Hengist Reviews

We can thoroughly recommend the 'Hengist' in Aylesford Kent after we enjoyed a midweek meal. We loved the interior, the quality of the meal and the fantastic personal service provided by the staff. If you want to treat someone to a special meal you must try to enjoy a meal there, we will be back.

We had dinner at The Hengist in December 08, as part of a party of seven people; the restaurant is lovely, but the service is terrible. We booked for 8.15pm as we had been told 7.45pm was not available, but that if we came early we could use the first floor bar. There were no seats or tables upstairs so they walked us back downstairs to our table which, magically, was available at 7.45pm after all. We waited an eternity for menus and the wine list. We could not get anybody's attention for drinks, and they took ages between courses. The food was mixed, some said it was very good, others that it was mediocre. Other reviews here are accurate - it needs a serious kick up in terms of service, and whilst they are at it, give the maître’d a lesson in manners.

Hengist was recommended to us by friends. Their comments about the poor service are still true. Richard please address the service, and this could be a fantastic restaurant. Four of us dined there and the wrong cocktail was served, no wine list was presented and we had to ask for the table to be cleared. The food was slow to arrive, although it does make up for the service. The service is not up to the standard one would expect from the type of restaurant Hengist is meant to be

We were both disappointed for a variety of reasons. As newcomers when we booked five weeks in advance, we weren't asked which room we wanted to be in. We ended up in the private dining Japanese room, along with other couples. We requested to be moved and the manager stated 'When you booked you should have requested to be in the main dining room', quite frankly we should have left at this stage, but as it was our wedding anniversary we decided to see what the food was like, even though the ambience was lacking. The food was average, not sure what some of the purees were as they were tasteless, and choice of main was limited to red meat or fish, which always had tomato. Chocolate pudding though was excellent; wish my glass of pudding wine was a bit fuller. Cheese, don't forget this has a supplement, was woefully inadequate in quality and substance.

Having not been to the Hengist in a while, I went there last Friday evening for a special occasion and had there tasting menu. They had several courses of well cooked and presented food. I asked them to recommend a wine and the wine suggested was something I would not normally try, but was fantastic. All in all, it was one of the best dining experiences I have had in a long time and can strongly recommend this place.

This was the most disappointing and lacklustre meal we've had. It began for me with a lukewarm soup being poured into a stone cold bowl. The beef that followed was beautifully presented, but without a hint of flavour. The final straw was the burnt toffee sauce over an otherwise perfect pudding. My partner had to consult the menu to discover what tasteless puree lay under his overcooked fish. The bread, however, was excellent, imaginative and delicious. I wish the rest of the cooking had been of such a high standard.

I love the Hengist as the food is amazing - especially for the money that you pay.I have no complaints!

I love the Hengist Restaurant and have been there on several occasions - birthdays, Christmas and even a hen lunch. I have always enjoyed the food and atmosphere. The staff are always friendly and helpful!

I wouldn't usually write a review but after reading a bad review about the Hengist I felt I had too - best place to eat in Kent and I always recommend it to friends.

The nonchalant attitude of the staff and poor service spoilt our meal there. We began to question the level of service and passion or commitment of the staff after we ordered a bottle of wine before the meal. The bottle was literally dumped on our table already open , and the waiter made no attempt to speak to us , just left it on the table. To add insult to injury another waiter dropped by the table and began pouring the wine without offering a sample of the wine to taste. Simple etiquette was being neglected and we had to point this out before he realised what he was doing. The food itself and the selection of wines is of a high quality but the staff did spoil the evening.

To top it all off when we paid the bill we handed over cash to the waitress who asked if it was the correct amount, because she couldn't be bothered to count it. We left disillusioned with the Hengist.

Unlike Wendy, we had rather three, nice but over-attentive staff to our table, when we went and service felt rushed. Food was overall good but the main course came warm rather than hot, as another reviewer found. Main restaurant was third full but the private dinning rooms upstairs were being used and the constant grating of chairs on the floor got a bit annoying. The place just lacked an atmosphere and was a bit over-fussy, they just need to relax a little.