The Crown & Anchor — Restaurant in Eastbourne

This pub is in an idyllic location and we have been visiting it for 2-3 years now. However, the last 2 visits have been very disappointing. We visited on May bank holiday and the garden was heaving with people. There was a 40 minute wait for food (understandably!). When my burger finally arrived it was cold and raw in the middle. I took it back to the Shack and they apologised and said they would cook me another one. This took a further 15 minutes by which time my husband had finished his dinner! Also the burger was dry and completely over-cooked! They obviously didn't want to risk it being under-cooked again but went to the other extreme! Nothing was offered for the delay in me getting my food (not even a drink on the house!). We passed through Chichester several times following this experience (we don't live locally but pass through twice a month) and decided not to eat here. Finally 2 weeks ago we booked a table and said we would give it another go. My husband ordered 'whole plaice' which was £19. When it arrived it looked very small, however because it was on the bone he hoped there would probably be enough fish. There was hardly any.! There were very few vegetables with it too. It was very disappointing and VERY expensive considering the size of the fish. He was still hungry! When the waitress collected our plates he explained how he felt about the fish i.e cost/size etc. She said she would tell the chef and gave us the dessert menus. When she returned to take our dessert order she said nothing relating to the fish. This pub is ALWAYS busy so may be they don't need to keep customers happy. We feel that the last 2 times we have visited, we have not had our disappointments resolved by the waiting staff. It is such a shame as we probably won't eat...

My wife and I visited this pub because we really wanted a good old pub Sunday lunch. I can tell you we were not to be disappointed.

The pub itself has been around for a fairly long time but was refurbished a few years ago. Has great old world styling, lots of wood and a great warm feeling.

The menu covers all the old pub Favourites you might expect, as well as a few twists of their own. We elected for the roast dinner. After all this is what we came for.

I had the roast beef with all that came with it. My wife had the braised lamb shank.

The beef was lovely, a little more done than I would prefer. But this did not deter in any way from the flavour or quality. There was a very suitable serving of vegetables. All were served hot and fresh. As near as I could tell. They were all prepared in house. It was a really nice, authentic pub roast. The lamb was exceptionally well cooked, and tender through, and through.

As expected, the lamb was a very large portion of meat, and my wife struggled with it. I was happy to assist.

Both meals were well prepared and presented, condiments of choice available on the asking. We had a very nice bottle of red wine with the meal.

We followed this up with the dessert offer of more wine with a cheese board. Very traditional indeed and was a wonderful way to let the Sunday afternoon slide by.

The pub itself was very clean and fresh. Food was of good quality and presentation. The staff were very pleasant as well as helpful. We were not rushed by them in any way. I can’t’ wait to get the weekend off and visit again. Next time though I will book in advance. We were lucky someone had not showed up for their...

4 of us entered for dinner and I'm quite surprised none of us left in an ambulance. We ordered 2x Pork Belly, 1x Cheeseburger and 1x Mac and Cheese. What arrived at the table was nothing short of nauseating. I was lucky enough to be the recipient of one of the "pork belly". It is now abundantly clear that cook (and I wince at giving whomever created this abomination such a title) has never eaten, or perhaps even seen, pork belly. The rolled pig fat was quite simply inedible. I was looking forward to my selection of accompanying roast potatoes. To my knowledge roast potatoes are normally roasted, not deep fried. The vegetables (at least one can only assume the little piles of sludge on the plate were once vegetables) looked as though they had already been eaten - some years before, by someone else, before adorning my plate. I was not brave enough to try them. The entire plate was slathered in something brown and sticky. One assumes it was supposed to be gravy but I suspect it came from the B&Q paint aisle, and it tasted as such. The burger, I am told, would have been better used as a hockey puck, or, perhaps, a house brick. The Mac and Cheese was indeed the only item that seemed vaguely to resemble its name although apparently rather lacking in cheese! I cannot recommend highly enough that you, the reader of this review, go and eat literally anywhere else in Eastbourne. There is a KFC not too far - even that would be better. Save yourselves. It is too...