This review is a overall review as i've been here four times, The Curlew is just pure brilliance,…read moreevery single visit just blows me away and i find something else i love about this place, weather it's the beautifully cooked food, super friendly staff or the wonderful array of drinks on the menu, i just love every aspect of The Curlew and have no doubts that i will be back in the near future.

We really like this place. We ate here a few nights ago and returned here last night. Our meals…read morewere excellent and the service was great. We will return.

We only discovered The Great House through walking leaflets picked up at our nearby B&B - what a…read moregreat way of enticing people in, more country pubs should do this! It's a little hard to find but once we finally arrived we set of on our two hour walk, and at the end popped in for a rewarding pint! We didn't stop for food on this occasion but the menu looked fantastic and the pub itself is beautifully decorated. The pub dog, a beautiful King Charles Spaniel, is another good reason to visit! There are ten walks in total, varying in distance, but all starting from the pub. Apparently there is a reward if you complete all ten - that sounds like a challenge I would like to accept!

We stopped here for lunch yesterday hoping for a home cooked meal and boy did we get a home cooked…read moremeal. My husband had the Steak and ale pie and he can't stop talking about it, I had lamb shanks also delicious. Huge meals served with mash and veg. As the meal was so good we decided to have dessert and we weren't disappointed. Best pudding I have ever had. The staff were lovely and friendly the barman even shaking our hand when we left! Wish this was our local we would be here every week .

The best cod and chips I ever had on Britain.read more

The Castle Inn in Bodiam is a barely a cannon ball's trajectory from Bodiam Castle itself. We…read morestopped by at this pleasant country pub, before heading to the castle itself, for a Sunday lunch. We were well pleased but hardly blown away. The place was in minor chaos with a long queue at the bar when we arrived. It was almost as if they were taken aback by the fact that people might stop by for lunch on a sunny Sunday afternoon at 2. But we got there in the end. I had roast beef. I was personally disappointed that this Shepherd Neame boozer, within sight of hop farms and oasthouses, didn't serve a pint of one that brewer's sensational brown beers like Spitfire or even Masterbrew but I had to settle for Oranjeboom lager. Not much of a compromise, as it turned out. Some minor quibbles. At close to a tenner for roast, I do think the cutlery can be delivered to the table. I also don't think sachets of horseradish and mint sauce (she had the roast lamb) cut the mustard. (The mustard came in sachets too, now I think of it!). How about little ramekins of these vital condiments? Also: spuds. Three spuds is a stingy serving on a roast dinner. Let's have four or even five. It's not too much to ask. More potatoes!

Service ladies and gentlemen, that's the bonus with Castle Inn. I have loads of food allergies and…read morethe waitress, owner, and cook all immediately jumped on getting me something I could actually eat. They personally came out to work through things and were in no ways annoyed or flustered with the amount of special requests I had to make. The pub defied EU tradition and was open on a Monday to catch us tourists visiting Bodium castle. With the food you got what you payed for. I payed 12 pounds for salmon and penne that was actually quite good, but suffered a bit in the pasta department.

Wow, what a difference new ownership can make. This place has COMPLETELY transformed. It is easily…read moreone of the best pubs in the area on all levels. Friendly staff, prompt service and simply exquisite food. Really solid pub food, not pretentious, not over-produced, just delicious and plentiful. I cannot get over how good this place has become - really shows what a change of direction can yield.

The Woodcock has indeed changed hands again and I can personally vouch for its huge improvement…read more Bustling with lunchtime patrons, even on a damp summer weekday, the landlord/owner was rushed off his feet. Nevertheless, the service was friendly, prompt and he even made time to bring a bowl of water for the dog and answer questions. The summer lunchtime menu is simple and mainly consists of sandwiches but all served on a choice of delicious breads and using the freshest and tastiest of ingredients. I 'customised' my order, due to food allergies, and this was done willingly and correctly not a usual occurrence. The winter lunchtime menu will include more choice and hot dishes. The new evening chef has only been in operation for a couple of weeks. We studied the menu, which is well thought out, uses local produce whenever possible and is well priced. I could happily make a complete meal from a choice of 'starters' but I also hear that the lamb and the rabbit are particularly delicious. It is excellent to see this charming and popular pub right back on form again and I certainly look forward to an evening meal when I am next in Benenden.

What a brilliant pub, I have got to say, we all had the best day and night out ever…read more It has such a great atmosphere, you have just got to go there to see it for yourself. If I could rate this pub out of 10 it would have to be 11 Well done to the chef, lovely steak :-)

Talk about a hidden gem. Warm friendly locals kind of vibe. Feels like you are having dinner in…read moresomeone's home. We had pork shoulder and flank steak. The meat was exceptional and the whole meal was absolutely delicious. Top notch friendly staff and delicious cold local beer makes me want to return again! Menu is small and changes daily on chalkboard. You can't go wrong here.

This is a very small pub, very small indeed. However, once you get past that the staff are…read morefriendley and the food is good. The menu here is always very short abd from time to time they will then say "Sorry just run out of this or just run out of that" When the menu is so short (Trust me....i mean short) remove one of the dishes and you may struggle to choose something. Having said that, this is just a part of this pub, take it or leave it. I have been quite a few times so i guess i accept it for what it is. Now, after all that please dont be put off by the above. The food is good, indeed very good. Food is basic but at the risk of repeating myself it is good. I think they do what they do very well. They focus on a short menu and try and get those few dishes just right. I think they do this very well, and it's a lesson that others could learn from. Do a small amount and just make sure it's good. Because the place is so small it's almost impossible to not talk to the staff. Nice bunch of very helpful people. All balanced up, apart from being very small (Did i say the place was small?) it's worth a visit. Well done keep it up.

I joined some friends for a week in Hawkhurst. They told me about the Queens Inn and then it just…read morebecame our go-to place for dinner three times! I loved my fish and chips. The mushy peas were the BEST!

Such a great hotel!!! So friendly and clean. Food and drinks are excellent and everyone here is…read moreextremely accommodating!!! This is a must stay if you are in 1066 country.

Nice pub an in a nice setting the food is good and a large choice of beers and ales its a bit…read moredissapointing they dont sell steak meals

The Rainbow Trout used to be favourite of ours for family celebration meals and we also often…read morevisited for lunches. It was taken over and 'went downhill' so we, along with many other regulars, found different venues. However, the 'Trout' is now in yet another pair of hands and so we booked for last Saturday evening to see what it was now like. Our hearts sank when we entered as the bar was empty and looked pretty cheerless. When I asked for a dry sherry the barmaid could only offer me an Amontillado but she tried to be helpful. The restaurant then came as a pleasant surprise. The food was very good and plenty of it too. The service was good - friendly and, considering a large party was booked in that same evening, quite quick. Not a fancy menu. We had Shoulder of Lamb (hubby) and Lamb rump steak (me). Pretty basic selection of starters - garlic mushrooms, pate etc. then fish, steaks etc. and some vegetarian options (although not all available that evening). The deserts are mainly icecream based but there was a fruit salad and a fruit crumble on offer as well. Our bill for starters, mains and one desert and coffee came at just under £50 which we thought was quite good value for a Saturday night and the standard of the food we had. The house wine proved quite acceptable and not expensive. Apparently lunches are cheaper and Sundays there are at least 3 roasts on offer for around £8. The Rainbow Trout is in a delightful location and has superb views over the Weald from the rear (if you visit in daylight hours of course). It also boasts a large carpark plus outdoor seating if you wish to enjoy a drink in the fresh air. The conservatory (with doors permanently open) is now used as a smoking area.