please note - reviews on this site are purely the opinion of site visitors, so don't take them too seriously.
Went here last week and had one of their fresh fish specials - Bream which was delicious and was fresh. There was small new potatoes served with it but if you wanted any other veg it was extra. The three fish choices were £17 or £18, glass white wine £7.80. For two of us having two fish, two halves Spitfire, two sides of peas, two glasses of wine and two coffees came to £71. So pricey! Stick to main menu, beer instead of wine, no coffee - should be a reasonable price. Excellent service, very nice old 15thc pub with history of smuggling but only small car park in front. Well worth having a look at.
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Not impressed at all! Called in for lunch for the first time in over a year and were welcomed very nicely and shown to our table with our drinks. After half an hour a gentleman came to take our order and informed us that because everything was cooked fresh it would be a while before we got our two meals. That was fine so we ordered garlic bread to nibble on whilst we waited. Another half hour went by and we got the bread. We then waited a further hour to get luke warm meals served on cold plates. No explanation was given when we asked where our food was but by some miracle it appeared within minutes of asking. (obviously had been sat in the kitchen waiting for ages to be served) Nobody came to ask if our food was okay and nobody brought the mustard which was politely requested. Needless to say we didn't want another hour waiting for desserts and coffees nor did we want to hang around to pay so we went to the bar to pay our bill. If only the man at the bar had not made the foolish mistake of asking if we had enjoyed our meal! NO WE DIDN'T was our reply. He wanted to know what was wrong so we told him. With this he knocked off the bill one of the meals but we still didn't really get an apology. The dining room was not all that busy when we arrived at 12.30 and there were a few other tables all complaining. Loads of good pubs in this area so think they should buck their ideas up. We won't be going again and certainly will not recommend to friends and family. Would have given it a 0 rating but had to give 2 just for location and quaintness.
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I must say that this is a very quaint pub.
Nice & cosy + the beer is kept well.
Greene King IPA & Abbot Ale on tap.
The guest ale which was 'Dizzy Blonde' (Robinsons) hit the spot very well & will be going back for more.....
Garden could do with a bit of tidying up tho.
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Scores out of 5
Beers on offer 2 - Beer quality 5 - Full pint? 4 - Service 4 - Clientele 4
Garden & view 4 - Welcome & staff 5 - Parking 5 - Toilets 2 - Comfort 4
TOTAL 39 out of 50 OVERALL RATING 36 to 40 = 8
Comment: This pub has brought me back to the Greene King fold with a couple of pints of their blonde. People (and dogs) nice and so were the bar staff. The garden is a bit unkempt but a real sun trap. Really nice country pub.
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Scores out of 5
Beers on offer 2 - Beer quality 5 - Full pint? 4 - Service 4 - Clientele 4
Garden & view 4 - Welcome & staff 5 - Parking 5 - Toilets 2 - Comfort 4
TOTAL 39 out of 50 OVERALL RATING 36 to 40 = 8
Comment: This pub has brought me back to the Greene King fold with a couple of pints of their blonde. People (and dogs) nice and so were the bar staff. The garden is a bit unkempt but a real sun trap. Really nice country pub.
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I have driven past this pub many times, usually on the way to Godstone Farm with the kids, and always thought it looked very inviting. Today I actually stopped there and called in, and found it every bit as inviting inside as it looked from outside. It is nicely divided up into small areas which I love to see in a pub, and a welcoming fire had just been made up. I didn't eat there so can't comment on the food, and the beer was fairly uninspiring Greene King fare (but well kept for all that), but the pub itself is a little gem, and the landlady was very welcoming.
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Call me suspicious but the last post has a strong element of parry and thrust about it presumably in response to my penultimate post and, this is "taylorfield's" first contribution! Licensee or friend?
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What a gem of a country pub. We opened the door and were greeted by a roaring open fire. The staff were very welcoming and the ale was excellant. The portion sizes were huge and accompanied by a selection of fresh vegetables a rareity in alot of pub these days. They claim the food is homecooked and it certainly tasted so. There was a huge variety to choose from and something for every palate at reasonable prices. The landlady apparently does the cooking and when she came out of the kitchen was very charming. We will definately be returning.
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Went here last Sunday for lunch on recommendation but on entering realised that I had been to the pub before and was not impressed. It has all the ingredients for being a good pub but seems to fall well before the winning post.
We were first greeted (not the right word) by a miserable looking member of the kitchen staff who apparently was temporarily standing in for someone else. First impressions are very important and he made it quite clear that he didn't want to be there and seemed to be working hard at being unwelcoming, unsmiling, unhelpful and distinctly uninterested.
At least the Old Hooky was good though. The place was extremely quiet, and cold, for a Sunday lunchtime (not sure about the restaurant but it didn't seem busy either). The reason may have been that a family with very young children had taken over a corner of the pub and were very noisy, especially the baby who cried continually. I didn't see hide nor hair of the landlord, who should be omnipresent in a country pub in my view, although we were latterly served by a very pleasant and charming young lady, possibly a daughter.
We ordered the food which is by no means cheap. The beef was virtually cold and the treacle sponge and custard was dreadful. To cap it all, just as we were about to leave, thank goodness, the place was invaded, yes invaded, by two loud and very rude children who crashed into the place, running around like mad things, jumping on and off the bar stools and generally treating the place as their own whilst whingeing and wining at each other. Their well spoken and apparently well to do mother followed them into the pub looking and sounding totally unaware of the appalling behaviour of her progenies. Unless you love children and very average food avoid this place like the plague.
This place is more like a playschool than a pub. What a shortsighted attitude it is to allow young children into pubs. There are plenty of child friendly places to eat these days.
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The food was very good and the staff friendly. Definitely worth a return visit.
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Oh & any idea where that Morris Mayhem seasonal is brewed? - The pump-clip says "Westgate Brewery, Bury St Edmunds", but they seem to have accidentally missed off the name of the actual company!
Just an oversight, I guess, although they did the same thing with their Bonkers Conkers beer & several others too - how forgetful, eh? (though they remembered the names of Ridleys & Hardy & Hanson, despite having closed those breweries down years ago - very odd)
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"please ignore mic_mac's "I've not visited this pub" axe-grinding . . ."
Well, one man's axe-grind is another man's "explaining the truth of the situation" - e.g. someone mentioned Greene King guest beers - as far as I know they simply don't do guest beers, at all, apart from one special dispensation in Sussex, after a long & ugly battle to deny locals their local tipple - search google for "Greene King Lewes Arms".
If this is a really good pub, as most seem to agree, great, I'm happy to see that despite all of the doom & gloom in the industry, someone can create a popular, pleasant & successful pub, while remaining part of a big brewery pub chain.
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Decent country pub which thankfully has avoided Surrey gentrification so far. Whatever you think about Greene King ales (and please ignore mic_mac's "I've not visited this pub" axe-grinding below), my pint of the seasonal GK Morris Mayhem was in very good condition. I was going to say "nothing special", but the staff were friendly and the beer was good so I will give this place a pretty good rating.
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I've not visited this pub yet, but would like to comment on the comments.
"Greene King IPA - superb"? - That would be a first ever for me, but I'm open-minded what good cellar-skills can do to another-wise mediocre beer.
"do note it shuts at 9pm"? - website notes opening times: Mon- Fri 12pm-11pm; Sunday 12.pm-10.30pm (from foxandhounds1601(dot)com)
"The guest ale was very nice"? - I didn't think GK did true guest ales in their pubs? - was it perhaps Old Speckled Hen or Ruddles, Ridley's, or Hardy & Hanson, or something from the mysterious Westgate Brewery, BuryStEd? (all of these are brewed by Greene King in BuryStEd, mostly after they bought & closed down the original breweries).
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Nice pub in a quiet location, well worth a visit.
Its a very traditonal pub must date back sevral hundred years, the staff and locals are friendly and as a extra bonus the food is well worth having all be it a little of the expensive side.
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Cracking pub! Visited today be pure accident on country drive. Very polite and hospitible staff and landlord. The green king ipa was superb! Roaring log fire, a la carte menu, a pleasant beer garden. Am very chuffed with my fin d and am planning on another visit nest sunday for lunch!
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Liked the reviews on here so popped in. Liked it as soon as we opened the door. The staff were friendly and the layout is old and interesting. The guest ale was very nice and the home made soup was spectacular. We were vey impressed.
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It's fine, far better inside than it looks from the road. Very friendly and pleasant, and the Greene King beers as good as they're going to get. Well worth a look, it's on the old line of the A22 so an easy diversion, but do note it shuts at 9PM.
Anyhow let's hope that it is far enough off the beaten track to avoid discovery by the refurbishment brigade.
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I love this pub and have been visiting it on and off for the last 30 years (makes me feel old!) The staff are great and the atmosphere welcoming. Love the pub dog. This is about a near to a good traditional country pub as you can get.
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Great proper country pub, staff are rather good, the menu was a bit fussy for us but the landlady was very good and made us a plain ham sandwhich which was great, lovely pub dog and traditional decor.
Just a bit of heating would have made it even better.
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Decent country-feel to this pub - landlady and staff were very welcoming. Excellent place for a leisurely lunch in a traditional authentic atmosphere. Small but welcoming and well worth a visit. Food quite pricey, but definitely good quality and worth a visit.
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Excellent country pub very warm friendly welcome a selection of real ales great food well worth a visit
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