Gardeners Arms, Ardinglyback to pub details please note - reviews on this site are purely the opinion of site visitors, so don't take them too seriously.
It looks like a pub but it’s more of a restaurant that serves drinks
Having said that the staff are welcoming, the service is good, the menu inviting and the quality of the food is very good.
It is a shame that you cannot get a decent pint. Someone needs to shoot the brewers at Hall and Woodhouse or they should start to put some guest ales on tap.
Not everyone wants to drink wine all the time and we should be respecting a bit of tradition.
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Overpriced food, and even though of good quality, small portions. Overall disappointing.
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the gardeners is a nice pub but since its changed i havent enjoyed it, the staff are very un welcoming to people who just want a drink there.I used to be a regular there but since i got told i had to eat if i wanted a drink, i have been going to the ardingly inn which is a lovely pub, that does homemade food and now cooks all day sunday! which is brilliant
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I've been about five times in the last couple of years. Yes, The Gardeners Arms HAS changed a bit and is now more a restaurant than a pub, however each time I've returned I have been pleasantly surprised to find the same high level of welcome, service and excellent food.
I'm going again tomorrow night and can't wait. I fully expect my meal to be up to the same high standard I've experienced on my previous visits.
I have no hesitation in recommending this establishment and do, frequently! It's fairly local for me, makes a nice evening out and is always something to look forward to, knowing the standard is high.
For anyone who wants a more traditional pub The Ardingly Inn (also Hall & Woodhouse) is just down the road in the village. The food there is good but not on a level with the Gardeners Arms.
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I agree with previous posters that say that this is more of a restaurant than a pub. Called in for a quick bite while walking around Ardingly. This was New Years Day holiday so I expected pubs to be busy. However it was table service only and we would have had at least a 20 minute wait for a table at 1:30 so headed for Wakehurst Tea room instead as it was on our route.
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First time visit , not so much a pub as a restaurant with bar. They seem to rerfer you not to go to the bar but order from your table., don't like that, prefer to pay for a drink at the bar then look at the menu so can walk out if we dont like it . Efficient waitress service at tables, our food - massive chicken & ham pie in an enamel pie dish with side dishes of mash & leeks, my lemon chicken in vegetable broth was good but 3 tiny pieces of new potato was a bit mean, there were some other veg but I was glad to have ordered an extra side of veg
Weird shaped bowl meant that every time I put down my knife to pick up my drink the knife slipped in and the handle dunked in the broth. Treacle tart & custard as good as my granny used to make.
Having to have a pee with Alan Tichmarsh & Monty Don's pictures in the cubicle was just plain creepy. Gent's are watched over by Charlie Dimmock.
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Having enjoyed lots of meals over many years at this pub, we were hugely
dissapointed recently, it seems new management have made changes,
our meal increased by 50% since we were last there in march, the tasty fresh vegetables had gone and now consisted of two leaves of we believe
cabbage, difficult to tell as they were not cooked, the size of them about 3"
round, which was the size of the dish they were served in. very nice new potatoes served in a dish and steak and ale pie again served in its own
dish. I havnt mentioned a plate as you are not given one, how pretentious is that, on calling the waitress over and requesting plates, we were told there had been complaints. This pub has gone downhill so far it is now out
of sight, certainly to me, The brewery are totally disinterested in my
comments, offering to post some vouchers ,which is not my reason to
comment, nor are they wanted. A very dissapointed ex customer of
20 years at this pub.
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nice setting nice looking pub order food wait one hour get pissd off and go home hungry.cant comment on food as it never arrives.didnt see anyone eating all just waiting.do yourself a favor and dont go!
pogle - 27 Sep 2009 16:23 |
Given the pub's proximity to the South of England Showground and Wakehurst Place it's probably fair to say that it relies on ever changing passing trade rather than regulars. Perhaps that would explain their lack of interest in keeping customers happy.
A couple of days before Christmas I visited the pub with my parents to have a drink and some lunch before going to Wakehurst Place. I can't fault the beer or the cosy ambiance. However, after completing our starters we must have been waiting an hour since originally ordering. We enquired at the bar and an undertaking was made to find out what was happening. Five minutess later we asked a passing, different member of staff and they said we would receive a discount (is that all?) and that the meals were been "plated up" (how long does it take to "plate up" three basic meals?). I think a certain amount of economy with the truth was being taken as five to ten minutes later we still didn't have our main courses. We asked for our money back for them at the bar and left. The kitchen staff had presumably lost or thrown the slip with our order on it away after the starters were served, and bar staff were hardly bending over backwards to apologise or offer appropriate recompense. What a shambles. We won't be visting again. We have written to complain and await a response.
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Had lunch here yesterday. The steak and Tanglefoot pie (with chips of course, not mash!) has always been an attraction here, but they seem to have lost the plot a little yesterday. Pies were not as good as they have been in the past. Long wait, too which didn't help. I hope this doesn't mean they are sliding downwards. Beer (Badger) was good though, and the building itself is always a pleasant enough place to be!
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Beer ok but very dissappointed with the food. Had a Sunday lunch of roast beef which was poor, overcooked veg, soggy yorkshire and the roast potatoes were awful
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i fail to understand how this pub managed to get 5 out of ten unless the people rating are trying to keep it there secret.
The beef and tanglefoot pie with french fries instead of mash is perfection.
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Def. a food pub. Pudding heaven. Save your self for the one and only 'James Brownie!' And if you are a wine lush like me, theres a good choice...hic!
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Excellent and reasonably priced food, decent lager (Hofbrau I think), and local ales; but more of a food pub than somewhere to drink all night.
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