I have visited this establishment twice this year, and will not return for a third as both visits were almost identical. The table service was shockingly bad. Despite being sat right next to the servers computer where they enter the orders, we were never checked on to see if the food was OK, or if we needed more drinks. Waited 20 minutes for a server to pass and notice our empty glasses. We only had 2 drinks each in the entire 3 hours we were here. The food took an eternity to arrive, and when it did, all of the tables meals were missing the roast potatoes...off a Sunday Roast?! Ordered a vegan dessert for a dairy allergy sufferer at the table, because it said it was vegan on the menu. It was brought to the table with dairy ice cream. When I made the booking, I was told we could only have the table for 2 hours. Which would have been fine except we were there for almost 3 hours due to the slow service. We also witnessed a supervisor/manager drop clean cutlery on the floor, to then pick it up and set it a table with it. I wouldn't have minded the slow service had they been rushed, but there were a number of empty tables, and many of the serving staff were dithering about, which suggested they weren't all that busy.

Lovely food for all 3 courses, we had the festive set menu which still had a good choice. The bar was very busy as you entered but it didn't affect the restaurant. It was priced very well for a little bit of a 'special' dinner for certain occasions. And finally the staff were all attentive, well presented and gave great service. A 5 star review for our visit.

The food here was very good. I had the Pan-Fried Scallops for starter and the Sea Bass Fillets for main. Forgot to take any pictures, but it was presented well and we didn't wait long for it. They didn't have our first choice of red wine, but we managed to find a suitable alternative. Service was friendly but little slow at then end of the evening (the staff were just busy, certainly not stood around chatting). There was a strange drain smell by the front door which wasn't the ideal start, but it wasn't present in the restaurant thankfully. Will definitely visit again, good food & service at a reasonable price.

Ambiance was lovely, food really good but service was shocking. We wasn't offered any water when being seated. When ordering had to repeat several times and even had problems when showing on the menu, also wine took over 10 minutes to arrive and was just left on the table unopened and we was left to pour it ourselves. After the first course our napkins were taken and not replaced. The meal was very nice but for 2 starters, 2 mains ,1 side and a bottle of red, £115 was to expensive considering the bad service

Went for brunch this morning - 4 adults in total. Lovely full English breakfast for 2, eggs Royale for 1 & eggs Benedict for 1. Great food, great drinks & great service. Thank you

Really love this pub for the occasional meal with the family. Have to say food wasn't great last time and the price is a bit higher than other places so expect it to be better. Good service, although too many waiters / waitresses looking after one table, so kept being asked the same things again and again. I hope it's better next time as I really like the atmosphere here.

Great place. Right from the start, the welcoming was great. Food was very tasty and our server was very helpful and attentive. We have scallops for starter, stake for main and chocolate bomb for dessert and could not fault it. The stake was so soft, ever when we ordered it medium well. We will go back.

I was staying in the area and was previously taken by family. I enjoyed it so much I took a friend. We were made to feel welcome and the service was great, attentive without being intrusive. The food was delicious and well presented. A lovely experience.

Not the first time that we’ve been and definitely not the last! The Derby Arms is essentially our local and we are very grateful for it. We appreciated David’s attentiveness and couldn’t have asked for anything more this evening.

OUTSTANDING, thank you Matt & Elliot !!! I went for Sunday lunch at The Derby Arms with my family (6 of us in total). Firstly we were greeted at the bar by very friendly staff who organised and directed us to our table. It was fantastic, we were tucked away and felt like we had the room to ourselves although the restaurant was busy. The lovely young men who were serving us and taking our orders were absolutely faultless. They were so good I took their names to write this review. Matt and Elliot!! They were friendly, funny and incredibly helpful. Nothing was too much trouble when swapping things around from the menu. The food was wonderful, we had various roasts, a chicken burger and fish and chips, all of which were incredibly nice. I did overhear that they were a couple of kitchen staff short that day but I would never have known. The dishes were served promptly and were all hot. The deserts were fabulous too. All in all, I highly recommend a visit, especially for a Sunday lunch where you may be lucky to get Elliot and Matt serving you (although every staff member we came across was lovely) Thank you guys you really made our day 👍🏼👍🏼

Very friendly staff and good food at a fair price. Nice atmosphere here too. 👌

Warm and welcoming public house restaurant with real fire in winter. Restaurant, or comfy bar area. Also outside seating. Good food, including vegetarian options, and good sized portions. Medium pricing. Pleasant staff. Ample parking at rear. Find it down small slip road running parallel to main road across top of Epsom race course.

We decided to book at the Derby Arms, because of all the great feed back from friends and family. This was the first time my husband and I had been out for Christmas Day lunch. Well it was fantastic. From the moment we walked in you got the biggest smile from the young lady serving drinks. They were so busy the atmosphere was great, everyone happy and smiling. We were shown to our table next to the fire place felt very comfortable and romantic. The food was amazing. I had the Baked Scallops to start and I could eat those everyday They were delicious, the Turkey was so moist and very filling. My husband had the soup which he really enjoyed and Beef Wellington which he said was cooked perfectly. We both finished with the Chocolate Ball. That was Devine. 5* service from James he was such a nice guy. Just got to say FANTASTIC

Myself, my wife and my son enjoyed Christmas lunch at the Derby Arms yesterday, having booked it several months in advance. The entire experience was great. We were seated in a comfortable alcove by a window, which was a good start. The food was glorious and the portions generous. And finally, even though they were obviously busy, the serving staff were both friendly and obliging. We therefore had the most enjoyable and relaxing Christmas lunch we could have wished for, without all the stress and hassle of doing it ourselves, at home. So would we go there again? We absolutely would! Well done to all at the Derby Arms. 👏👌

Possibly the worst pub bar I have ever been in. It takes ages to get a drink. Would not attempt to order food. You can clearly see the staff are under a lot of stress. Because of the lack of them, they did their best, but this is a managerial problem. Who when I spoke to highlight the obvious issues was rude. I have run pubs for over 15 years and it's clear what the issues are. The place itself is a nicely decorated building with a nice outside seated area. It is in a superb location also. But unfortunately it is not being run to it's full potential. I have visited on several occasions and it's always been like this, unhappy staff irritated customers and an air of frustration. I stopped going now as I gave it enough chances to improve but to my knowledge it's just the same.

Very Busy Pub looks cozy but at times a little drafty due to access doors at either end of dinning lounge. Food quantity and quality very good. Service level excellent everyone pleasant and polite. Would definitely recommend

Pleasant afternoon on a Monday spent in the sun with nice food and a busy garden making a nice atmosphere for a Monday. Good service, food was lovely. Looking forward to a return trip.

I like the Derby Arms as they are pet friendly and they serve a dam good Sunday Roast with all the trimmings . Can be busy so book if you want to go. They also have a more formal side where dogs are not allowed. I summer this is a fantastic watering hole with outside area to sit and being high up on Epson downs alongside the Racecourse. We have walked there on many an occasion.

We went on a Monday with 2 children, so they weren't busy but still plenty of diners. All staff were attentive and helpful. We decided to go all out on our menu choices - the beef and Gloucester cheese pie and the belly pork with a scallop. Both are very tasty.

Me and my partner attended on Saturday for the first time. The food was lovely; and reasonably priced. However, our waiter Matthew was even better. He was so warm and welcoming even having moved tables a few times as it was cold. He couldn’t do enough for us. Probably the best customer service I’ve ever received at a restaurant. :) we will be back!

Thanks to the Derby Arms for a great time. The meal was superb and the staff lovely. Even though the place was extremely busy the service was excellent I highly recommend the salmon in the chowder sauce - delicious

Sorry but we were very disappointed! We had mushrooms for a starter and the bread was stale, mushrooms were nice.though. We ordered hamburger and a chicken burger and the chicken was over cooked and dry, lettuce was all shredded so not the decryption it was described on the menu! Chicken over cooked and a lot of spicy bbq sauce. . they covered it in so much all I could taste was bbq sauce and over cooked chicken. The hamburger was burnt the only thing which was nice was the chips. If I was sooo hungry I would have taken it back. Very disappointing not worth the money

This is our usual venue for celebrations both because its local and because usually its a well priced great food - but based on my experience last night I wont be going back for a while. A number of things went wrong, and any one on its own would have just been put down as bad fortune, but all together suggests that the owners of Derby Arms are trying to offer a fine dining experience but not backing it up. 1) I booked online and mentioned the booking was for my wife's birthday, and at no point was this mentioned. In its self this wasn't an issue as she never likes the attention of it, but it does suggest that nobody paid attention to the note made under "special requests and dietary issues" - so does suggest that if I'd made a dietary comment it may also have been ignored here 2) They brought out the wrong starter, firstly the server seemed to be expecting me to accept what he brought out, and then returned to the kitchen to get what had been ordered - which did arrive very soon after. The lady who took our order came to apologise and blamed the kitchen, but given the same item was on our bill it was clearly her error. 3) The waiting staff were very pleasant but not very attentive. This was highlighted best when the server arrived with our main course and our starter plates had not been taken away. A bit of juggling later (thankfully there was a spare table nearby) all was sorted 4) When you order a £30 steak you'd expect decent meat, served well - Not on a wooden block with chips in a cup (very pub styly) 5) Both steak meals had things missing, my wife had no chips and I was missing the extra onion rings ordered. Once highlighted they arrived in good time When you're paying £75 a head for a pub meal you really expect many of these mistakes not to be made - and there is every chance we were just unlucky.

Popped in for lunch while revisiting Epsom, the Derby Arms is situated close to the main stand and provides a great view of the course. We hadn't booked but managed to get a great table for two close to the real wood fire. The staff were extremely professional and polite, The lunch 2 course menu was exceptional value with a great choice of food for all tastes. For starters i had the creamed mushrooms my wife had the prawns, for mains I had the fishcakes my wife had the gammon all of the food was fabulous and piping hot. Definitely go back again next time we are back in Epsom.

We live locally so have been here a few times, unfortunately our visits are always quite rare given the overall poor experiences we’ve had. We wanted to give it one more try today with family for Boxing Day, and whilst it was busy the service was abysmal. First our table wasn’t ready until 45 min after our booked time. Then it took 3 hours to serve a three course meal. We constantly had to ask to order, get cutlery and try to pay. We end up just not having drinks for our main as they never came by and we got fed up with waiting. The food was okay, nothing mind blowing or worthwhile. We’ve come here for all sorts of family gatherings, events and meet ups but I think tonight is the last. Shame as I love the setting and the pub but I can’t justify spending my money here given the experiences. If you’re in the area for a drink then it’s worth checking out, if you want a meal I’d recommend elsewhere for far better food and service.

The food was really good, quantity, quality and presentation . many of the menu items were out of stock but that wasn’t a problem. The service was great, genuinely polite and very helpful. Your staff created a really good experience for us.

First and last visit , very under average food at very inflated prices , poached eggs couldn’t be eaten they were almost raw. shockingly bad service had to leave the restaurant to get my own drinks from the bar we waited so long , twice had to change our order as not available but this was 50 minutes after ordering , shame because it’s a nice setting

Good roast dinner selection though gluten or onion free gravy not available as it is 'bought in' and not made on the premises! Very helpful staff though who tried to accommodate our various allergies. Tasty food though more vegetables should be included in the price and not be extras at additional cost. Pub is in a lovely position opposite Epsom racecourse and plenty of comfortable outside seating is available with water bowls for dogs.

Had lunch there on Thursday. It was my first time out since the pandemic began. I felt safe and was well looked after. Vicky and her team have done ever so well with all the restrictions in place. But her attention to detail is top notch. Couldn't fault anything. Had a lovely time. Will be back.

Thank you so much to Caroline who looked after us. She was absolutely brilliant.

BRILLIANT lovely location GREAT STAFF AND FAB FOOD SO GOOD 🤗

We booked a table today at 5.15. Drink orders were taken immediately however a lot of wine was out of stock. The waiter then decided to let us know what they actually had left. We opted for roast beef. Unfortunately the only option was Chicken. Since arriving we waited over an hour for our meal and I did have to mention that we appeared to have been forgotten. At every stage I had to get the attention of staff. The meal was good and plenty of it albeit a bit oily. When we asked for the bill it came immediately, however no one came to take the payment so we decided to go up to the bar to pay. Meal 8/10. Service very polite but non existent 3/10. We saw one couple who went in at the same time as us and then saw them leaving before we received our food.

Everything delicious good portion and delicious vegan options. I was with my husband and two friends and everyone was delighted with the food and atmosphere this place. Only one that I regret: I live too far away to visit this place more often.

Having traveled up from the south coast it was a pleasure walking in. A delightful cozy pub environment with welcoming staff. The food was delicious, well presented, and priced well. The staff are deserving of the 5th star as soon after we entered an empty venue in a blink of an eye it was full! Yet the service was perfect throughout.

Very poor at best. I can only comment on the Sunday roast offering as that is what the four of us on the table ordered. £16.50 bought two small slices of roast beef, a bought in and hard Yorkshire pudding, two very small and hard and pasty roast potatoes and the most meagre portion of peas. Extremely poor value. We were taken for a family meal and we felt embarrassed for our hosts. We shall certainly not be returning. Follow up to my initial response:- The till receipt contained a message to visit the company web site and provide feedback. I took the opportunity to do so. I received a quick response form letter with an apology for the poor experience and poor value meals we experienced. There was also the promise (threat?) of an attached voucher. This was not present. The purpose of submitting feedback is so that improvements can be made, not simply to attempt and placate people with a small discount on another future and probably bad experience! My advice to prospective customers; take your money elsewhere because I severly doubt this place will improve it's offerings.

A bit corporate looking, as you know I am not keen on that type of pub. Very difficult to find freeholds now. However, not a bad pub, nice inside and a good location. Staff friendly and food quiet nice. Recommend the classic burger.

Very nice decor and really friendly welcoming staff. Food was top notch and plenty of parking at the rear. Really enjoyed our lunch here and would definitely go again. They serve Old Mout cider too which is always a bonus!

I had dinner here last night. A Monday evening. It wasn’t very busy but there were plenty of staff. Unfortunately, they seemed far more preoccupied in chatting to each other behind the bar than actually serving tables. We had to wait for 20 minutes before being asked if we would like a drink. We were then told that the bottle of wine we ordered was unavailable. The waitress didn’t know what gins or tonics the bar served. The waitress didn’t know what the soup of the day was and had to ask another customer. When the food arrived, my guest was told not to touch the plate because it was hot because it had been sitting on the heated side plate for ‘quite awhile’. I ordered the pavlova for dessert but was told the kitchen had no cream. Overall, the service was , despite being amenable, slow, apathetic & unknowledgeable. The food was nice enough.

Went Sunday 6th Feb for Sunday roast with the family. Lovely warm atmosphere overlooking the Racecourse. Staff generally friendly and courteous. Food was mediocre at best, 18 pounds for a small portion of roast dinner, dry roast potatoes and poor quality Yorkshire pudding. Would reccomend for a quick pint after a walk on the downs but definitely not for food - poor quality and over priced

I'm not sure where to even start. It wasn't a busy time period during our meal, the restaurant was almost empty, yet they had more than enough staff on, and the service provided was appalling. It definitely wasn't the correct amount of money for the service provided. We were greeted by a young bartender who kindly offered to clean a dirty table for us, that was probably the highlight of our visit. As we stood waiting at the bar, a waiter was making a coffee behind the bar loudly complaining right in front of us that it was "brilliant" that there were no cups and then soon after when he found out there was no milk either. The staff took around 20 minutes to just take an order. No check back was provided during starters, mains or desserts. The steak came unseasoned and another meal came with 2 tiny scallops that we didn't order. The attitude from the young waitress was also questionable. When we received the bill, we got charged for the extra scallops that we didn't order and didn't eat but we were so disappointed that we just wanted to leave. During most of our visit, the staff were just standing around chatting and eating, it was as if all of us customers were a burden to them and how dare we come in. There were dirty tables near us waiting to be cleared, and every time a waitress or waiter went to clear it they took 1 glass and went to eat again. It took them almost 2 hours to clean 1 table. There was a table of 4 that came in about half an hour after us and finished before us as we were sat 10 minutes waiting for our bill from the young waitress who decided to start setting up tables when we asked her for the bill the first time. The second time we asked another waiter who sent the young girl again. And another 10 minutes waiting to pay. The supervisor on shift was wearing a black backless top revealing a bright red bra. She shouted loudly at a waiter that he didn't care about his job. She was also constantly on her phone and making phone calls in front of customers. When she was clearing the garden after assuming the whole day, she dropped an entire tray of glasses in front of the fire exit and left it there, bear in mind the customers and the supervisor herself were unable to open the fire exit door after this as the glass was lodged under the door. I'm not sure what happened that night. It was absolutely horrible service and the food was only satisfactory or okay at best. After reading some of the great reviews people left this place, it makes me think that it must be the staff leaving the 5 star reviews.

Just had a meal at Derby Arms with a group of friends and the food and service were superb. Sean, our waiter, was very attentive and efficient. Decor is lovely and could not fault the whole experience

Just popped in for a cheeky lunch time drink while visiting family and friends for the weekend found the staff very friendly and has a lovely outside seating area.Changed alot since my day.😊😊😊

Large, quite expensive Gastropub at the top of the Epsom Downs. Not too busy on the weekday evening when our large group visited even though the Derby was being set up all around. Good sized private car park and out door seating. Kitchens were shut when we visited and the available Ales were very limited. Good selection of Lagers and Cider though. An enjoyable evening.

I have recently returned to Epsom, from Australia, to make a visit to see my son and his family. Prior to COVID my wife and I would visit every year, and always go to the Derby Arms. It was great to renew my acquaintance with the facility after almost three years. Lorraine and Ben, in particular, made the experience even better. Service and facilities, great. Will continue to frequent the Derby Arms whenever I am in the area.

This restaurant has gone down hill, having arrived to the restaurant and garden area bing only a third occupied. We were told there was an hour wait on food. We were about to leave when the lovely Caroline stopped us and took our order. However when the food arrived one meal was OK. But the duck salad was appalling. Such a shame for such a great location. I doubt we will return again.

First time here and we were really impressed. Visiting family in the area and this is one of their favourite places to eat and we can see why. The staff are very friendly and the food is excellent, hope to visit again in the future. 🙂👍

I used to love coming here a few years ago, but since then it has been a bit hit and miss. However I came for lunch last week and had a great time. The food, service and atmosphere were wonderful and I’m hopeful this might be a sign things will be more consistently good in the future.

Been to fair few pubs lately but this is by far the best experience of late. Service was amazing throughout our booking. Food was lovely. The lady who was pregnant was lovely, Carla the supervisor was great and very professional. Will definitely go back.

The menu looked great on paper but did not live up to expectations. Most of us ordered the roast, and the potatoes and vegetables were rock hard. When we asked for a replacement portion, we were just provided with more greens, not any of the root vegetables, which were the ones we complained about. We also struggled to get service, having to ask twice for horseradish, so-called "bottomless gravy" and more drinks. The Derby Arms used to be one of our favourites but safe to say that based on our experience yesterday, we will take our custom to one of the many other pubs in Epsom.

Looking a little shabby on the outside. But inside it’s lovely as ever. Been a good few years since I last dined here. Food was fab. Service exceptional. Shout out to our sommelier and David for being amazing

We called in after visiting the cemetery it was a cold morning, thought we would warm up with nice Latte first, not the first time the coffee machine wasn't working, offered and instant coffee, not to our liking served with small jug cold milk served in cold glass mugs, my sister had tea like warm was charged full prices. Time before we opted for soup but unfortunately this was not too hot. Won't bother again.