Bax Castle in Horsham

We visited this pub as we passed returning from a walk. We were warmly welcomed. The beer was well kept. We checked the menu which was interesting with daily specials. We also noted that they held music events. We will return soon to eat and enjoy the ambiance.

My husband and I have eaten here a few times now, for evening dinners and for the BBQ offerings. We have enjoyed our visits so much we have taken both friends and family. The food is of a really good standard, and really tasty. The team are small and friendly and the landlord is a really nice chap who is really keen to give you a good experience. I am a bit confused by some of the other reviews below because we have never had a bad meal here. The outside area is well presented and the service is great.

We have frequently visited the Bax over the last 15 years. It has changed hands a few times during these years. We popped in for a quick bite - which in fairness, was ok. However, there is zero atmosphere throughout the entire pub. This was off putting as there was only one other occupied table nearby who were talking to each other quietly, but we could hear every word. Sometimes, a little background music can be a good addition. There’s just something lacking about the ambience, and could do with making itself more inviting to encourage return business. The outside dining area could be more presentable, it doesn’t take much to make / keep areas neat.

Overall amazing experience friendly and welcoming environment. Really good entertainment this evening. High quality delicious BBQ food chicken and pork shoulder was fantastic. Definitely returning.

Thought we’d give the Bax a try as it’s reopened under new management. We arrived just after midday and were (to start with) the only people there. The person behind the bar wasn’t very welcoming or interested. We sat in the garden and were disappointed to see that there were empty crisp and cigarette packets on the ground - obviously nothing had been picked up before opening time - and the area looked very unloved. Plants were dying and the grass needed cutting. A couple of sandwiches took over half an hour to arrive despite there only being about 10 customers and we ordered first. The ladies loos are not very nice and in need of some tlc. The toilet had very obviously not been cleaned! It’s hard see what was done to improve the pub during the time it was closed.

Transformation of previously rather lacklustre pub into attractive and welcoming place to drink and eat. Ollie and staff are on hand to discuss food: in our case, an excellent Sunday roast with delicious vegetables and perfectly cooked pork from local suppliers. Good reports of this new venture had already reached us, and they were absolutely right. We'll go again.....

I enjoyed lunch at the Bax castle on Saturday and the steak sandwich was genuinely delicious! The new owners have found a great blend of value and quality and have put a decent range of drinks on. I would highly recommend to anyone. Well worth a visit.

Nice welcome from guy behind the bar, that was it. Staff were around but no one acknowledged us, said hello or even a goodbye as we left when we clearly walked passed the staff as they had to move to let us past. They were too busy 'looking after the locals' as one was heard saying. We even saw them vaping inside! A shame as we looked forward to returning after the reopening but we won't be back. If your in the hospitality business then you need some!

Started off very nice, polite service at the bar. The staff sat together later in the evening when it was quiet, and a member of staff from the kitchen used the ‘f’ word at least once. A little later when talking to the manager they used the ‘s’ word, this time louder as they were nearer to where I sat. Surely it should never be acceptable for staff to swear openly in front of customers, particularly in a hostelry of this quality which presumably is very good otherwise.

We had been here before and were aware of some poor reviews of this pub during 2023 so thought we would check out the new set up. Since they took over and reopened in January 2024, the new owners have refurnished, cleaned and tidied up the pub and it is now a good spot for lunch particularly if the weather allows the outside space to be used. The bar staff are friendly and enthusiastic, but are still settling in and learning their roles. The kitchen staff appear to be very skilled and in the near future, once the entire team has settled in, this pub is well worth a visit.

Went for lunch on Sun 11 Feb to see what the new team were offering. Started off at the bar with a couple of pints of 'The Donk', really good best bitter. To eat, two of us had chilli squid for starters, then we had the Bax Burger, saltimbocca chicken x2, and the chicken burger from the specials. All were excellent and clearly home cooked from scratch (including the chilli squid - nothing frozen out of the packet frozen!). It was so good we all had desserts, again all excellent - the panna cotta I had was truly delicious. Good wine list too.

Amazing food and drink, with quick service there was always a friendly face around. Would take the family back their if summer was still with us☀️

This is primarily known for its pizzas (which are excellent). For our latest visit my three family members decided to have filled ciabattas. Sadly there were no such rolls so had to make do with white bread sandwiches. The bread was a disappointment. However, as always my pizza was excellent.

Not one to leave reviews but can honestly say Sid made our stopover the best in all of our travels. Definitely the best family run pubs in the area

Just a note: site is not updated in time. BE CAREFUL. We tried to use this site twice. First time it was a pleasant surprise, because according to the published menu I could have nothing for lunch with my dietary problems and I brought my lunch with me from home. On arrival we realized that the current menu simply has not been published. So I could make my order at the pub. Secondly - our yesterday, (03.10.2023) sad experience. We use to walk (90min) to this pub from home, have lunch there and walk(90min) back. Very convenient routine, because South-Downs Link is rather pleasant walk. We checked the pub's site in advance - everything looks fine and - off we go... only to find at 1 pm the locked door without any explanation - why. According to the site, pub should be closed only on Mondays, on Tuesday it should be open at 12am. Nevertheless there was not any notes at the locked door. Not sure will we go again to this pub.

Absolutely appalled with the service! Me and my partner turned up to be turned away at the door as she was an ex employee who left, she was hesitant to come but I encouraged her to come as we were hungry and was the only pub open doing food. We turned up to be greeted by the manager who was told she wasn’t welcome here and her money wasn’t welcome here and was also threatened by the manager who started on her the minute she walked in. And was being shouted at and when she ignored it and tried to walk away was so old “if you want a war you will get a war” this is clearly managed by someone who has no care or respect for the staff. And trying to get hold of the owner is ridiculous!! It stank, staff were rude ex employee or not she doesn’t deserve to be treated this way. Absolutely disgusted! Will not be returning here.

Firstly I have to say I feel sorry for the staff who work here, they are clearly managed by someone who doesn’t actually care about their staff or customers. We attended a family wedding reception on sat 16th Sept, which we were all obviously excited about, except upon arrival we were told the ladies toilets weren’t working and someone was fixing them - we could use the gents. Within 2 hours, they had also broke leaving us and the other 75 guests, plus other customers with no toilets. I had to drive 15 mins to a family members house to use the toilet. At no point were we offered an alternative venue or any support, until we asked if they should legally still be open. They did at this point offer a sister pub, but it was rightly decided we didn’t wish to spend anymore money with this owner, especially after finding out the reason the toilets were broke was because the sespit hadn’t been emptied!! This was an issue that has since come to light was known about almost a week before the wedding, yet we were allowed to continue the booking without any word of the issues. Thankfully through contacts we managed to move the evening reception to another local venue and the 2 lovely staff members (who do clearly care about the customers) did help and brought the food up and were super apologetic. As for the owner/ manager he couldn’t care less and was more concerned about the bad press he was no doubt going to get. Sadly we won’t ever return to this pub, as they spoilt what should have been a special day for a couple who saved extremely hard to have what they wanted.

Have to say we were very disappointed with this venue. We booked this venue six months in advance for a surprise 30th Birthday party. The service was appalling. The queue to order drinks was so long due to limited and inexperience staff. Children bringing food to table with no customer service training. As for the pub language and lack of control of children was quite concerning. My son was attacked by a member of the public for asking there uncontrollable children to stop swearing and using other abusive words. This same member of the public grabbed a 7-year-old child and physically threw them across the bouncy castle. When we approach this group of people, they were very aggressive threatened us with violence. Bax Castle staff did not ask these aggressive violent groups of people to leave so we had to abandon our son party. Management were very unequipped to deal with this incident. This place is a disgrace and I would never use or recommend this venue to any members of the public.

We had hired your venue for a family 30th birthday with young children, but unfortunately some people with uncontrollable children ruined our day and was extremely aggressive and threatened us with violence.Say no more.

We ordered two pizzas. They arrived quickly and were extremely tasty. Service was excellent. I look forward to returning there again. During the summer there is a couple of bouncy castles erected in one of the gardens.

Having been to the bax on a bumper of occasions, I have to say today's experience was the worst ever. The service was appalling. No one had any idea of who had ordered what food. Due to allergies, we had asked for a meal with certain items removed. Only for it to arrive as per the menu. When questioning this with the waitress she said that's how it comes. Are you sure you definitely asked for it without?? Nothing like being listened to when you are ordering allergy related food. No condiments either. Not going back to the bax any time soon.

Having been here a few times I know what to expect but today has been absolutely awful.. hardly any beers, the garden area had no cutlery and limited of other condiments or serviettes.. the queue to order was long due to limited staff..the garden area had nappy bags laying around and tables were dirty and not cleared. Whilst the children aren’t the responsibility of the pub the language and lack of control of children was quite concerning.. it was more like a drop in centre for parents to leave their kids be run riot.. It’s a shame as the kids love it here but unless there is a bit more control from parents and at least some monitoring then I won’t be coming back here in a hurry !

Decent pub with reasonably priced food and drink. Location is excellent and service is friendly. Seems perfect for families.

The perfect pub. Had brilliant food and customer service was spot on very quick and efficient and the perfect hosts as you expect in a pub like this. Sam and Elouise were fantastic and kept us throughly entertained throughout our entire stay. Even more so we will back in due course! Thank you Sam and Elouise and team for making our visit memorable. Good job and a fantastic team of staff behind the bar.

Lovely atmosphere, great pizza. Lovely service. Wonderful outside space. Def a lovely find. Will be going back

We had an early dinner on Friday and our experience was first class. The pub is lovely and has a great atmosphere. The staff were so kind to our incredibly fussy six year old, taking the the trouble to make sure he had the meal he wanted (ham, chips and chopped raw veg!!!!). My veggie pizza was lovely with beautifully crispy base and a perfect amount of topping. My husbands ham, eggs and chips was apparently delicious, best ham for a long time. The wine was lovely and I’m told the real ale was in tip top condition. Overall a lovely start to the weekend and I would thoroughly recommend it. We go to the Bax a couple of times a month and our experience is always great but this time it was truly exceptional so I thought I would share that here.

Perfect for a stop as it is situated right next to the Downs Link. Good pizza and friendly staff made this a perfect place to rest our feet.

The is a great traditional and unique Pub. Really well run and fantastic Pizzas and I don't eat them normally!!

Ordered pizza for the first time today. It was outstanding, 50% off when you collect so amazing value for money too. The base was light and crispy and the toppings plentiful and tasty. One of the best takeaway pizzas around. Won’t be going to dominos ever again.

Wanted a pub near the Downs Link and you couldn't get any closer. Huge garden with loads of tables. Pizza were amazing, possibly the best GF pizza ever!! Will definitely be going back

Been coming here for years as a lunch stop when cycling the Downslink. This however was first time since Covid and have to say that the place is not what it was. Basically it no longer does the usual pub fare but has emulated a Pizza Parlour style which wasn't really why we stopped by but hey we're here so let's go with it. Can't complain about the food however we were literally served a pizza each, in a box without cutlery or serviettes thus seriously diminishing the experience. Come on Bax you always set the bar high and I appreciate the current situation but you could at least provide the basics.

Around 10pm on Friday - me and two friends enjoying a quiet drink out the front. Next thing we know, the lights are switched off - leaving us in the pitch black - and the staff head across the car park and head home. Pretty baffling - why not say "we're closing soon", or apologise when they came out and saw us? What's the deal?

Felt very safe and the way the garden is taped made it easy to work out where to go.Pizzas are amazing we have had quiet a few deliveries from here much nicer than the big chain pizza company in the village.Shame they have taken down the kids play area as I feel that was a great addition to this pub-as pizza and play area is every kids dream.Good choice of wine and beer.

The pub has always been great but the garden seems to lack tlc. It is seriously overgrown in places...attention to this would make the experience so much better.

Our 4th visit for pizza. Party of 6, we all had different pizzas, and everyone enjoyed their choice. So easy to order from the website in the beer garden and enjoy a drink whilst waiting. Great social distancing in place. Staff are friendly. Well done all!

We’ve been coming to the Bax every summer with our lovely friends and all of our delightful children.It never disappoints with friendly staff, plenty of space and a well thought out plan to consider all aspects now needed for safe social distancing and minimising contact etc...The food was scrummy, the drinks were immense and the sun was blazing.Thank you for a lovely afternoon...

What has happened to the pizzas? Last time I wrote a review they were delicious (similar to ones you get in France, thin crust, flavoured). Last night ordered two and the crust was huge and doughy. Even on the boxes it says thin crust & base. Really disappointed.

We adore The Bax Castle and have missed it very much during lockdown, so one sunny afternoon a couple of weeks ago we went as a family for a few drinks and some food. The food and drinks were great as usual but the beer garden was incredibly disappointing. They have used tape (looks like crime scene tape) and plastic upright posts to section off the beer garden (most unattractive) and haven’t done any gardening for ages. It has been tough times but when your only real space for hosting lots of customers is your beer garden, then maybe make it inviting so people will definitely return?

Went today for lunch, at about £35 for 2 drinks, 2 10" (small) pizzas and one side it's not cheap. Took a few minutes to keep chewing through the rubber crust, wrong bother again. Shame as the toppings etc were ok.

Ordered pizza for delivery from Caputo's, good range of toppings and very convenient pre-order and delivery service. Would happily recommend.

Easy ordering from Caputos (Bax Castle). Ready on the dot for time of collection. The pizzas were lovely, fresh and hot with plenty of toppings. We had the Mallard and the Carnivore, highly recommended.

I’ve just had my first Pizza delivery and what a service - firstly online ordering was easy and the menu choice is great. Secondly the food turned up on time, lastly wow best pizzas we’ve had in a long time - the dough balls And chicken are delicious!

Excellent take- away pizzas. Great idea while we are in lockdown. Delicious pizzas, wide variety of toppings. Efficient service, prénom, pay & collect.

Carvery for three at 2.30 on Sunday 8 March - booked the night before; freshly served food which had not been kept warm under the lights for hours; delicious food with huge portions for a reasonable price - smaller, cheaper version available; good choice of desserts; friendly efficient service; t is dog friendly

Lovely meal in a beautiful countryside pub. Large portions with plenty of choice. Large outside space great for children during the spring/ summer.

Really not allergy aware, need more options for Celiacs & dairy intolerance.Family meal, we ordered the four kids meals to come with our starters. Our mains were then really late, we didn't eat till 3 after ordering at 130. Our order was then taken wrong and we had no apology and a further 20minute wait for one person.Dont think we'll eat there again.

We had a very pleasant lunch here. Will return. Small ham and egg was very generous and good, and the homemade coleslaw with kale in was delicious.

Wow is all I can say...after arriving at the pub today, Boxing Day... & finding that our email for pre ordering hadn’t been received (our fault) the staff couldn’t of been more helpful with trying to seat us, all the ladies were very helpful & couldn’t of made our visit anymore enjoyable.The food was amazing, the portion size was unbelievably generous. Will definitely be returningThankyou

Post-Appointments lunch with friends - a quiet Monday but warmly welcomed bang on time. Lunchtime special was bangers and mash with caramelised onions and gravy - naughty but nice. Super chicken salad for others. Plenty of space and a selection of beers and lagers. Just a good local pub but with pretty good food. Two menu choices were not available but it was Monday and they were still cooking for the week!

What a great little pub, with such a welcoming lady behind the bar. The place was almost deserted due to the weather so we were unsure if they were serving food. Anyway to cut a long story short the food was fantastic, portions were generous, menu extensive, the service was great and the staff were lovely. We will be back, the only problem is who drives next time as it’s a little way out. This place is exactly what a great British Pub should be. 10/10

Great, attentive service, did everthing to please gueats - nothing too much bother. Really great quality food at a reasonable price - very generous portions with nice amounts of fresh salad. great outdoor space with kids park which was really safe,altough the gate did not shut properly. We had a really lovley afternoon and would definately return.

Visited here again for Saturday evening meal. We had the ham and chips, which was really nice. The ham is very tasty and the chips are the best I have had. Doesn't get busy in the winter. Would definitely recommend eating here

Stopped by here for a drink and a quick lunch, food and service was okay, all be it the menu is nothing special, but this is clearly very much a pub for families with children, the main attraction ring their extensive play area. We could barely hold a conversation with the level of noise from children playing and screaming!

Attentive, friendly staff, delicious food in a pleasant setting with a bouncy castle to keep younger children occupied.

Good value and entertainment laid on. The children's portions are huge - for a 5 and a 2 year old, sharing was more than enough. Outside there are ducks wandering around and in a fenced pond and the playground is varied with sensible guidance provided. As long as you're aware of the traffic as you pass from the pub to the playground, there is nothing to fear and everything to enjoy

My friend, who is local, took me to Bax Castle as it is a regular haunt for them and their friends - what an amazing little pub.

Lovely food (good, simple pub grub) and great atmosphere. Dogs welcome and great pub for sitting outside in the summer and warm and cosy in the winter. We walk miles to get here. Really friendly staff too.

Clearly a place for kids as bouncy castle, ducks etc.

Visited with some very fussy children! There is an extensive menu which had something for everyone and was a real hit with the kids. The pizzas in particular were delicious. We sat outside while the children played on the play area and bouncy castle. It was a lovely summer evening but there were very few people there which was a surprise - may be due to the wasps which were everywhere. I was very impressed at the staff who were very quick to remove used plates and glasses so as not to encourage the wasps. The young female waitresses were very friendly, helpful and a real credit to the pub. This is a great family pub.

Children stung by stinging nettles growing in seating area and grass in seating area over grown. Have visited this pub many times over the years and it appears to be going downhill. Advertised as open till 6pm yet children’s bouncy castle unplugged at 5.30pm when numerous families still sat in the garden with drinks.

Have often had a pint here but haven’t eaten for quite a while. Good selection of mains, including a range of pizzas. Reasonably priced. They also do kid sized meals.

A friend and I went for lunch. We were warmly welcomed by staff, were seated in a lovely dining area, and scanned a good menu of home cooked food. My friend had lasagne with salad and I had breaded prawns with a sweet chilli dip with salad. We followed this by sharing a scuptious lemon cheese cake. Our meals were delicious and completely affordable. We will go again!!

Visited this pub last week with the kids . Great place to take the kids and the do great food,very fresh and flavoursome ! Staff very helpful and couldn’t do enough for you . If you haven’t tried carvery yet book yourself in as you won’t be disappointed !

Absolutely appalling and tasteless re-heated margarita. The cheese had no taste and the whole thing tasted worse than cheapest frozen pizza from Sainsbury's. There was not only NO TASTE in the cheese, but there is no chance it was made in the place. Definitely ordered from somewhere and put into the oven like a cheap chicken shop style pizza, except the chicken shops are honest. THIS IS UNACCEPTABLE, the menu did say that it was hand stretched and made on spot. It’s a blatant lie. Also, that thing on the Margarita was not cheese, some sort of second class cheese replacement that is nowhere near actual cheese in texture or taste.

Such a disappointment of a visit today, ordered our food and about 30mins later out it came as it wasn't busy this was a good turnaround time. Within seconds of food coming out we noticed a fly half melted into my 5 year old daughters pizza cheese. We called the waitress back to explain this, we got phobbed off that it must have flown onto it walking over to us, did we want to pick it off ourselves?! This couldn't have happened as it was embedded well within the cheese and there was no offer to make the order right! My burger was bland and flavourless although cooked well and moist. Such a shame as we have always loved Bax Castle as they are extremely dog friendly both inside and outside :( oh well will have to find a new haunt...

Friendly welcoming place, food slightly over priced.

A lovely setting out in the sticks, large beer garden with children's bouncy castle and climbing area to keep them busy. Food was good, tasty and decent portions. On ordering there was a sign informing you that food could be up to an hour before serving giving you options to order or not, we did and wasn't dissapointed. Staff were friendly and professional. Well worth a visit.

Out in the country this pub has plenty of parking and a large beer garden staff friendly with a good atmosphere well worth a visit if the weather is good

We went here for Sunday lunch, found only doing carvery or pizzas [I do not know why so many pubs are doing this not everybody wants a carvery] so we went for the carvery, asked what meats were on told gammon and turkey, not good. Chose to go with the carvery told a small and a big appetite the big was two slices of meat the small one slice so £ 4 for one extra slice! I have never had a carvery where the slices of meat are rationed. The roast potatoes were as hard as rocks yorkshire puds so dry and hard they broke into bits when cut, the rest of the vegetables were not wonderful. It was a shame as it is a nice pub and the staff were excellent. Will not go there on a Sunday again.

We were viewing a house in the area & came across this place, There’s a bouncy castle, kids climbing play area, chatty staff & lovely food. Just off the downslink, so I’m surprised we haven’t found it before now, but we’ll definitely be back!!

As a senior citizen I took my daughter who was visiting from the other side of the world for a roast dinner at Bax Castle. There were not many customers so we sat and waited to be served, no service so in the end I went to find a member of staff only to be told the carvery had closed. This was at 1.30pm on Sunday so was not late. The website says roast dinners from 12-4pm. The young lady who we spoke to, we were told was the manager, she was so rude. I have never had such rudeness, we left shaken and upset and another member of staff asked if we were ok as we left. I wont be back

We walked up on Good Friday evening to get something to eat and drink. To be told by a member of staff, after we had orderd are drinks. That they weren't serveing food because the chefs were exhausted from the heat and they had to prep for the next day. So they were only doing side dishes that evening.

We came across this pub on the way back to our camp site. Ales were exceptional as well as the food. Service was above and beyond what should have been. Can't praise this place enough, we know where to go next time we are in the area....

Came here after shopping in Horsham for some lunch. Although the gardens were very very busy due to the beautiful bank holiday weather, we were served promptly with drinks and our food took only around 20 minutes. Food was tasty, hot and nicely presented. Well done Bax Castle

Have been to the Bax over many years but now they are doing a Carvery which I thinks is excellent and in such a lovely setting. Was here two weeks ago and again today. Lovely people who run it, great job today.

We rang up, my boyfriend and I late on Friday on the off chance we would get a table, we got a table we were really happy!!! We love their pizzas! We went in we're greeted beautifully. We ordered a bottle of wine which was lovely! We ordered pizza of course, they had the choice of smaller pizzas! I ordered the bigger pizza as was great price. The meal was very good value for money! Very much enjoyed it!!

Lovely pub Great food staff very helpful and friendly very relaxed atmosphere certainly be going again

Not been here for a while, but a very pleasant surprise, Staff very friendly and helpful ! lovely beer,ladies gin & tonics great choices, then through to the table ,very nice decor ,service very good ,food all very nice,bill a pleasant surprise!! All in all a very pleasant lunch !

The food, service and effective country-pub atmosphere are worth recording. As a party of 3 we turned up on spec for Sunday lunch. Although the carver is by booking only, the a al carte menu had god choice and the staff took the trouble to check that a vegan option could be provided. Nothing seemed too much trouble, so I was very impressed and will return! A five-start rating is well deserved.

Booked a table for 8, children and adults, for early Saturday evening. Warm reception, table set out and reserved, went to place order for drinks at the bar, they offered to come and take drinks and food order at the table . Staff really pleasant and obliging.

Went to lunch here today. Lovely place to visit and menu choice. At last a place that does food for smaller appetites. Although i still could not manage it all. Highly recommend bax castle been few times now and great food and service

Friendly staff when arrived wasn’t too busy had trouble getting throw on phone to book table the food was lovely we had a carvery all was really nice.

Beef is amazing,massive potato’s,plenty of choice of vegetables. Staff are friendly and very helpful. Well worth a walk from Southwater village in the rain

How amazing and lovely place. We got lost on our trip around but accidentally found this little gem. Friendly atmosphere, huge portions and nice choice of food. Staff bit slow and sometimes ''lost'' in what was who doing but over all fab experience. Finally we found very decent food for great prices and dog friendly place for us 3. Will come again. Thank you

I popped in with my boyfriend, and my dog, we finally found a dog friendly pub, we went to Worthing for a walk then we wanted to get food but couldn't find a dog friendly pub, so on way home we decided to try Bax castle, it was busy, but we found a little table in corner which was comfortable, and my dog was secure and I felt she was safe. We ordered the pizzas which were heard were good, when we got our pizzas it was amazing, great pizza and great service.

Been here many times as a cyclist I often travel along the "Downs-link" route between Shoreham & Guildford and almost halfway the Bax lends itself to offering cold drinks and excellent food be it light lunches or more substantial fare. I've tried both and have never been disappointed. To be honest if the Bax wasn't there I'm note sure how keen I'd be to cycle the "Downs-link" so frequently. Check it out, you won't be disappointed.

Just had a great lunch here. Food well cooked and the menu has all the old favorites at very fair prices. Not only was the food good but the service was superb, very helpful and attentive to one of the less able members of the party, sorry don’t know the name of the attractive dark haired lady. Only one small gripe, they wouldn’t let me have the very cute puppy.

Arrived with friends on their recommendation having tried takeaway pizza from there before. The Pizza comes in two sizes Small Appetite £8.95 / Big Appetite £11.95. Variety of pizza toppings. Small appetite is the size of a dinner plate approx 12". We didn't order the Big Appetite so can't comment on it. I had the Mallard - duck based pizza and is was delicious. We did order a side of chips but honestly that was a tad too much. The pizza was ample on its own. Have tried them before as a takeaway and on both occasions couldn't fault the presentation or taste. Would certainly go again.

Good quality pub food and some nice variety with absolutely fantastic service. Good value too. Outdoor space is superb.

Visited on a Sunday for the carvery. Both size portions were huge. Lots of choice of meat.service was good.puddings were amazing

We had the carvery and there was about 15 of us. I found the carvery slow and the food average. Particularly dissatisfied with the hardness of the potatoes. But the staff were very helpful and the outside garden with play area and bouncy castle was brilliant for the children. The best bit was the puddings they were a game changer. Sticky toffee pudding to die for. 7/10

We went for a walk along the downs link and stoped for lunch Fantastic service and a fun garden for kids bouncy castle as well Not to mention the big pizzas WELL WORTH THE STOP ESPECIALLY for kids

The pub is adjoining the downs link which is used by so many walkers and cyclists, it has no excuse for not being busy! It has large gardens with plenty of outdoor seating for the better weather. The garden menu is a bit ‘pizza, burger and pub favourites’ but that’s probably what people with families want! We stopped off on a bike ride and had a meal and drink. My wife had the smaller portion chilli which was plenty big enough and tasty, and great value. We will drop in again.

We met some friends with our granddaughter and ate in the restaurant. The food choice was good with smaller portions for youngsters, which was a plus.

A friend and I decided to eat at the Bax Castle having heard glowing reports. Upon arrival we were greeted warmly by the bar staff, and ordered our drinks.

This is a good place to take children. There is a good range of food at reasonable prices on the menu. There is a large play area which can be seen from the outside tables so handy to keep an eye on children. Food quality good too.

Bax is no doubt a great little pub - the location is ideal on the Downs Link and it is brilliant for children. But sadly we will not eat there again. The menu is limited and the quality of the food is really poor. Our pizza looked unappetising and had next to no topping and the burger was a frozen processed slab and didn’t taste of meat. The bowl of salad came without any dressing and the green leaves were on the turn. Such a shame!

Went for a lovely walk from Southwater to the bax (looking for Southwater rocks) huge bouncy castle in the garden and brilliant play area for kids. Shared some pizza,garlic bread and cheesy chips between three. Service was brilliant. Was a lovely sunny afternoon what more could you want.

This is a lovely old country pub serving good priced lovely food. Would definitely recommend eating here

We had travelled up from Somerset to visit parents to be waiting at the bar to order for more than 5 mins to be told sorry we are not serving food now we close at 8.30pm but I have been waiting you were all busy...no sorry...(what pub stops food at 8.30 talk about kill the pub) well it was their loss as 9 of us normally cost around £250-300 each time we eat out...