Water Lane Walled Garden in Tunbridge Wells

Stunning setting, beautifully lit. Carnation house was lovely and warm under the heaters despite the chilly evening. Attentive and friendly service. Prompt serving of food and advice given on the menu. Food was absolutely amazing, personally I had the beetroot starter and the bavette as a main. The bavette was cooked perfectly and worked brilliantly with the pumpkin puree. Portions were more than ample and we felt that the pricing was bang on. All in all, we will definitely be returning, introducing more people to Water Lane and spreading the word!

Really terrible experience, the service was tragic with overwrought staff who just didn’t want to be there or care about their customers. The food was worse than any school dinner ever. The roast potatoes were black, tough and inedible. The crackling was tooth breaking and tasteless. Green ?kale over cooked. The leek and cheese sauce tasted great but looked awful. Thought it would be a great place to bring friends visiting Kent, but the atmosphere was of a restaurant completely up itself with out delivering on any level. And expensive.

The restaurant is situated in a quaint greenhouse that has seen better days but that doesn’t detract from the fabulous attitude and effort the staff put in to deliver great food. Adele was our main staff member with a super knowledgeable attitude and demeanour. We had a tomato and basil starter followed by a lovely fresh generous portion of trout steak surrounded by a beetroot jus/sauce. Truly fantastic with the ultra fresh greens and leeks and baby boiled potatoes. The freshness of the product is overwhelming. Do try the verbena/citrus drink topped with tonic! We finished with blackberry sorbet/ice cream as we were getting quite full. Lovely afternoon in the Autumn sunshine!

Ma and I turned up, with no reservation and two little dogs, welcomed with warmth and no issue. We had two non alcoholic cocktails and a dish to share. The weather was on side, and it felt like a Mediterranean escapade. The ice machine was down, and on asking, there was no more. Five minutes later I saw Nick the owner returning with ice - Water Lane truly is the 1% that care and have passion. Cannot recommend it enough and so looking forward to returning.

End of August looming, and this means vegetables are now ripe and ready to eat...so today I set off into the wilds of Kent to see a project to restore a walled garden, and to try their restaurant out. The food was lovely and the garden full of courgettes, dahlias and sweet peas! I bought a courgette and a bunch of maroon and peach coloured dahlias. Lunch was gazpacho in a glass, courgette risotto, and a goosberry tart to follow. All delicious and served by friendly staff.

Set in grounds of old garden centre with greenhouses, we ate outside. It was windy so rugs were provided. Stagg friendly and welcoming. Good beautifully presented and great taste with imaginative menu using seasonal produce. I had special requests which were easily dealt with and given tasty alternative dessert. Fresh lemon verbena tea a bonus. After lunch we wander around the kitchen garden. Small shop as well

An absolute pleasure as always to come and enjoy the food of the incredible chefs, Ben, Alfie and Grace. Every single time I am blow away by how incredible the food tastes. The venue is gorgeous and the staff are incredibly attentive to ensure you have the best experience. This is a must go for anyone for any occasion, it’s my favourite food spot.

We live locally to Water Lane Walled Garden, and it's an absolute gem to the local area! Before we moved to the local area, I believe it was a garden centre and its looked rather tatty from the photos we have seen online, but what has been now created is just lovely. The lovely couple moved up from Primrose Hill after running a very successful deli (I believe!) and its shows. From the produce they are selling in their monthly produce market, to the delicious foods and excellent array of classes they are offering, it can not be beat in the local area! I understand that some of the locals are slightly put out that this is becoming so popular and lovely due to the added and dare I say very sporadic traffic! BUT, honestly, done knock it til you have tried it.I actually spoke to someone that lives local, and she dislikes it, but when questioned if she had been...you can guess her reply! If you love honest quality grown produce, with a touch of glamour, served with a smile, then give this place a go!

Food, ambience. Service and value all 11/10. It’s in a beautiful setting, staff attentive, food fresh and delicious with generous portions. We could not fault it in any way, one to visit and revisit………

First time and invited old friends to join us thinking it was going to be very good,as their promo claims to be influenced by Petersham Nursary Restaurant near Richmond. Having been to Petersham Nursary many times unfortunately it is not remotely near that standard. The food is is over garnished barely edible garrden produce and cooked without any skill or sensitivity . Massively overpriced. And an experience not to be repeated.

Really quite special. Certainly unique and on a sunny day rather magical sitting in the walled garden under a canopy. Three choices for each course. Prices up to £10 for a starter and the most expensive main at £30. Food was interesting, creative and each course was delicious. And most of the vegetables were grown a few yards from where we were sitting. Staff were human, helpful and personable. We really enjoyed it and felt it was absolutely worth it. We will definitely go back.

Walking through the gate of this walled garden is almost like stepping back in time while combining the modern horticultural aesthetic of Dixter. The food is refreshing modern style and stands out from the rest of the pub grub offering of many other local places. In the summer you sit on under a sail with views of the vegetable garden incredible on a sunny day! In the winter the venue is in the surprising warm original greenhouses. This aesthetic is great. I was shocked to hear in 2023 they were inputting for planning for a modern Gravetye style glass box to sit in the garden. I feel this will change the historic vibe of this place that I love. With the Oak and Ivy ( almost next door) planning a similar big expansion and Birchwood down the road I do not know if they will become a victim of there own success of the go ahed with there plans. I would recommend visiting the pricing is on the higher side and almost max level for a chilled lunch but very good!

This restaurant has a lovely , idyllic setting in a beautiful walled garden. The seating is outside under a canopy so great on a sunny day , not so great when cooler or raining. We had lunch here which was pretty underwhelming I’m afraid. Tiny portions and very expensive, not much else to say really.

Water Lane is absolutely dreamy and must to be immediately added onto your list as a place you need to visit! The gorgeous surroundings are just the beginning of the wonderful experience you will have. Surrounded by flowers and own-grown produce, it is truly a one a kind outside restaurant. Innovative menus follow the seasons using local ingredients and always providing delicious food. The whole concept of Water Lane combines a lovely dining experience with a ward nursery, gift shop and multiple workshop opportunities. There’s a huge sense of community working together - as you sit and eat your lunch, you can watch the gardeners pottering around the garden, the chefs cooking your food from fresh and all of the hospitality staff working hard and ensuring everyone is fed and happy. I’ve already booked my next visit, I can’t wait to return! Make sure you visit the gorgeous gift shop on your way out! I’ll never fail to leave without a bunch of those flowers!

I went to the Walled Garden as a birthday treat for myself and a friend ( we both have birthdays in August). The venue is lovely, perfect place for a sunny summer lunch. The restaurant was at about 1/3 capacity The staff were attentive but didn’t know what some of the items in the menu were and had to ask the chef. We were offered water which didn’t arrive initially. When we asked again a small less than pristine decanter of room temperature water arrived. The glasses had no ice. My friend and I had the sardines to start. They were very tasty. It would have been nice to have a little bread along side. For our mains, my friend ordered the vegetarian option (which wasn’t great and she left a large portion of it - this was comped on the bill.) I had the belly of pork which was nicely cooked and the crackling was excellent. We had to order potatoes and salad separately. The salad had a lot of bitter herbs in it and the potatoes had been sitting around for a while. Mains followed by one pudding and to TINY flat whites We had no alcohol but did order a bottle of Kombucha (£20!) 12.5% added to the total and the bill ( which excluded one of the main courses) came to £109. I won’t be returning as I don’t feel that what we received justified the heavy price tag

Went for lunch, a bright, showery, blowy day. You can wander around the garden/allotment to see what they’re growing. The restaurant is open to the elements all round but is under a canopy. Menu changes often reflecting what’s available in the garden and greenhouses. In winter they move tables into a greenhouse. We didn’t book but went early and got a table - however, it filled up very quickly so booking is advisable. We had a shared starter/nibbles of Gordal olives, and artichoke and basil flatbread, both excellent. We pushed the boat out and had the turbot which was super, with roasted pink fir potatoes. Dessert was good, rice pudding tart with blackberry crème, and the Winnie’s Wheel cheese with polenta crackers. The coffee was excellent too. Service was friendly and attentive, a little amateurish …our bottle of wine arrived with the cork still in, which amused us. Prices are a little steep for out of town and such an unsophisticated location. But it’s an unusual experience to eat in the middle of a walled garden and upmarket allotment! There’s a gift/home wares shop selling local artisan products, plants and fresh flowers for sale and a produce market on Saturdays. There are big plans for further development so it will be interesting to watch. A very pleasant visit and we will return.

You’d be hard put to it to find a more delightful spot for a cafe/restaurant than Water Lane, tucked away in a walled garden overflowing with flowers and home grown vegetables. I’ve often met a friend there for coffee and cake, enjoyed its very special atmosphere and been interested in the proprietors’ developing vision for it. I haven’t tried a main meal there but can confirm that the cakes are delicious! One reservation, however, and that is the addition of a 12 1/2% service charge to the bill. I haven’t come across this before in the local area just for a mid morning or afternoon snack. I’m not sure what I would think if it were an addition to the bill for a full meal for a large party: opinions seem to be divided. I tend to think that staff should be paid a proper wage and not be dependent on tips, or if a service charge is levied that it should be optional and if paid definitely go to the staff. In other words not a way of disguising rising prices!

We went for lunch at this place which has a good local reputation, and we were very disappointed in the disorganised service and bland food. If you're going to market yourself with a menu that 'reflects our sense of place in the English countryside with a short and ever-changing menu, guided by the seasons', then you have got to follow through with that. If the food is local and seasonal, it really has got to taste like it; our experience was of dull food, indifferently served. It could have had any provenance or none. To begin at the beginning, first - the system is hopelessly inefficient. We waited forty minutes between ordering and being served. Nobody checked in on us.Is that reasonable? It didn't feel like it. The tables aren't numbered, so wait staff wander about, looking speculatively at tables to see if the food they have in their hands might suit the customers there. Come on! How hard is it to link an order to a table? Then they repeatedly got our orders wrong. I was given the wrong beer, my guests were given the wrong mains, one of the desserts was wrong. The wait staff are pleasant enough, but the whole place is rocking on the edge of falling to bits. But anyway, it's about the food, right? Nail the food, and the rest doesn't really matter. Did that work? No. Sorry. It was indifferent to poor. My hogget was tough and fatty; about a fifth of it was inedible. The green salad was slimy and tasteless; if there was any dressing on it at all it was a deadly boring one. The desserts, thank goodness, were OK - once they'd sorted out their own muddle. But ot's fifty quid a head for lunch, and the food simply isn't good enough for that price. My guests were distinctly unimpressed. And 'guided by the seasons'? Hardly. Kentish asparagus is the best in the world - but if you're serving it in July it has come from Peru. My non-alcoholic beer might have been justifiably called Feline Urine: there are some great 0% beers out there, like Moretti or Estrella; why go for the rubbish ones? The other diners were well-heeled looking, but one suspects that recent national press coverage has made this the place to be seen. If that's your motivation, go at once; but it certainly isn't the place to eat. It's dog-friendly, which is great - until two dogs take a dislike to each other and decide to share their opinion of each other with the whole place, when it just becomes a pain in the neck. Slow, inefficient service. Inadequate food. A not great atmosphere. Inflated prices. Poor value for money. What's not to like? - Pretty much everything. So in summary, Water Lane has pretensions to greatness, but it would do better to under-advertise and overdeliver. At present it's a faint echo of what it promises to be. If you think I'm enjoying panning the place, you're wrong. It gives me no pleasure to write like this: we went out to enjoy ourselves, hoping for a real treat. We didn't get one. I hope it improves, but we won't be going back to find out.