Sunday lunch at The White Horse, Bearsted

On Sunday we met some friends for lunch at The White Horse in Bearsted.  It was the first time that we had been.  We had tried to go a couple of months ago but had left it too late to get a table (always a good sign). 

The location is great, with a large outside seating area overlooking the green.  We had a table upstairs in front of a large picture window with the same view.  It was a lovely sunny day with lots of people having a kick about, playing with their kids, walking dogs, and a game of cricket going on in the background.  It was a good job we had some entertainment though given how slow the service was. 

We had some garlic bread as a shared starter, but even so, more than an hour's wait for our main courses is pretty poor in my view.  My energy had run out before the food even arrived; I was glad we had booked a table for an early lunch!  It wasn't as though the restaurant area was particularly busy either.

Matt had a burger with gorgonzola and mushrooms and I had spit roast chicken with aioli and coleslaw.  They were nicely presented on small rectangular wooden chopping boards with wire baskets for the chips.  The food was average, both Matt's burger and my chicken were a little overcooked, but to be honest it would have to have been pretty special to have redeemed themselves after the long wait.

The menu was as you would expect for bistro-style pub food with plenty of choice from pizzas, pasta, salads, fish, and burgers/steaks etc.  It was good to have the full menu available as well as traditional Sunday lunch options as this isn't always the case.

For pudding I had what was called a coupe, essentially a sundae, with banana, crumbled brownie, dulce de leche and vanilla ice cream.  One of our friends had fruit crumble, which was big enough to serve a family of six, and Matt had lemon and almond sponge.

I'm not sure why restaurants are so slow at bringing the bill and then card machines.  This process always seems to take years and it can really spoil a nice meal, but as the service had already been slow, this was agonising.

I would go back there and give them another chance.  The inside of the pub is lovely with stripped pale wooden floors and smart fittings.  The location is great; I could imagine quite easily wiling away a summer afternoon with a glass of pimms or three, but on this occasion the food and service were disappointing.