The Bull Inn in Maidstone

It is such a shame. We have visited this pub pre covid and it was great. Today we pulled up and there were animals to feed and the pub has had a great refit and we felt great but then the price for Sunday roast has gone up,(£12.99) and that would be fine except all the food was cold, and I mean really cold and only fair quality. No one cared when explained either

No ice?! On a Saturday lunchtime?? .. Children's day, activities going on in the garden however there was a rather loud mouthed regular lady that was in the bar area that was consistently making sure everyone could hear her bellowing voice with everything she said . Regulars are your bread and butter but I'm sure the bar man could have just asked her to keep it down a little rather than everyone else being subjected to her Saturday afternoon. It was sooo annoying when trying to have a quiet drink. We would have ordered food but I was instantly put off by the menu that states a £13 plain burger an extra £1 for cheese or bacon and 50p for some sauce? Come on... If your burger costs £14.50 just say that! Don't show me that to get a couple of basic things on my burger is going to cost me an extra £1.50, it's quite ridiculous and off putting. As the only other local pub is vile in every aspect The Bull Inn has a captive audience being just by the lock, no advertising of where it is when you leave the foot path nor that you can get food up there even if a little basic and over priced. Plenty of hungry walkers are only 5 minutes walk from there. With only 2 pubs in this area surely 1 should get it right?! There is clearly money to be spent in East Farleigh. The ladies toilets were not very nice, dirty toilet brush and a broken toilet roll dispenser... Take it off the wall completely or replace it. This pub needs a bit of tweaking I fear if people are not put off which is a shame as its a large venue with a lot of potential.

Not the best, the 5* reviews don't really ring true but the 1* ones somehow do! Apparently there is a better pub down the hill on the other side of the river next to the train station, try that instead.

Lovely pub for family and children.We visited today with children age 2 and 12.The staff/owners were very friendly and made us feel very welcome. Food was lovely classic pub grub and good size portions. Kids had a great time liked their icecreams was entertained with colouring inside and loved the animals and play area outside. They didn't want to leave. We will definitely be back and in better weather to stay longer. 😊

Had a really great Sunday roast today, lovely company all the family together. Grandkids enjoyed the playpark and the animals. Would recommend

We went for a last minute Sunday dinner here. Even though it was later and the rush of Sunday lunch service was over they couldn’t have been more welcoming! What a lovely place. Good food, great service. Friendly atmosphere. The kids loved their ice cream with sprinkles and marshmallows. Well worth a visit if you want a little drive outside of Maidstone or if you’re local. We will return!

Attended a clairvoyancey night recently. Arrived early, it was quite busy and took a long time to get a drink, the event was very good, buffet food was nicely presented and plenty of. The new landlords were very friendly and chatty. After the event we decided to stay and have another drink at the bar, they had no more rose wine, the double vodka was more like flat lemonade with no alcohol content.Then the last orders bell at 9.45pm!!!! We started finishing our drinks however it wasn’t long before the landlord was stood at our table (5 women) and basically was telling us to drink up and leave, while literally standing over us waiting for us to finish!!We felt rushed and left our drinks, we stated that we was waiting for a lift, the landlord offered to ring a cab but then stated we would need to wait outside!!We made our way out to the front of the pub, the other landlord then opened the door and said “do u mind if I lock the door, your ok out here ladies aren’t you” he proceeded to lock the doors and then remained inside the pub with a few others seated at the buffet table, still drinking.Now call me old fashioned, but they have just literally thrown out 5 ladies at 10pm in a Friday night, customers that were buying drinks, so that they can have a lock in with the event people. I didn’t feel like this was anyway to treat potential new customers, will not be returning !!

Popped in for a quick lunch for our 4yrs birthday- staff (Ellie and the manager …I think?) were very lovely and went out of their way to make a fuss of her with ice cream and a VIP tour around the animals. Will certainly be back

Roast here was great. I personally love the buffet style, it was ready to go as soon as you got there! Plenty of trimmings, perhaps a little stingey on the meat, but the fact you could go to town on the rest of the buffet made up for it. Someone I was with asked for all 3 meats, which meant they got twice as much as I did. That’s the way to go.

Hate leaving bad reviews.Such a beautiful pub with massive potential. You know somethings not quite right when you turn up to a lovely country pub 2pm on a Sunday and it’s basically empty . Carvery was edible but wasn’t great . Food was nothing like you see on their photos ! Don’t recommend . Gardens run down , play area needs a lot of work .