The best restaurants serving British food in Hartfield Wealden South East

Do not eat here! It was shockingly overpriced. A frozen pizza for nearly £18. When asked if it was crush we were first told ‘yes’ then ‘the base is not the toppings are’ finally, ‘it was ordered in’. When I complained we were then ignored as a table whilst the waiter fawned over another couple obviously ignoring our attempts to get his attention. He was sarcastic when finally I called for him and sent over a young extremely pleasant and delightful younger female waitress. I asked the. To remove the pizza from the bill which they did but again left the young waitress to deal with the entire situation. Bad meals happen. The way you deal with it shows the kind of establishment you are. I strongly advise you not to waste your time or money. We are here as the menu was more accessible than the restaurant for the children we had with us. We made the wrong decision.

We were looking forward to a nice family meal for a birthday celebration and booked the tasting menu. On arrival at 6.30pm the restaurant was very quiet but we assumed that was because we’d booked early due to childcare etc. There was a pianist playing and the ambience made us think we were in for a real treat. We ordered some drinks before the first course as we had preordered wine for when the food came. These drinks took over an hour to arrive and had to be chased several times despite there only being about 5 tables of people. When the food started to arrive, at each course we had to ask what we were being served. There is a sample tasting menu on the website but only for the meat option and not for anyone who is vegetarian. It also states as a sample menu not the actual menu. The waiters had no idea what they were serving us. On the first course I asked what I had expecting an explanation as you get as standard in all other fine dining tasting menus I’ve had and I was told “it’s beetroot” - ok I can see that but beetroot with what? On to the next course after another 45 min wait which was bone marrow for the meat eaters. Despite pre booking the vegetarian tasting menu I had to chase my food as everyone else had finished eating their course before mine arrived and had I not chased I’m not sure I would have got it. When it arrived I asked what it was and was told Gorgonzola. Again what does this come with? The next few courses were painfully slow and again the wait staff could not explain a single dish to anyone on the table. As the wine flowed and the food didn’t materialise those who were drinking were getting tipsy. By the pudding course, those with children had to leave and so didn’t get their pudding or coffee and petit fors course. When the creme brûlée finally arrived close to 11pm the blackberry sorbet on the online menu was missing off every plate and some plates had shortbread biscuits on but others didn’t so we had to ask yet again for those who had been missed. When we were offered the coffee at 11pm no one wanted it as we were tired and getting irritated. The restaurant was entirely empty at this point and the staff were setting up for breakfast the next day around us while we waited for the dinner that would never end (and not in a good way.) One of our party did complain to management but I’m not sure what was said. For a highly rated restaurant the experience was sorely lacking. The wait staff need proper training in how to present a tasting menu not just slap down a plate and walk away. The kitchen was painfully slow for a restaurant that was mostly empty and no where near capacity- it was absolutely not worth the price slapped on it.

Excellent food, sublime service, comically low ceilings. Judy and Matty (Mati?) are probably the best staff we've ever encountered. EVER.

Stephen and the Babylon team were brilliant, looked after 12 of us really well with great coffee and everything from gorgeous looking BLTs to delicious cakes (I can personally recommend both the Coffee Cake and the Lemon & Elderflower). The greenhouse is a hidden gem so you can be out in the daylight and still be warm even on a grey old day!

Went in for a light snack this afternoon very well priced amazing staff such a warm vibe

I have already reviewed this in the main hotel site. The drawing rooms are lovely, comfortable chairs, beautiful view, BUT the food and wine by the glass were truly awful. Very poor quality and very expensive. Never again.