TUNBRIDGE WELLS
The Hand Sceptre

The Hand Sceptre

London Road, TN4 0RJ, TUNBRIDGE WELLS, United Kingdom

Steak • Pizza • European • T-bone Steak


"There were 5 people In our group for lunch, 2 vegans, 2 veggies and an omni. 4 of us actually ordered from the vegan menu and 1 ordered a vegetarian dish. My main issue was that 2 of us (myself being vegan and the omni in the group! ordered the flat bread from the vegan menu it didn’t advertise coming with chips but when we ordered our waiter asked us which chips we would prefer so we both asked for sweet potato fries. When the fries came out they had cheese on them (despite us clearly ordering from the separate vegan menu . I’m not sure if this was an error on the waiter or the kitchen’s part but the waiter apologised. I shared the fries with one of the vegetarians in the group so I just avoided any that had cheese on them, however I’m now wondering whether actually they were not cooked in a separate fryer and this is why they weren’t on the vegan menu!? In terms of staff knowledge I was also disappointed when I asked what type of plant based burger it was on the vegan menu (I.e. meat substitute or bean based etc and our waiter didn’t know or really seem to understand the question (and didn’t offer to find out . That’s why I chose the flat bread instead and then had the cheese issue! My second main issue is that the food was pretty average especially considering the price. 3 of us had the vegan chocolate tart advertised as coming with fresh berries. (2 of us originally ordered the treacle tart which was sold out, fair enough . However 2 of us can’t eat strawberries so asked for the tart without them, expecting other berries instead, however the only berry on the third tart was a solitary diced strawberry! The tart was also pretty small considering it didn’t come with any accompaniment but cost £6.25! Overall it’s great they’re trying with a vegan menu but my view is that they must try harder!"

Thackeray's

Thackeray's

85 London Rd, Royal Tunbridge Wells TN1 1EA, TUNBRIDGE WELLS, United Kingdom

Cafés • Kebab • Seafood • European


"First impressions: table water carafe badly chipped. As in really chipped at the neck. Menu knowledge by staff good. Good info and advise on pairing wine options. Rare steak given to the wrong person which is always awkward if you want to start swapping steaks across the table or sending it back. Just ate it to avoid the drama. Table next to us staff got the wrong order to each person too. Starter of good quality. Well cooked, fresh balance of tastes and visually appealing. Main:Steak was surprisingly chewy. Not sure what was sitting on top of it as wasn’t on the menu and didn’t really go. Hard to cut with their terrible knives. Not just mine but comment from several on the table. I didn’t really get the “pasty” sitting on a hot rock. It seemed disjointed to the meal. Pudding: “overly chewy” was apparently the hazelnut brownie review. Black Forest gateaux was a “cake in a mug” similar to those one made at University in a microwave but was apparently tasty but not the “gateaux I was expecting” Floor wobbles and whole chair moves up and down anytime anyone walks past the table. A pro and a con of an old building= atmosphere vs bouncy castle dining! Birthday cake requested arrived after we had paid the bill and practically putting on our coats. Staff surprisingly arrogant for the number of small details they got wrong and lack of detail. Also civet coffee was a fad from 10yrs ago leading to abusive feeding methods. are we really still pretending it’s a “thing”? For the price disappointed. Would rather spend the money on a private chef for home!"