Hardens Guide to the Best Restaurants in West Sussex
Hardens guides have spent 29 years compiling reviews of the best West Sussex restaurants. On Hardens.com you'll find details and reviews of 139 restaurants in West Sussex and our unique survey based approach to rating and reviewing West Sussex restaurants gives you the best insight into the top restaurants in every area and of every type of cuisine.
Featured West Sussex Restaurants
1. The Parsons Table
British, Modern restaurant in Arundel
2 & 8 Castle Mews, Tarrant Street - BN18
“Deservedly popular, local chef-run place in the middle of town” – a simply but effectively decorated operation run by Lee & Liz Parsons, which won very consistently high ratings all-round this year for its “thoughtful but relaxed service” and “wonderful” cooking that “makes brilliant use of local produce” to create “fantastic flavours”: “the bread alone tells you the place knows its stuff!” A meal comes “at a realistic price” too.
2. Amberley Castle
British, Modern restaurant in Amberley
“A romantic and beautiful ruined medieval castle” – dating from the era when bishops required a fortified residence – makes a “stunning location” for a Brownsword hotel. The food served in the first-floor dining room, under a 12th-century barrel-vaulted ceiling, is generally felt to be “pretty good”, although it (and the service) is “not quite up to a level that matches the setting”. “Afternoon tea served on tiered cake stands in the gardens (complete with a noisy white peacock named Bob)” is a very safe bet.
3. East Street Bar & Grill
British, Modern restaurant in Petworth
New Street - GU28
With its stylish interiors and large garden, this modern brasserie in the heart of the town offers an “accessible” menu, with something for everyone, majoring in “excellent steaks and grills (including venison)”.
4. Lickfold Inn
British, Modern restaurant in Lickfold
Highstead Ln - GU28
It’s all change again at this out-of-the-way old country pub, north of Petworth. DJ Chris Evans owned it about five years ago, then Tom Sellers ran it, but that came to an end this year, and as of August 30 2019, it has a new management team and a less ‘fine dining’ approach than under the chef of London’s Restaurant Story. Reports please!
5. Ockenden Manor
British, Modern restaurant in Cuckfield
Ockenden Ln - RH17
Open for breakfast, lunch and dinner, mid-morning coffee or a full afternoon tea. Led by award-winning Head Chef, Stephen Crane, the Restaurant serves some of the finest food in Sussex, and is a beautiful space with far-reaching views over Cuckfield Park. You may like to sit b...
6. Gravetye Manor
British, Traditional restaurant in East Grinstead
Vowels Lane - RH19
“George Blogg’s plot-to-plate food is just superb” at this famous Elizabethan manor, where a major investment in a new “stunning glass-fronted dining room” provides “both warmth and class” and is emblematic of its reemergence as a seriously good dining destination. “Set amidst a stunning, natural garden” – created in the 1880s and of significant importance if you’re into horticultural history – “lovely leafy walks are thrown in”. It’s is very much not a cheap experience, but the equation stacks up for most (if not quite all) reporters: “it broke the bank… but we’ll be back!”
7. Jeremy’s at Borde Hill
British, Modern restaurant in Haywards Heath
Borde Hill, Borde Hill Gardens - RH16
“Just a delight” – set among 200 acres of landscaped gardens, Jeremy & Vera Ashpool’s “overwhelmingly popular venue” has been a “consistent favourite” for many years in a part of Sussex with “little competition”. The food is “of a high standard, with an occasional nod to grande cuisine”, and “relatively good value”, while “the terraced area is particularly pretty on a summer’s evening”. Be warned, though, it can be “busy with wedding receptions”.
8. The Horse Guards Inn
British, Traditional restaurant in Tillington
Upperton Rd - GU28
“Quirky”, “laid back” old country pub (“nicer than most”) just outside Petworth, which continues to win very consistent praise for its “excellent grub” – “every meal is original and exceptionally well-prepared”.
9. The Pass Restaurant, South Lodge Hotel
British, Modern restaurant in Lower Beeding
Brighton Road - RH13
Run for just a year by chef Tom Kemble, an alumnus of Sweden’s famous Fäviken who made his name at Bonhams in Mayfair, this funky venue features 28 covers served from an open kitchen, in an apparently staid country-house hotel: “an enjoyable and well-presented concept” whose “interesting tasting menu” inspires very enthusiastic (albeit nowadays rather limited) feedback.
10. Bailiffscourt Hotel
British, Modern restaurant in Climping
Climping St - BN17
A plush spa-hotel, medieval in style, but actually built in the 1920s for a Guinness scion, and located a short stroll through woodland to the Climping coastline (Arundel castle is also within easy reach); the dining room, with its tapestry-adorned walls and mullioned windows, was consistently highly rated this year (if on limited feedback).
View full listings of 139 West Sussex Restaurants
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Top West Sussex Restaurants
These are the top restaurants in West Sussex based on reviews by Hardens users.
Gravetye Manor
Jeremy’s at Borde Hill
The Horse Guards Inn
The Pass Restaurant, South Lodge Hotel
Bailiffscourt Hotel
Restaurant Tristan
The Town House
The Parsons Table
Popular Cuisines in West Sussex