please note - reviews on this site are purely the opinion of site visitors, so don't take them too seriously.
It's been many years since I was last drinking in Battle. But I paid a return visit yesterday to visit the Bull Inn and also the Squirrel (just to the west of town and not listed on BITE). The Bull is on the High Street and has the feel of a café bar, which belies its history as a pub. There are two rooms. The one at the front was crowded with locals. The rear room had the Wimbledon Women's Tennis Final on and seemed to be more for diners. There also appeared to be a courtyard area at the side. The house beer is Top Bull from Old Dairy. They also regularly have the eponymous Harvey's Sussex Best Bitter. The guest beer was Fuller's London Pride. The entertainment was being provided by the landlady (or possibly barmaid), who was getting extremely excited about the prospect of Simona Halep winning the tennis!
|
A good range of ales on tap and very welcoming staff. Clearly been modernised recently and this takes a little away from the history of the place, and it feels less warm as a result. Nevertheless I enjoyed my time here
|
Had a few pints in here the other day and I must say I enjoyed it, the owners have had a good tidy up. The beer selection maybe a little limited but tasted fine and although I didn't eat the portions and quality of the food great. Worth a visit.
|
still slimey
|
Clean and friendly Inn witch would recodmmend to anyone.
Have stayed here 2ce this year and enjoyed breakfast, staff and ambiance
I have stayed in other establashiments in this area and i think ths is the best
|
is this true? still there at moment
|
We hear that the current owners are looking for a quick sale?
|
were having a bit of a pub crawl, went to go in but inside looked like a scene from the hills have eyes! we just shivered and moved on!!!
|
I vist the town andcalled into have a lunch time drink very freindly beer very good decided to have lunch all very good value for money
|
went to this pub twice in one week, both times barmaids unattentive-prefering to gossip or chat up the one or two young men there. the beer was ok though, didnt try the food, didnt fancy the dog hair floating around
|
Went to Battle for a weekend and was looking for somwhere to stay for two nights, Went in to the Bull Inn for a morning coffee and a slice of homemade cake was very nice. The staff was very friendly. Booked into the the bed and breakfast, whilst the rooms were comfortable needed some improvements, however the new owners had only taken over in the last two months. The breakfast was very good and the landladies were very freindly and welcoming.
I was staying in the bed and breakfast on my own and all staff and the owners made me feel very welcome. Had a very nice lunch, and enjoyed a socialable drink with the landlard. It will be very interesting to go back in a few months to see the improvements to the rooms.
|
Fully agree with previous comments, but now under new ownership, very pleasant, good beers and wines, menu looks good, haven't tried it yet, coffee or tea and delicious looking home made cake in the day time. Friendly and attentive bar staff, especially on a Thursday evening.
|
Eight of us met here on 2nd January for a game of darts, a beer and some food. I understand this pub is up for sale and this is reflected in the absolutely vile food we were served. Think dodgy burger van, the food actually smelt and tasted so bad that four of us left it. Meanwhile, the landlord and lady sat opposite eating their steak and never battered and eye lid. So the sooner they sell it the better and good luck to whoever buys it if that's how these people treat their customers. Given that some of our group were known to them quite an achievement.
|
I enjoyed a few visits to this pub, always seemed very welcoming to me, maybe they have new staff.
|
We stayed at this pub B & B and had a meal there. The tables in the pub were terminally sticky and the meal table was unwashed-the meal itself was very ordinary. The bar staff were indifferent, but the landlord and landlady were absent when we arrived, and the staff let them down badly by their lackadaisical service. The accomodation is very 'rustic' and the plumbing very noisy throughout the night, but the bed was very comfortable and the breakfast was delicious.
LANDLADY - train your staff to clean properly and teach them to smile!!
anonymous - 29 Aug 2006 18:08 |
Quite frankly the worst pub meal I've ever had was at The Bull, on the High street in Battle, East Sussex.
Beef and ale pie, microwaved within an inch of its life. The beef was hard and rubbery. The pastry was as soggy as a nappy. The new potatoes didn't even taste like potatoes, and the veg were overcooked.
I took a couple of mouthfulls and then had to go back up to the bar to say that it was not acceptable and that i would not pay for it.
The very nice bar-girl was apologetic and asked me if I wanted anything else, which I declined, saying I'd have some of my wife's macaroni cheese.
That too, was vile. It was the consistency of tacky glue, and the cheese tasted of anything but cheese.
So I took that back as well.
But I was in perfectly good humour about it all, and was happy to walk away with a chuckle, paying for the drinks and the nuggets & chips that my 3 yr old son ate (no taste that boy).
Good humour that is, until the owner was summoned.
He was a good 6'2" (in most directions) and came and stood with his nose inches from mine. "I 'ear there's a problem" he grunts.
I explained the problem and he gave the usual "we ain't 'ad no complaints before".
Of course you haven't had any complaints! There were no customers to complain! This was a hot Friday night in June in a pretty tourist town and the place was almost empty apart from us misguided fools, two men drinking alone, and the owner and a couple of his friends. That apart, there were 30 empty seats.
If this was a good pub he would have had 50 people sitting over the course of the evening, paying an average of �20 a head. That would be �1000 takings that night instead of the pittence he would have taken.
But then he said: I 'eard you was eating the macaroni.
I said that I picked at it but could not eat it, to which he shouts down to the kitchen to get the plate back to check I was not lying!
I lay �10 down on the bar, saying I'll pay for the drinks and the god knows what that my son ate, and walk out.
"Oi 'old on" the landlord says "wait we ain't got your plate up yet..." Feeling like I was taking my life in my hands, I keep walking.
Most people can tolerate a bad meal, if the complaint is handled with good grace and apology. When it's handled aggressively, that's when people lose their humour.
This will be printed off and sent to the landlord (anonymously because he was large and aggressive).
anonymous - 5 Jul 2006 22:24 |
A warm welcome in the High Street. The Bull is always worth a visit when in Battle, the beers are well kept, the food is reasonable and fairly priced, the staff are easily engaged in friendly banter and humour can quickly fill the bars with relaxing background noise. A bit of a gem.
|
