On Thursday evening, the family and I attended a 50th birthday
party. The birthday celebrant was the eldest of Eileen’s two nieces, resulting
in a large extended family gathering that night. The venue for this event was
the Mount Edgecumbe, a hotel and restaurant situated in the middle of Tunbridge
Wells Common, but just a few minutes’ walk from the town centre. It occupies a large
and attractive Georgian house, set in its own grounds, and reached by a
narrow track leading down from Mount Ephraim, at the top of the common.
Whilst
familiar with Mount Edgecumbe, I have only visited the place on a handful
of occasions, the most recent one being, in 2016. When I worked at nearby High
Brooms, colleagues and I occasionally called in for a quick lunchtime snack and
a pint, but that’s a couple of decades in the past, now. Although I can find no record of this, but I’m fairly
certain that the place used to be a French restaurant, called La Galoche. “Galoche”
of course, is the French term meaning an “overshoe, protecting against
rain, mud”. It equates to the English word, “Wellingtons,”
– sometimes known as “galoshes,” and the name likely arose due to the
proximity of Mount Edgecumbe’s prestigious neighbour, the Wellington Hotel. This
impressive late 19th-century building is situated on the crest of the ridge
overlooking the common, and has now become a Travelodge, offering an affordable
option for those seeking accommodation in Tunbridge Wells.
The Mount Edgecombe has been in the same family ownership
since 2012, and as well as offering food and drink boasts six luxury boutique
bedrooms. Being just a few minutes’ walk from the town centre, the Edgecombe’s
bar and restaurant is popular with diners, and there is also a bar area, a
cave, plus a garden with views across the common and town. For those who prefer
to drink, the place still functions as a pub and on Thursday there
was a good selection that included Harvey’s Best, a beer from Pig & Porter,
plus the strangely named Pilcrow Pale from Dorking Brewery. Unfortunately, I
had to send my pint back because it was way too hazy – I did check on Untappd
first, but there was no mention of murk, such as NEIPA. The replacement came
back just as bad – don’t the bar staff look at these things when they’re pulling
a pint? The Harvey’s was fine, so perhaps it serves me right for being
adventurous!
Or perhaps not, as Eileen’s other niece had an
equally hazy pint of Pig & Porter, and this acted as the harbinger of
things to come. We followed the instructions to make our menu selections
prior to the event, and the coordinator had organized the food orders
accordingly. Despite this, there was a considerable delay between the starters
being served and the arrival of the main courses. Seeing as just a handful of people
had ordered starters, the wait for the main course was unnecessarily lengthy. The
mains arrived lukewarm, rather than piping hot and my choice of “Garden
pea and Parmesan risotto, with Parmesan shavings & pea shoots”, was
definitely missing the Parmesan! Mrs PBT’s had chosen the same dish, and her
comments echoed mine, as did those of the family member sitting next to me.
All of this was surprising, as the majority of Trip
Advisor reviews are full of praise for the operation. Perhaps we caught it on a bad day,
or possibly the fact our party was tucked away in a separate, first floor room,
didn’t help when it came to serving the food. The room itself was nice and
cosy, but wasn’t easy to access via a narrow, wooden staircase. I’m not sure whether
there was a “dumb waiter” arrangement for bringing the food up from below, but
if there wasn’t, the poor waiting staff must have had their work cut out. Despite
these issues, the staff who served us, were polite, pleasant, and
helpful.
We won’t be rushing back there though – certainly not
to eat, but if you just fancy a drink and the weather is clement, why not take
a walk up across Tunbridge Wells Common to the Mount Edgecumbe. You will need a good map I’m afraid, as it’s
difficult to give good written directions, especially if you are heading up
from the High Street, or the station. Furthermore, do not attempt to try and
find this pub-cum-restaurant at dusk, as a friend and I did 10 or so years ago,
as you will inevitably get lost amongst the maze of foot ways and paths which
criss-cross the common. You also run the risk of stumbling, or worse still. falling off one of the rocky outcrops that pop up when
you least expect them.
