Gardeners Arms

We had afternoon tea here for a baby shower and Sarah and the team looked after us unbelievably well. Thank you so much, we can’t wait to return for my baby shower next month 💚

Sunday roast dinners are good, but lunch isn’t quiet. The booming music was unbelievably loud, and people were shouting over one another. It felt more like a Saturday party night.

Thursday 21st April 2022. After walking the Charles Dickens and Higham circular route, which we’d found on the Kent CC website, we stopped at The Gardeners Arms. The Sir John Falstaff pub mentioned in the walk wasn’t open until 1pm, surprisingly, and it was only 12.10pm. The Gardeners Arms was basically empty, so we ordered food and drinks. They’d run out of several tap beers, including my favourite 'Spitfire', so I went with the only one available, Master Brew. My wife had a bitter shandy. We both had scampi and chips with a side of onion rings. I think the scampi was £8.99, which seemed good value. It took a while to arrive, and the food came in little 'buckets' of chips and peas. The portions looked small when tipped onto the plate, though there was enough after all, appearances can be deceiving. The 'three times cooked chips' were a bit too oily for me. The staff were charming, helpful and polite, and the tables and facilities were clean and in good order. We didn’t take many photos of the pub apart from the beer. The church is the one Mr Dickens attended, and apparently he had his own pew. It’s not local to me, so I doubt I’ll return unless I do the walk again. Still, I’d recommend it to fellow walkers as a pleasant stop for refreshments and an alternative to Sir John Falstaff.

I’ve been back a few times, and this place keeps making me feel welcome. Local pubs can be cliquey and a bit uncomfortable for me, but this one is the opposite. I travel for work and eat out most evenings, and now I take work near here so I can visit. I don’t have any connection to the place. On my third visit, it was the new chef’s first night. I wasn’t hungry but felt I should try something, so I kept it simple and had scampi without the chips, with the trimmings. As I said alongside the photo of the nicely presented food, scampi is easy to ruin, even though it’s a simple dish, but hard to make it taste as good as this did. The salad was crisp and fresh, and the peas actually tasted like peas. New chef, well done. Before that, I’d come back to find the new landlords, Hayden and Sarah, greeting me. Sadly, the chef expected to start on the 2nd didn’t work out. They wisely didn’t let him start, as he seemed a little less appropriate when he came to discuss the new menu. On the night I returned, the new new chef was there sorting out the menu. He introduced himself to customers, including me, though he didn’t need to, and seemed a very pleasant chap with a good chefing background. He was due to start the following Wednesday. I was disappointed not to eat that night, but glad they’d declined a poor start and decided on a delay in the hope of a good one. When I first visited, on a Sunday afternoon, there was live music, good food, a great atmosphere and a friendly crowd. I thought the new landlord had got the idea straight away. I was comfortable with the customers and staff, then a gentleman came in, greeted me politely and sat down. Watching him, it became clear he was the new landlord. What followed was a really enjoyable evening with him, his staff and what were obviously regulars from before he took over and since. He talked enthusiastically about plans for the pub, all framed as things to benefit customers, old and hopefully new, rather than himself and his new playtoy. He had a new chef starting on the 2nd of October and plans with the chef for the menu and the kind of pub he envisaged. If even half of it comes about, the place will be well worth visiting. He seemed genuine and friendly, and the way he treated both younger customers and the old die in the wood drinkers was something to see. If I can encourage people to visit, and help a decent sounding man and his family make their dream come true, then this Google review is a much greater tool than I thought. It’s already a pleasant local pub that welcomes strangers like me. With his ideas and the wonderful staff who were there that evening, it could become a place worth visiting for the food and atmosphere, and attract less local food lovers to add to the pleasant surroundings and Hayden and Sarah’s business. The inside is lovely, and the garden and terrace are attractive and well thought out. Good luck, and well done. I hope to visit and eat here very soon.