The Bickley, Chislehurst - pub details
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Address: Chislehurst Road, Chislehurst, Kent, BR7 5NP [map] [gmap]
Tel: 0871 951 1000 (ref 23698) - calls cost 10p per minute plus network extras
Website: http://www.thebickley.co.uk
Chislehurst (0.2 miles), Bickley (0.8 miles), Elmstead Woods (0.8 miles)
Pub facilities/features:
- Food served (Lunch 12:00pm - 3:00pm, Dinner 7:00pm - 10:00pm, Afternoon Tea 3:00pm - 6.00pm (Mon - Sat)), Sunday roast (The Bickley Sunday Service - Served 12:00pm - 6:30pm), Cocktails
- Outside seating (The Bickley Walled Garden boasts rustic seating set into floral & herb planted bays & a roof terrace), Children allowed, Credit cards accepted, Car park
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> Current user rating: 6.3/10 (rated by 22 users)
> Hotels nearby: Search
> Local guide: Kent pub guide
other pubs nearby:
Imperial Arms, Chislehurst (0.2 miles), Ramblers Rest, Chislehurst (0.3 miles), Tigers Head, Chislehurst (0.6 miles), Crown, Chislehurst (0.8 miles), Widmore, Bickley (0.8 miles) - see more nearby pubs
user reviews of The Bickley, Chislehurst
please note - reviews on this site are purely the opinion of site visitors, so don't take them too seriously.
5 most recent reviews of 20 shown - see all reviews
| We spent Christmas Day at the Bickley Arms paying £85 a head. Four adults and two children. The experience was a great disappointment. The funiture was rickety - we saw one chair collapse under a not very large man and all of our chairs wobbled. The children's first course consisted of three cheap sausages - not top of the range sausages but more like frozen Wall's sausages. The main course was disappointing in that the potatoes tasted like ones we used to have at school and the turkey wa clearly carved off a prepared roll of meat ad not a proper turkey. The vegetables were ok but that was about it. The deserts were ok although one consisted of only cream from a can and was far too sweet. The children's "desserts" were one smal lump of vanilla ice cream - all for £85!! The coffee was lukewarm. The service was slow and despite asking for the bill three times, the maitre d' seemed far more interested in flirting with a group of four young women thn actually getting the bill. It eventually came after 20 minutes and that was an hour after the dessert had been served. The "pub" is no such thing - grossly over priced, over decorated with second rate beer, third rate food and a fourh rate attitude to customer service. Avoid... mithrandir1967 - 28 Dec 2011 14:55 |
| I was taken here as a Fathers day treat, by my son (aged 2 1/2). My wife only booked it during the week of Fathers day, so when she was told that the Sunday was fully booked (now doubtful given other reviews and our experience…) we went on the Saturday instead. Friends had recommended the Bickley to us, (who are “Foodies”) so we had thought it would be nice… On arrival, three people ignored us. Firstly, by the barman, then a waiter and then a waitress. It just made us feel like a nusence. What price a smile? Not a great start. After walking into the restaurant and announcing that we had booked to the waitress that had ignored us we were then shown to a table. We ordered two Bucks Fizz’s and an Apple juice. The Food My son had boiled eggs and soldiers – Fine! My Wife had the smoked cod fishcake. It was a large ball of smoked cod that was not cooked well, as it was stodgy in the middle. It seemed to us that something that big could not be cooked through properly if the outside was not to be incinerated, and so it proved. Side of Green salad. I had the Rump Steak ‘Fillet Cut’ steak. I ordered it medium rare, but it came grey ¾ the way through and raw in the middle. It seemed to me that it was cooked when still chilled too much from the fridge, so while it felt like Medium rare, it was actually overcooked/raw. Chips were nice, but the side of beans/cabbage seemed a bit mean. With hind site I should have complained, but as it was a treat from my Son (Wife) so I kept quiet. (Regretted later) For Pudding I ordered the summer pudding that was also disappointing. It was tiny, dry and accompanied by clotted cream and three small dabs of fruit. It was just way to dry, as a dish with no juice. I sent it back. My wife and son both had ice cream that was nice. Service While the waitress and waiter we had were pleasant enough, the manager/bloke in a suit walked around un-smilingly, ignoring everyone. I didn’t see him speak to anyone, staff or patrons. I made a point of looking at him on three occasions, nothing! Now if you are going to charge what they do, the least I would expect is a smile. I think you can do that for free, but it does take a bit of thought. Having sent the summer pudding back I would have expected the manager to come and enquire as to what the issue was, but nothing! Bill The bill arrived correct except the summer pudding was still included. When this was mentioned to the waiter he immediately agreed to remove it (and by now less than impressed) I curtly tolled him to take the 10% service charge off. This he did and promptly brought the new correct bill back, and I paid the £70. On the day they were not busy, six tables max. The interior décor is what I would call crass/flash and coupled with the iffy service and under welling food makes for a disappointing experience. Summery Don’t bother! Un-solicited Advice… Don’t spend loads on hideous décor; get someone in the Kitchen who cares what leaves it and front of house, welcome people and Bloody Smile! … oh and sort the leaking roof wile your at it! MatthewC - 19 Jun 2011 10:20 |
| A great shame... I have a lot of respect for the abilities of the management team as they have turned this place around over the last few years but I do think Terry (the owner) has taken his 'grand plan' one step too far. The recent refurbishment does (in some ways) say 'quality' but the new and overwhelming emphasis on food and the restaurant totally alienates any one with a young family. And the number of conversations I've had with other young parents endorses this view. Before the refurbishment my wife and I would go along to the Bickley for a couple of drinks/meal every couple of weeks and we take our kids on a sunday once a month. The restaurant, which was already quite pricey for gastro-type food is now more expensive and absolutely child UNfriendly. Despite claiming to cater for children this is clearly not the case, either in their approach to children, or, more importantly the menu, How many 2-10 year olds want to eat a selection of fine english cheeses? And what happened to the simple food? This is just my view of course but I know several other couples who feel let down by the new strategy (and I have even heard strangers discussing the same thing at a railway station) to the point where they won't now go to the pub. I must admit I am beginning to feel the same way. We were quite loyal to this pub but it can't even cater (or even tolerate children, in terms of facilities) then its loses my loyalty and will have to win it back. Really sorry to write this but I want the policy to be carefully re-considered. The pubs biggest problem used to be a high turnover of bar staff and those they employed were all youngsters who had no interest in working there. The waitresses in the restaurant were more friendly. I haven't read most of the below reviews to avoid being swayed but I would agree that the clientele they should be looking to harness is the 25-45 range and not: a) the younger crowd that hangs around the outside making the place look slightly unsavoury..... b) the 50+ age bracket ie those who's families have grown up and left the family nest. I wait in hope, but for now I have no interest in going back to the Bickley. In the meantime there are two other pubs in the area that certainly do entertain the idea of a family dining experience and do it well. Jem10 - 13 Mar 2011 17:52 |
| A group of us went for a meal to the Bickley a couple of weeks ago and although a nice time was had by all I must confess that I found the experience a bit lacking in taste.. Credit where credit's due - the new look is lovely. Congratulations to the owner for actually recognising that bringing in a professional designer and doing the place up properly is worth the effort. Although the decor will begin to look dated quite quickly, hopefully the owner will keep reviewing that and won't let the look go stale. I also liked the logo/signage/graphics and the colours - very stylish. There are areas where it goes a bit too far (ie. the way the menu pricing is written, which is a bit passé in design terms) but generally it's a huge, huge improvement on what the place used to be like! The minus points.. The food, although it looked good, seemed to be somewhat lacking taste-wise. We started with nibbles which were lovely, but none of us enjoyed our main course as much as we'd expected, lack of natural flavour & seasoning being the main complaints. I had the chicken, which was slightly overcooked & a bit dry, with potatoes that lacked seasoning and crushed broad beans with pesto. But where was the pesto? Was so subtle that I couldn't taste it. Or someone downstairs had forgotten it. Another main sampled was the fish & chips, which was all a bit limp, and the fishcake main with samphire was also deemed to be lacking in flavour. For dessert the pineapple tarte tatin was okay, but the ice-cream, supposedly coconut and lime? I think! Again - couldn't taste it. The caramel from the tarte tatin drowned out any flavour there. (And please don't think that my palate is geared to over-flavoured, processed foods as this is definitely not the case - I cook from scratch with natural ingredients daily & never eat processed or over-seasoned foods. And I wasn't drinking alcohol that night either!) The staff were polite but didn't smile, and the female staff looked like WAG wannabees.. and as the night went on the place began filling up with over-confident, loud men who obviously fancied their chances with themf! So, all in all - okay - and the prices were okay, I think, but for me, just a tad lacking in taste, generally. Unlikely I'd go back but I'd say that if you think that the height of good taste is having a 4x4 with a private number plate spelling out your name or initials, then this is the place for you! ;) CMOr - 26 Apr 2010 13:34 |
| The Bickley is no longer a pub, more of a restaurant really. Me and a couple of girlfriends were enjoying a drink in the so called bar area but after sitting down for 10mins the barman came over and slapped a piece of paper down on to our table saying RESERVED and said we had to move in 20 mins. I get the impression that if your not eating, you aren't welcome. We left when our time was up as we didn't want to stand all evening. chislehurstkent - 15 Mar 2010 16:21 |
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