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Hours
Sun
12:00 p.m. - 10:30 p.m.
Mon
11:30 a.m. - 11:30 p.m.
Tue
11:30 a.m. - 11:30 p.m.
Wed
11:30 a.m. - 11:30 p.m.
Thu
11:30 a.m. - 11:30 p.m.
Fri
11:30 a.m. - 11:30 p.m.
Sat
11:30 a.m. - 11:30 p.m.
What is Travellers’ Choice?
Tripadvisor gives a Travellers’ Choice award to accommodations, attractions and restaurants that consistently earn great reviews from travellers and are ranked within the top 10% of properties on Tripadvisor.
Ratings and reviews
Travellers' Choice 2024
RATINGS
Food
Service
Value
Atmosphere
Details
Someone from this business manages this listing.
Learn More
PRICE RANGE
$11.00 – $90.00
CUISINES
Bar, European, British, Pub
Special Diets
Vegetarian friendly, Vegan options, Gluten free options
meals, features
Location and contact
Is this location primarily known for Bars & Pubs?
Details
About
The Great House pub and restaurant is set between the Kent villages of Cranbrook and Hawkhurst. Within its own superbly kept grounds, this 16th century inn more than lives up to its location with roaring log fires, ancient beams and Mediterranean inspired terrace for summer time al fresco dining, leading on to a typically Kentish garden, complete with aromatic herbs and a lynch gate. The Great House is known throughout the area as one of the loveliest places to dine, earning awards for its food and its atmosphere, offering not only a wealth of wines and well kept beers on tap but a full, delicious menu of both old fashioned British favourites and contemporary, exotic dishes, each made using locally sourced, high quality and fresh ingredients. A real family favourite, The Great House welcomes children with a specially composed menu of tempting but healthy options in smaller sized portions.
PRICE RANGE
$11.00 – $90.00
CUISINES
Bar, European, British, Pub
Special Diets
Vegetarian friendly, Vegan options, Gluten free options
Meals
Lunch, Dinner, Drinks
FEATURES
Reservations, Outdoor Seating, Seating, Parking Available, Highchairs Available, Wheelchair Accessible, Serves Alcohol, Full Bar, Wine and Beer, Accepts Mastercard, Accepts Visa, Free Wifi, Accepts Credit Cards, Table Service, Dog Friendly, Family style, Gift Cards Available
Contribute
4.5
1,123 reviews
Excellent
712
Very good
273
Average
81
Poor
34
Terrible
23
Bluebellplasnewydd
Cardiff2042 contributions
Sep 2020 • none
Rather an imposing building with parking spaces for charging electric cars. They have done all possible for Covid with spacing, sanitiser and an airy canopy over some of the outside seating. Staff are friendly although service for the main courses was rather slow. We were inside in a room with a mirrored wall. This did not have an overwhelming great ambiance but it was difficult for me to put a finger on the reason. It may be due to Covid changes. Best to book the under canopy seating if you can. The starter of Artichoke and Hummus was amazing and enough for two being presented beautifully. and certainly not your usual taste. Wild Duck was rather strong, as it can be, and fitted the bill but may not be to everyones taste. The Burger was a mixed bag with oily, but welcome, chips and plenty of meat but did not hit the taste buds. Nevertheless this is somewhere to revisit and the bill for 2 with drinks was £51 without service which is reasonable.
Written September 16, 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Elitepubs
Thank you very much for taking the time to send us some detailed feedback. I will pass on these comments on each dish to the executive chef for suggested improvements. We hope you visit us again soon.
Written September 16, 2020
This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.
IG21
London2 contributions
Oct 2020 • none
Went for Friday lunch. Portions were generous and sensitively cooked, including a couple of decent-sized and reasonably priced lobster. Harry was very conscientious, and double-checked the allergy list for us. Also excellent walks from the door.
Written November 1, 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Elitepubs
Thank you for taking the time to leave us a review.
Written November 2, 2020
This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.
Christine B
Chessington2114 contributions
Oct 2020 • none
Booked for dinner at 7:15 and were delighted to find an EV charger right outside which charged the car to full whilst we were dining. Pub was fairly quiet and service quick. We ordered a haddock, salmon and cheddar fish cake and caramelised onion bread to start followed by chicken kebab and fish cakes for mains. All the food was hot and delicious. With two beers and a lovely apple and elderflower mocktail the bill was £55.
Written October 27, 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Elitepubs
Thank you so much for your review, we are so pleased you enjoyed your visit and hope to see you again soon.
Written October 28, 2020
This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.
Robert L
Tonbridge11 contributions
Sep 2020 • none
We decided to try somewhere new to celebrate my wife’s birthday.
I decided to have the roast beef as the waitress recommended it.
Well when it arrived I couldn’t even cut it. It was as tough as old boot leather.
That was the first vegetarian Sunday lunch I have ever had.
The plate went back with the meat untouched.
Well the story continues.
We were given an Elite Sunday Lunch voucher for Christmas and decided to use it at the same place the following week. Surely we wouldn’t have the same experience 2 weeks running.
Well how wrong was I.
My wife had the lamb this week and after chewing on 3 lumps of meat gave in.
Having spat the meat out she ended up having a vegetarian lunch.
Although the voucher included a dessert we decided not to stay any longer.
If anyone decides to try their own luck my only other recommendation would be to stay out of the car park. It is to small, the people using it all park unsympathetically with no thought to other users. Park on the road.
Written September 20, 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Elitepubs
Thank you for taking the time to send us your feedback. I am very sorry that you have had poor experiences with us. I will be discussing this in length with our executive chef and operations manager. Could you please email me to summer.events@elitepubs.com for a follow up on this? Many thanks.
Written September 21, 2020
This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.
vikingo47
Tenterden197 contributions
Jan 2020 • none
Have been to this pub many times over the years and liked it. But this visit was really not very good re the food. Had Chinese Duck style on a board. Well, the duck arrived almost black on the skin, served with a thick plum sauce and almost cold pancakes on a plate.
They may try to be a little different but this does not work. Duck should be a lot better with hoisin sauce and warm pancakes. Surely it cant cost a fortune to buy the basket for the pancakes?? I am sorry as I normally like this establishment. Service always good. But please change this dish to how it should be..
Written January 28, 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Elitepubs
Thank you for taking the time to leave us some detailed feedback, i am sorry to hear this dish was not up to our usual standard of food quality on this occasion. I will be raising your comments with the executive chef to look into for improvements. Could you please email me at summer.events@elitepubs.com to have a quick follow up with this? Many thanks in advance.
Written January 28, 2020
This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.
j955
Ashford86 contributions
Jul 2020 • none
Went here the other day and although the food was great and well cooked the service left a lot to be desired, We Ordered a non-alcoholic cocktail and was brought the alcoholic version so had to wait another 10 minutes for them to make it again. Also when we we're waiting to the bill at the end the waitress dealing with us decided to go on her break so we we're left sitting there for 20 mins and had to call over someone else to pay it. i prefer the Pig and Sty which is another Elite Pubs venue up the road.
Written July 6, 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Elitepubs
Thank you very much for taking the time to leave us your feedback. I am sorry to hear the service was not up to our usual standard on this occasion. I will forward your comments on to the team for improvements and we hope you visit us again soon.
Written July 6, 2020
This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.
sjs871
Aylesford40 contributions
Jun 2021 • none
"Greeted by bellowing person - wear a mask -I was trying to ask how to get to garden to avoid this and have reasons not to be able to wear one. We had asked to be outside specifically but were not told we were in a featureless marque. All of us came away hungry. Starter salad inc "trout" and "goats cheese" were nearly sent back as they resembled regular tiny mixed salad and we thought at their amazing price there would be something you could detect as fish or cheese anywhere, These features may have been 20 grams of product and blobs from a tube if that. One starter was heavily delayed. Next course took more than 25 minutes to arrive and we had to chase - all other diners as fed up as us. Pizza was soggy and undercooked. Scallops overwhelmed. Burger not even up to you know who and £15 pasta was "hunt the seafood". Not sure why we paid the bill really. British stoicism and the fact we had not seen our guests for over a year and chose this as a midway meeting point. Thank you only to the one lady waitress who did at least come when called. Hope she gets the the tip, as your business does not deserve the rest of the bill.
Written June 2, 2021
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Elitepubs
Thank you for your review, your feedback is very much appreciated. We are extremely sorry for the standard of food on the day, if you could kindly contact us directly so we can look into this and resolve the issues for you that would be greatly appreciated. Please contact us at emily.events@elitepubs.com.
Written June 3, 2021
This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.
Berty Dow
85 contributions
Feb 2020 • family
First visit to The Great House and happy to recommend and will definitely be returning.
The staff were all very friendly, attentive and were happy to discuss the menu options.
Good choice of vegetarian options and not the same old things that most places offer. Great to see the working pizza oven to also see a good amount of people on a cold, damp Monday evening.
Book a table and make a visit as I’m sure you won’t be disappointed.
Written February 10, 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Elitepubs
Thank you so much for your review and kind words. We are so pleased you enjoyed your birthday celebrations and we hope to see you very soon!
Written June 6, 2020
This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.
Lazyeater
40 contributions
Aug 2021 • friends
We had a midweek dinner with friends. Elite pubs now seem to own 10 or so pubs in the south east so the first disappointment was that the menu was identical to the Potting Shed where we’d been recently. We skipped starters and went straight for mains. You can tell the food is bulk bought and it feels like cooking by numbers for looks not taste. The lamb koftas came with a flat bread formed into a basket shape which meant it was dry around the edges and wet through under the tsatsiki. The chips were greasy and overly salted before they reached the table. Sticky toffee pudding was a very large portion and pretty bland. We had to chase coffees after 15-20 minutes as the staff member had disappeared for a fag break and had clearly forgotten about bringing them. They were brought to the table with no apology but a ‘here you are, they’ve just been made’ - but they were lukewarm so had clearly just been sitting on the side. Felt like everything was done for the restaurant convenience not for our enjoyment. We were never asked if we wanted a second drink so made do with a jug of tap water while we ate our dinner. The napkins are supposedly tiny and single ply to help the environment- but as one just covers one of your thighs there’s not much point to them as you end up using lots of them over the course of a meal. All a bit odd!
Written August 25, 2021
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Elitepubs
Thank you for taking the time to leave us a review. I will pass on your comments to the executive chef and kitchen team about the food comments. The napkins are environmentally friendly so whilst we do appreciate they are quite small and thin, doing our bit is our priority there. Thank you.
Written August 27, 2021
This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.
Mrs B
13 contributions
Nov 2021 • none
Lovely manager and staff as was in August when I wrote a highly positive review. This time was evening. I had been unwell so brought a ginger teabag with me, and they provided a teapot with hot water while my husband had a pint of Harveys. Our guests arrived and three had just bread oil and balsamic as a starter. They had fillet steaks which were all excellent. My starter was a woodfired flatbread with caremelised onions and mozzarella. The onion was horrible. Nor what I would call caremalised from scratch. Horrible. And my Rye seabass was dry and overcooked on a bed of what was a slimy not very nice tasting risotto -not freshly made. The nice touched we had before with rasberry coulis on a large glass plate with the ice creams was not on offer. Those extra touches of presentation make all the difference and they were missing. The bill with soft drinks, 2 beers and two very nice sticky toffee puddings came to £156 plus service for 4 people. Wonderful serving staff seemed exhausted however. Maybe staff shortages? They managed very well. Despite the less good experience this time we have booked for a celebrattory birthdy-cum-Christmas on Christmas Eve.
Written November 1, 2021
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Elitepubs
Thank you very much for taking the time to write this review. We are pleased to hear you are returning to us on Christmas eve 🎄. We will pass on your feedback in regards to the Sea Bass and the Garlic Bread to our chef.
Written November 3, 2021
This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.
DianeCLondon
Sidcup56 contributions
Feb 2022 • none
Never been to this charming ship lap country pub before and noted good car parking outside. On entering the smell of the log fire and warm welcome by the staff added to the busy happy atmosphere. Our waitress Kayleigh was brilliant. Very friendly and offered enthusiastic recommendations when requested whether food or drink. Very sincere and she seemed to really love her job. Service was great. We shared halloumi chips to start. I had the chicken kebab main which was gorgeous and actually quite wowing when presented so much so other folk on the next table were asking what it was! My husband had the fillet steak which obviously for a half price meal night was great value. For pudding the chocolate mousse was yummy. Must try their pizzas on another occasion as they have a pizza oven there and I was told by a neighbour how good they were, think and crispy. They do a collection deal for pizza 2 for 1 between 3-6pm. In fact they do cocktail deals too on early times - check their website. Anyway I couldn't fault our food or drink nor the service. While we waited for our taxi I had a great chat with a man about the place and he turned out to be the manager for the evening. Another friendly chat was with the barman and he was covering from another of their pubs. s
We will be back - soon!
Written February 2, 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Elitepubs
Thank you for taking the time to write this review 😀. We are happy you had a delicious meal with us and great service! We will pass this on to our team!
Written February 2, 2022
This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.
Anna S
3 contributions
Jun 2021 • family
Visited recently for a long overdue family get together. Accommodating, welcoming, friendly and attentive, are just some of the adjectives I could use. Food was delicious and great value, we started with flat bread from the wood fired oven accompanied by the Bloody Mary aioli, which was well worth it. Would thoroughly recommend a visit and we will definitely return.
Written June 6, 2021
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Elitepubs
Thank you for taking the time to leave us a review! We are so pleased you visited us for a long overdue family get together, we can't wait to see you again soon 😀
Written June 7, 2021
This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.
tillieann2014
London50 contributions
Aug 2020 • none
Ww were staying nearby and wanted somewhere for Sunday lunch, after reading the excellent reviews booked the great house and were not disappointed. We were 6 adults and 2 children, the adults all had variations of the roast including the nut roast and we were all very happy with our choices and very well fed.
The children menu was also very good and both boys were happy with their choices.
Staff were all very friendly and helpful.
The restaurant was very clean as were the toilets.
Would definitely recommend a visit.
Written September 2, 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Elitepubs
Thank you very much for leaving us a review and for your recommendation. This feedback means a lot to the team, and we hope to see you again very soon.
Written September 3, 2020
This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.
Senderos S
London64 contributions
Aug 2020 • none
I chose this pub to come to after lockdown because of all the precautions it had put in place. A member of the party had been shielding and I wanted them to feel relaxed. Serving staff wore visors, pizza oven chef wore a surgical mask, single use menus, cutlery in individual bags and screens between tables. We sat by a window and door so were very happy. Friendly staff and great food. Would really recommend. Thank you to all the staff that served us.
Written August 15, 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Elitepubs
Thank you very much for leaving us a review, we are so pleased you felt comfortable and we really appreciate the recommendation.
Written August 17, 2020
This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.
sookeico1
Etchingham703 contributions
Jul 2020 • friends
We visited this gastro-pub twice in the days after it reopened - once in the evening and once at lunchtime. It’s very well organised for current requirements, with friendly staff and the food and drink available is generally good quality. Only Doom Bar available as real ale but that was very pleasant. Especially recommended are the king prawn linguini and the “House on Fire” pizza from their wood oven. Not everyone liked the crispy chips and summer fruits crumble, but other than that a good time was had by all.
Written July 28, 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Elitepubs
Thank you very much for taking the time to leave us a detailed review, we are very pleased you enjoyed your visit with us and we hope to see you again soon.
Written July 29, 2020
This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.
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