please note - reviews on this site are purely the opinion of site visitors, so don't take them too seriously.
The Ram was my favourite pub of the day in East Sussex. It is situated in a picturesque village that was hosting its annual village fair. In spite of this, there is extensive car parking. There are signs requesting drivers not to park in the village itself. The pub is a warren of different passageways and rooms. It serves drinkers, diners and those seeking accommodation too. Once I'd finally found the bar, there were 3 beers on offer. Harvey's Sussex Best Bitter is generally available. Guests were Long Man Sleeping Giant & Belhaven IPA. But, I was more impressed with a perry called Per from Ascension, which I had not before. I loved the character and the location of this place. Moved on from here to my last stop of the day - the Lewes Constitutional Club (not on BITE).
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Yes I believe it is overpriced except for Harveys. I went there and they had two Dark Star ales on - Hophead (3.8%) and American Pale (4.7%). The Hophead cost more at something (can't quite remember exactly) pushing �4. Unfortunately these people are also running the Trevor across the road in Glynde so cutting the competition
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A restaurant that serves beer not a pub.....alas.
I remember drinking in this pub over fifteen years ago when it was a lively village pub serving the community with good beer and 'pub grub'. However in the intervening years it seems to have changed into a pub catering for a different crowd....seemingly lots of people from West London with a huge sense of entitlement demanding a 'local pub' whilst braying at each other about how one simply cannot find some obscure italian cheese outside of their deli in Notting Hill. A great shame but I guess that this part of the world has changed considerably over the past few years...just look at Lewes.... and the pub survives by changing with the times, (and clientele).
The Harveys bitter was still spot on though.
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It's an ok pub, but a little to gastropubby for my tastes... I always have mixed feelings when I visit a pub that I first frequented 25 years ago. Back then, the food was non existent, or dire. But it had a lovely ramshackle feeling, and was very local - though me and my mates would came by train from Brighton, we'd exhaust ourselves stomping over the South Downs, and then descend to quaff several pints by the fire and whack our heads on the low beam on the way to the gents. And then at the last conceivable minute leg it to Glynde station for the last train back to Brighton, and fall asleep.
Since then the place has been all been spruced up, painted, made neat, expanded, and now concentrates on food, thus attracting wealthier cliental from a far greater range. There are still locals that congregate around the bar, but most the rest of the patrons are intensely middle class here to reinforce their life style choices.
In my opinion the beer isn't as well kept as the Rose Cottage or the Cricketers, both of which have gone thru their own transformation from sleepy locals to gastro complexes. But, like Sussexcrawler, I too prefer the Rose Cottage out of all the one strung out under the downs. I don't go to the Ram much anymore, perhaps just because of those memories - but if you have none, or need to go to the right place suitable for weekend activities, I'm sure you'll enjoy your meal.
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Following my earlier rather critical review I actually tried the food today on my return visit. My ham sandwich was excellent but at �6.95 it should be. I found the �3.00 for a pint of Harvey's reasonable though. For a Friday, the pub was pretty quiet which was surprising, presumably people are being more careful with their money at the moment. Not a bad visit but I still prefer Rose Cottage.
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We ate at the Ram last Friday, with my 3 children in tow! We arrived at 12pm and it was empty but lots of staff milling around so I suspected a rush was expected! We ordered the creamy mushrooms on toast, sausages and fries, hamburger/fries for the children and a steak ciabatta.
It was DELICIOUS! The food was brought to us outside by very helpful staff who also brought out pots of sauce etc. You do have to fetch your own cutlery, found in various areas of the bar and by the back door!. They serve the food on thick wooden boards and the fries were hot, crispy and divine. My children ate ALL and left nothing for me (as I have a habit of polishing their plates!).
The quality of the food is wonderful but soon after we arrived, just after 12pm, the place was suddenly crammed to bursting, so it pays to get here early.
If you go out the back way, through the garden or by the loos, you can get to the cricket pitch in a beautiful setting with fields and a play area. Part of the Firle Estate but open to public. Beautiful setting. After lunch we drove up to Firle Beacon and then on to Charleston House. Such tourists we are!! Lived in Brighton all my life., but just discovered this wonderful chocolate box village!
Finally a mention to Humphrey the bar dog. My boys had such fun throwing sticks to this lovely dog, only a puppy but great with lively children. Even when an out of control greyhound was let loose in the garden, Humprey kept his cool! My boys have talked non stop about Humprey since our visit.
A wonderful visit, so friendly. How a village pub should be!!
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see below,if you cant afford a car and have too walk how on earth can you afford a pint of bitter??????
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Walked over 5 miles to get here yesterday lunchtime. They really should have a health warning sign outside this place!
�3.50 for a pint of Hophead!!! I nearly had a coronary.
Knew I should have stopped at the Rose Cottage in Alciston instead.
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I visited yesterday after the main lunchtime rush. Had to wait ages to be served. Only Harvey's best and a guest beer. Harvey's O.K but nothing special. I didn't eat but menu looked pretentious and expensive but the clientele looked like they could afford it. There were quite a few plates with uneaten food so I assume that the food was not that good. This pub is O.K as a stop if on a long walk but if time allows better to wait until Alciston and the excellent Rose Cottage.
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Trying too hard to go up market too fast. Menu very pricy and mainly designer food. Nothing for budget travellers or the (many) walkers who would like to frequent this hostelry. Plesant, warm interior with fire in winter. Not a great range of Ales and like other vistors, found the service rather frosty. Best to try when not too busy.
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Very friendly and enthusiastic young bearded chap (assistant manager?) here.Bar service incompetent however, with short measures, request for top-up necessary, spillage by bar server, and a distinct lack of smile, enthusiasm or personality.Harveys okay, but staff in need of some motivational tweaking/appropriate recruitment.
In conclusion-adequate, just.
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oh dear...Sunny September Saturday and the Ram can't cope. Went in for a drink only (and needing a stamp for my CAMRA South Downs branch passport) and had to wait 20 mins just to get served. Two of the three handpumps went out of service whilst I was there and there were unhappy people all over the place. The Ram seriously needs to decide what it is...otherwise all I can see is unhappy punters, I imagine stressed staff and an owner raking in the money and taking the p....Shame..it could be so much better
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I visited the ram inn just last week and in complete contrast to the review below I had a great experience!
The staff are an amazing bunch of people who completely make the atmosphere a pleasure to be in.
The hand pumps were (and always have been each time I go) all functioning and flowing with tip top condition real ale. There is always a harveys best on and three guests, I had a beer by Gadds which was superb!
I did see the cat mentioned below and what a joy it was too, I think it's great to see a pub cat/dog in a village pub.
If anyone from the pub ever reads this then please take it from me, you're doing everything right and I will certainly be back again, I may even say hi!
Keep it up.
Tim
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I was very unhappy with every aspect of the Ram ,firstly I was greeted to one handpump with a Harvey's clip,upon enquiry the dopey barmaid had been to lazy to put the two other ales on and fetched a pint of Hophead in a glass full of bubbles lining the glass which meant that the glass was filthy and the beer was frigid cold , so cold, the fridge here must be the only thing working properly but still....a funny place to keep a pint. A cat paraded up and down the actual bar! The place was not very clean and the decor was chipped and faded.I asked the barmaid a couple of fairly straight forward questions, she relied "Dunno, dunno, I know nufink she's back shortly". There must be a school that teaches dumbness near here! If I ever go back it will be kicking and screaming.a long time since I encountered a disaster of this magnitude.This has to be a zero.
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The Ram rocks!!!!!!!!!The food is rather expensive but lovely and the harveys is tip top and very cheap at �2.50 I practically live in there!!!!haha highly reccommended.
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Charming location and a rambling interior. You can get lost on the way to find the facilities, however. The food was good as were the ales on our visits.
An ideal stop-over on a walk along the Downs, or the coach path at the foot of the Downs.
Plenty of attractive short walks also in the grounds of Firle Place nearby, and these are accessible from the car park.
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Located in the supremely pretty and unspoilt village of West Firle, at the foot of the South Downs, a couple of miles from Charleston Farmhouse (of Bloomsbury Group fame). Food is interestingly different, although somewhat bucolic. Staff are friendly, and try their best, but get overwhelmed by weekend crush, which means that both food and bar service are mind-numbingly slow. If you enjoy taking at least two and a half hours over lunch, waiting three quarters of an hour for your starters, another half an hour between each course, and queuing for half an hour for a drink at the bar, then you�ll love the Ram. You�ll have to book, though. I�m told it�s much quieter in the evening, but that�s probably because it�s the nearby South Downs, Firle village, Firle Place and Charleston Farmhouse that attract visitors, not the pub.
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This is a very popular Sunday Lunch pub, yet the roast pork lunch I was served yesterday (29 November 2009) was virtually COLD. A pub this popular would do well not to take its customers for granted. (Oh, and seeing as the waiters will not bring you a glass of water, a jug on the bar would be good so you don't have to join the long queue to be served just to get water.)
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This pub has an excellent public bar with superb friendly service, good beers nd a friendly local welcome. On our last visit we left with a handful of fresh vegetables given to us by a local who was stopping off on the way home from his allotment. Yes there is food available, but it is a pub at heart and a very good one too.
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Hikers pub which is more suited for a stop off for a walk across the downs.
3 ales as last stated from person below and a boring food menu which would suit a pensioners outing from Selsey Bill
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Excellent Harveys Sussex Bitter Aug 22nd - with Summer Lightning and the Doom Bar good runners up. Friends rated the 3 cheese ploughmans ..... it was too hot and bright to be outside .... but a glorious day for a good 11 mile walk via Firle Beacon.
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Signposted from the A27 and in the centre of the village. Catering mainly for diners but with 4 beers available on our visit from Harveys, Sharps and Dark Star. A small bar area but with seating in the 3 separate rooms and garden as well as in front of the pub. Currently on local CAMRA Ale Trail.
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The lovely pub building has been spoilt a little by the rather dark interior refurbishment. There is a choice of three real beers, plus a real cider, all reasonably priced. The food is a bit on the expensive side, but I didn't go there for the food. It's great that there is still a thriving pub in such a small village.
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I visited today (a termtime Monday lunchtime) with my wife and daughter because I had heard good things about the Ram after a pretty grim visit 3 or 4 years ago. The place had a definite 'Farrow and Ball' ambience with some braying posh people to match (why do they always have to talk so loud?), but the food was much better quality than before and the beer (Harvey's Best and Old and Dark Star Hophead) reasonably priced. My 3 year old daughter had a very healthy and tasty grilled bit of cod and we both had a ploughman's. I'd say the quality of the cheese ploughpersons was better than the Trevor (albeit let down by flabby white bread) for about the same price. The staff were excellent. Will definitely go again and have something off the main menu.
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Love this place. Food a bit pricier than other pubs but then is much better than a lot of pubs. One can easily see why it gets so busy at meal times. The rest of the time it's a wonderful place with quality ales (Harveys included, of course), friendly service and a great old toad in the hole table. Gorgeous surroundings for walking and a lovely old pub building in the beautiful village of Firle. Thoroughly recommend it.
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After a break of about 2 years I called in again Aug 2008. Quite a change. Staff very pleasant and welcoming and the beer range much improved. I was told that they always try to keep one beer from the "local" brewer Dark Star [and indeed the Hophead was TOTALLY delicious] and there was another guest as well as the usual Harveys. Food menu looked interesting too although we did not try it. The garden has been redesigned and cleaned up and the pubs many rooms were attractive too. I've put this pub back on my "approved list for occasional visits" on the basis of recent experience.
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Took a trip out to the Ram a few Sundays back, admittedly we didn't eat on this particular occasion however we have in the past. It is very foodie & it can sometimes be a little hit or miss however the staff more than make up for it. They are a huge asset to the pub. They clearly enjoy working there & that speaks volumes for the management/owners.
I agree with one reviewer that a lot of tables are reserved for later times which can be annoying but they let you use them up until the booked time so its a consultation of sorts.
For years it has had a good reputation which took a slight knock a few years back but it has come back fighting.
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I attended a metal detector rally near to the Ram, so I was in there a few days in a row. Yes it's foody, but I had a very enjoybale time. The staff were absolutely fabulous. One of them actually give me a lift back to my tent when the pub closed!
I punished the Harveys Bitter at 1.90 and was always reluctant to leave.
I applied for the job of 'old git sitting in the corner telling local stories to anyone who'll listen for free beer' but they turned me down.
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Stopped for lunch at the Ram Inn this Saturday, a welcome break from the heat whilst walking from Newhaven to Lewes. The pub is, as GrahamH has suggested, busy and foody, and succeeds on the food front although the pressure for outside tables on this unseasonably warm Saturday forced us to sit in the shady confines of the restaurant. I had a steak sandwich with satisfyingly sticky caramalised onions. I enjoyed the combination of these with the unexpected sunblushed tomatoes in my salad. One of the pleasures of Lewes and its vicinity is of course the ubiquitous Harveys Best, so I was never going to complain about the pumps here - although in the heat of the day I admit to buying mine with a lemonade to wash down the second half of the pint. Wasn't much to the bar, however, and I'd propose the Trevor twenty minutes walk away to the walker wanting a pint rather than lunch.
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I understand the chef has deserted recently too and is now in residence at The Three Cups Inn (under new management) between Heathfield and Battle . . . . .
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You could also try the Trevor Arms at Glynde which is nearby. See reviews.
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Went here on Sunday 25th February 2007 after walking along the Old Coach Road from Berwick (great walk!). Pub was very busy when we arrived at 1.15 and we were looking forward to a good meal but having ordered a pint found that the many empty tables dotted around were 'reserved' for bookings at 2.00 onwards. Several other people arrived to face the same problem. The staff were not too bothered about acommodating us so we walked back to the car and had a very good lunch at home. Disappointing, as the Harveys is good and reports about the food were also good but it seems to be more of a restaurant now than a pub so perhaps well try The Cricketers at Berwick or the Rose Cottage at Alciston from now on.
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Have now done a mid-week, term time visit and the place is still overrun by kids - literally running from room to room. More noise this time coming from the parents than the children. Yet had great beer - Harveys at �1.90 a pint is a rare find these days and excellent food. Shame that they don't want to run this place like a pub. Staff very pleasant. Smokey alas, but that's set to become a non problem thank goodness.
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It IS a very good pub. Excellent food, reasonably priced. Cosy coal fires, and clean. Well mannered and helpful staff. Very nice beer - I stayed with the guest beer Tim Taylors which was totally delicious. One draw back. Screaming, screaming kids. Not limited to one bar either. The couple next to me said if I was upset by this (half term) Tuesday don't come near on Sunday lunchtime when its bedlam. I mentioned it to the bar staff as I paid and they acknowledged the kids were intrusive but felt it was not their problem. Well, it will become their problem as the whole character will be affected if this goes on. Shame, great shame. I'll give it another go in term time, mid week, to see.
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It seems that the Ram's new regime divides as well as it conquers. Clearly from my recent (and maiden) visit under the new licensee it was proving popular, with every table crammed, each punter tucking into what looked to be improved, slightly more refined fare with gusto. Comfortably, the ale range remained very similar, and a real cider is still served (Thatcher's rather than Mole's Black Rat though). The beer was very well-conditioned, so no complaints there.
This rather depends on what one prefers to find in a tucked-away, country local. Granted, it is probably a little slicker now. It is cleaner, yet one can't deny that there is still an atmosphere there, probably a touch more well-heeled than before, but then again it is an affluent area.
But one wonders whether sacrificing all the genuinely quaint little touches of the Ram was worthwhile. That slightly Sussexy, folky, almost hippyish edge has gone, and whilst I shan't miss the stodgy food, its going upmarket by one notch must've miffed many liberal locals who I imagine found the Ram a joyously rambling, organic experience akin to their front rooms, but with beer.
Personally I would be happy in either and can see both sides of the coin. I suspect that the customers who have been lost have simply been replaced by a slightly different bunch but most are still locally-based. Let's face it, it could've been FAR worse in today's climate: a ghastly pubco pseuds' refit, or worse still, closure and conversion to a private house - if the residents of Firle would've allowed it!
Still good, but maybe appealing to a slightly more urbane crowd instead of the folk followers was a tad predictable? There aren't many places like the Old Ram left now.
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great......was really apprehensive as read up old review that was less than complimentary.
10 of us went.........10 of us left happy. food was exceptional and no complaints from any of us .
5 of our party reckoned that their dessert was the best ever...do you know....they were all right!!!
i had belly of pork with sweet potatoes in a honey and thyme jus......amazing taste. food presentation was spot on.very relaxed country atmosphere. we will definately be returning lots.....dont let too many people know how great it was .but it was for us..........
its not that often that all the group left to go home with great food memory after a night out....but we did and will return
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I have been to The Ram a few times now since under the new management - which frankly is an absolute blessing considering the diabolical state of the place before.
The food is fantastic and very reasonably priced - compared to the old Ram - where I was served packet mash potatoes - made with water (!!) believe me - I was a student and times were hard - so I know what this tastes like.... For good food you need to pay for it.... if you want good things - price should not be an issue. Saying that though - its still rather cheap for the quality and standard
Its kept a traditional feel with a modern edge. The staff are friendly and helpful and I would have no qualms in recommending this place to anyone.... its not traditional inside, with dried flowers, dusty paintings and dirty carpets like most country pubs - but it is very quaint and very welcoming..... Additionally arent there enought pubs, that are traditional alreday??
Difference is great sometimes and the food and Harveys are fab. The proof is in the pudding - and the place is packed whenever i go.
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The Ram was, despite its pretty terrible food, one of the best little pubs in East Sussex.
An old building with a wonderful and authentic historicity to it, a large garden/orchard, and excellent beer - all tucked away in leafy lane on a private estate.
Sadly, a recent change of management has seen all the charm of the interior torn out and replaced with a vaguely minimalist (and hideously green) decor. The beer's still good and very cheap (�1.90 for a pint of Harveys) but all the magic has gone.
The food's improved immensely but is now hideously expensive, and despite the very friendly landlord the place seems cold and unwelcoming.
Our visit wasn't improved by the staff continually throwing damp logs on the fire and making the back bar uninhabitable due to the smoke.
According to the local CAMRA magazine, the locals have been deserting The Ram for The Trevor Arms and I can see why. Once the pub was famous for its folk singing connections (and featured in the recent documentary on Bob Copper and his family) but they seem to have given up on it now.
A terrible terrible shame.
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