please note - reviews on this site are purely the opinion of site visitors, so don't take them too seriously.
Charming pub off the beaten track in Sussex. Nice inglenook fire and rustic interior. Near the Ebernoe Common nature reserve. Many tables laid for dining, but it did not feel like a gastro-pub: still a welcoming place for drinkers and locals. Plenty of pictures of locals enjoying "country pursuits" so I think this place is at the heart of the community.
(didn't try the food but the menu looked hearty).
As discussed by other punters below: Badger range of ales. I think 3 hand pumps: in good condition. So not a huge range, but still a nice offering.
Friendly, unfussy staff. Worth seeking out if you appreciate old fashioned (in the best sense of the world) pubs.
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After a visit to the very quiet but pleasant Sun Inn at Plaistow (not listed on here), we moved onto this pub. Despite being a Hall & Woodhouse pub, it was one of our favourites of the day. Set in a nice country area, the pub seems to do most things well. There is a small bar for the locals, a restaurant for the tourists and nice outdoor drinking areas at the front and rear. The garden at the rear was especially nice and adjacent to it, there was even a place to park your horse! Beers on were Kings & Barnes Sussex Draught Bitter & Badger Bitter & Fursty Ferret. The cider was Westons Old Rosie. Toilets are outside and very traditional! A rustic place that was only beaten by one other pub on the day.
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Four of us came in after 10.00 p.m. hoping for a drink and if we were lucky, some food. Although they had shut the kitchen, they were willing to re-open it for us and we all had some vey good fish and chips.
The ale on offer is all Hall & Woodhouse and the Hopping Hare and the Badger were both well kept
A busy local with friendly and helpful management and staff. Worth a return visit for sure.
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Seems to be a combination of a local's boozer and a foodie pub, and all the better for it. The emphasis is on the food, and there's a comfortable dedicated dining room that makes up the right-hand side of the pub. The menu is varied and interesting and has been put together with some thought, rather than churning out pub staples. I had a delicious plate of cold meats & bread with olive oil for a starter followed by Sunday roast which was well presented, plentiful and tasty.
Beer-wise, well being a Hall & Woodhouse pub choice was limited to Badger's own offerings that day, a shame as there are so many wonderful Sussex & Surrey ales around. That said, the Hopping Hare was nicely kept and flavoursome and a couple of those with my meal slipped down a treat.
On sunny days there's plenty of seating to the front where you can watch the world go by (slowly), and parking is plentiful. Certainly worth a trip if you'd like to treat friends to a nice meal or just chill awhile with a pint.
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I originally come from the South Coast and we are here this week for a week's holiday (myself, my wife and our small son - we live in Prague now).
We wanted to have an authentic meal in the countryside and chose the stag because of the reviews on this site.
It was a good decision.
The food was EXCELLENT and the owners appeared to honestly care about their customers.
I am giving the Stag at Petworth 9/10 and not 10/10 because they were serving shop French Fries :-(
Everything else though was home-cooked and perfect :-)
We also liked the selection of Ales in addition to the wonderful sausages, steak, and desserts which we woofed down. Highly recommended!
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not the pub it was under Hamish
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Was lucky enough to be at The Stag during the fantastic Easter bank holiday....food was fantastic and the Pimms was cold fruity and fresh! Quietly and contentedly drank away the sunny afternoon in the beautiful garden. The woods nearby helped me walk off some of the over indulgence....cant wait to go back!
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Well, I hope G.R.T. is right - though I just have a niggling feeling in the back of my mind that he (she?) may have some slight connection to the new management. Anyway, good luck to them - and good luck to Hamish where ever he's gone. He ran a great pub.
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This charming country pub is now run by Ruben and Simon who have retained the much loved appeal and atmosphere created by the previous landlord. The quality of the food has significantly improved using fresh local produce prepared to an exceptionally high standard and still at pub prices! Service and hospitality is outstanding, always friendly and make you feel very welocme and at home.
So the pub that can not improve just gets better...
G.R.T - 14 Apr 2011 12:55 |
April 2011 - phoned today for accomodation and confirmed that Hamish has departed and that accomodation is no longer available.
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Visit quick if you like this pub as I hear Hamish is leaving at the end of Feb. Lets hope new tennants don't change too much else it will loose its appeal and nice atmosphere. Hamish will be a hard act to follow.
andy8 - 31 Dec 2010 15:49 |
Back again and stayed the night. Dinner lovely. Breakfast great. Tangle Foot plus two other ales - A1. Still no shower in the bathroom but this fits in with that feeling that you have gone back in time ....... glad to see the outside Gents is still there. Down to earth and recommended. Long may it last!
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Stayed a night here earlier in the year, and I can endorse everything that's been said below - this is a cracking example of everything a pub ought to be.
The landlord and staff are outstanding - welcoming and helpful in every way. The bar is small, with a roaring log fire when we were there. A full house of locals, but we weren't made to feel unwelcome or out of place. Badger beers aren't my favourite, but the 'Sussex' was very drinkable.
If I was eating here again I think I'd opt for two starters (or perhaps just the one!) My wife and I were both so full by the time we'd finished these that we weren't able to do justice to our main courses (though we made up for it with the 'full English' the following morning). The dining room is decorated with a mass of fascinating sporting prints and drawings - this is a pub very much with its heart in the country.
Bedrooms quirky, comfortable and full of character.(And if you're staying there, you don't have to use the outside toilet in the middle of the night!)
Altogether, there's not much to fault about this place; I hope to be back sooner rather than later.
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Nothing can be said that hasn't already been said - it just can't improve.
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Visited again recently, just to see how it was going. Pleased to report that it is still at the top of its game. It is still a genuine 'pub' thank God, with all beers and ciders well kept, and Hamish the landlord, is able to combine effortless affability, with equally effortless efficiency, and his staff follow suit. The barmaid/waitress was so superbly friendly and capable, that the leaving of a large tip was a necessity, rather than a responsibility.
As ever, the nosh was better than 'pub', well cooked and in even more vast proportions than I recall from my last visit (we dined in the beautiful garden as the sun went down).
We stayed overnight again, and revelled once more in the quirkiness of the ancient architecture - (apropos of which, there is a wonderful entry in the Guest Book as follows - "Thank God for drunken English builders!")
O.K. the guest bathroom is an experience, and the gentlemen's toilets are a blast from the past, but this is why you want to go there!
If you want bland, clinical "Chain-pub" - then I wish you joy. But if you want a unique experience in a real pub (plus a breakfast that has to be seen to be believed) then seek out "The Stag" now!!
Still nothing to criticise negatively, hence - top marks.
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Visited and stayed the weekend again. Dinner excellent with big portions. Breakfast absolutely tremendous. Three real ales on the go. Hamish the landlord and the staff are all friendly. The bathroom is still basic but somehow it fits in with the charm of the place and the character of the building.
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If you need an update since February? It's still a great pub. I went at the weekend and ales and the food were well priced and tasty. Landlord friendly....it's all been said before.
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Just visited and stayed overnight. Cracking pub, superb in every way as well as being endearingly quirky. Great welcome, extremely friendly 'nothing is too much trouble' landlord and staff, well cooked pub nosh in vast portions plus very good value. Beers well-kept; great log-fire, good atmosphere and a breakfast whose proportions defeated me! Can't really think of anything to criticise negatively. Go now while it lasts, as you can eat and stay there, but it is still a proper pub.
Top marks
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Took the advise of the other reviewers and visited this place staying overnight Saturday and Sunday, coming home yesterday. What a great place. Fantastic breakfast, great location and Hamish is a great host. Loved his dogs... Will go again.
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What a great pub -- like stepping back to a gentler time. The Dorset ales (they took over the local King & Barnes brewery) are well kept and fairly priced. The grub is unpretentious and wholesome, also reasonably priced for this very expensive area. Landlord pleasant and welcoming; decor original and unspoilt; lovely log fire; locals friendly; and dogs allowed. Go there now, this can't last!
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This pub is greatly improved, now that there is no smoking inside, as it is quite small.
Good selection of drinks at very reasonable prices!
Well worth a visit, if you can find it.
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the landlord here knows what he's doing, well kept beer, lovely food, nice selection of whisky and wine. did shut in the afternoon between 3 and 6 ish when i went there though so you might want to phone to make sure of opening times to avoid dissapointment
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I was at this pub for new years a few years back and have been in the now and then since and it's one of my favourite pubs, great beer, great food and great staff ... had a right laugh and got talking to complete strangers very friendly atmosphere... well worth a visit if your passing through!
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Very pleasant local. Excellent Sussex bitter (apparently now brewed in Dorset!) and friendly landlord. Bar snacks were tasty and good value
anonymous - 30 Aug 2006 20:02 |
We visited and stayed overnight a few weeks ago in January. Plenty of lovely food, great ale and a big fire in a real olde world building which includes an outside Gents loo. The room was clean and pleasant but the bathroom lacked a shower. There was a big bath and this seemed to fit in with a great feeling of history in the building. Recommended and, the breakfast is good too.
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Excellent country local.
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Possibly the best pub in the world. The beer is well kept and well priced, the landlord and staff are as friendly as you'll ever find. If the fruit machine didn't suck in all my money I'd practically live there. Make sure you try the food and sit in the lovely garden too.
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A real country pub - one of the few remaining in the UK. A warm welcome guaranteed in this 17th century, stone-floored bar with inglenook fireplace and real ale.
Al-C - 19 Sep 2004 11:03 |
