The Mayfly - Shepway

Not sure where to start really. Myself, husband and sons were in the area and decided to have dinner at the mayfly. We sat at a table. Friday evening and very quiet. A group of locals were at the bar who seemed to have priority when it came to serving. My sons are 5 and 6 and the language they heard was absolutely disgusting from both the “locals” and the bar staff. One woman behind the bar was happy batting around the “c ” word and other obscenities. Ordered drinks and we looked at the menu. The table next to us were served their food and the sight of it was enough to put us off. It was over cooked and looked vile. It wasn’t even busy. This, coupled with the awful locals, language, and atmosphere was enough for us to drink and leave.

Visited shortly after Christmas after my parents had an awful Christmas dinner at the mayfly pub absolutely awful dinner from the chef that after cooking my meal stood at the bar and served drinks and slagged off other members of staff and owner agreed, later in the afternoon the landlord appeared and I 'm appalled how he treats his staff and the attitude towards paying customers. Me and my wife over heard and older lady that appeared from the kitchen saying that the staff don 't even get payed me and my wife ordered a hunters chicken which was very dry and barely edible when questioned the staff the main chef wasn 't available and someone apparently from the bar was stepping in according to a few people myself and my wife met at the bar will try and return in the future but really not holding out much hope with the current staff.

It's fair to say The Mayfly has had a chequered past the last couple of years but Nicki Andy have made a huge difference since they've been there. Footfall has increased incredibly since they took over we're no longer the only people in the bar! We've had their Sunday lunch for the past two weeks it's been wonderful! Very reasonably priced better still, they do doggy roast dinners! We signed up to the website got 30% off too! So glad the place is on the up again

I cannot believe some of the past bad reviews for The Mayfly. This is our third visit since the new managers took over and we cannot fault the place. Our food order was served promptly, hot and cooked to perfection with plenty of fresh salad and veg. We had a conversation with the lady manager and we found her to be very pleasant and we took the opportunity to compliment her for the food quality and the improved ambience of the place. We will definitely be returning and are confident in recommending The Mayfly to others, particularly those who had decided that they no longer wanted to visit owing to the poor standards of the previous two or three managers.

Since the new land lady has taken over it has certainly picked up, always a friendly welcome and the land lady always has a chat with my son, which is lovely, as quite often he’s ignored in pubs/restaurants. She makes a real effort with him and the food we’ve had in here has been enjoyable, yes they’re understaffed however what they provide with limited staff is good!