Le Rendez-Vous

12-14 Camden Rd, Royal Tunbridge Wells,
Kent TN1 2PT 01892 525565

As the name would suggest, Le Rendez-Vous wants you to come here and meet your friends for a bit of brekkie, or a cup of coffee, or a spot of lunch. When we found out that this is the second project of the owner of the fabulous Chez JJ we were down there quick sharp. Even though this is a completely new restaurant from the inside out, the atmosphere still had the depressing whiff of Delicious and Delicious 2 (the restaurant that graced the building beforehand), which as a place which seems to be playing itself as the new Relish is not too great. But one thing it doesn't have is the shrill sound of the under fives, which goes heavily in its favour. Never mind, lets get to the food. I had the usual staple of the house's special burger and chips which was actually quite poor with its flavourless meat, oven chips and lacklustre salad, whilst my wife couldn't resist the Pork Belly which was as lovely as certain other establishments in town and half the price. As we were completely at odds with our lunch scores, we thought it best to pop in the next morning for a spot of breakfast. We were alone in the restaurant that morning as we sat and ordered from the menu. The same could be said for what we ordered, as our choice was basically it. To be fair the tartine of scrummy scrambled eggs, bacon, sausage and tomato was very delicious and pretty much what you'd expect from a Carluccio's breakfast but for half the money. The coffee was nice too with just the right amount of crema and caffeine to kick-start your day. Interestingly another couple arrived halfway through our breakfast and requested a vegetarian breakfast but were basically given polite but short shrift. A shame, because surely if you just took the sausages and bacon off and loaded it with mushrooms, you would have a lovely veggie option with minimum hassle? In conclusion, its worthy of a try but Relish does a better lunch and Carluccio's do a better breakfast, but both are more expensive and a lot noisier.

Experience
Service
Value
Food
Overall

Comments

[James]

Only popped in here for breakfast so far... and while the one available option was very nice it would've been good to have had more choice... maybe they're going to slowly introduce more items on the brekkie menu - I hope so!
Agree about the atmosphere... it's lacking something in there... not sure what!
All in all, it's worth a try - we'l probably go in there at somepoint for lunch to see what it's like. Always good to see some healthy competition to places like Relish though...

[Adam Filkins]

I started going in to Le rendez vous when it first opened just for a morning coffee after i had been made redundant and the quality of the coffee and the fresh patries kept me coming back every morning, after a little while the staff became very friendly and i felt that i was being treated with extra care because i had now become a regular.
The reason i like it there so much is because it isn't like Carluccios or other chain restaurants, it feels much more friendly and realaxing.
The fact that it isn't always heaving means you get room to breath and you are never rushed from your table.
the menu changes fairly regularly with specials within season (unlike other restaurants further towards the station).
the breakfast menu is served up until 12.00 where some of the local competitors only serve it until 11.00 and i have never had a bad experience in there unlike some of the other busier hit and miss restaurants in tunbridge wells.
If your looking for a place to stop thats not to busy and has a good menu selection that won't break the bank and does exceptional french coffe then you can't go wrong.

[Anke]

Thanks again for a great comment, Adam. You'd make a great reviewer yourself :)

[Emma Jones]

We went here for a weekday, break from the office lunch. Very disappointing. Prices high, and portions small. The biggest bugbear however being the fact that they charge £1.20 for a tiny glass of apple juice (out of a carton), none of the local produce served at their nearby competitors!

Advice: Don't bother, unless you have a mouse-like appetite.

[Helen]

I would so like to disagree with the previous comment, I had lunch with a friend on Thursday, we ate well for less than £14 inc. drinks. My lunch of a greek platter was delicious, filling and was only £4.95! As for atmosphere, i found it pleasantly friendly with a lively atmosphere.

[Anne]

I have to agree with Helen - I had lunch there today and had the Greek platter, fresh and full of interesting authentic tastes and good value at £4-95. A perfect vegetarian choice. My friend had the Italian platter which was just as good. I thought the service was superb - my friend dropped her glasses and the waiter kindly offered to clean them for her!

[Adam Thoroughgood]

I ate here the other day, and I thought it was very nice. Prices aren't cheap but they are not ridiculous at all, and their breakfast is pleasingly non-greasy. I would certainly go again.

[john do]

I have to say that I think its nice apart from that annoying girl with glasses you get bothering you every two minutes. The prices are quite fair in same cases and unfair in others. They charge for more bread and chips through the roof. Mind you if any one has been to the black pig you will understand the word dear. If you want a apple juice there you can pay a nice price of 3 pounds for it.

[Nick]

Very dissapointed with Le Rendez Vous from both a service and food perspective. Having sat down with my fiance for what was mean't to be a romantic evening we were then asked to share our table (!) How embarassing having to say 'no' in front of a couple who were obviously regulars. We ordered and the food was prompt, however, the squid absolutely inedible as completely over cooked (deep fried) and frankly a tiny portion. Having resisted complaining to our disinterested waiter we ventured into our mains. Visually excellent but very poor level of cooking. The £13 pound rump was no larger than 4 ounzes (they probably gave me the minute steak) and having ordered it medium it came out dry and over cooked. The tomato was completely raw inside and therefore left untouched. My fiances tagine was a poor excuse of over spiced stew (far too much cinamon) served from a pan into the tagine in the open plan / open view kitchen - not a clever thing to do for the restaurent guest to see.
Deciding to 'nicely' complain I was told in a heavy and frankly rude french accent 'eeees not my problem, we is over booked' and the waiter promptly walked off. In true English style we paid (in full) and left. My recomendation - if walking down Camden Road avoid this place like the plague - the service is appauling (only one waiter was at fault and he knows who he is) and the food extremely poor. I cannot recomend you don't visit this place enough.

[Martin]

I expect the mixed reviews are typical in a new restaurant. We have been a few times for lunch and apart from the small glasses of juice, the light bites were tempting and good value. An evening meal beckoned and we were not disappointed. A really delicious meal, friendly service and so reasonably priced. You would pay twice as much for similar quality - or we could just go twice and enjoy ourselves again.

[Angela]

We ate, as a party of 8 on Saturday evening, having visited twice before, once for lunch and once for dinner. We all enjoyed it, quite an achievement considering the age range from 22 - 90. The food was very good, including the steaks and the calves liver and the portions were certainly not small. The service was very attentive and pleasant and unlike some of the other reveiews it was busy creating a good atmosphere. The price was also very reasonable considering many of us had 3 courses and wine. We will definitely be going back.

[TDF]

We've never gone in, based on the fact that several folks have said that being vegetarian in that place is like being a social pariah. Something up with which we are not willing to put (to coin a phrase). And when, oh when will restaurants in this country realise the joy of the bottomless coffee cup, at least at breakfast time? Keep up the good work of letting veggies know where we are and are not welcome.