The Swan Wine Kitchen, Chapel Down

The Swan Wine Kitchen, Chapel Down reviews from people who’ve dined at this restaurant. Based on recent rating.

1. MB

   MarB

   London6 reviews

   3.0

   Dined on 11 August 2018

   1. Overall 3
   2. Food 2
   3. Service 4
   4. Ambience 5

   It's a pretty remote but pretty special place so I was expecting the food to be super wow. It was avarage unfortunate but a very pleasant experience none the less
   

   Is this helpful?

2. S

   Sistersreunion

   Kent12 reviews

   4.0

   Dined on 24 July 2016

   1. Overall 4
   2. Food 5
   3. Service 5
   4. Ambience 2

   First time I have been to The Swan for Sunday lunch, and was not disappointed with the either the quality of the food and the excellent service, the Chapel Down wine goes without saying was of course exceptional. We were a party of 7 and between us tried all the options on the menu, and we were all very happy with our selections. Unfortunately, I don't think I would go on a Sunday again, as although we were a party of 7, there were other parties of larger groups in there, and not all were as respectful of the other diners as are birthday gathering, which did tend to spoil the occasion, prompting us to go outside for our dessert, the staff did apologise, but it did take the edge off things. Apart from that it was an excellent afternoon, the Yorkshire puddings being of the crispy large variety and the beef cooked to perfection.
   

   Is this helpful?

3. OT

   OpenTable Diner

   Kent2 reviews

   4.0

   Dined on 13 July 2016

   1. Overall 4
   2. Food 5
   3. Service 3
   4. Ambience 5

   A party of six friends we booked lunch and all thought the food was wonderful. It was mid week and the restaurant was very busy. The service was good but slow. It was nearly an hour after sitting down before we received our first course. We would all return because setting and food was excellent and good value.
   

   Is this helpful?

4. J

   John

   East Sussex53 reviews

   5.0

   Dined on 9 July 2016

   1. Overall 5
   2. Food 4
   3. Service 5
   4. Ambience 4

   Yet another excellent evening and super food and wine. Well done team!
   

   Is this helpful?

5. JR

   JessicaR

   London1 review

   5.0

   Dined on 19 June 2016

   1. Overall 5
   2. Food 5
   3. Service 5
   4. Ambience 4

   Great Father's Day lunch. Amazing food and they gave Dad a special gift which was a really nice touch.
   

   Is this helpful?

6. R

   Rich

   London71 reviews

   5.0

   Dined on 3 June 2016

   1. Overall 5
   2. Food 4
   3. Service 5
   4. Ambience 5

   The restaurant is located within the Chapel Down vineyard in Tenterden. They serve delicious foods made from locally sourced ingredients, and the glorious wines from Chapel Down (a truly fine selection of wines - pls visit their shop and ask for a free tasting or a tour). The menu isn't huge, but then again it doesn't have to be, it just has to be good... this was great! The ambience upon entry is warm, cosy and rustic, with a slight mix of modern thrown in (the bar area). The welcome was warm, the service was friendly and efficient, the dishes were served with grace. Once we finished our dinner, we decided to stick around for some cocktails. The manager was a fantastic host - he even created a few cocktails that were not on the menu for us. This was meant to be a memorable meal and the restaurant and its staff truly delivered. The Swan at Chapel Down is a MUST TRY and I can't recommend it highly enough.
   

   Is this helpful?

7. OT

   OpenTable Diner

   Kent1 review

   2.0

   Dined on 3 June 2016

   1. Overall 2
   2. Food 5
   3. Service 1
   4. Ambience 2

   Food was very fresh and tasted great. Really interesting flavours. However service was very slow, didn't offer drinks or desert, and not coordinated with some staff verging on rude. The waitress station was next to our table and a couple of staff were moaning about a customer loudlu. we hoped working there wasn't horrible but it came across that it was! The restaurant was less than half empty when we were there but the explanation for the service being slow was because they were busy.
   

   Is this helpful?

8. m

   michaelj

   Kent1 review

   5.0

   Dined on 21 May 2016

   1. Overall 5
   2. Food 5
   3. Service 5
   4. Ambience 4

   Fantastic food and service. Could not fault it. Coupled with the fact it's attached to the Chapel Down winery and Tenterden is 3 miles down the road this is a great venue for a special meal.
   

   Is this helpful?

9. TH

   TamaraH

   Brighton5 reviews

   3.0

   Dined on 16 May 2016

   1. Overall 3
   2. Food 4
   3. Service 1
   4. Ambience 3

   The food was very good and very tasty except my husbands main course of cod was quite bland. The Chapel Down wine was excellent. The waitress who greeted us was quite unfriendly and unwelcoming but the other that served us was lovely. There is no specific children's menu but half sized adult portions which wasn't a problem for us. My daughters chicken was delicious and my husband shared it which was a good thing given his cod was so bland. The setting is lovely but this is a mixed review. We could ignore the cod but the unfriendly waitress was disappointing and took ages to get our bill so my husband had to go to the till to pay. We would only recommend it on the food (bar the exception) and the setting, not the service.
   

   Is this helpful?

10. i

    ianh

    Kent3 reviews

    3.0

    Dined on 15 May 2016

    1. Overall 3
    2. Food 4
    3. Service 2
    4. Ambience 3

    It's difficult to beat The Swan for setting - in amongst the vines of Chapel Down in a very picturesque part of the Kent countryside. The room has a great vibe - trendy but not overly so, great background music. The food is very good - not a great selection for Sunday lunch ( 3 courses for £25.50) but good enough. Starters were tiny , mains very good, puddings ok. Decent wine line - with some great whites from Chapel Down to choose from. What let it down for us was the service. I arrived 5 mins before our booking time to check to see if we could be seated - a slightly grumpy youthful waitress ignored me - twice - until I asked if we could be seated. Once seated we were asked if we wanted water for the table. We did. The waitress disappeared and re-appeared about 10 minutes later with the water and took off again before we could order drinks. More waiting until I waved over another waitress and asked if we could order drinks. Once ordered, another 10 minutes or so for the drinks to be brought -and again the waitress disappeared so when we were ready to order food there was much looking for and finally beckoning someone to come and take the food order. We had booked a late sitting for lunch -2pm -and the room was less than half full, so it wasn't as if they were run off their feet. A good 15 minute wait for the food to arrive - no problems with that; food has to be assembled in the kitchen. A 12.5% service charge was added to our bill - in our case, about £15.00 - which seemed excessive for the lack of speed and care. We will be back to The Swan and hopefully the service will have improved .
    

    Is this helpful?