The Chequers, Forest Row

The website of this pub looked very promising. However, we met up with friends there for a meal last night and were extremely disappointed. Wish we had read the reviews of other people before we booked a table. When we arrived it was not very busy which did ring alarm bells. No need to book a table it seemed. The extensive menu on the website was very misleading as the actual menu available was very limited. Food was very expensive and poor standard. There seemed to be a lack of pride in the food presented and the service of the staff. We ordered Tiger Prawns as a starter but these had to be substituted for King Prawns as they had 'run out' and yet we still had to pay the same price for this. Alot of the meals on the menu were not available as again they had apparently 'run out' even though it was not busy in the restaurant at all. The four of us ordered a beefburger with cheese and bacon with salad and chips from the specials board as we were uninspired by any of the other expensive meals on offer. The burger was dry and not much flavour but at least it was homemade, salad was just a few lettuce leaves and chips were obviously frozen fries. Some tomato would not have gone amiss and this was all for �9.95 each. Not good value. The cheese used as a topping was stilton which was not made clear on the menu and highly unsuitable for myself as I am pregnant. When I questioned the waitress what cheese it was, I was told that she thought it 'looked like stilton'. I would expect waiting staff to know their ingredients. We decided not to have dessert as again the menu was limited and very expensive for what was on offer. Service was generally very slow and we had to ask for the menu's having sat at the table for some time being ignored. Our four meals were brought out in stages so we could not eat all at the same time. The staff all seemed to have a lack of pride in their work and this made it seem rather unwelcome. Particularly when they started to switch off the lights around us when we were still dining. I would not recommend this pub and we will not go back. It is such a shame as the pub is very old and seems to have a lot of character. It is just badly let down by the staff and management.

22 Aug 2010 12:39