Black Swan, Pease Pottageback to pub details please note - reviews on this site are purely the opinion of site visitors, so don't take them too seriously.
Been coming here on and off for years-definitely not the place it was. Food is overpriced and faddy-not a decent steak or burger to be had anymore. Specials also uninspiring and overpriced.
Bar prices have risen astonishingly, and judging by the fact that on Saturday nights the place is hardly bulging with people and on Sundays which a few years ago were quite busy but now are flat clearly the clientele have finally started to look elsewhere.
Scrap the silly, pretentious menu-put on a reasonable 'session' bitter and a lager and people might start returning. Serving chips with a burger out of an old tin-really!!!!
It's a nice enough place, but losing its way, doubtless due to the brewery food policy but surely if that's the case then the 'specials' could be adapted accordingly-a big potential market is being lost here!!
|
the beer prices are plain unreasnably excessive, I walked out
|
It is a shame, that the far superior, pre-hall and woehouse, THE GRAPES, was neglected and demolished by owners; was real pub, Black Swan, is not a local or a real pub, is a business model to sell food, with irritating piped music, constantly on, as a bonus, The bar service was polite and efficient, but the h and w refusal to allow choice of real ale, other than their own brands, is very backward and shortsighted.
|
Previously the James King, but I'm old enough to remember its original guise as the Black Swan. That was the roughest spit-and-sawdust place imaginable, I was served with a bottle of brown ale which the landlord picked off the shelf and blew an inch-thick layer of dust off !
We had some nice meals there when it first became the James King, and I would imagine that that would be more of the standard now. But it was still difficult to break the old habit of wiping my feet on the way out !
|
A terrible place to eat! The food is almost certainly microwaved & tasted extremely bland. The staff are rude & very arrogant & the atmosphere in general is like one would expect within Hades!
Never again will I set foot in such a place. Awful!
|
Friday lunchtime visit, not busy, ordered two chedder ploughmans. when they came they looked more like a poor salad with thin slices of tasteless cheese. no sweet pickle or chutney as included in the menu. Had to request these separately. Puddings were disappointing, looked better than they tasted. However quick service, and clean.
overall, disappointing visit - had been once before and meal had been better.
|
OK for an odd visit;beer kept well, but awful hall and woodhouse bitter, pub cant help this; the main critiZscism, regarding intrusive, dreadful so-called soul music / modern soul has none - constantly playing, sometimes loudly, i think mainly to help the staff get through the shifts; very wearing and annoying for discerning customers.
|
Thought this was a really nice pub just a shame they sell such crap beers in here.
Plenty of people eating in here on a Saturday at 2pm and an excellent looking menu. Loads of parking, quick service and easy to get to.
|
yeah well nobody sensible round Sussex would drink Tanglefoot since they closed the King And Barnes brewry so they might as well make gravy for the pie out of it.
|
Fab pub, great kept beer. Food was great including the Steak and Tanglefoot Ale pie which was to die for. Two complaints, the service was extremely slow and the front doors were propped open which made the pub cold. When we asked for the doors to closed they refused saying that it would inconvenience customers coming into the pub. I have never been so cold eating a meal as I have there.
|
Lovely pub had a good meal ,great real ales . Seems to have got better over the last few weeks .
|
We went to this pub to celebrate our recent anniversary, based on good reviews in our local press.
All I can say is they must have been lucky!
The overall decor and appearance of the pub is very nice, and it has not long undergone some renovation, and the staff were all helpful and friendly. The clientele were your standard Sunday lunch drinkers and diners, and not "chavvy" as has been said elsewhere, so that's all positive.
Now then the food.
Firstly the menu had a reasonable selection, not too much like many a place, and a decent specials board too, and so all looked well.
My wife and I both ordered the "famous" Steak and Tanglefoot Ale pie, which came with vegetables and buttered mash. The first alarm bell rang when the maels arrived within 5 minutes of being ordered. This smacks of microwaving to me, not freshly cooked as you would expect, especially considering the cost (more on that in a while). The mash was very far removed from it's description! Dry and lumpy would be accurate, certainly not creamy or buttery. The veg comprised mauve cabbage and carrots, which where very overcooked, if not reheated.
On to puddings then. A chocolate brownie for the wife, which was as described and actually nice! A "home made, with real curd" Lemon Meringue for myself. Problem no.1 with it. It was runny, and the base soggy. I took it straight back, saying it wasn't right. The manager brought me a replacement, and apologised that the new chef had heated the other one! I mean come on, heating a meringue!! I had to laugh. Problem 2 is that there is no way these are home made with real curd either, unless the owner is Sara Lee! Definitely a mass produced pie, and it's my favorite, so I know.
Overall then a dreadful meal, made worse by the costs involved. Main courses all over �10 (with the exception of the Sunday roast) and puddings all �4.50 each, for a small portion too. Not good value unless the descriptions offered were true and the meals were nice!
I can't recommend the pub at all to be honest, and would suggest you avoid it like the plague and go to The Cherry Tree down the road towards Horsham. Now there's some real food.
|
Having been invited to eat at The Black Swan on Saturday 24 November, I did some research on BITE just as I tend to do for any pub I have not previously eaten/drunk in. I was not at all impressed by what I read and drove there with some apprehension, arriving early before meeting my dining partner so that I could appraise the place from the outside before being committed to entering. I somehow could not believe that I had been invited there if it was that bad.
It's a little tucked away and must have been on quite a major road before the M23 was built, leading to the closure of the Old London Road as a main thoroughfare. Through the windows, however, one could see a good clientel inside and what appeared to be a very warm and welcoming layout.
Having read the word "chavvy" in a previous review, I somehow expected the usual crouds of exiled smokers around the door braving the frosty air to indulge their habit. There was none of that.
When I did go in to eat and drink some 15 minutes later, I was pleasantly surprised and greatly relieved. The recent extension to the right, rear of the bar as one enters had been cleverly designed, in my opinion, offering a range of seating arrangements and table sizes to afford privacy for those who wanted it and conviviality for those who did not.
The menu seemed extensive with a better range of starters, mains and suites than I have seen in several other, more favourably reviewed establishements. The prices were quite competitive as well.
As for the beer, well with King and Barnes and Badger Ales to choose from, plus a whole gamut of chilled and super-chilled lagers etc., I could not see a reason to be disappointed. Of course, we would all like our beer to be cheaper these days but The Black Swan is not excessively priced for its drinks.
I tried the new "Pickled Partridge" from Badger and, if you have too many of those, you'll swap places with the partridge before too long!
Although I was not served by all the staff (a physical impossibility in the time available), those who served us were polite, courteous and seemed to care whether our food and drink was to our liking. I saw neither illicit self-service nor any other untoward behaviour born of over-familiarity with a member of staff. I did observe other customer/staff inter-action as far as I could, and everyone seemed to be enjoying the same friendly service. We certainly had a chat with two of the staff who did not appear in the slightest to be inconvenienced by it.
Diners ranged from a young couple at one table to groups of varying sizes and varying ages at others. No-one seemed to be out of place or ill at ease.
I have to admit that I did not finish my main course - unheard of for me - but the fact that I was not feeling well with what turned out to be the beginnings of a chest infection probably accounted for that. It was delicious and there were no complaints to be levelled at the food.
As for the piped music being too loud - well, all right if you were near to the bar it might have been but it was unnoticed in the extension where we ate. As I am a classical fan, however, however loud or soft common-or-garden piped music is, it is likely not to suit my taste but that's my fault, not the pub's.
My verdict? Go there if you're near (I drove 45 minutes for it) and give it an honest chance and I don't think that you'll be disappointed. I do hope to go back again when the opportunity arises and have no reservations at all now.
|
I have been here recently for a couple of drinks and did not enjoy the experience; as per the previous commentator, loud piped music; staff quite efficient, but lacking in courtesy ie please and thank you, pretty graceless. I was not made to feel welcome.
The clientele included a large squad of Loud tradesmen congregating around the bar serving area - one was serving himself over the bar from a lager pump [obviously this is a pub where if you are in with barmaid and she is busy, this goes]Im not saying he was stealing the beer, but it gave one a pretty good idea of the chavvy standards here.
The beer was OK, but I wont be going here again
|
Visited for lunch yesterday. I was driving so couldn't comment on the quality of the beer.
I did feel that the piped music was played at an annoyingly loud level.
I ordered bangers and mash. Meal arrived but then I had to search for mustard! None was offered when meal turned up.
anonymous - 26 Apr 2007 02:05 |
Last week I visited this pub which was the first time I had been since the refurbishment. I have to say I think they have done a great job and the pub looked great. I stopped for dinner with my wife and we had a really tasty meal, reasonably priced with good, honest, friendly service.
No compaints here! I will be visiting more often!
|
My experience of this pub was terrific. It's been tastefully and thoughtfully restored/extended - has a nice, unthreatening ambience and the food (well my pie) was delicious (with veg that tasted of something). Staff were friendly and as nice a glass of Caneletto (red wine to you) as I've had in a while. I'm certainly going again.
anonymous - 19 Jan 2007 06:31 |
Bit cautious having read last two reviews, but we had a pleasant dining and drinking experience at this pub. Nice surrounds; Friendly staff; and well cooked and presented food
|
I revisited the Black Swan for the first time since the refurbishment yesterday. When we walked in we were hit with the �wow� factor at the increased restaurant and garden space. The revamped restaurant is tastefully decorated and is a good job well done.
Sadly the wow factor soon deflated����whilst the menu encourages children to try other dishes on the menu by ordering a smaller appetite dish - the reality of our experience was that this is not the case. The roast dinner was advertised on a board as beef or chicken with �smaller roast� below. I asked for a smaller roast chicken meal for one child and was advised that it only comes in one size, as the chicken portion is one size (!). I asked for a smaller portion of cottage pie and was told that the portion was already made in one size dish therefore I had to pay for an adult portion for a child of 8 who naturally only ate a third of it if that.
I had the roast beef dinner. My daughter had the chicken roast and did not have a Yorkshire pudding. We asked for one and chef advised (via the waitress) that there would be an additional charge for this. My party of 6 found this quite incredulous and as one of the adults remarked �its things like this that don�t make you want to come back� I gave my daughter my Yorkshire pudding.
One child faced with an adult portion of cottage pie found a hair in hers. I sent it back to the kitchen asking that we not be charged extra for that. We of course then had to wait for another meal to arrive, by which time the rest of us had finished. I asked for a refund for that meal, which was given, but only when I suggested that that might be an appropriate course of action.
I have written to the manager today and made the following suggestions:
� There are such things as slices of chicken which could serve a child�s roast dinner
� Get some smaller dishes and produce some smaller appetite dishes such as cottage pie so that children aren�t faced with a mountain of food (which isn�t particularly appetising) and parents aren�t left feeling that they have paid well over the odds for a family meal!
� A Yorkshire pudding costs pennies to produce, yet is the straw that breaks the camel�s back with regard to customer satisfaction
There were 3 adults and 3 children in our party plus 1 adult who did not eat. We had to pay for 6 adult meals, with a high amount of food wasted, and this has left a very bad taste in my mouth. I will seriously consider before visiting the Black Swan again and will definitely not be recommending this establishment.
|
Having enjoyed this pub previously, I got taken there for fathers day with a voucher for a free drink with every meal. Why not? Sounded good to me.
I have not been more disappointed in a meal out for over a year.
4 out of 5 meals we ordered had a problem - with temperature, flavour, the order, being overcooked, etc.
The service was sub-standard.
I consider myself a mild-mannered person who can give rational feedback in a quiet maner, but the manager and other staff seemed alomst smug and officious, not wanting to accept criticism.
I was in the wrong and walked out absolutely furious.
I will never go back again and advise you to avoid this place - there are far more courteous and lovely pubs in the area.
It's not worth having an evening which makes you have to come back and rant on a website!
To top it all, the voucher which says "a free drink with every main meal" only applies to one main meal.
How this can be "every" main meal I have no idea.
Rant over, deep breaths, relax.
There's plenty of nice pubs and nice managers in the area - just will never visit this place again!
|
Reasonable food and a decent selection of beers. Popular at lunchtime with office workers. Just not a very pubby atmosphere.
anonymous - 22 Sep 2005 12:46 |
very nice, and ,clean, place quiet, and busy, with some music night, very good ambience music also, and exelent food i will continue to go and hope to see more people there.
juju - 6 Feb 2005 22:28 |
stratigicly placed between london and brighton (m23 j11)this pub brings in many a passer by and discerning local, although quite expenive the menu is varied and the food is good ,as far as i know its the only place in crawley that does a t bone! so worth a visit.
|
|
