BITE user comments - DavidCook
Comments by DavidCook
Having read others� reviews we decided to give this pub a try. Yes, it is tucked away in the lanes of Plaxtol and, yes, it is old fashioned but it is worth the trip. The situation and garden are very attractive, and the area has some good walking. For a Wednesday lunchtime in November the pub was quite busy and it is clearly very popular with locals.
Four beers were offered (the Adnams was OK) and four ciders too. Having walked there through the many local orchards, we had to try the home-made House Rough at 7.3%abv. Deceptively strong and with a rather acquired taste which echoed the thousands of rotting apples in the surrounding orchards.
The food is very good value. The choice is limited but we had excellent thick gammon, two eggs and delicious chips for �7 (you can pay �8-9 for ordinary packet ham, egg and chips elsewhere).
3 Nov 2010 17:43
Been to this pub for lunch three times over the past two months. The food here is simply excellent! The French influence is clear - we have had lapin au vin, lamb and sweetbreads, and steak with gratin dauphinoise. We also had good old ham, eggs and chips, with proper French frites for just �5.50 which is a bargain compared to other pubs and delicious with it.
Portion size is French - that is, nicely presented and you can still walk afterwards - and nothing wrong with that. Sweets are also French and good. A lot of the ingredients are local. Prices are very reasonable considering the quality of of the food and cooking skill.
The beer is OK but not so impressive as the food. The Shepherd Neame Autumn Red was well kept and seemed to go nicely with whatever we had to eat.
3 Feb 2010 22:10
I think this pub�s changed hands since the preceding reviews were posted. We�ve gone there a few times in the past 6 or 8 months. It�s a free house now � Harveys and Larkins, the dream team! The food is good too although some of it is bought-in. There is even a special deal for wrinklies � a smaller main course and a sweet for a fiver. Great value for the dodderers among us. It�s a very friendly pub. It is always nice to be remembered from one visit to the next, even if they are weeks or months apart.
12 Feb 2007 21:02
The Swan on the Green, West Peckham
We�re walkers and we go to this pub for lunch all year round. It has never disappointed.
They make their own beer and it�s always good. (OK, sometimes it�s not as excellent as say Harveys but it is dependable. But I wish they would do the stout they used to do a few years ago.) The food is also dependable and well presented � much better than pub grub but not really gastro-pub. The Stilton burgers are really good, and last week I had an excellent pork chop (Berkshire Old Spot from a local producer).
I can sympathise with the remarks other have made about the staff. In fairness, I think that this can only apply to the Graham Stark lookalike owner. (Ask your mum if you don�t know who Graham Stark is.) He has been a bit grumpy in the past but I think he�s getting better. When I told him how good the chop was, he almost warmed to me! Everyone else there is always very friendly.
12 Feb 2007 20:53
Encouraged by the reviews above � especially what TWG said about the food � we went to the Rising Sun today. Actually, we walked from Shoreham to get up a thirst and an appetite. So we were a bit cheesed when we got there to find that there was only one beer on tap and to be told that the pub had not done food for 18 months.
We had some of the beer on offer - Figgy Pudding and very nice too - and a packet of crisps in the public bar.
The explanation for only one beer? The woman behind the bar told some locals that there were other untapped beers in the cellar and she went down to draw them what they wanted.
The explanation for no food? TWG found home-cooked food last October but we were told there had been no food offered for 18 months. Others who turned up were told the same. But what were piles of plates doing on the next-door bar and why did it look like the tables were set for eating? Had everything just been left since the last meal was served?
From the reviews, we weren�t expecting much of the pub itself but to call it scruffy is putting quite a gloss on it. The corner of the public bar we sat in seemed to be used as a lumber room for elderly detritus (steam iron, ironing table, piles of old newspapers, empty cardboard boxes �)
Sorry to be so negative but we were very disappointed. We walk a lot in this bit of Kent and go into lots of rural pubs. We�re not too fussy, and we�re not bistro or horse brasses types. The Rising Sun could be a great pub in the summer � you could walk there and sit outside with a tasty bite and a nice pint. But these days for a rural pub to offer only one beer and no food seems a recipe for bankruptcy.
2 Jan 2007 18:34
The Rock, Chiddingstone Hoath
It�s hard to avoid repeating what earlier posters have said but this is a gem of a pub and is well worth the trip. We have been there for lunch three times in the past few months while walking in the area. Each time the menu has been different and everything is home cooked. There�s usually something interesting. How often have you seen venison liver on a menu? It was very good as have been the other dishes we have had there. The side dish of fresh vegetables is particularly enjoyable.
There is a good mix of locals (and their many dogs) and visitors, and the atmosphere is always warm. It is not a big pub so finding a table at busy times can sometimes be a bit difficult but the food is well worth the trip. Beers are limited to Larkins - nothing wrong with that! - and Doom Bar (not tried).
3 Nov 2010 17:45