken over the pub Beautiful food Brill service Lovely drinks Chef is beautiful Chef is great Rob lovely and gives me lots of drink

Well I tried and was disappointed,asked for mixed grill,not available, ordered chicken burger very average,over an hour wait for only one course,tuna melt was very dry and over done baguette. Dirty toilets yuck, tables sticky, needs proper clean,one person bringing the food, serving at the bar and taking.away dishes. No wonder people come and don't come back,shame indeed.

Nice cosy pub. Decent prices. Friendly. Thanks. We'll come again.

Had a most enjoyable experience at the Mayfly. Visiting family in the area and we all came for an early lunch here. We were made to feel very welcome, one of our party is a fussy eater and their tastes were catered for. Next time we are in the area, we will be back. Thank you to all the staff.

If it was possible to rate it a 0 I would have. The company got my order wrong also it took 1 hour for my food to arrive the chip were nice though.

Food was lovely and plentiful, very good value for money

Great place for dinner, lovely food with good selection and lovely staff would definitely recommend and would come again

Great food, came out quickly with lovely staff and owner, would come again

Visited today for a funeral wake. The drinks prices are extortionate. All I can say. Barman very pleasant though.

Good place now to drink Cheapish beer Great atmosphere Will be back soon

New management and staff are so polite and helpful. Carvery is back and is great value for money and very tasty! Great atmosphere and very friendly. New management have done a great job we will definitely be back on a regular basis.

New management and staff are so polite and helpful. Carvery is back and is great value for money and very tasty!

Came with family, new management are very welcoming, food is great and comes out quickly. Would definitely recommend for a nice dinner out!

Amazing staff , good atmosphere , carvery is one of the best huge yourkshires and good meat choices would highly recommend on a Sunday afternoon x

Amazing changes since Paul has taken over, the Mayfly is coming back to being a community hub as it always should be. Lovely carvery, honest food and welcoming staff, thank you!

Visited for their Sunday Cavery. Greeted by Paul the host very friendly . Enjoyed a lovely Roast lots of Meat choices plenty of Potatoes Massive Yorkshire Puddings. All the staff were very friendly Definatly be recomending the Pub to friends and family Will be back again

My Goodness!! What an improvement. This new manager has certainly made strides in the right direction.We went for Sunday carvery. We were greeted at the door, shown to our table, served by pleasant staff....all in Mayfly t- shirts which looked good. Staff looked happy and were helpful. The carvery had a good selection of roasts, the vegetables were hot not overcooked, plates were hot and even the gravy was tasty. The desserts were yummy and all in all good value for money. For those who in the last year or so have given the Mayfly a wide berth, perhaps you might like to give it a ( second) try....its much improved and getting better.

Friendly staff good service Carvery on Sunday was great Pizza on Mondays great idea individual pizzas great toppings

I took my friend for lunch today I was very disappointed with the service . ordered 2 bowls of soup and waited 50min for it ,soup was nice but portions were very small

Excellent food though had to wait a long time, it was worth the wait as all cooked fresh. The place however needs some attention, looks like it needs a good clean for a start, also some of the drinkers at the bar were very loud and constantly swearing that much that the table opposite us got up and left leaving food and drinks.

A brilliant pub staff and food outstanding.

Great Sunday carvery at last one within a short drive, plentiful and great service. Paul the new owner was very attentive and we wish him luck, we’ll be back lots I’m sure, I can get away with the washing up.😂

Had a very warm welcome, my husband said that it was a very nice pint of Pedigree and the food we ordered was fantastic.

Please spend money on new cloths for wiping cutlery and tables. I would not even wipe the floor with the ones I saw staff using. Long waite for food when the place did not have many customers in. They did have a funeral party that arrived later, which did explain all the sandwiches under cling film sitting on the side when we arrived. Food was ok . Service was not the slick, but ok, both young girls learning the ropes.

The food was nice, good service and the beer was great.

I think after talking to staff, the problems I am about to mention are caused by the head office. 1. Mint In with the peas. Disgusting. 2. At the dishing up point, liquid from one thing was dribbling all over other stuff as it was at the back. The roast potatoes were raw with a skin. The gravey was flavoured water. Pros... Meat was good. Cabbage was nice. In conclusion; With no extra money being spent it could have been much better. Richard Harden

Booked. Replied to text messages as required. Arrived. Not shown to a table, or offered any assistance despite wheelchair guest. 45 minutes wait for simple fried food. Was told there would be a wait as only one person in the kitchen, but only one arrival. This could have been sent in a message. The message that gave me 5 minutes grace did not prove reciprocal.

Avoid this place awful food do not know how to deal with complaints unprofessional in every way

We were able to book on line and say how long we wanted. Greeted by Paul very friendly. A bottle of wine started at £16 and we ordered cheese, leek and potato pie chips and peas and a gammon steak. The food was hot and tasty. We paid at the end with friendly staff. We will be going back

Greeted with a smile. Ordered and was all fine. Waited over 50 mins for a baguette... at lunchtime these are standards.. that ling for basically a sandwich??? Black coffee was ordered... had chocolate in it, residue other bottom of cup and tasted of it. Either the coffee machine wasn't clean or you pressed the wrong button and couldn't be bothered to change it. Service was smiley enough but no recognition tht we had waited a stupid amount of time nor apology. Still got massive amount of work to do.

Had lunch here today and I can honestly say, it’s the worst experience I’ve ever had eating out. It took 20 mins to get a few drinks even with hardly anyone in bar. The meals all came out at different times. Food was dry, cold and very small portions and looked nothing like the menu pictures. As we were sitting on our table we noticed the walls were very dirty and hadn’t been wiped. The guy behind the bar gad filthy nails which completely put me off before we even got the food. Never again!!! It was horrible! This restaurant needs a massive overhaul on cleanliness of staff and restaurant. They are clearly short staffed and the staff then did have working seemed to be void of any training in dealing with the public. Big thumbs down 👎🏻

Do not visit always a disappointment! After all the hype about the new landlord making real changes and trying to raise standards and make a difference to what is our local pub we thought we would take a chance and have a Sunday roast, when we got to the pub I ordered a pint of pedigree (the only bitter they do) and it was very cloudy, took it back to exchange it and was poured another pint cloudy pint, I was refunded original cost then paid for a guiness ( the only other alternative), we then decided we would order 2 Sunday roasts, when we tried to order we were told we couldn't order any food as the kitchen couldn't cope 14:15 hrs. We have seen the reviews of where standards and service and food has improved, with our our experience today I cannot see that, a good recovery plan has to start with good customer service and satisfaction where they can deliver at least a food order without any disappointment !!

Excellent food. We had a roast and it was amazing. Fresh ingredients, excellent portion sizes. Lovely staff too

The Mayfly don't serve food on a Saturday and the days they do serve food it takes an age to come out. They give out vouchers for good reviews. Don't bother replying manager I'm not interested!

Had a great Sunday lunch my 3 friends had a roast I had the lasagna, we all agreed we had delicious food. We were well received friendly staff. Will definitely be going again and can’t wait for the Carvary goes into action 😻👍

Thought we would try The Mayfly, as it's under new management. Not been for a long time. Very impressed with the roast dinners we had and the service was good. We will return

Went to The Mayfly the other night for dinner with 7 friends. The new manager actually greeted us with a cheery good evening and asked if we were there just for drinks or would like to eat. He then showed us to a table and explained that the menus and table numbers were on the table and just to pop up to the bar when ready to order drinks or food. Lots of other people in eating, so thought there would be a long wait for our food. Pleasantly surprised when our food came out in about 20 minutes, a vast difference from the last time we went there. The food was hot and tasty and for 8 of us, we chose 6 different dishes, so well done to the new chef! The pub looked cleaner than ever and the gardens looked like they had been recently attended to. All in all, with the new manager and staff, everything looks like it is going the right way. Good luck and we'll be back!

This housing estate pub was very quiet on a Sunday night but the staff were friendly, helpful and on the ball. The beer was excellent and we enjoyed our visit. All good!

Staff are friendly and efficient. Food good except for clearly the veg for the roast being heated from frozen. All other food is good quality. I am not a fan of all the parents just letting their kids run around screaming and there is always at least two tables like that who don't know how to parent their kids. All round good place to eat if you are deaf and don't order the roast.

New management in the pub and we noticed a vast improvement.

Lovely place to come and visit with friends, family or on your own. Staff are nice and friendly. Good food ,good prices , easy parking. The lasagne ,burger dishes and fish and chips especially nice .

I have been reading on the local residence page that the mayfly has new management and has become much better. We used to be regulars but it went downhill. This time was great so we will be coming back. Looking forward to the Sunday carvery returning.

First time there, piping hot food, good menu and exellent quality. Will certainly return.

This restaurant has become better since the new manager has taken over. The food is good and so is the service

Excellent evening all round. 100% better than our visit 2 months ago. The new management have made a lot of improvements already and this really shows with the quality of the food. The staff are all friendly and a nice atmosphere. Looking forward to the Sunday Lunches and the Pizzas.

Ok, honest review. We were staying at the Black Horse campsite up the road before getting the Eurotunnel Apparently the manager has only been there 2 weeks so have to give him some leeway. Ordered 2 pies, one veggie other steak. I saw the guy filling up the gravy boat from the hot water coffee in the bar. When the pies arrived the guy serving them didn't know which was which, then try and get a knife through them the pastry was rock hard and I don't know how but the steak one was burnt from the inside out. The gravy was basically hot water. I suggested I went to lidl to get some granules. We spoke to the manager who apologised and got them remade. When the 2nd came out they were OK. Not great but better. I don't think it's hard to cook a fridge pie, the problem I think was the staff not knowing how to use the blast ovens. We didn't get offered a free drink or discount.

Had a lovely meal at the mayfly today (Sunday) was 6 of us and the service was great and the food was very good. So much better than our previous experience. The new manager seems to have everything running well. We was very impressed with our meals and desserts.

Popped in for a quick visit yesterday and I must say the new manager is lovely truly has tuned the place around will be visiting again

A lovely experience, good food, hot, well cooked. Menus on the table, welcoming atmosphere, friendly helpful staff. Good range of drinks and will be going back.

My local and always served by cheerful happy staff. I have eaten here a couple of times now and always found the food to be excellent. Will keep returning for as long as I live locally.

Great pub, great food and great staff. Paul and his team have already turned it around after being there for such a short time. The place looks a lot better than before. Food tasted amazing. 100% recommend this place as your go to place!

New owners have taken over and already the place is looking cleaner and brighter. The service both for food and drink has improved. We have been told that the outside will all be cleaned very shortly and inside the pizza oven will soon be operational and a new carvery is on its way for September. All looking good!

This place has now changed for the better. New manager and staff, Brilliant atmosphere, outstanding food, you would be hard pushed to find a better Sunday lunch anywhere. Kevin Bowles

A very poor dinning experience. Online booking system didn't allow for me to change the booking. The Roast Turkey and the Chips were not available for ordering. We had to wait about 75 minutes for food to be served even though the pub was not busy and when it came 1) the chicken was dry, as was the veg and mashed potatoes 2) there was no pigs in blankets as per the menu 3) the stiffing was a solid square 4) we had to ask for Gravy 5) broccoli was on a plate we had requested it not be on 6) Staff had no idea of the delays in the kitchen.

Do you like an average wait of 15 minutes to be served?

My wife and I are over 80 and Live in HAWKINGE, on a Sunday she said can you run me to a supermarket, as I need some groceries, Returning home, and on the spur of the moment, I said lets have lunch out, good idea, it better be local so you don’t have a long drive home, The mayfly was the choice, the first surprise the carpark was almost empty, the last time we had lunch in the mayfly on a Sunday it was full and we had to book, Can we book a table for lunch?, yes sit anywhere, good can I have a pint of X sorry it’s out, make it Y sorry it’s out, OK a pint of Z then sorry it’s also out, just give me a bottle of beer, Reading the menu my wife said, I think we had better go with a steak, it has to be fresh, sorry it’s out, Sunday roast was the big promotion, ordered, when it arrived we could not believe our eye’s, if it was Sunday lunch it was sunday weeks ( months ) ago, We both tried eating it and gave up, A life time of eating out across UK, Europe, and the world, it’s no wonder the restaurant was empty, BOZ1

This is, without exception the worst place I've ever eaten at.. upon arrival we were shown to our table, we weren't given menus so had to source them ourselves, we also weren't told how we needed to order. Chose nachos and then we waited for an age for our food to arrive. When it did, a scruffy member of staff came out and dumped our plates down, he then didn't ask if we wanted any sauces etc. We had to ask. The nachos were absolutely disgusting, they came out cold. The cheese was the cheap rubber cheese that you put on burgers, the salsa didn't really have anything in it, it was just a tomato sauce, and there was no soured cream, it was a synthetic sauce from a squeeze bottle, the guacamole was OK though. I had to leave most of mine as it tasted so awful. There were tables next to us that hadn't been cleared from the previous diners and remained this way the entire time we were there. We were the only people in there eating so no excuse. My daughter had scampi and has been really poorly this evening. In all of the previous (and many) poor reviews, the reply has been to email them to sort the issue, this has been the standard reply for months and even though management are reading these negative reviews and asking disgruntled customers to contact them, there have clearly been no improvements made. You need to invest in employing staff who can actually cook and train your staff in proper service.

We visited the Mayfly last night. Will never go back ! The service was terrible, when the guy bought our food out he spilt part of my husbands meal on the table & floor, then just walked off. The food wast the best.The football was on the TV, there were a few people watching it, the language was awful! Not what you want to hear when you're having a meal! I think the TV should be in a separate area to where they are serving food!

Been here loads over the years . Waiting on new management AGAIN! Food service slow . Well a joke really. Food quality very average. Young lad running the bar on his own was polite and helpful. Such a shame it goes down hill all the time ! Won’t bother going there anymore. Shame as it’s 2 minutes away but a complete waste of time and money. A basic menu that you can’t cook right ! Embarrassing for you!

When I walked in at 12pm the pub wasn’t ready for service as the staff were still running round doing jobs , I was asked if I had booked a table , I said I did and was told he hadn’t looked at his schedule , we’re not told if I was to order at bar or not , so guessed at the bar , person behind the bar looked miserable and smelt like cigerattes and was very disinterested in being there , food took nearly 40 mins to come out , this pub is a disgrace to the local community, 10 years ago it was such a well run pub but now , I think it should be shut unless someone can run it properly

Great meal, friendly staff, and showing the euros

Staff very attentive,would good atmosphere all round.

Popped in for a light lunch, my partner had a club sandwich which someone didn’t know how to make and the chicken was so try it was awful. My fish finger sandwich was over cooked too, and would have been better with goujons……… over all,very disappointing experience

Wouldn’t recommend this place to anyone. The ‘manager’ and two people behind the bar were not interested what so ever, the most slowest disinterested service I have ever received. The two behind the bar today then proceeded to make up a roll up on the bar, go outside to smoke on the tables and come straight back in behind the bar without washing there hands or sanitising the bar were the cigarette was made. Only seems slightly interested in the lads in guessing are regulars that are there just to drink. The young lad who bought out food was very polite and helpful. Food was average, we never expected anything amazing. Wouldn’t visit again.

Won’t be going back there again, They got our order completely wrong we asked for large and got small and when I said this isn’t what we ordered we got nothing in response apart from sort it out at the till and they might give you a discount not the sorry I was expecting or our order sorted out No discount or apology !

We visited at lunchtime and had their 3 course offer menu. Lovely fish goujons and cherry and apple crumble. Kids had kids menu which was standard kids stuff u can't go wrong with. Helpful friendly staff. A range of games dotted around to play at your table, which was good to entertain the kids whilst waiting. Deffo worth a visit for a value decent meal. Thank you!

Food was nice, the stuffing was slightly rubbery but overall we were really pleased with our meal. My partner had the fish and chips and said f was lovely, the beef roast dinner as I say was decent. I would recommend! The prices were fair also.

Food was fresh and served hot. I had a trio of starters and it came well presented Food tasted ok

The lack of service 😒 is shocking!!

Nice food service was ok fare prices we ate mid week good choice off food

Recently visited the Mayfly, upon arrival I ordered a coke, I heard in the background one member of staff tell the other than the coke had ran out and it was only Diet Coke for the rest of the evening. The member of staff did not comment or tell me that the drink I ordered was not available, they just continued to pour a Diet Coke and assumed that was okay, I let it pass as I am not that fussy. However when my food arrived the staff member dropped one of the onion rings on the floor and said “didn’t mean that” but didn’t apologies or offer to replace it, again as it was only 1 I wasn’t fussed. I asked for some Bbq sauce and the comment “you have some in the burger” was said. Now I think that is just poor service. As if we are on some kind of ration and aren’t allowed more than 1 squirt of sauce per customer. Poor service, poor food, high prices and awful atmosphere. Certainly wouldn’t return here unless there was some serious turn around of staff and ownership.

Guy behind the bar couldn't and didn't want to make cocktails. Was 2 tables eating. Waited a hour for one starter, Then another 40 minutes for the mains. Food wasn't worth the wait. If I didn't pay in advance I would have walked out.

We booked four people for Sunday roast when we went to order 3 of us were having roast dinner and my wife wanted a salad with a bbq cauliflower topping and some sweet potato fries However we was told no sweet potato fries so we changed that Dinners were served the two turkey dinners that did not come with pigs in blankets despite saying on menu but the worst was my wife was served some chips and then out came the bbq topping with no salad! When we questioned this I was accused by the staff of ordering the bbq cauliflower only and no salad The only problem there is no separate bbq cauliflower portion for one on its own I definitely ordered the salad as well but no effort was made to give us a salad When I got the bill I noticed I had been charged 4.99 for main that isn’t on the menu

Took 45 minutes to receive our food when there was only 1 other table, wasn't told when ordering that would be that long, other customers being overly loud from being drunk, wasn't nice when having kids trying to have dinner and covering their ears

Made an appointment for a certain time for the food to be ready as it was for a funeral afterwards and sandwiches were dry and they were not ready they were an hour late and horrible will not recommend it

Possible the slowest food service from a pub I’ve EVER had, when asking about food I was told 20 min! So we ordered for 5 people, 1:45 min later we finally got the most plan burger, scampi from a bag and fish which looked like birdeyes food, avoid this place if you want a decent dinner in decent time, if you’ve got 2 hours to wait for food then this is your place