Rathfinny Wine Estate - The Tasting Room — Restaurant in Wealden

We visited over the very recent August BBQ weekend, which is apparently held just once a year for an al fresco dining experience, sitting outside overlooking the wonderful views of the vineyards etc. The weather was dry but on a chilly weekend or with a bit of rain what a nightmare experience this would be as you are completely exposed to the weather, as are the cooking staff as the food is all BBQ'd outside. Sadly the actual dining experience fails miserably to match the location. The fancy sounding menu comprises various choices in the £10-£20 range but whatever you select all you will get is a miniscule portion on a side plate sized platter which you will consume in no more than 3 mouthfuls! I had the mackerel (£10) which was the tiniest fillet imaginable accompanied by a spoonful of creme freche and 'green' sussex cucumber marinated in something which had turned it beige - none of your 'five a day here'! I also had the sourdough bread (£4) on the side which was at least a bit more filling but £14 for a modest snack - really?? You can enjoy a bottle of their on site made wine as well but only if you know your wines and don't object to prices starting at £40 odd a bottle. This is obviously a popular venue but do not expect anything like value for money and do not visit if you are starving hungry! Other Reviewers say the same! Possibly their Restaurant is better but would I chance it after this...

I'm really sad about this review. I was excited about booking the Flint Barn dining room for my Gran's 80th but ended up not proceeding due to the whole process being poorly handled.

I had called ahead a couple times to enquire about the different dining options and on 2 occasions was told the same pricing of the dining at the Flint Barns. When I wanted to book the venue, I was told that the events team would call back to confirm all the details. I waited over a week and eventually had to call back myself, only to be told to send an email to the events team, I could have done this from the start! Anyways, eventually I spoke to someone in events and was then told it was going to cost more than what I was made to believe on those 2 occasions I called ahead! Plus, the price I thought it would be was also on the website. Their excuse was "we do not usually offer lunch to the public"!

If you do not offer lunch to the public then why promote / offer this to me as an option for dining AND have this on your website?? The staff don't seem to be on the same page or perhaps this type of service is not their priority, but at the end of the day it could have been handled better and not made out as if the estate was doing me a massive favour. Please improve the service as I'm sure it is a...

I have visited several vineyards/wine estates both in the UK and overseas, yet I have never felt as unwelcome and like an inconvenience as I have at Rathfinny. None of the staff said hello to us as we entered the shop, when we asked if there was somewhere we could try the wines before buying, we were told ‘no, it’s just fine dining, there isn’t anywhere to try the wines’. I was puzzled as I’ve seen on the website that ‘complimentary drop-in wine tastings’ are offered. She also didn’t suggest the option of The Hut and it took another customer she was serving to suggest buying a glass from The Hut and surely we were able to drink it at the tasting bar as it was raining heavily outside. My husband had to run across to The Hut, spend £18 on two glasses then run through the rain so we could try some inside. I asked if we could try a sample of the blanc de blancs too and she was very reluctant, as if we were a complete inconvenience. We were planning to buy a case of wine for Christmas but bought two bottles, only because we’d driven an hour to get there and the wine itself is very nice. Anyone considering going here, I’d advise diverting to Ridgeview, Bolney, or Tinwood, as you will have a much better experience - they make you feel much more welcome and are far less...