please note - reviews on this site are purely the opinion of site visitors, so don't take them too seriously.
The Fox Goes Free has a lovely setting in a nice West Sussex village. It was certainly quite popular. Cars had spilled over from the car park and were either side of the lane, which appeared to be annoying the local residents. The entrance door is slightly strange in that you have to open it to get in and then close it in order to head to the room on your left. I held the door for a lady coming from that direction, only for her to leave the door wide open. This didn't appear to be appreciated by the locals (it was fairly cold on our Christmas Eve visit) and I was abruptly told to close the door, even though I hadn't left it open! It was a good job I was in a reasonable state of mind. The interior has a number of different rooms, with open fires. Ales were Goldmark Secret Santa & Liquid Gold & Arundel Fox Goes Free Bitter. Addlestones cider is also served, which I always enjoy. It is becoming a rare sight these days.
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Visited with friends after takingg part in a local walk, and what a lovely find!
This feels like a real pub, the food is good, if perhaps a pound or two overly priced. For me, any pub that serves Otter Ale (the red clip) is already a winner and it was in great condition! Budweiser, King of Beers, I think not!
And for those anoraks amongst you, cast your minds back to Tom Baker's Dr Who battling the Zygons near Loch Ness, well this is the pub that was used for the Brigadier's base!
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This is a 'Posh Peoples Pub' set in a twee hamlet at the foot of the south downs conveniently close to the Goodwood Horse Racing and Motor Racing circuits so if you crave a peaceful pint away from the 'wah wahs' and the petrol-heads and the Londoners with nearby week-end holiday homes, go mid-week. Plenty of space inside and nice gardens outside when the weather is fine. Expensive but worth a visit if you are thirsty.
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Popped in after Goodwood races - choice of Ballards, Fox Goes Free (Arundel Brewery), Wadworth Horizon and Otter.
Horizon and Otter tried - both good but �3.40 and �3.75 respectively.
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Called in here in July.Didn't plan to eat, but did. Good but pricey-well it is next door to Goodwood. Beer excellent. As good as it was a couple of years back.
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Oh dear, things have taken a turn for the worse here judging by the food reports. Intrigued to read about 'servents' bringing the food out but the employees wore black T shirts with 'crew' emblazoned on the back.
That said I did not try the food and was there for a post Goodwood beer. Their own brew (produced by Arundel Brewery) at �2.75 was OK and an Otter (priced at �3.45 ouch) was absolutely fantastic. I do hanker slightly for the Harveys Sussex of old days but the Otter was really nice if pricy.
Despite the previous comments you can't do much to change the location which remains stunning. Would probably echo previous comments and say do pop in a for beer and enjoy the view and I do hope the catering/service will return to its former glory.
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AWFUL FOOD! Dry, overcooked, sloppy and lazy. BIG dissapointment.
Lamb shank looked like they had dragged it from underneath the cooker. Sent it back they said it would be 20 minutes and did I want something else. 5 minutes later they said they took a replacement from someone elses order.
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they took it off the bill but everyone else was too polite to compkain about their dry fish or dry shin bone.
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Great location, good good Ales, advise only to go for beer and a walk.
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My family and I went to fox goes free pub for lunch on our 17th wedding anniversary . The pub has really nice character and the beer garden looks beautiful so we ordered some food .I was disappointed when the servent put our food on the table . It was overcooked and the chips was very dark brown also the cod was rock hard . I decided to take the foods back and explain that the food was overcooked so the servent accepted it , a few mins later The servent bought our food and I couldn`t believe the food was overcooked again !!! . We were very very disappointed with the food and the cost of the food was quite expensive !!!
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Location is everything I guess. Garden in good condition with great views across the Sussex countryside. Olde world feel about the pub with lots of character and characters ! Lunch menu very basic and felt really let down by three of the four meals we had. The lasagne was only just warm and the top layer of cheese had not been browned off, the yolk on the eggs on the ham, eggs and chips were rock hard and the steak and ale pie looked like it had been sitting in the kitchen for days and was very dry. Others in the garden who also had the pie left a lot on their plates uneaten. Worst of all were the vegetables that were frozen and not fresh i.e. frozen peas and sweetcorn and don't have the what was supposed to be bread & butter pudding for a desert. A lovely pub let down badly by the quality of its lunch menu that would be so easy to get right. Come on guy's !
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Lovely location, interesting building, and the staff were friendly enough. The food was only slightly above average for a 'destination pub' (we drove for an hour to get there!), but more than good enough for the price. Worth a visit.
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Went to this pub today, as we have heard it is very good and the food is great. Loved the pub if you are looking for an comfortable pub this is it. lovely views.
It stops there. I love my food and this is wanting..... I had the goats cheese tartlet.. bad tastes in that. why olives with tomato. this doesnt go.
Chicken liver parfait... with toast I could have made at home. white sliced.
Main courses: lasagne. needs salt & pepper and the pasta I dont think was soaked before layering.
Rump steak... Cream with peppercorns, rocket on the side soaked in to the cream sauce. cooked well. not meduim.
I am sorry to say very tastless.. Cheesecake forgetable. coffee good.
Service not friendly. we waited at the bar to be looked at. It doesnt take time to give someone eye contact and say I will be with you in a minute.
I think there are better pubs around.
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Basically a fine pub, roomy with plenty of nooks, 2-3 ales, proper cider, strong food prices but good food and portions, rural garden views, welcoming and a launch point for walks, thankfully not fancy even though the foodie focus might warrant it.
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As a good friend of mine used to work at the Fox Goes Free we thought it only fitting to pay a visit on Tuesday for a spot of lunch and a quick livener before his wedding at the nearby Weald And Downland museum. A superlative fish'n'chips washed down with an excellent pint of Ballards certainly hit the spot - in fact if we hadn't had a rather pressing appointment witnessing the aforementioned nuptials we could've got very comfortable sat in the garden soaking up the Indian Summer, the magnificent views over the downs and of course a few more jars. An absolute gem of a pub in a truly green and pleasant land(scape) - very highly recommended.
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Beer's always been good, I usually go for the Harvey's here. Top location nestled in the South Downs below Goodwood Racecourse, great views from the beer garden, good courtyard with huge bench tables out front. Lovely village.
Bar area inside has good character, staff have always been friendly.
Food has been top quality the few times I've eaten here.
I brought a stag do here once (we were mountain boarding nearby) and they dealt with the large food and beer order in an efficient and friendly manner.
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Went for lunch with my wide and two children, 11 and 7, on the way back from some wet camping last weekend. Only second visit and the food was as excellent as the first time. Not really a children's pub in that whilst they are very welcome there isn't any children's entertainment as such. Beer, wine and food all very good.
If you're driving back from Chichester, pull off the main road and enjoy an excellent pub.
The garden is worth a visit alone, being a small orchard with beautiful views over the south downs.
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Always look forward to popping in here after a day at the races. Views out the back garden into the downland are difficult to beat on a nice day. Usual suspects of Harveys Sussex and Ballards on tap, tried the former which was in fair condition. Pub does does not change much as the years go by which is welcome. Dined in restaurant this time - not very busy but food was excellent.
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Food was slightly overpriced but portions were good and very tasty!
Havent tried Ballards beer for a while and this was as good as any I have had before. Garden was well populated on a summer evening and the inside was just as busy. Definitely worth a second visit sometime.
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Sprawling flint and brick pub in an attractive village in the South Downs. Very popular for Sunday lunch-I hadn�t booked-you know my policy on that �fortunately our friend managed to bag the only free table, more or less in the inglenook fireplace, which was lit, it being a wet and cold May morning. Characterful interior, with beams and a pleasantly uneven brick floor. Most of the pub is laid up for meals, although there is a proper main bar.
The beer range on hand pump was Hopback Summer Lightening, Ballard�s Best Bitter, Harvey�s Best, together with a House Beer �Fox Goes free Bitter� at 3.5 ABV. I was unable to determine whence this came. Ballard�s was new to me, though I�d had some of their bottled beers in the past. Pleasantly coppery and generally malty: I was not initially impressed, but the hoppiness won through, and I made the executive decision to repeat the process for my second pint. A good choice. I was tempted for old times� sake to try the Summer Lightening, but resisted, as I had important business lined up for the afternoon. There was also a draught cider on hand pump-I forget which. For the record, there was a selection of gassy offerings, for those whose taste lies that way.
The menu looked impressive, though pricey, but of course one is in the shadow of Glorious Goodwood. We had planned on a cooked Sunday dinner in the evening, so went for the bar meal option. Mrs Wittenden and I both had an excellent and large helping of steak and kidney pie, perhaps too large in view of the forthcoming shoulder of lamb. Not withstanding, the pie was crammed with steak and kidney; the gravy was not stinted either.An almost classic pie ,in short, despite the pastry suffering a minor crisis of identity:�Am I pastry or am I suet?�
A good, almost great pub. Most of the staff were cheerful. I�m not sure if dogs are welcome:fairly academic on a busy day as there�s little enough room for the punters. There�s a garden at the back, and a kind of courtyard in the front with benches-a sun trap in season. 8/10
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I was really disappointed by my Saturday night stay here, we stayed in room 2, the room was a bit grubby and the shower room was smelly and well overdue for refurbishment, the room is over the kitchen and was VERY noisy to well past midnight so don�t plan an early night. The evening dinner was good pub grub and the full English breakfast was good. The staff were a mixture of sweet and sour. I left feeling a bit ripped off for paying �100 to stay here, there are far better places to stay in this beautiful area for this price. I give it 3 out of 10.
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My experience on a very busy Sunday lunchtime was happier than those of some of the other reviewers. We hadn't booked, but were invited to use a table that had been booked for a late lunch so long as we were able to leave before the time it was booked for -- fair enough. When we ordered (at the bar -- this is a pub) we were told there was a wait of about 30 minutes for food. I paid when I ordered, but I could have run a tab.
In the event, the food arrived after about 15 minutes and it was very good. The house bitter was good and if I hadn't been driving I'd have been tempted by a good range of other ales. They also do a mean draught cider (or so those who had some assure me).
The accent at this place appears to be on quality and maybe the fact that it's very busy means it's a victim of its own success. It's not a traditional English boozer, but it's very good at what it does.
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The location is lovely, the pub end is lovely, but they do need to sort out thier food ordering and serving.
Based on the last three times I've eaten there, once on a weekday evening, once on a sunday evening, and once on a saturday lunchtime, the comments are based upon consistant observations:
1. The menus are all over the place and the food ordering till gets rather busy. There's always a poor couple sitting right underneath the main menu who must endure hoards of people staring about 1ft above their heads, then queing by their table to order.
2. Once you've ordered, you wait an awfully long time for the food. It's all freshly prepared and of a high standard, so I suppose they could be forgiven for this, were it not for the fact that most of the delays seem to be for lack of waiting staff. You're stuffed if you expect a 'how is the food' every now and again, and getting eye contact to ask for the bill is is an exercise if futility. The few staff are understandably a little brusque and fraught.
This would be fine if they charged pub prices, but the prices are very definately restaurant and the service should reflect that, assuming they want to keep their (otherwise well deserved) reputation. 6/10 (would be 8/10 on a pub-for-a-drink-not-food review).
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Got there early one lunchtime. Sunny day in the summer, quickly got busy. Sat in the garden at the back with views over the filds and had a decent cold cider and the best steak sandwich I have had for some time. Looking at how others faired, meals big, side portion of chips huge, long waits when busy, staff not too happy but good beer and good food.
TIP Get there early!!!
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I booked a table for my birthday lunch at 1.30 on sunday it took 40 minutes to take the order and after 50 minutes when i went to find out about my food the very rude woman on the till had no answers or apology and spent the whole time asking me when i'd arrived, when i'd ordered instead of sorting the problem out as i walked out i got a sarcastic goodbye thrown at me by the old woman on the till!! don't go if you're expecting to eat any time soon, run by amateurs as i was not the only table in the restaurant forgotten or order messed up
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I'm rating this pub as a B&B as the only meal I ate their was breakfast. If you stay here, do not stay in Room 1 - it is disappointing, above a noisy kitchen and the shower is falling apart. Room 1 is not worth �140 per night. We also found the staff unhelpful as they were unwilling to provide us with a late key so we had to return before midnight. The atmosphere in the bar after closing is a little unwelcoming as the kitchen staff all sit round and drink. We were told that they would not be serving breakfast before 9am in the morning as "they'd had a long day". This is not the kind of service that you expect for �100+ a night. On the plus side the breakfast was good and the location is excellent. The bill was also wrong.
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Rangy, popular, comfortable old country pub. Stylish restaurant too, offering really exceptional quality and value - the myPetersfield review team was quite moved on its last visit by a piece of perfectly cooked belly pork at a very reasonable price. Excellent wines and beers, including the pub's own traditional Fox bitter at a refreshing 3.5�. Nice garden where you can sit under old apple trees and enjoy lovely views of the downs. Rooms available, popular with the horse crowd. Regular music nights and poker school. Quite terrific really.
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V. nice traditional pub. however cant agree with other comments complimenting the ale quality, I have found the selection & quality average at best. I do love the setting & Traditional style of the pub.
anonymous - 16 Apr 2007 14:16 |
Outstanding county boozer. Really good food and even better beer. Has some nice rooms to stay in as well. It can be pricy (food and rooms not beer) but worth it. Hope to visit again soon. 9/10
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Visited twice now, one of the better examples of a downland pub with a sensible menu that's been prepared and cooked to high standards coupled with a choice of well kept real ales. However, be careful of the low ceilings if you are much over 6' but you will enjoy the downland views.
Biker - 10 Feb 2007 06:31 |
This is a splendid example of a thriving rural pub, selling good beer (including the house beer brewed by Arundel at �2 per pint) and food.
A great lunchtime break just off the South Downs.
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Stopped here on the way to Goodwood races having not visited it for a couple of years.
Thought it was absolutely superb, at least as good as I'd remembered. Good choice of food which was served within 10 minutes of ordering plus several appealing ales (had a great pint of Ballards).
What a great start to the afternoon - if only the subsequent results were as enjoyable as the pub!
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Gorgeous setting in the backwaters of Goodwood racing course, a pub with a real rustic atmosphere where you might run into a group of gentlemen taking a break from some pheasant shooting. The ales are excellent and the food is good too although sadly overpriced. Real ale out in the garden beneath the apple trees in summer, you don't get much better than this.
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Low-ceilinged, flag-floors, open fire, and a great view out the back. Add at least 4 ales on the pump and it's worth checking out. Food is pricey and attracts the grockles but the beer makes up for this.
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