Hardens Guide to the Best Restaurants in West Sussex
Hardens guides have spent 30 years compiling reviews of the best West Sussex restaurants. On Hardens.com you'll find details and reviews of 142 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 Lamb at Angmering
British, Modern restaurant in Angmering
The Square - BN16
“Wonderful fresh produce and stunning dishes” win fans for the Norbury family’s “fantastic gastropub”, handily placed for the South Downs and coast, and there’s a “great atmosphere” to boot.
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. The Star & Garter
British, Modern restaurant in East Dean
“The surroundings are stunning on the South Downs” at this “relaxed pub” at the heart of the Goodwood Estate, which has “great views if you can sit at the back”. It serves “good straightforward food, with no pretensions”.
5. 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 last 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!
6. The Pig in the South Downs
British, Modern restaurant in Madehurst
The newest Pig opened in West Sussex in September 2021 at Grade II-listed Madehurst Lodge, boasting the largest kitchen garden in the Pig group and also the group’s first vineyard.
7. Gravetye Manor
British, Modern 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!”
8. 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”.
9. 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”.
10. The Pass Restaurant, South Lodge Hotel
British, Modern restaurant in Lower Beeding
Brighton Road - RH13
Run 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.
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