The Rose

Had a lovely time at The Rose. Our Sunday lunch was delicious, very fresh and inventive flavour combinations that still felt familiar and cozy, clearly leaning into seasonal ingredients and produce. My white asparagus with radicchio and a cod's roe sauce really stood out. Cocktails we had were fresh riffs on classics and the wine list is excellent with a generous amount of by the glass options. Our room (room three) was absolutely charming. Spacious while still feeling cozy with an extremely comfortable king sized bed. Large bathroom with extremely good water pressure. We had a warm welcome and the service both in the hotel and restaurant was attentive and friendly. Slight mix-up at check-in but they went above and beyond to make it up to us. So I don't really get the reviews winge-ing about the service. I also don't get the complaints about the church bells, its room in a pub right next to a church, anyone can clearly see that on a map before booking so what do you expect? If you need a soulless, sterile, sound proof box... stay at the travel lodge in Sandwich, but if you want a cozy, beautifully designed room - with a decidedly normal amount of street/city noise from being in the heart of a seaside town - then stay at The Rose. Only slight knock I can say is that in our room some of the siliconing and caulk in the bathroom was a little tired and probably could do with a refresh, but didn't detract from our comfort and experience. Definitely will be back.

2 months ago · via Google

Friendly service and good wine list. Food is nice but very small serves. The spring vegetable tart I ordered from the main meal menu was entree size. They tried to bulk it up with a few potatoes on the side but I was still hungry after the meal.

2 months ago · via Google

I suggested The Rose for a quiet drink with friends visiting from out of town last Saturday evening and was left disappointed. We stood at the bar for ten minutes without being acknowledged by a single member of staff. We were happy to wait, but felt so unwelcome without even a greeting or a ‘sorry, I’ll be with you shortly’. Staff were topping up cocktail ingredients while looking straight through us. Second round of drinks, we were snapped at by the bartender when we tried to order (no hard feelings as they were clearly short staffed), then had to wait a good 5 minutes to pay. Again, no acknowledgement or apology. The food and drinks have always been lovely in the past, but FOH needs a lot of work.

a month ago · via Google

Good food let down by glum and careless service. We came for a birthday lunch having visited years ago and loving it. It's changed and not in a good way. We were only given set lunch menus when we went up and specifically asked for them. There was no 'warm welcome' in fact I don't think we got a smile from either of the waiting staff for the duration of the meal. When we ordered we were then told a starter wasn't available. It's pretty standard to advise diners about availability of dishes at the beginning! The glass of wine ordered to accompany my main only arrived after a second reminder and as I was finishing. It was plonked down with no apology whatsoever. We decided not to stay for pudding or coffee. Wish we hadn't paid the 12.5% service charge. Much friendlier and welcome cafe across the road at 'Hope & Lane'.

5 months ago · via Google