The Rubbing House

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#21 of 141 Restaurants in EpsomBar, British, ££ - £££

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The Rubbing House

Review

At a glance

Open until 10:00 PM

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Website

+44 1372 745050Improve this listing

About

Restaurant with a stunning view of Epsom Downs. Home cooked food, freshly prepared daily. A mix of traditional English and Mediterranean cuisine.

Features

CUISINES

Bar, British, Pub

Meal types

Lunch, Dinner, Drinks

Special Diets

Vegetarian friendly, Vegan options, Gluten free options

FEATURES

Accepts Credit Cards

Full Bar

Gift Cards Available

Highchairs Available

Non-smoking restaurants

Outdoor Seating

Parking Available

Reservations

Seating

Serves Alcohol

Table Service

Validated Parking

Wheelchair Accessible

Wine and Beer

Location

34 Langley Vale Road, Epsom KT18 5LJ England

Parking Available, Validated Parking

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Hours

Suggest an edit

Open until 10:00 PM

Sunday

12:00 - 21:30

Monday

12:00 - 22:00

Tuesday

12:00 - 22:00

Wednesday

12:00 - 22:00

Thursday

12:00 - 22:00

Friday

12:00 - 22:00

Saturday

12:00 - 22:00

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3.7

1,311 reviews

Excellent

482

Very good

370

Average

203

Poor

102

Terrible

154

Richard S

1 contribution

No tough love.

Jan 2025 • couples

I had the (new) rump of lamb and found some of it tough and chewy. This was reported to the waitress and manager, and I was surprised to hear they couldn't offer any discount at all for the inedible parts. Even a fiver off the £24.95 would have retained my goodwill. I won't be returning.

Written 30 January 2025

This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

julie p

Bristol2 contributions

Did not want to accept honest feedback

May 2024 • family

I ordered one of the special on the menu, fish pie with seasonal vegetables. At £22 it was fairly mediocre and disappointing. It was very top heavy with thick claggy mash potato so dry that I nearly asked for tomato ketchup to help it down. The seasonal vegetables which I was looking forward to as I love lots of veg consisted of half a boiled carrot and a spoonful of frozen peas. I think Wetherspoons would have done a better job for probably half the price. I would not have written this review had I not had a dreadful response back from the waitress when she asked me if I had enjoyed the food. I said that I did not think half a carrot and a few frozen peas could be described as seasonal. She became very defensive and confrontational and asked what I thought I should have had. When I dared to suggest vegetables that were in season in May she said they were too expensive and this is just the veg they do. I said that I was just offering some feedback as this was how I felt about the food. Note to waitress, if you do not want to hear how people feel about then food the do not ask. I will not be gong back.

Written 12 May 2024

Richard T

1 contribution

Main meal ok but pricey, but beware the over-priced tiny desserts

Sept 2023 • family

We have been going to the Rubbing House for several years and on the whole have been impressed with the service and food. But the most recent trip we were very disappointed at the high pricing of the food, especially the desserts. Specifically I ordered the 'NEW' Banana Sticky Toffee Pudding - something slightly different I thought. The dessert was not big (about 6cm square) and what made it a 'banana' version was the sad looking single thin slice of banana on the top. Wow! To be honest I couldn't help feeling the chef was taking the proverbial. And I paid £8.50 for this. We are thinking it is now time to look elsewhere for the family get togethers.

Written 25 September 2023

Ben

London4 contributions

Need work on managing expectations along with improvements to service and attitude

Mar 2025 • couples

Terrible service and attitude. We went at a quiet time between the lunch and dinner phase. Restaurant was at about 30% capacity. The outside dining area is ideal for dining as catches the sun perfectly, but, there are 'rules' on where you can drink, eat starters and then mains, all a bit bizarre and unnecessary. We payed and left after waiting 50 mins for main course. The starters were prompt, although, I would add that they were not value for money given the portion size is small. The tzatziki was a generous tablespoon size with one pitta bread and the calamari was only four rings. We enquired three times during our wait after finishing starters as to where our mains were, ordering the moussaka and soulvaki, the time waiting did not seem proportional to the complexity of the order (a batch cooked dish needing heating and crisping with grilled chicken dish). Staff do not approach the table when waiting and had to find someone to enquire, inconsistently being told the food was on it's way now or it was going to be collected now by the person I spoke with. Quite keen at each interaction to sell more drinks but not explain the delay felt arrogant and pushy. After waiting 50 mins and a consideration for how busy the restaurant was, deemed this unacceptable and the apathetic nature of the staff did not help to placate the matter. Payed for the starters and left. Staff were apologetic and the decision to leave was not met with any resistance.

Written 9 March 2025

Kevin W

Banstead42 contributions

All aspects excellent

Oct 2024 • couples

For the 2nd time in 4 weeks I have visited this marvelous restaurant with wife and a different couple. Both times all members of party had different meals, and without exception all meals were perfectly cooked and so tasty. Puddings are also excellent. All staff are very friendly, but professional, and I have been lucky to have Gabby as my waitress on both visits. She is very attentive and professional. Highly recommend, because of the quality of the establishment I have no objections to paying slightly more than maybe an average restaurant.

Written 26 October 2024

jachew22

Caterham1 contribution

Swerve this place

Dec 2023 • business

I would give zero if i could. I ordered Souvlaki very pricey for what it is and the main reason for this review is that the chicken was off! Smelt awful at 55 years of age I know what off chicken smells like and to be told via the waitress that the Chef said it was ok was disgusting and worrying. The waitress asked me what else I would like from the menu but to be honest if I wasn’t on a work lunch I would have left. I choose salmon which came out very quickly which doesn’t sound to me like it was freshly cooked - whole experience disappointing and would not recommend or visit again.

Written 8 December 2023

Fullfast_UK

London23 contributions

Superb Sunday Lunch

Oct 2024 • couples

Arrived on a perfect sunny October day, was greeted by front of house and shown straight to a window table with an amazing view over the racecourse. People were sitting outside and there was a continuous feed of people coming through the door and seated, by about 1:30 all tables in and out were full but the service never slipped. Garlic Cheesy mushrooms were ordered by two of us and were fantastic. Mains consisted of Roast Beef, roast pork and traditional fish and chips. Not huge portions but perfect in size as way too many places are giving a HUGE plate where half is left. Puddings were the caramelised biscuit cheesecake and chocolate ice cream which once again were amazing. I have lived around the area for over 40 years, first visit and will so be going back regularly now.

Written 27 October 2024

mytuppenceworth

Halifax35 contributions

Unfriendly

Sept 2023 • solo

I left before eating. As a solo traveller I was initially told there was nowhere for a single person to sit outside and then placed by the waiting staff’s cutlery station which in a really bleak part of the outdoor area. No one came to take my order - this seems standard service from the other reviews - so I took my business elsewhere, as the menu didn’t really inspire me either - seemed fairly generic but overpriced pub fare.

Written 5 September 2023

Velvet Muse

2 contributions

Overpriced and less than mediocre food!

Feb 2023 • none

£8 for the tiniest potato cut in half with a third of a rasher of bacon split between the two shells and the blandest cheese! The shells weren’t crispy and were clearly just blitzed in a microwave! The ‘Gourmet’ burger was bland and unseasoned and I should’ve known – when I wasn’t even asked how I wanted it cooked – that it was going to be terrible; oh and served with freezer chips and a bun that in no way resembled brioche. God knows why I had a dessert as it was definitely the final straw – the cheese cake had split; had a claggy biscuit base and the cheapest quality ice cream I’ve ever tasted! It’s only redeeming feature - the staff who were lovely.

Written 16 February 2023

Emma R

2 contributions

Terrible experience

Nov 2022 • family

Very disappointing lunch experience, we chose to come here as had been 3 years previously, when we’d had a wonderful time, great food & service. This time though it was terrible from start to finish and we assumed it must be under new management as it was completely different and totally underwhelming. Bland food, rude, curt unfriendly waiter, no one to welcome or say goodbye and thanks for coming, zero atmosphere. I had the smoked haddock which was so bad, despite being hungry, I could only eat half of it. Bland, tasteless fish, mushy mash, over cooked carrots and undercooked poached egg with runny white. My parents were also disappointed with their meals. . Waiter says the coffee is from a coffee machine when I made a specific request and attitude bad. The bill was brought with the coffees before we had asked for it! We also just found out - after reading some reviews - we may get a £100 fine for parking in the car park, as we were supposed to give them our car reg (no one asked for it) We just called to give them our car reg and they simply said if we get a fine, they’ll refund us!! Utterly disappointing all round. Would NOT recommend.

Written 26 November 2022

Peter D'Agostino

Sheffield61 contributions

Excellent

Aug 2024 • family

We visited while staying at a local hotel, and found the ambience inside the place to be quite good. They serve reasonable portions of food at acceptable prices for the area. Food, although not spectacular, certainly hits the spot after a long day on the road. Waiters were all attentive, amicable and pleasant to deal with, which makes a remarkable change in this day and age. The venue is located in a scenic spot directly adjacent to the Epsom race course. All in all, everything was entirely pleasant, and we would definitely return when next in the area.

Written 5 August 2024

Philip Terry

Goole61 contributions

Great Lunch

Aug 2024 • friends

I had a catch-up and walk with a friend and as we passed The Rubbing house, we decided to drop in for lunch. It was very busy but the garden was huge and we managed to get a table. The service was very good, attentive but not intrusive. The food was both plentiful and tasty. The big plus for The Rubbing House is it's views over Epsom Racecourse, it clearly has a very good following and a perfect location for a summer lunch.

Written 3 August 2024

Wrighty1991

Epsom23 contributions

Such a Shame

Aug 2022 • couples

My wife and I used to love this restaurant, lovely setting, great food and good service, since Covid, not so much! The service was ok, but as soon as we were seated, there was crumbs all over the floor which had drawn ants in and were crawling on the table! We moved and ordered our food, which was disappointing to say the least, £14 for a camambert is a lot as it is, but when it comes out luke warm, undercooked and clearly microwaved and with stale bread, you feel pretty hard done by. When we asked them to take it back and get us a new one that had been properly cooked, they brought us the same one that had just been microwaved again with some slightly less cooked stale bread! The main was ok, needed more seasoning, the minted lamb shank had little to no mint and the mash was pretty flavourless. The fish and chips that my wife had was nice. All in all, very disappointed and wouldn't return, so unfortunate, as we used to love this place but Covid has clearly hit them hard and they have severely reduced their quality whilst retaining the premium price point.

Written 16 August 2022

emmabartholomew68

Epsom6 contributions

Belated Birthday Lunch

May 2022 • none

Myself and 4 friends went to The Rubbing House for lunch, celebrating one of our birthdays. We all ordered our meals, one of the party is a vegetarian and ordered the mauritian vegetarian curry plus one other in our party ordered this. When the meals arrived, we realised in fact the curry was a chicken curry (imagine being a vegetarian and biting into a piece of chicken). We told the waitress and lots of sorry's and excuses includng "she thought chicken curry was ordered". The overall service and the remainder meals were good but our friend who was given a meat dish instead of veggie dish was understandably put off having anything else to eat. After the waitress persuaded our friend to have the veggie curry (after telling the waitress she did not want any thing else to eat). This was brought out from the kitchen which understandably our friend could not eat very much of. We received the bill and another friend asked the waitress "can we have the meal free" we were told not to pay in full. Our complaint is that at least the meal should have been deducted off the bill or at the very least a free drink/s offered.

Written 5 May 2022

E S

3 contributions

Friendly quick service, tasty food, wonderful views of racecourse

Jul 2023 • none

We booked just a day in advance for Sunday lunch at the Rubbing House and were welcomed at the door by friendly staff and served by a very helpful waitress. The food was tasty (nut-free mushroom roast and my husband had the well-done beef) and served quickly: nice and hot! No loud or intrusive music, light, spacious and airy restaurant. On a warm evening there is a large outdoor seating area with wonderful views of the race course – go for a walk to build up an appetite!

Written 16 July 2023

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THE RUBBING HOUSE, Epsom - Updated 2025 Restaurant Reviews, Menu & Prices - Tripadvisor