White Horse Inn — Restaurant in Lewes

Edit: went there on Saturday and for the first time had a really poor meal. Three of us were dining. The place was really cold as the staff hadn't lit the fires in the morning. There was no sign of the landlord or anyone really running the place. We waited an hour for some (very simple) food from the specials board and it was extremely disappointing. Very, very bland, with bread served without butter, meals served without condiments. We had to keep asking. You don't need catering training for this. I was really surprised at this experience. Usually you walk in on a cold day and there is a fire blazing, the landlord is there, the service is very good, the food arrives in a reasonable time and is very nice. This time everything was like the bad old days of pub dining but with very modern pricing. The ale was good and that's all the positivity I can offer. If this place has changed hands and/or this is the new normal then it's a real shame.

My old 5 star review is here: I'm not a regular but do go here for lunch every now and then. I guess I've been going there occasionally since 2015 or 2016. The ale is always excellent. There always seems to be Harvey's best Bitter, Dark Star and a few other ales and a range of lagers. It has always been a friendly and welcoming place whether packed out or quiet. I've never had a disappointing meal there. Nobody is pretending to be a Masterchef wannabe but it is always really good. I have a vegetarian meal and my Mum usually has a fish or meat dish. We both enjoy it. She tells me that their Pinot Grigio and white Rioja are perfectly good. This week I had the vegetarian sausages with gravy, greens, mashed potatoes, carrots and swede and it was delicious. A pint of Harveys Best was my aperitif and a pint of Dark Star went down nicely with the meal. It was a sunny, warm day so we ate outside and it was very pleasant indeed. My Mum had a baguette with avocado and bacon and really liked it. She spends half her life in France so when she says the bread is good it's...

My daughter booked and paid for a twin room via hotel.com, on arriving at the White Horse, she was informed that she had accudentally booked for one person and not two and that there would be an additional charge and that the total would be £95. This of course was not a problem and as my daughter had already paid hotel.com £75 was expecting only to pay an additional £20. However, the owner informed my daughter that she had told hotel.com not to take payment as they charge taxes and fees and that she will take payment on arrival and assured my daughter that she has not received any money. After being shown to our room my daughter checked her bank and the £75 had been paid. When she went to show the owner, the owner refunded the £95 but then told my duaghter she had to pay an additional £31.24 as she had not received the full £75 and would not change her decision. As we had nowhere else to stay for the night as we were on a 2 day trek she reluctantly paid the amount. So my daughter ended up paying £106.24 for a small twin, shared bathroom and no breakfast included in price - quite expensive. I am surprised that the White Horse did not check that hotel.com were not still taking payments after they had informed them not to, quite a simple check and if knowing that they do why still use them, it gives the impression that one or the other are misleading the customers. I gave 2 stars as we did have the shared bathroom to ourselves and the beds were comfy. Would have had a better night sleep if there were curtains or if the blind was at least blackout, i was awake at 4am. On leaving the next day at 8.40 there was noone around to check us out, so we left the key...

£100 for room which would be fine BUT…. The room was so small it barely fit the bed.

Asked what time breakfast was and too there was no breakfast!

Also nobody bothered to tell us they stopped food at 1745 that evening despite us booking into sty with them. It was Easter Monday so understandable but at least tell your guests there’s no food! Luckily the other pub was serving.

Landlord asked us to pay in full on arrival so he could be done with us and we let ourselves out in the morning.

Two teabags and two milk sachets in the room only! One milk sachet each! When I asked for some more teabags so we could have a cup of tea in the morning at least they couldn’t find any, so woke to no breakfast and no teabags.

Had a pint in the bar before bed at 2100 -two others at the bar. When they left at 2130 the barman turned the music immediately off and told me he was locking up and could I take my pint up to my room to finish it there. It was half past nine!! And he’d sold me a pint!! And my room had no room for a chair - fancy drinking a pint in your bed!!!

Also mouldy bathroom, stained towels, nasty polyester pillows and bed linen and the noisiest room imaginable (single glazed window by road).

Slightly lacklustre place. Avoid unless you’re walking the South Downs like us and have no choice.

(Nice beers though - very well kept) Don’t get why they’ve replaced a nice old fireplace with an electric heater and chosen to paint what was a cosy pub interior duck egg blue. More like a breakfast room than a real...