Knepp Wilding Kitchen & Shop — Restaurant in Horsham

We visited with our dog yesterday for a walk and thought we were well prepared with Hiking shoes. We are experienced walkers in all terrains and conditions, so not much phases us, but the walking trails at Knepp were dreadful. We first tried the orange route only to find an impassable bog with dangerous and slippery looking boards that didn't stretch across the whole bog completely, blocking access to the rest of the trail, so we had to turn back (they took the trouble to put boards out but not covering the whole bog.) We then tried again in the other direction with the red route and because we'd driven to get here we tried to stick it out - walking through thick mud until we got to a spot where walking boards had been set out. The first section of these were fine - wide and stable. But then in the middle of the bog, it went down to just one narrow board, so it almost felt like we were tightrope walking and it was incredibly slippy. We almost slipped and fell twice and so did the couple behind us. It's incredibly dangerous and we have good grip on our shoes, so I can only imagine how others would cope. The next section was also dangerous and impassable - we couldn't get round a deep bog so we had to go further up the field to two, again narrow, planks across a tiny river. These planks were not embedded properly into the ground, so it felt incredibly wobbly and unstable - like it could snap or fall at any moment. When we saw that, again, the next section was a deep bog with no passing aid and thick bramble bushes surrounding it and blocking the only passable route, we decided we'd had enough and again went back the way we came. We completely understand that mud is inevitable at this time of year - we are experienced walkers - and came prepared. But these supposedly managed trails were downright dangerous in many places. If you're going to have boarding, you should have enough for people to get across safely. Notices about the conditions or blocks in the trail, set up in the car park or cafe, might also be helpful. We were not the only ones who were left annoyed and turning back. A local confirmed to us that this is a regular occurrence and she wasn't surprised to hear we had to turn back. Very disappointed in this ill thought out and often dangerous set up....

Spent the Bank Holiday weekend staying in a Shepherd's Hut at Knepp, and ended up dining here no fewer than four times over the long weekend. The combination of café, courtyard and restaurant allows for it to feel like a different experience each time.

Executive summary: Go here. Now.

Friday night barbeque in the stunning courtyard - great atmosphere, thoughtful architecture blending old and new, and a charming band entertaining us.

Saturday we came for breakfast in the café, and both the Full English and the 'beef muffin' were top notch. Great coffee from the courtyard trailer bar too.

Came for a full decadent lunch in the restaurant on Sunday, and this was a superb experience. Go before it gets a Michelin star and you can't afford it anymore. Young Master Burrell clearly knows his stuff, and all the staff seemed to be enjoying themselves. Incredible food from starter to dessert (not to mention the cheese course), and a great wine list (the dessert wine was especially delicious, but by that point my judgement was probably a tad compromised). Speaking of staff, we were served with charm and panache by Tom, who in no way bribed me to leave a review with vague and frankly unconvincing promises of future reward (I'd have left one anyway).

Returned for lunch on Monday on our way home - the steak baguette was excellent.

This place is just fantastic. Everything a café-restaurant should be, in one of the most beautiful locations in the country. If they opened some rooms next to the restaurant I'd be in real danger of having to move in permanently.

PS: Only tiny quibble of the whole weekend was that the Friday night burgers were arguably cooked a little overcautiously for those of us who like them still a tad on the pink side, which (notwithstanding what I assume is the chef's admirable desire to avoid giving anyone food poisoning) undermines the unsurpassable quality of the ingredients. It feels rude to mention it, but this review would otherwise be so gushing as to strain...

A disappointing bbq evening.

I would like to start with positives. Some understanding given for a BBQ event taking place on an unexpected rainy day in July. Obviously a different atmosphere to what was anticipated.

Whilst the maitre de was incredibly pleasant and helpful, all other staff seemed inexperienced socially, and with hospitality as a whole. Having one staff member seating customers, checking on customers and explaining the layout seems like an ineffective system when the venue was as busy as it was; and it slowed down service significantly.

The food was below par. One vegetarian, one meat eater. No bbq related offers for vegetarian. Wet Beans inside a burger bun isn’t what we were expecting when booking a bbq evening. But at least this was warm. The beef burger had clearly been sat around for a while as it was cold, and actually quite dry by the time it was eaten. The salads were incredibly basic, and with no salt and pepper within the dishes, nor on the tables, they left a lot to be desired. A very simple offering of food, but also an incredibly vague online description.

All of this after almost leaving before even reaching the restaurant, due to zero signage and the only visible door locked. As first time visitors, if it wasn’t for the fact this is a prepaid event, we would have turned around and left. Unfortunately, I can’t see ourselves visiting this particular evening any time soon. As much as we would love to have experienced this in its entirety, amongst the string lights on a warm summers night, I wouldn’t run the risk of being served the same quality if visiting again. For the price of this booking, we haven’t left singing praises. As this booking was for a surprise special event we really did want to enjoy this, but have actually left slightly embarrassed by our choice.

Hopefully this feedback is helpful in making adjustments to future rain filled Friday evenings. We understand this may be the first, but I’m almost certain it won’t...