Maidstone
The Boathouse

The Boathouse

Hampstead Lane, ME18 6HG, Maidstone, United Kingdom

Pub • Pizza • Steak • British


"We visited on Sunday lunchtime as a party of 7. I called twice to add to our party this was done efficiently. On arrival the car park was full. I had a disabled guest and the two disabled spaces were taken by cars with no badges displayed however luckily a small space came available so no harm however if this had not it would have been a long walk from the road and we would have probably thought twice about bothering. Anyway we were a bit early so decided on a drink outside as it was nice. The lady behind the bar was super friendly and helpful allowing a small taster of ales beforehand. Outside seating is pleasant overlooking the lock and is probably the selling point of this place. We went inside to eat and were slightly surprised no Sunday roast was on the menu and I think they are missing a trick there. Starters were wings, calamari, Welsh rarebit, mushrooms and Camembert and being brutally honest none of them were worth talking about. For the mains we had chicken burger, beef burger, pizza, pie and fish (haddock) and chips. The winner hands down was the haddock! A huge fleshy portion with nice batter. Pizzas were also nice, good base, burgers did as said on the tin but the pie was least favourite. We didn’t have puds as too full. In my opinion the food needs tweaking not the cooking, it was cooked perfectly well but the menu needs a bit of work as the choices were pretty uninspiring and dull. Now it sounds like I’m being negative but really the reason for the honest review is this place has so much potential because the staff here are lovely and really seem to want to make it a huge success. The lady on front of house was really bubbly and went over and above to make our experience good. Our waiter was delightful and discreet but there when u needed anything all smiley and pleasant. The restaurant itself is comfortable, bright and clean. All in all I would give 8/10. If the menu choice were better it would be at least 9.5. We will return again"

Fairfax

Fairfax

Maidstone, United Kingdom, ME17 1PL

Steak • Cheese • Fast Food • Ice Cream


"My husband and I stayed at the castle as a way of celebrating our wedding anniversary. The stay itself was lovely. Unfortunately, I wish I could say the same about our experience in the Castle View restaurant. I had emailed the restaurant prior to our stay to ask if we could bring a bottle of champagne to the table as it was a present for our anniversary. I did not receive a reply so we didn’t take the bottle with us. When we arrived at our table there was an ice bucket waiting for us. We asked why it was there to be told that it was for our champagne. I explained that we didn’t need it as no one had bothered to reply to my email. We were then told that the restaurant would have charged us a £27 corkage fee! A few pounds I can understand but £27, that’s ridiculous and we most certainly wouldn’t have taken them up on the offer. We then ordered a bottle of wine and our meal (all part of the package). The lady who served us was very polite and friendly and I have no complaints about her at all. The starter arrived but no sign of our wine. That eventually turned up when we had finished the starter. It wasn’t what we had ordered so we had to have a replacement and, there was no wine cooler. This, I had to ask for. The main course arrived which quite frankly was not particularly pleasant. Both my husband and I had ordered the chicken due to a very limited menu. I ate very little of my dinner. We didn’t complain as it had nothing to do with the cooking of the food, it just wasn’t up to the standard one would expect when dining in a castle restaurant and, considering that the charge for the main course were £24 each, we expected better quality. We then decided to pay the extra £8 for a desert as we were still hungry. I ordered the ice cream; £8 for three small scoops of ice cream was pretty harsh. We also had breakfast the next morning as part of our package. The breakfast itself was lovely but the service was very slow. This was extremely worrying as we had to check out by 10.00 which, in my opinion was too early. The staff, although friendly bar one, take far too long to take orders. We also witnessed a bird fouling one of the outside chairs. This was reported to a member of staff who wasn’t in the slightest bit bothered. I pity the poor guest that ended up sitting on the seat! Overall, a wonderful experience at the castle, grounds and accommodation but very disappointing in the restaurant. A shame, as this really lets the castle down and, for this reason, we will not be returning or recommending."