Bench RH19 in Mid Sussex

Outstanding service, amazing food, and a huge drink choice.

I can't speak of any other offerings, but the Double Bench Breakfast was fantastic! It's a big meal and really high quality.

The food is amazing. It is really fresh and tastes really good. The service is really good

Had called in and reserved a table When we finally sat at table, it was not a 'reserved' one and actually just a table at the back which had not even been cleaned. Had to request twice for it to be cleaned since one side had enough sticky food smudges all over to affect clothing. When server finally cleaned - did not remove all so just had to avoid putting arms over the table throughout. I'd wish the staff here actually pay attention to customers and do their work well.

I visited today with the family to have a quick bite, and I was extremely impressed indeed. The food was great, had great flavour, and presented in a way that was just beautiful and decent size portions. The staff were kind, courteous, and polite and on the ball. No rushing you or hoovering. The decor is amazing. The pods give you a real sense of privacy, and like you're in your own private restaurant. Obviously, you pay a little more but was happy to do so with this quality for sure. Will visit again.

Visited today and popped in for a take away wrap. Ordered a tuna wrap and was told 10 minutes which I didn't mind. After 10 minutes was told there is a delay and would take another ten minutes. Given a complimentary lime juice which was a nice touch and was considering giving a three star review, however after 25 minutes waiting at a cost of £8.95 approx, I eventually recieved what I believed to be my order with 5 minutes left to eat it, I quickly returned to my vehicle to consume before rushing to work, however soon discovered I'd be served chicken instead of Tuna. Wasn't satisfied as I predominantly prefer seafood over meat and didn't bother returning for a fresh wrap to be made as I didn't have another 25 minutes to do it. Sadly for the price and location I expected better and the good points were spoilt by the product served being an incorrect order... Won't be returning anytime soon sadly.

Booked for 6 adults, but was given a table for 5, they actually cannot seat groups of 6. The food was the best bit, but the fact we were made to feel we were taking too long and an inconvenience, we won't be going back.

Fantastic place was down for a few days with my sister we had our breakfast and then travelled back up north we will be there again when we are down next year beautiful food

Friendly cafe. Lots of places to sit. We had eggs benedict and toast. Served quickly and everything was tasty and served hot.

Man was very rude and did not seem to want to help my request for an allergens list for my 5 year old boy so he could have ice cream.

A lovely little cafe, with good coffee, tasty cake and friendly service. It is dog friendly too, for well behaved pooches. We love going here.

A neat little gem of a place right in the middle of East Grinstead.

Lovely environment, an excellent breakfast, excellent service. Lovely decor, would reccomend.

Although we have often stopped here for the occasional drink, my husband and I recently had a Friday night date night here. Food is great and staff are lovely. I had butternut squash soup to start and sweet potato roulade as a main. Both were excellent. The high-backed booth seating has a nice cosy feel, the ambiance was relaxing.

Had breakfast. Was really nicely set out on plate. Very well done. Enjoyed.

Dropped in for a breakfast. Went for the double. Generally nice tasting but if I have a slight critique, I don’t really want cold tomato and salad leaves on a hot breakfast. It is a personal preference but it would be nice to have the option of one of the two slices of toast on a side plate and to be able to butter them myself. The toast was pre-buttered hot and was quite claggy to chew. Maybe that’s just me though. Bit of a delay with the coffee delivery, would have had a second or third, but didn’t have any time left

Visited The Bench today and it is so worth a visit it’s such a lovely place and so clean. I had homemade Moussaka with dressed green salad and Greek bread, it was delicious. The staff are friendly and so helpful. If you are in East Grinstead you must go, they serve it all from main meals to afternoon teas or just pop in for a coffee. You will not be disappointed We will certainly being going back, going to try breakfast next time.

Popped into East Grinstead and decided to have a bite to eat. Thought I'd give Bench RH19 a try and wasn't disappointed. The homemade Bench burger was delicious. Service was great, very attentive to someone with intolerances and a lovely venue. Highly recommend a visit. I will definitely be going back

Stopped here on a long bike ride for an early Sunday breakfast. Was made to feel very welcome and they offered me a secure place to park my bike out the back. Food was delicious and fresh. Recommended!

I don't like to leave negative feedback, but the service received was really poor and made me and my partner feel unwelcome, we didn't order food (just hot drinks) so cannot comment on this, but front of house just had no customer service, asked for sugar a bowl was almost thrown on the table with sugars, no words spoken, randomly just slaps a till receipt on our table In front of me saying 'reserved 1pm' then walks off, it was rude and unnecessary as this was about 9am. The building, interior design and was really nice and we chose this over the chain opposite, but front of house need to make customers feel welcome, I would struggle to return for this reason. The food that was served while we were there did look great though.

A comfy cosy bench which also works a noise dumpener.

Highly recommended, great food and really nice decor. Staff were friendly and the service was great. Will definitely visit again in the future.

Had the most delicious Christmas themed afternoon tea. Choice of tea, cocktail or champagne. Staff were friendly and venue was Fab! Don't want to recommend too much in case I can't get booked in again next year. It's good throughout the year too...not just for Christmas!

Sehr gutes englisches Frühstück

Very good wraps, excellent staff and service. Only disagree with smell from kitchen. But I will back for sure.

I went to Bench with a friend of mine for the first time this morning, and it was absolutely lovely. My friend had the Bench breakfast and I (being very hungry) had the Double Bench breakfast. So basically a posh English breakfast and a larger one. The food was fantastic, and the service was very good too (quick and friendly). The eggs were cooked to perfection, nice thick bacon, good bread, and really tasty sausages. Great coffee as well. We enjoyed it so much that we are going to go back next week. Prices incredibly reasonable! Thank you!

Went in with a toddler and a new born and told we should get there earlier if we want food as it's a 45 minute wait for food and a fifteen minute wait for drinks. Won't return.

Nice food and lovely outdoor seating, the food was maybe slightly on the slow side - taking around 35 minutes from ordering but that’s the only small area for improvement. Great little gem in a nice area of the town.

Lovely cafe which is our go to in East Grinstead, friendly staff and customers, clean and comfortable. Food has always been good, as is the coffee and hot chocolate! Dog friendly too

Sat outside today to have Brunch with a friend today and will def be back. Lovely food, friendly and helpful staff and relaxing to sit outside. Food came out promptly and tasted delicious. I want to try more options now!

After being let down by bench a few months ago where they only wrote half the order down so 1 person got their meal and the other waited 40 minutes for a new one to be made we decided to see if they can redeem themselves. Unfortunately not. We were told that it was a 40 minute wait for food which is fine. After 50 minutes of no food we questioned how long it would be and was told it was just being plated up. There was food being plated up, just not ours, the table who had arrived 15 minutes after us and who had a lot more complexed order than our wrap and panini. Obviously the waitress could see that we looked annoyed, went to check on our food and clearly realised that our order had never started to be made. We were offered free drinks and that it would be 10 minutes for our food which clearly was the time it would take for them to make it?? Waiting for an hour for no food, absolute joke. We left without eating and won’t return.

Meal delicious filling and appetizing. Enjoyed Avo Benedict and poached eggs with tea. Warmly reccommended. Great service and hospitality. Thank you.

Good for a family meal, for example smoothies for the children.

Sorry to report a bad experience. We popped in for. a "quick" brunch and we waited more than 45 minutes for 2 small plates of sausages and eggs. The food never came, the staff tried to apologise but it wasn't good enough.

Visited with my daughter this weekend and based on this visit - we won’t be returning. We ordered a meat sharing platter with scotch egg, sausage roll, coleslaw - in our opinion, the food was of poor quality - it looked like a plate of Sainsbury’s basic range products and the taste wasn’t much better. Really unappetising. Service poor too im afraid - first time im a long time that I didn’t leave a tip when eating out. The smoothies, however we’re lovely…

Really good lunch here, one of my favourite stops for a proper sandwich in east grinstead.

Enjoyed our family lunch here while visiting the Bluebell Railway locally. Our burgers were very tasty and the service was friendly despite it being a busy day. They also have a very varied food and drink menu to suit all tastes. Recommended.

Sunny day, sat outside had a good coffee, breakfast very good but not cheap.

Just what East Grinstead needed.

Moving to the area soon and booked a brunch for 6 this morning. Lovely decor, great friendly and prompt service and the food was excellent. A good range of pricing on the menu so you can budget or have a blow out. The Double Bench English breakfast was a feast - will be a favourite for us when we have family or friends visiting for sure.

Delicious food and amazing customer service. The staff are simply flawless, thank you for looking after us so well!

Great atmosphere, friendly staff and delicious food!

Part of a party of five and a bit of rejigging meant we were all able to sit at one table. Very helpful staff who were polite and efficient. Varied menu to cater for the snacker to the full diner.

Super helpful staff, very good value prices and tasty food with plenty of options for vegans and vegetarians. Nice cocktail menu, we went for a light lunch but are also tempted to return for dinner!

Lovely meal with family tonight. Service excellent. House red very good. Cosy cafe atmosphere. Recommend.

Great wraps, generous sizes and good outdoor seating. Oh, and they know how to make an Affogato as well!

The food is amazing!! We got there and breakfast had stopped but they still accommodated us and let us have breakfast. Lovely warm welcome, friendly staff we will definitely eat here again if we are passing. Thank you ❤

You do have to book because it is so popular, but the quality of the food is first class, the speed of service is good, and the friendliness of the staff very good.

Having experienced both lunch and dinner I can highly recommend Bench RH19. The staff are extremely friendly, not fussy but attentive, and the food is of great quality. Will jot hesitate in revisiting when we come down south again.

Enjoying a coffee with breakfast in a family environment is a good feeling. The staff is nice...... And although sometimes you have to wait 40 minutes for the food, "THIS IS NOT A MCDONALD'S", everything is prepared fresh and the food is prepared in QUEUE based on the orders. Waiting is good news, isn't it? Meet means many people like this place. And the food is excellent, worth waiting for.

What can we say…. Went on Saturday evening. Really friendly welcome by fantastic staff members Reka, Lyn and manager Kate. Fantastic meals - food delicious - and good sized portions. Lovely bottle of wine. Service fab. Couldn’t fault it. Will definitely be back for another evening meal.

Had a lovely evening at Bench. Great atmosphere and the food was delicious. We will be back!

This seems like a new fresh cafe/restaurant. We had a warm welcome, a comfortable seat and great food delivered with cheer. We would love to return.

Had been to Bench on two previous occasions and really enjoyed the food and the experience. Not this time, asked if they had a table for 2 and was told by the lady behind the counter, how would she know! Waited for someone else, no one came, same lady told us there were no tables, when asked how long before one would be available was told an hour and that there were tables outside. After sitting outside for over 10 minutes with no sign of any staff went to the pub instead

Didn’t even receive order! Apparently too busy and cancelled my order after waiting over 40 minutes. Do not allow people to order and then cancel! This is the worst service! Why allow me to order and then cancel this! With absolutely no explanation, too busy is not an excuse, do not allow people to order if you’re busy! And don’t let people wait 40 mins so everywhere else closes and you can’t get anything else! Worst customer experience * Gave them another chance the next day, they cancelled it again, useless business.

Impromptu stop for a coffee. Very warm and friendly welcome. Excellent food, well presented. Normally just pass through East Grinstead on the way to somewhere else, will make a point of stopping here in the future.

A good location for a coffee or bite to eat, coffee excellent also.

Very friendly and fast, lovely food.

What a disaster. 40 min wait for food. Order incorrect. Watched 4 different tables sit down, wait to be served, get fed up and walk off. Lots of lost custom. Needs more staff for sure. Not a great experience.

Lovely little restaurant with outside seating. Pleasant staff and lovely food at a good price. I would recommend.

Great food, friendly staff. Highly recommend ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

We really liked our Panini choices. Great taste and generous portion with a little side salad and humus /nachos. Staff is very friendly as well. Would have been 5 stars if waiting time for our food had not been 35 to 40 minutes. We'll be back.

We stopped for a quick snack on a beautiful day and loved the cosy seats outside. The place is friendly, the coffee and tea treats delicious and the menu has some amazing food choices. We are here for a day and would love to come back for dinner or breakfast.

Cocina buena, muy buena atención y servicio. El tiempo de servicio dentro de lo normal.

What a nice place to go to, i had a nice caposinni and a nice cake, it was so nice and staff so friendly. Next time I will have my lunch in there, I can't wait.

Love this place and go every time when I visit my daughter in East Grinstead

The food is really good here. I had a tuna and cheese toasty for lunch and it was perfect, served with a lovely little side salad, nachos and hummus on the side.

It is such a pleasure to come to your cafe, nice food, good service

I went here for breakfast with my mum and I can honestly say it was the best breakfast I have ever had. It was delicious. The food was fresh and local produce. I have had many breakfast’s at various cafes and they have never been to the standard set here. Service was great and the coffee was fantastic. Definitely recommend and of course will definitely be going back.

Staff are useless and don't know what they are doing. Eat here once and one only.

Wonderful food, excellent service and comfortable environment. Would highly recommend. Simon was particularly accommodating and spoiled us from start to finish!

Excellent High Street café ! Sitting outside when the weather improves will be a big bonus. Lovely food well presented by friendlyand helpful staff. I hadn't realised I could get a beer or wine there so another bonus. However due to some ridiculous council restrictions they are not allowed to serve alcohol outside. East Grinstead is already benefiting from 'Street café culture'. Drinking outside happens in European countries without any problems and is the better for it. This restriction needs to be removed! UPDATE. Speaking to the owner, I misunderstood the restriction. It turns out that alcohol cannot be served before 11am. Sorry about that. Keep going you guys, well done. Ian

Nice cafe, good selection of dishes and helpful staff. We've been in a couple of tes recently for both breakfast and brunch, the food has been lovely each time and the staff helpful and friendly. Recommended

Loved it. Partner and I popped in to have a milkshake after our dog walk as we had heard good things. And my god they were good. I had biscoff, loved it. Very happy they were dog friendly. And the booth was comfy too. Will definitely look here if wanting something to eat soon, or maybe just another milkshake as there was loads of choice!

Excellent delivery of food. Super tasty and really hot on arrival.

Pleasant surroundings, friendly staff and delicious food and generous portions. Recommended.

Always so friendly. Excellent service. Plus ice cream by the scoop so great with the kids

Lovely place, only had a got chocolate there but food menu looked delicious and not badly priced. Will def go back there again.

Myself and My Husband had brunch here today. Food was very nice. Lovely decor. Friendly staff will definitely be coming back

Decent coffee and had a great avo bacon and chicken sandwich but they took ages to make my sandwich and charged an absolute bomb (£9 for a panini 😵)

Popped in for a afternoon snack (first time visit). Excellent chicken, bacon and avocado wrap - came with trimmings which was an added bonus. Very friendly staff, relaxing atmosphere, spotless facilities and would certainly be back.

A great addition to the Old High St in East Grinstead. Food is excellent, as is the service, and good value.

Breakfast Fantastic and so tasty 😋

Called in here late morning for a coffee. The menu was very tempting, so had a light breakfast. Food excellent quality, service good and polite. Well worth a visit.

Excellent breakfast food and coffee, friendly staff and relaxed atmosphere. Altogether a pleasant place to enjoy a quiet hour.

This takes afternoon tea to another level, the food is excellent and my daughter loved it. Fantastic

The atmosphere and seating are very good in Bench, along with a warm welcome and friendly attentive staff. Menu is great both breakfast & all day choices food is superb 😊

Great ambience. Had a lovely meal for 2 in pleasant surroundings with friendly staff and great food. Cocktails were yummy, as was the wine. Would recommend go all for an evening meal 😋

Lovely place to meet friends. Service is always friendly and efficient. Special mention to Simon.

Fab cafe, super food and drinks but made even more special by the lovely staff. It is opening in the evenings as a French Bistro so will definitely be back to try and will be cafe of choice. Thank you!!!

Good menu , great food and very good service

This place is great! Atmosphere is chill and cool, the staff is also really friendly and you can tell making the customers happy is their main priority. Food is pretty good and for their prices it’s 100% worth it. They also have lovely night time menu with lots of lovely dishes!

Excellent food, coffee and service.

Lovely friendly atmosphere the coffee is awesome and the food is lush 😋

Friendly little venue, couple of glitches on order but overall it does the job

Impromptu visit to East Grinstead with my partner and our Maltese (Beau) we had been to a couple of cafes previously but were not allowed to take Beau inside then we stumbled upon Bench RH19 where we were greeted by a lovely lady who said it wasn’t a problem to take Beau inside. The service was impeccable, all the staff were super friendly. I ordered the smoked salmon pate and my partner had avocado and smoked salmon both were well presented and super fresh (see pictures) followed by a delicious brownie and carrot cake again both lovely. We will definitely be back , thank you for being so amazing especially in these difficult times #LetsSupportHospitality

A catalogue of errors…. Given the wrong menu when we entered which meant what we ordered wasn’t able to be made. When we re-ordered our order was pushed to the back of the queue but no one explained this. Only by asking where our food was (only two simple sandwiches) after 40 minutes we were told. No apology. We decided after another 10 we would leave. No apology again. The worst thing was watching the manager blame her staff for mistakes and not herself - she was rude, even to us. They had 8 members of staff, and only about the same number of customers, but they seemingly couldn’t get anything right - another family walked out whilst we were there too.

Nice ice cream , only one shot in capachino. Average.

Staff were friendly and helpful food and drinks were great and as for the milkshakes the kids loved them so happy experience for us!! The Truffles they sell are also a real treat!! Looking forward to going back again very soon

Wonderful place, daytime food delicious. Just started evening menu on Friday... amazing. It is our go to place for a sense of cosmopolitan ambience. The owners Kate and Gordon with their "family" team can't do enough for you. I won't be disappointed when I can't dine/drink outside as the interior is tastefully decorated and most welcoming. So excited by this place that we have it to look forward to for our weekend treat. Tomorrow I am taking my team from work..... Can't wait.