Inn On The Pond, Redhill

Like the reviews we have mixed feelings about The Inn On The Pond. We have been on a Monday evening when the restaurant was only half full and had appalling service with the waitress sitting at the bar chatting while we sat parched for a drink! However, we went yesterday for Sunday lunch which you expect to be busy and they were much better geared up. The restaurant was full, atmosphere buzzing but very well managed by the waiting staff. The food is delicious with plenty to choose from for all palates – even the strange Dukanites amongst us! I had the calves liver, I wasn’t asked how I’d like it done but it was cooked to perfection accompanied by yummy creamy mash and a lovely cherry sauce. Three of the men had fish and chips, I wasn’t offered any as they polished their meals off before any sharing entered their minds! The ham hock dish was ample and tasty and the burger and egg was, well, a burger and an egg! The burger was obviously homemade and not one person in our party left a morsel on the plate. People were still pouring in as we left, a lovely venue for Sunday lunch.

Oh dear. We went for my mother's 70th birthday. Service was poor, despite the restaurant only half full. It took around 30 minutes for our order to be taken, despite several reminders. The food was just as slow to arrive. Not exactly relaxing with hungry children. Staff promised to sort things out quickly but then didn't - or provided somewhat patronising explanations about the food needing to be cooked from fresh (you don't say ??). From a casual survey of the surrounding tables, we weren't the only ones having that problem.

Food when it arrived was average or worse. My polish apple pie was insipid and tasteless. The kids menus very average.

Distinctly amateur and best avoided.

I had heard and read good things about this place, so decided to put it to the test. I wanted to find somewhere for Sunday lunch which felt special, but not stuffy.
The Inn on the Pond is tucked cosily off the main Redhill road which means that unless you know of it, it would be difficult to find ordinarily.
It’s a beautiful building which sits beside a pond on the Nutfield marshes - a nice place to go for a long summers evening especially.
We were greeted warmly and shown to our table in the main restaurant section of the public house. The look is quite modern/contemporary - but with hints of the old building secure - it makes comfortable surroundings.
There were six of us at our last visit and the choices from their wide but not overly complicated menu delivered. A good mix of vegetarian, poultry, fish and red meat to choose from.

Although the place seems to be primarily a pub, the service was excellent and we were treated very well by the waiting staff.
It wasn’t difficult to find room for all courses and wine/drinks to boot.
As far as the overall bill was concerned, I felt that we had received good value for our pound. Would I go back? Definitely!!!

Edit 21st June 2008:
Downgrading this to 1 star after another visit to The Inn at the Pond resulted in a fetid-smelling and tasting burger being served.

After a really good first meal (I’m leaving my original meal in for fairness), this meal was a massive let down. We found ourselves entering the restaurant wondering why there were so few people in it for a Saturday lunchtime and left wondering how they were still open, with a sample of food taken to provide to Environmental Health.

Service was terrible: after waiting at the entrance for a couple of minutes, we had to wander around the (mostly empty) restaurant to see ourselves to a table, despite the fact that the waitress has clocked our arrival and said ‘hello’. Drinks, which you’d think they’d be pushing hard, given the massive mark up, were really slow in being offered and topped up.

The food (the edible element) was average. Nothing special, particularly considering the premium prices being charged. If you’re silly enough to visit, please don’t ask for the burger. For one thing, the texture is all wrong - it’s obviously been over-mixed (almost certainly by machine) and the burger my wife tasted and smelt foul. When we complained, the management claimed (without smelling our burger) that the smell was due to the addition of cumin and herbs. So, first off, the smell of the burger served was definitely not just cumin. Secondly, any chef who puts anything but beef, salt and pepper (and, at a push, onion) into a burger better know they’re doing. The chefs at The Inn at the Pond don’t.

I don’t know what’s happened since our first visit, but I’m really disappointed that this place hasn’t lived up to its potential. It’s not even average at the moment.

Avoid, avoid, avoid.

Original review:

The Inn on the Pond’s recently been refurbished, and our visit happened to be three days after opening.

The Inn’s decor and furniture has a lovely warm feel to it, and the management have done well not to be tempted into the trap of going for a retro-rustic feel.

The food is posh pub grub (I wouldn’t call this a gastro-pub). Between us we ordered the minute steak ciabatta, the honey roast ham and cheddar baguette, and the thai-spiced fishcakes. All the dishes were excellent, with my fishcakes giving enough of a kick to be noticeable without drowning out any of the other flavours. The chips that accompanied the sandwiches were nicely crunchy on the outside. I’d have preferred them in a thicker cut but to be fair to The Inn… they do advertise them as ‘frites’.

Service was attentive and relaxed (in a good way), and the staff were very friendly towards my 16 month old daughter. I’m not sure the layout of the restaurant will cope with too many young families, but the lack of a children’s menu and high chairs probably shows that The Inn on the Pond isn’t really geared towards that part of the market. (Luckily for me, my daughter is quite happy eating normal food that hasn’t been dumbed down for children.)

The Inn’s currently in a ‘soft launch’ period -- as The Inn’s website puts it, so “we do not do a ‘Terminal 5’” -- and the menu on offer to us was supposedly limited. Personally, I think it was about the right length, and I’ll be interested to see how they cope with the extensive menu currently being touted on their website.

Recommended, although I hope this place doesn’t become too popular, since it’s my local and I’d like to be able to get in without too much trouble.