The Crown at Turners Hill — Restaurant in Mid Sussex

Did I go here on Chef's day off? We have been here before and always been happy with the quality of food and service. Today was different- my lunch was APPALLING - hard to believe what was dished up in the name of good food. To start I had 'Soup of the Day' and this should have alerted me to the problem that was to come. A steaming hot bowl of so called ‘Minestrone’ which had the appearance and texture of tinned (Heinz) spaghetti in tomato sauce, to which had been added a few bits of vegetable, white beans, and tomato - very thick - not like soup at all and the bread was nondescript. Next - Cassoulet which was an absolute joke! This comprised the same 'soup' as the starter but minus the spaghetti with a few miserable slices of an unidentified sausage added for effect. Next to this, a bed of cabbage with a bit of dry, fried duck on top. Looked disgusting, tasted worse - completely inedible - it went back and I went hungry! Honestly, it must be an offence to describe this as Cassoulet under the Trade Descriptions Act. And I was asked if I knew the difference between a Cassoulet and a Casserole - unbelievable! (The answer is 'yes I do' - and this was neither.) For this they were asking the princely sum of £15.50. I regret going there in the first place and then not taking a picture of this awful offering. Judging from other accounts of this place I can only assume that there was a complete novice in the kitchen at the time of my visit, but whoever it was failed to show their face with an apology or...

Hates Cyclists!

Our group ride stopped here today, and I was excited as I’ve been past a couple of times and always thought it looked like a good spot.

As soon as we went in, we were treated in a cold, unfriendly way by the woman on the bar with the impression that it was a nuisance to serve us some coffees, cokes and mars bars (£4.60 for a Pepsi max and mars bar).

Sitting outside the front, the same bar staff came out not long after to tell us and two other cyclists there before us to “bring our rubbish inside” in a rude way, implying like somehow using their cups and glasses and eating the mars bars at the tables was messy.

Meanwhile, another group of cyclists turned up and also ordered some drinks. There was some issue to do with this group wanting lunch that wasn’t being served yet, as the owner came out and starting arguing with one of these riders about them eating a sandwich they’d bought elsewhere at their picnic table.

The owner then went on a lovely rant that our group overheard before leaving about how cyclists are entitled and how “you lot” are always rude, etc, etc.

You would have thought that a pub right in the middle of the classic London-Brighton route would be keen for cyclists’ custom, but I guess expecting to not be treated with hostility for arriving by bike is too much to ask.

Save your time and mood by going somewhere that are more welcoming, such as the Curios Pig in the Parlour who were far more friendly and welcoming to cyclists last...

11 Dec 2018 - I and my four siblings attended for lunch today. The pub is great, the service was excellent, the food was disappointing, I think the chef went to the 'style over substance school of cookery. We all had the venison terrine starter which was acceptable for pub grub if a bit cold. Three of us had the pork tenderloin with hasselback potatoes. When the main course arrived the potatoes with fluffy centres and blades of crispy roasted outers we had all been looking forward to turned out to be overdone new potatoes which the chef had attempted to hasselback. Not sure why a chef would choose a waxy variety of potato to do this with. I ate one attempting to avoid any drama but they tasted worse than they looked. All three of us returned our plates, the staff handled the situation well and the plates returned with 4 boiled new potatoes cut in half carefully arranged around the plate (style over substance). The pork tenderloin was overdone and dry, the tenderstem broccoli was underdone with a bit too much 'bite'. Unfortunately, the meal couldn't be saved by dessert, a pear and almond crumble appeared to have been cooked in two parts (crumble separately) and reconstructed lacked the finesse of fine dining and the punch of tradition. So, in summary, this is a lovely pub, nice decor, good beer, excellent front of house staff but even for pub grub the food leaves a lot...