The Arundel Taphouse — Restaurant in Arun

I’ve previously given Arundel Taphouse a not so glowing review (still shown below). But I have since given it another try. At the weekend just gone, I went in with my daughter and first thing I noticed was that the ‘please wait to be seated’ sign had been taken away. This was welcome! The experience was a lot simpler, not pretentious, like it felt before. Go to bar, get a beer. Perfect. When I got there, there was a guest ale on tap and a few of the Arundel favourites.

Much to my surprise, the can/takeaway fridge was full of beers from other breweries as well as Arundel. This was pretty much empty on my last visit. When purchasing to take away, the man behind the bar said they were great beer choices, offered me a box to carry them and asked about my day. Simple things but it was a lot more of a personal experience than my previous!

I can’t put my finger on exactly what I’d say has changed but it just feels a lot more relaxed with staff being slightly more attentive. Credit where credit is due! Hopefully, this continues!

Previous review:

Now I love going to this place as I’m a big lover of good craft beer. But this place seems to be very confused recently. Are you a brewery tap? Are you a coffee shop? Are you a restaurant? Nobody really knows.

The service, beer and general atmosphere seem to have really turned recently. I’ve been in several times and really enjoyed my time, getting a flight of beers from the ever changing tap list and been unable to fault the place.

However, on my last visit, just over a month ago, I was welcomed by a ‘wait to be seated’ sign. This wasn’t an issue but when asked where I would to like to sit, the sheer mention of sitting at the bar was met with shock. The exact reply was, ‘nobody sits at the bar.’ Which I found extremely odd, given the 4 stools pulled up at the bar. But not to worry, I sat elsewhere.

The next thing that annoyed me was the ordering. I asked if I could just order at the bar, like I had done on several previous visits. But I was told, ‘No, it’s fine. I’ll come over take your order and bring it over.’ Again, this wouldn’t have been an issue but I waited over 15 minutes for a flight of beers. When they finally arrived, one of them was not what I had asked for. I couldn’t be bothered to moan at the time. It was cold, it was wet, it was beer.

Lastly, having been several times, I’ve tried Arundel Brewery’s signature beer the Dragonfly DIPA. This was one of the beers on my flight and I was quite excited to have it again! When it arrived, it looked very different and again, when I tasted it, it did not seem like the great beer I had had before. So upon leaving, I asked behind the bar if the recipe had changed. And to be fair to the bar staff, at this point, they started to win me back. The girl behind the bar said she wasn’t sure but she asked if I had time to wait she would find out. I did have time so I waited. The same person that had denied me from sitting at the bar and got my order wrong, scoffed and said, ‘No, that recipe hasn’t changed for over 5 years!’ I just said thanks and left, deciding to do my own research.

For anyone’s information, the recipe has changed. And the ABV, is a little lower. That’s all I wanted to know at the time.

I wasn’t going to write this review, I just wasn’t going to come back. But unfortunately, I still follow them on instagram and they share reviews about how great they are. I wonder if you’ll share this one…

I will be back to try once more. I just beg you to go back to your old...

Now I love going to this place as I’m a big lover of good craft beer. But this place seems to be very confused recently. Are you a brewery tap? Are you a coffee shop? Are you a restaurant? Nobody really knows.

The service, beer and general atmosphere seem to have really turned recently. I’ve been in several times and really enjoyed my time, getting a flight of beers from the ever changing tap list and been unable to fault the place.

However, on my last visit, just over a month ago, I was welcomed by a ‘wait to be seated’ sign. This wasn’t an issue but when asked where I would to like to sit, the sheer mention of sitting at the bar was met with shock. The exact reply was, ‘nobody sits at the bar.’ Which I found extremely odd, given the 4 stools pulled up at the bar. But not to worry, I sat elsewhere.

The next thing that annoyed me was the ordering. I asked if I could just order at the bar, like I had done on several previous visits. But I was told, ‘No, it’s fine. I’ll come over take your order and bring it over.’ Again, this wouldn’t have been an issue but I waited over 15 minutes for a flight of beers. When they finally arrived, one of them was not what I had asked for. I couldn’t be bothered to moan at the time. It was cold, it was wet, it was beer.

Lastly, having been several times, I’ve tried Arundel Brewery’s signature beer the Dragonfly DIPA. This was one of the beers on my flight and I was quite excited to have it again! When it arrived, it looked very different and again, when I tasted it, it did not seem like the great beer I had had before. So upon leaving, I asked behind the bar if the recipe had changed. And to be fair to the bar staff, at this point, they started to win me back. The girl behind the bar said she wasn’t sure but she asked if I had time to wait she would find out. I did have time so I waited. The same person that had denied me from sitting at the bar and got my order wrong, scoffed and said, ‘No, that recipe hasn’t changed for over 5 years!’ I just said thanks and left, deciding to do my own research.

For anyone’s information, the recipe has changed. And the ABV, is a little lower. That’s all I wanted to know at the time.

I wasn’t going to write this review, I just wasn’t going to come back. But unfortunately, I still follow them on instagram and they share reviews about how great they are. I wonder if you’ll share this one…

I will be back to try once more. I just beg you to go back to your old...

I cannot express how outstanding this venue is. The Arundel Taphouse has always been one of our favourite places. The food is delicious, the beer is outstanding, and the atmosphere is always spot on. So when it came to choosing a wedding venue, it felt like the obvious choice, and it turned out to be even more perfect than we imagined.

We can’t thank the team enough. Samantha, Stuart, Michael, Dave, Em and the rest of the staff were absolutely incredible. From the moment we started planning, they went out of their way to make everything feel easy, relaxed and special. They catered perfectly for all of our guests’ dietary needs and made sure everyone felt well looked after.

We also used the in-house baker, Em, who created the most beautiful and delicious wedding cake. The in-house florist did all of the flowers, which were absolutely stunning and really brought everything together. Together, they both supplied the props and styled the venue. It meant so much to have everything done under one roof, with such care and attention to detail.

One of the most special touches was the personalised beer cans they created for us. It was thoughtful, fun and made the day feel even more personal. Our guests were blown away by the effort that went into every part of the celebration.

The whole day was filled with great food, amazing drinks and a warm, welcoming vibe. It felt completely like us, which is exactly what we had hoped for.

If you’re looking for a venue with heart, brilliant people, outstanding food and drink, and a genuinely laid-back feel, we can’t recommend The Arundel Taphouse highly enough. We’ll always be regulars, and now it holds an even more special place...