Lodsworth Restaurant Guide

A “brilliant pub with delicious food, great service and a very special garden”, which is “everything you could hope to find” in a 350-year-old establishment on the edge of the Petworth estate, with “country-chic bedrooms”. There’s a “warm, welcoming atmosphere”, and “very fresh food” on a seasonal menu with “an innovative twist”.

“A very welcoming home from home feeling” underpins the appeal of this characterful venue, cutely located amidst the antique shops of this civilised small town. An upscale bistro/brasserie menu “tastes delicious and is locally sourced” and there’s also “an extensive wine list and cocktail list to choose from”. Top Menu Tips – “Lovely tender and generous portion of Wagyu beef croquette to start. The lamb rump had some really creative vegetable choices with an eastern hint”.

2023 Review: This “excellent South Downs destination in a picture-perfect village” – “with fine, restaurant-quality cooking” from chef Jesse Bryson (ex-Noble Rot and Leroy) – “is flourishing for good reason”. The stone-built seventeenth-century pub was taken over in 2020 by Angus Davies, a former manager at Chez Bruce and Lorne.

Good early reports on this former village pub in the South Downs National Park, which is now a restaurant-with-rooms featuring an eight-course tasting menu plus à la carte dining from former private chef Grant Jones, who trained at Le Gavroche. Game from the surrounding countryside and fresh fish landed at Chichester Harbour are staples of a kitchen that’s well-rated all-round: “an elegantly refurbished conservatory, with a well-balanced menu, all very well executed and efficiently and pleasantly served. Not cheap, but this pub is a cut above the average and worth a visit”.