Uckfield Restaurant Guide

“In a delightful village”, this “scenic” gastroboozer-with-rooms continues to please, two years after longtime owners the Pullan family handed the keys to the Young’s group; the “best atmosphere is in the bar” (as opposed to the annexe), though the “great garden” remains the standout here, offering lovely views of the Ouse countryside.

This “extremely popular” 16th-century free house with four bedrooms, in a hilltop village in the Sussex Weald, has everything you want in a country pub, from “very good cooking” and beamed interiors to “a lovely pint of Harvey’s”.

“A lovely setting overlooking the gardens towards the South Downs” helps set up a “top-class experience” at this Elizabethan country house spa-hotel: “decor… ambience… service… food all are first rate”. Mind you, “there‘s nothing flash/super-creative about any of this: they know their market and it’s just really well executed”.

“For us, as garden lovers, a magical place” – this Elizabethan country house in the Sussex countryside sits in grounds laid out in the 1880s by the famous landscape gardener who then owned the property (and has been a hotel since 1958). “It‘s probably best to enjoy Gravetye in the summer when it is delightful to wander round the beautiful gardens with an aperitif” and to get the most out of “the modern, conservatory-style dining room, which is simply dazzling in design, creating a feeling of almost being in the garden”. Since its 2019 relaunch, there has been a major upgrade to the cuisine here, with chef George Blogg preparing “beautifully balanced dishes with assured use of ingredients”: “seasonal produce is allowed to shine and sing”. (The food would score even higher if the odd reporter did not find it “a bit safe”). Staff generally “can’t do enough for you” but ratings slipped slightly this year on one or two “hit ’n’ miss” experiences in this regard. No complaints of any significance were highlighted, and the general impression is that a meal here is “so smart, and of such quality”.

There’s no doubting the “great” setting of this former religious hostel, which lies at the foot of the Sussex Downs on the banks of the Cuckmere River; having been acquired by hospitality whizz Olga Polizzi in 2021, it’s now an “upmarket country hotel” replete with Bloomsbury set artworks and (in the dining room) a gorgeous Elizabethan-esque floor. With River Café alum Tim Kensett having moved on to his Scottish wild-dining concept Inverlonan Dining, head chef Vincenzo Petrocco is currently at the helm; the “food is mainstream Anglo-French with good fish and meat options” and while “not inexpensive” (“you can eat in the best London restaurants at their prices”) and described by sceptics as “good but fairly ordinary”, more positive reporters believe the “quality cooking and service justify the bill”.

Recently relaunched, this hotel dining room set in an Arts & Crafts boutique hotel and wedding venue with “excellent views” over Happy Valley is a “real treat”. The original interior includes a stained-glass window and a fireplace, and chef Scott Goss makes best use of locally sourced ingredients.

“Probably the most luxurious restaurant in the Tunbridge Wells area” – “Richard Phillips’s modern French gourmet flagship is still popular with the area’s well-heeled consumers of fine dining” and – though arguably “not as high-profile as it once was” – remains one of the top-100 most commented-on restaurants in our annual diners’ poll. All reports attest to its “lovely location in a very attractive Regency villa” and “lovely, finely pitched service”. On the downside, the food can be “a bit hit ’n’ miss”: mostly it’s to a “good standard”, but there is also the odd report suggesting it’s “technically fine but with some over-fussy, confused elements”, notwithstanding the “beautiful presentation”. (A romantic and business recommendation, no-one claimed it as providing their top gastronomic experience of the year). Top Tip – “exceptional-value set lunch”.

“Ambience is not key when you just want to stuff your face!” – you “just get a great dirty burger” at these tongue-in-cheek diners, whose signature offering is the ‘Dead Hippie’. Founded 16 years ago from the back of a truck by Scott Collins and Yianni Papoutsis, at the time a technician with the English National Ballet, it now has 15 London outlets and a national delivery operation.

This “lovely thatched country boozer” with a pretty beer garden and great views of the South Downs is highly popular in our annual diners’ poll as an “absolute go-to place for the most excellent, innovative and delicious pub food”, in “a lovely quiet spot”. It’s the country cousin of the high-quality Gingerman group in Brighton, seven miles away – and does a roaring Sunday lunch trade.

“Outstanding pizza that’s super-light and oozing Italian style” (“not usually a pizza fan but really enjoyed the food”) has made the name of this “buzzing and hilarious” but also “good- value” Neapolitan joint. It’s now part of a five-strong chain, spanning two London outposts (the most recent in chi-chi Covent Garden), a newly refurbed Hove branch and this, the original, where “sitting outside to people watch is also great – it’s Brighton after all!”.

“For a large chain, they still do pretty much unbeatable Mexican fusion fare”, say fans of these “busy and atmospheric” street-food cafés, now with 11 London branches and three others around the UK. That said, there are also some niggles in feedback; and the sentiment is widespread that – though “still enjoyable” – the food can seem “a little mass-produced”. Even so, practically all diners still consider them “dependable for a quick, cheap ’n’ cheerful bite”. Top Tip – the new, 150-cover Paddington branch is their first opening in six years and puts a focus on sustainability and a menu including some larger sharing plates (e.g. grilled Achiote Seabass, Lamb Barbacoa and Chimichurri Cauliflower).

“Brighton’s most popular restaurant” (our survey agrees – it’s the most commented-on in town): “small plates rule – and the choices are definitely out-of-the-ordinary” – at Pamela & Ben McKellar’s venue in the Lanes, where “most of the seating is counter-style, which is great but arguably limits its appeal (you have to be very lucky to get one of the tables if you want a six, for example)”. For £50 per person, you can avoid having to choose and go for the chef’s short tasting menu, which is “really good, and a good representation of the kitchen”. Notwithstanding its popularity and virtues, though, ratings overall here are only in the middle ground and one or two more sceptical reporters “expected more given its reputation… I’m not sure exactly what it is attempting”.

“Exceptional seafood, ultra-fresh off the boat” is the order of the day at this classic oyster bar down “one of the cutest winding alleys in the Lanes” – “every Brightonian has either been in this place or stared longingly through the window” since it opened almost 20 years ago, and it’s “definitely a must-stop for visitors to the town”. “The USP is that you can choose your fish from a board showing the day’s catches. When it’s gone, it’s gone (but it’s annoying when the board isn’t kept up-to-date – we missed out on the Dover sole!)”. There’s a newer branch in the Rotunda on the Promenade (see also). Top Menu Tip – “the seafood risotto”.

“You just cannot beat” the “brilliantly cooked, juicy/sloppy burgers”, say fans of this indie group – “they’re worth the dirty fingers afterwards”. Founded by Joe Grossman in 2012, it now has seven outlets (plus two concessions) in London and another in Brighton, and after negotiating a tricky patch on home turf opened its first international branch in Dubai last year.