Very nice pub with that countryside feel to it. Superb vegan menu (which are hard to come by) and the staff couldn't do enough for us. Would highly recommend and next time I'm in the area it will be on my to do list. Recommend the vegan spicy coconut curry... Was dreamy!!

A nice, spacious pub with real fires, a dining area and a relaxing area with sofas. The food is great. Attached photos show my favourite 'Dirty Burger' and fries, and a really nice (huge) chicken, brie and bacon pie. They have free WiFi and don't mind you working there with a laptop.

Lovely waiter. Nice burgers. We had the Dirty Burger £18:50 and Prime Cheeseburger £15:50. A pint of Doom Bar was £4:60 and Madri Lager £5:30. Nice view of the cricket pitch/Southborough Common. A little too expensive for food my in opinion. If it were cheaper I’d likely return.

We had such a lovely time at the Hand and Sceptre, with the friendly, but not overbearing waiter, Will, serving us. The food was delicious, the mushroom starter was perfect, with soft yielding mushrooms in a wonderful sauce and the braised beef pie had perfect pastry and a gravy that I could have drunk a pint of! All of this finished off with a light, but flavoursome blackcurrant mousse that was the ideal way to end a sumptuous lunch. The only criticism was that the scallop dish that my partner had was quite pricey for 3 small scallops.

Our first visit on Sunday for a drink was fine, we decided to return this evening for a meal. What a mistake, sat amongst four dirty tables whilst bar staff stood behind the bar literally sorting their hair out and talking. Decided not to eat or even order a drink as cleanliness should be top priority. Would not recommend nor will we return.

The Hand & Sceptre has just been refurbished and the new decor and menu have most definitely been worth the effort. The interior design really does elevate the dining experience. We were there midday and it was quiet. The service was good and food for all three courses was good. My one little grumble would be the Truffel flavouring for the chicken didn't really enhance the dish, probably better to have gone for the BBQ sauce!!!

We hosted a 45 person lunchtime party here recently. We chose the 10 item finger buffet plus a selection of desserts. The quality of the food was excellent and despite the large numbers was always hot which is no mean feat. A big shout out to Jay who looked after us all afternoon and Leigh in the kitchen plus the attentive bar staff. Highly recommended.

Great food and great atmosphere. Couldn't fault it. Christmas decorations look lovely also. Nice to also meet the new General manager. I can already see changes happening

Beautiful restaurant. Came today for Lunch with a client and my 15 month son. Jay was outstanding looking after us and my son adored him. Duck noodle salad was delicious and my son had sausage and mash that came out at a nice temperature which meant I could feed him straightaway, handy when you have a hungry toddler. Really enjoyed the non alcoholic elderflower sherbet which was delicious! Thankyou for a lovely lunch and we shall be back even if its just for my son to high five Jay again 😆🤣

Stopped here for breakfast. Lovely staff. Breakfast was great value and nicely cooked. Can’t fault it! Amazed it was so quiet bearing in mind the quality and value for money

Nice waiter who was very friendly & attentive. Nothing was too much trouble. Service was slower than normal, but luckily we weren't in a rush! Food was delicious, as it always is.

Came for Sunday lunch today to celebrate my son's birthday (the booking was in the name of Ella Gibbs). I rang the evening before to check a few things and the lady I spoke to was very helpful and didn't make me feel awkward for asking so many questions. Very warm friendly welcome from the young man on the welcome desk when we arrived. Top notch service from Annetta who made our experience brilliant from start to finish. The food was excellent too. Piping hot and a good choice - something for everyone! They were even happy for the kitchen to warm up a gluten free yorkshire pudding that I had brought with me as I am coeliac. The rest of their roast dinners are gluten free except for the bread sauce. We will definitely return - in fact I have already said I would like to come back for MY birthday meal next year! Thank you so much for making my son's birthday treat so enjoyable.

We were lucky to get in on a very busy Sunday. It took a while for us to get our drinks order taken, which meant our drinks didn't arrive until 40 mins after we had sat down. However the service was friendly and efficient after that. The food came shortly after and we all had ordered roasts, including the V option for me which was great. The portions were large and the side greens were delicious. The kids loved their ice cream and homemade cookies.

Our room was spacious, very clean, well equipped with a great power shower and comfy large bed. Every member of staff we came across were friendly, helpful and a credit to the company. Bruno and Sam had a great sense of humour and were exceptional at delivering customer service. Food was delicious. Great location, would definitely recommend as excellent value for money. Great stay, thanks!

Really poor experience. The music is so loud we couldn't chat, as couldn't hear each other. Starter & main were fine, after that a young boy came to give us dessert menu's and take our drink orders. Waited half an hour & found another member of staff as the waiter hadn't processed our drink orders. An hour after we'd been given the dessert menu, our orders arrived. The dessert was brought out but we had no cutlery... We had to ask someone for some. My partner ordered the chocolate bomb -which didn't melt like its supposed to. I had the sticky toffee pudding, with custard which was cold. Just totally overlooked by staff. The sticky toffee pudding was taken off of the bill. Regardless, I won't be returning. Very disappointed.

The food was delicious and delivered in a reasonable time. Service was unfortunately very poor. We waited 15 minutes for a waiter to take our drinks order and it took another 10 minutes to receive the drinks, which arrived after our starter. We then struggled to get hold of a waiter to take another drink order, and again, we received the drinks after we finished our meal. This would be a great place for dinner if it wasn't for the terrible service, considering that it wasn't even that busy.

Nicely renovated. Great location with some nice walks in the locality. Had breakfast after a dog walk and the staff allowed dogs into the bar area. We were made to feel very welcome. We will be coming back....often.

We had lunch here, stayed overnight then had brunch the next morning. I thought the lunch was overpriced at £38.40 for two nourish bowls, tea and a glass of tonic. Our room though well appointed and comfortable had no heating despite us being told it would come on at 8pm. My eggs Florentine the next morning lacked hollandaise sauce as there was none in stock. So overall, our stay could have been better.

The whole experience was extremely positive. The parking has been extended and the number of spaces increased including dedicated disabled bays. The interior has undergone beyond belief refurbishment. The general atmosphere was welcoming and very appealing. There was a good selection of food on the menu and a very extensive selection of drinks. My previous experience of the pub was very different and I would not have routinely chosen to visit. However, a chance visit to The Horseshoes Gastropub in East Farleigh informed us that the Hand and Sceptre had been taken over by the same company and some staff had also transferred over. Since it is closer to where we live, we decided to try it out and was definitely not disappointed. The exterior has also been revamped providing a nice outside seating area. Staff were friendly and we did not feel rushed but not forgotten either. Altogether a wonderful evening.

Came for a birthday meal...memorable for all the wrong reasons unfortunately. Might have just been an unlucky day to visit. TBF the food itself was good, however, there were lots of items unavailable on the menu, the food took a very long time to come out and when it did all 6 roasts were missing Yorkshire puddings, this was only mentioned when asked directly, no substitute or explanation offered. Waited a long time for the table to be cleared, and then waited so long just to even order deserts that we cut our losses and left. Felt like the waiting staff, who were polite and friendly, may have been a bit overwhelmed by some of the grumpy customers and were trying to stay out the firing line. Been here a few times in the past but unfortunately wouldn't go back.

10 stars for the food I had today; I ordered the pork belly & scallops with truffle potato’s - utterly delicious!! I highly recommend this dish if you’re a lover of good food! 😍 the service was very attentive too. Great experience! One thing I would say… pls get the Sticky Chipotle chicken back in stock asap! 😄

Had lunch which was really good. Had drinks on patio, lovely. Staff behind bar up until 7 were great. I did however ask specifically what time kitchen closed and was told 8.30 p.m. At 8 went to order pizzas as one person had one in the afternoon. We were told the kitchen was closed. We were told no pizza on a Sunday even though one of our party had one earlier. I asked why all the confusion and what was I supposed to do for food considering we didn't have transportation. I was told sorry but nothing could be done. We ate tesco's. The rooms are sadly looking dingy. We stayed there 3 years ago and the rooms were in much better condition then. I couldn't take a shower because of mold in shower and mo light. On Monday morning however, we met such a lovely man who does jobs at the hotel and he kindly took us to Tunbridge wells for our car hire. Hope I have been honest enough

Booked for me by my work. I always give 5 stars. A reasonable room in a pub. Fairly clean. Comfortable bed. The bathroom was a bit tired and needed a lick of paint. Didn't have breakfast so I am unable to comment on it. Important context: My experience was a 1 night stay and does not represent this establishment in it's entirety. No-one in hospitality sets out to provide a poor experience. Anyone can have an off day.

Great lunch with 3 year old on sunny afternoon. EDIT: Changing review from 5 to 2 stars due to tiny food portions. A child’s pizza potion is now half a child sized pizza (it’s supposed to be freshly made so what do they do with the other half?) - not enough food for a 3 year old boy… and the adult portions seem to have become smaller too. For a £60 you don’t expect to be left hungry.