Black Swan in Mid Sussex

I’ve visited this pub a number of times and since it’s refurb it looks much better. However, like many hospitality venues they are struggling for staff. We have called in on 2 occasions to see a sign up at the bar saying kitchen closed due to staff shortage. That said, when you can get food it’s always good quality pub food!

We booked a table to celebrate my husband’s birthday. We received a warm welcome upon arrival and were promised a glass of champagne on the house to celebrate the occasion. Unfortunately the glasses of fizz never arrived. Good was delicious but service very mediocre.

Enjoy eating here, love eating out in the garden in fine weather.

Great Pub, Had a nice meal with the family! However, there was a stench of cannabis on the front porch that was coming inside the window... this was such a let down after our meal. We would like to come back and visit again, just without the ghastly smell of cannabis. Thank you Odette

A decent experience. It’s a good restaurant when it works and today was one of those days. Felt short staffed but the ones that were there were friendly and capable. Decent food.

Booked for a Sunday evening roast after seeing their offer of £10 roast after 5pm, only to be told after I arrived that they had sold out and normally do by 4.30pm. Good marketing ploy though

Avoid booking a table at 6.0 pm on a Sunday as you get caught up in the change of rota’s. We were parked in a corner & quitely forgotten about. Tables around us were left uncleared from a busy lunchtime service. Four different members of staff walked around a pile of food on the floor, which remained there for the 2 hours it took us to be served. The French Manageress couldn’t be traced. The new shift of Staff were clearly embarrassed & were doing their best to play catch up. This is such a shame as the food, when it came, was very good. We ordered a simple desert of ice cream , rum & rassin, but after a long wait was told that the Chef couldn’t find any! We got our bill & left feeling somewhat disappointed at the whole experience. We have eaten here on several previous occasions & throughly enjoyed ourselves, so what has gone so horribly wrong?

Delicious, welcoming and stunning with so many areas to eat both inside and out

Superb roast dinner, amiable staff and prompt service

Awful ambience. Not cosy or welcoming. Nicest area is on right by fireplace but a noisy teenage group was there so we were told to sit on other side. Poor choice of food. Nothing different to what you make at home. Very average quality. Used to be such a great pub. It’s so pretty from outside . It’s such a shame! Needs someone to take it over as it has potential to be amazing like the old days 10 yrs ago!

All our food was good and tasty but I think a little expensive . Lovely pub indoor and outdoor. Very nice staff. An event was advertised and I’d received an email about it and therefore booked but waitress at the pub wasn’t aware and a bar member said they weren’t taking part. Email did specifically say the pub name and address. Oktoberfest between 21st Sept-10th Oktober. Disappointed this was our reason for booking.

Very good menu and good choice of wine and beer. Staff excellent as well.

I haven't been to this pub since before lock down, no real reason but hadn't thought of it. We will definitely be making it one of our favourites from now on. The staff were really friendly and helpful, nothing was too much trouble. The roast dinner was totally amazing, I had the beef which was cooked to perfection with just the right amount of potatoes and vegetables. My Mum had the roast chicken, she wasn't able to finish it so took it home. A really lovely country pub feel. Thank you to all the staff, look forward to seeing you soon.

We are very lucky that The Black Swan is fairly local to us, I had invited 5 friends for a pub lunch as the pub has some interesting cinematic connections having been a location for the film "American Werewolf In London" and also Mick Jagger's film "Performance". My friends loved the pub, the food was excellent as was the service and we even got a superb tour of the pub from the wonderful manager Barbie. We hope to book an even larger group for the end of October. Thank you Black Swan.

We were coming back from Brighton and we just wanted a roast dinner, I was able to book online. We arrived earlier than planned and staff were very accommodating. We had a super starter and roast! Every member of staff was genuinely helpful and nice! Would definitely come back and will spread the word!!

My food was not the best. The chicken in the club sandwich was all brown meat and bacon overcooked.

Fantastic Experience! We had an amazing time at this cozy and beautiful restaurant. The staff were very accommodating and attentive. The Sunday roast, especially the roast beef, was outstanding, and the dessert… well let’s say we couldn’t say no ;) They also have an impressive wine list. Highly recommend!

Disappointing. Ate there a few months ago and the food was wonderful. Today’s Roast Beef left a lot to be desired. Cold kale. Soft not crispy roast potatoes. Red cabbage with no flavour at all and a strange colour? We did ask why the potatoes were so soft ( we didn’t eat them) and the waitress seemed bemused and said she would ask the chef. She didn’t come back to us !! Overall very poor experience for £56 with just two roasts and one drink !!

Service with a smile. Food was tasty and reasonably priced for the size of portion especially the starters. Good selection of food and drinks. Nice pub location and has both inside and outside seating space.

Big Mistake. Had an excellent meal a year ago in what was a lively gastro pub. My mistake was not to check the recent reviews before booking. This time the pub was almost empty, they would only serve us in one part of the restaurant. The menu had changed a lot and the food we were served was not very good, didn't seem to be any real cooking involved, just some ingredients assembled on a plate. The starters we initially ordered were not available, the ones we were served were tasteless. For the main course a we chose chicken Kyiv and the burger. The chicken had no 'Kyiv' it was just chicken in breadcrumbs and instead of the French beans on the menu we received frozen peas and fries. The burger was dry and tasteless. We complained to the manager and were offered free coffee. On a positive note the beer and wine were good. This is a lovely pub but its no longer the gastro pub it was, we will not be going there again.

Not as good as usual, lots of flies indoors while we were eating, apparently the fly catching equipment had gone missing. Not sure we will return

Really horrible experience! We went for Sunday lunch and waited over an hour for food to arrive, only to be told that due to staff shift change, the waitress that took our order didn’t put it in the kitchen! No apology offered at all Also, dog friendly area was just 3 tables on a patio ! We asked if we could move to another bigger table but we were told they won’t serve food there. Whilst we were sitting and waiting we saw another group of 4 at that same table enjoying their roast! Will not visit again

Sad to say the Black Swan has gone really downhill. The place was only 1/2 full on a gloriously warm and sunny Sunday - used to be so popular. We waited nearly an hour for food. My son’s burger was so tough he could hardly chew it. Our roasts were served with gravy with the consistency of brown water. Atmosphere and waiting staff have always been good but don’t understand why such a delay given how empty it was…?

Very nice lunch in the garden. Friendly and efficient service.

Our waiter Jude was very attentive and we thought the fish pie was one of the best we have had

A broad and interesting menu, well-prepared and presented. Outstandingly well-kept draught beer, perfect for a leisurely lunch.

Really disappointed - having had lunch and dinner here 5 times over the last 3 years (all great), last night was a very ordinary experience. All other times food was good, menu was great, staff and welcome were superb. Last night was the complete opposite. I had especially booked a booth for a reunion with friends but when we arrived the staff had told customers to sit any where … they had taken our reserved booth! The menu was very limited, food a bit ordinary, and general atmosphere but great. Won’t go back

I ordered the goat’s cheese and beetroot salad, it was very basic and came without dressing. It sadly was not worth the amount charged.

My friends and I had a very enjoyable time at the Black Swan. Team were friendly and helpful, service great and all in a very relaxed atmosphere. Food was delicious. Will definitely return 🤓

Food was over priced . In my opinion a small steak with a few fries and a handful of watercress is not good enough for £26 - and it didn’t taste of anything. Also had to ask for menus and more drinks - no service to speak of but a large service charge. We paid it, but we shouldn’t have really. The pub is our local so we are always keen to support it. We will still visit for drinks as the garden is lovely, but we won’t eat here again.

Went in for lunch , not taking walk ins at 12-15 . Only 4 people in the restaurant . We were sent vouchers for £10 off food only valid until tomorrow so now can’t use them . I only wanted a sandwich . Only one chef apparently but not the first time lately that food has been unavailable . They spent a fortune on a refurb which is fantastic and look great but the food side is letting it down . Can’t book a single time to eat today . It’s our local . Simply have to go somewhere else if you can’t rely on being able to eat lunch there

We have just moved to the area and could not be happier with our new local. It is always bustling and busy, the staff are always polite and seem to be enjoying themselves, the food is standard pub fare but it is done well.

Was sorely disappointed with the quality of the food when visiting the Black swan I had the cheeseburger and chips that were quite stale and inedible We were told that many items on the menu were not actually available which was disappointing The venue itself is really nice but food was a massive letdown unfortunately

Since when did 1x Fish and chips, 1x beetroot goat cheese salad, a soda and lime and a pint of shandy cost £67 Poor value for money

We very much enjoyed our lunch at The Black Swan Pub on Friday 2nd August. The weather was perfect for sitting in the very attractive dining area outside (the section away from the road). The food was very good although my husband would have liked the pie of the day but they had run out (likewise the chicken Kyiv/Kiev). It's clearly a very popular pub. The batter on the fish and chips was light and crispy and the portion generous. The accompanying tartare sauce was delicious though I didn't personally think the curry sauce added anything (it was thin and watery). My son really enjoyed the sticky toffee pudding and the coffees and hot chocolate were very good. The serving staff were excellent (3 young ladies). Although at the top end price-wise for a pub meal, we will definitely return.

Disappointing experience 1.Booked table for 7pm. Waitress did not ask my name. Taken to uncleared table which had to be prepared whereas I expected table to be ready. 2.Took a while to place our order for drinks and food. 3.Starter arrived after circa 15 minutes but no drinks.They followed later whilst I expect drinks to be served before arrival of food. 4.Circa 45 minute wait from when starter collected to mains delivered 5.Dessert order taken and arrived within reasonable time. The impression I got was inadequate preparation for a busy friday night, too few waiting staff for number of tables and from what I heard kitchen in disarray coping with the orders. They should limit the number of tables to what staff can cope with. the weather forecast clearly suggested it would be a busy evening. I felt sorry for our waitress who was overburdened dealing with the number of tables she was serving. She did her best to provide a service.

We have had fish and chips here before and it has been lovely, however today it was more a batter crisp and the fish that was in there over cooked.. they cooked a fresh couple but still the same, explained apologetically the fish they have are like these at moment!.. should not be using it then or charging at all!! Unfortunately will not be returning!

Food was pretty poor - had ham, eggs and chips. Ham - not a lot of it and quite fatty. Eggs - two of them, both dried up and overcooked. Chips - few and average. Service - barely there and definitely not delivered with a smile! We went on a Monday, and found they had a 30% discount on food that day. Might explain why it was busy. In reality though, it appears to be a 30% reduction in the quality and amount of the food!We won’t be returning!

We had a great meal with good service. The initial tables that we sat at before our table was available were dirty and the grass was long and untidy. Plus the chair cushions needed to be cleaned before we sat down. Inside was tidy and welcoming and the toilets were clean and not smelly.

Lovely setting, food only ok, service was extremely slow but the staff were very pleasant!

Wonderful meal and a great service from Rachel and her team. Will definitely visit again.

Have eaten on three previous occasions at the Black Swan and very much enjoyed it. This time was very disappointing, took 15 minutes to receive drinks when seated and nearly an hour for food (only ordered main course). Service staff informed of delay, due to an event but surely this would have been planned for. Roast dinner was swimming in gravy, which serving staff nearly poured on me. Overall a very disappointing experience for my parents birthday (and had to pay 12.5% service charge).

Service very slow. Food good. Staff ( those who were present) very friendly.

A really great experience. The food was different and delicious. As well as the usual staples there were some really lovely dishes that had been created by the chef and expertly cooked. The staff were all really well trained and helpful, the decor inside is great and there’s a large attractive pub garden.

4 of us went on a sunny day for lunch. Helpful and friendly staff. Food was good. Wine and beer were good too. A very pleasant way to pass an afternoon.

Service took 2.5 hours for 2 courses. Issue in the kitchen Welcome and waiters service very good

Food nicely presented and cooked but lacked imagination eg . hot smoked salmon was cooked well with nice crisp skin and pommes anna ok , this was accompanied with a very bland watercress and radish salad . It needed some sort of sauce /mayonnnaise and perhaps a decent vegetable to give it a lift . Sea bass was ok but the portion was woefully small . Starter of salmon tartare, mango , avocado and sweetcorn was lacking in any flavour at all . At these prices the food needs to be a lot better.

Always a great dining experience and one of the best Sunday lunches in Surrey. Super staff and great food.

Pleasant outside seating with chairs and cushions in some areas. Can sit in the sun or the shade. Service outside is good.

Arrived on a sunny evening and asked if we could have a drink outside for a while before heading to our booked table inside to eat. No problem - our drinks arrived promptly and we sat outside in the evening sun in a delightful area of greenery and comfortable seating. Our food arrived promptly - sea bass and salmon were excellent choices and much enjoyed by the three of us. Delightful staff, good beer and prompt service without feeling rushed. All in all, a very enjoyable evening at this very pleasant rural pub which we will repeat.

Decent food but lacklustre service and missed order items.

Lovely birthday lunch...when the Manager knew, she left the 4 of us to catch up...chat, chat, chat. Never a hurry to get us out. Good food and complimentary prosecco, will encourage us to go again.

A really lovely venue. We enjoyed the ambience of the outside, garden area under the honeysuckle and trailing plants. It felt like we should have been in a lovely taverna on holiday. A gem of a place I’ve recommended to friends.

Wonderful food and service as always. Must be our 6th or 7th time popping in on a Sunday. Always a lovely experience

So disappointed in the Black Swan and it’s put us off going again to be honest. We thought we would pop in for lunch (Friday). I booked a table for 1.15. We arrived, no one mentioned about the severe delay in getting food out from the kitchen we sat down and both ordered a fish finger sandwich and some drinks. 2 hours later after a lot of asking the staff where our food was the fish finger sandwiches arrived and I have to say they were awful, dry dry dry, the fish had been cooked to an inch of its life it had a horrible after taste to it like old oil had been used. The tartar sauce was pretty much non existent and the ciabatta was so tough. Such a shame as we use to go to this place often as a treat. When we got the bill no money was taken off, they had added an 12.5% service which we asked to be taken off. When asked why the food was delayed we were told sorry it’s just one of those days?!?!?! WHAT?!!!!! We won’t be going back.

We love the location and have been here several times before to include previous father’s days. We had a table at 6.30pm on Father’s Day but felt everyone and the food was a bit tired when we arrived. We got shown our table quickly and then had to wait a while to order food and drinks. The food was very mediocre for the price (£35 for 2 course set menu). The roast chicken and pork were large portions but the greens tasted stewed, veg had no taste and the rest was not particularly warm but served on hot plates. We had to catch the attention of a waiter to order our deserts - the Tarimisu was weird and sadly virtually inedible.

The Black Swan is one of our local pubs, but we haven’t been as a family recently. We booked a table for Fathers Day at lunchtime. The food was really lovely and the service very good. Our dog accidentally pushed up the waiters tray with his nose, which sent all glasses up in the air and my husband / son, and the table / chairs got very wet, but the waiter dealt with it professionally and with a smile on his face which I thought deserves a call out! We’ll be back!

Very pleasant time thank you. As always the customer service really good. Special mention to Jude who was very knowledgeable regarding the food plus he and all the staff very polite, courteous and friendly -he looked after us extremely well :)

Location lovely Huge space for dining We received excellent attention by staff on Thursday evening who went out of the way to check all was OK Steak medium rare with pink peppercorn sauce and Pie were excellent. We exchanged fries and mash for tasty charred cabbage. No trouble at all. Yummy sticky toffee pudding to share. All hit the spot. Delighted. Tricky one value for money, everything is so expensive today. We'd go back.

Beautiful country pub , probably the worst Sunday roast I’ve eaten , under staffed , salt and pepper shakers empty , cobwebs , looks a little dirty , the pub needs a little bit of love and attention to detail and it will be a beautiful place to eat

I would highly recommend the outdoor seating on a sunny day. The interior is less inspiring. A lovely venue

A BIT DISAPPOINTED AS THE LAST TIME WE WENT FOR SUNDAY ROAST WE ASKED FOR HORSERADISH SAUCE AND THEY PROVIDED A HOME MADE VERSION WHICH WAS PURE SOUR CREAM. WE COMPLAINED AS DID EVERYONE ELSE AND THIS WEEK THEY ARE STILL SERVING IT!!!!!!!!!!! WHY? RIDICULOUS

Good food and polite staff but very slow service. Not as good as previous occasions.

Lovely location, coming here for years. Had a table in the back room close to the window, so were happy that did not need to sit in the windowless room between kitchen entrance and toilets. Decor a bit run down here eg pictures on the wall are crooked, lots of staples along the wooden panels. A bit cold as door to outside often left open and no heating. The front of the restaurant did not seem to be in operation though was in past years the nicest part. The steak was very good, but arrived lukewarm, Burgers were nice, but buns not fresh. Fish&chips were very good. Service was good and catered to a request. I think we will only come back in future on warm summer days to sit outside on the nice terrace for a drink.

No nos gusto nada! Muy grasosa la comida y no hay muchas cosas que ofrecen en el carta

Long time since last went to Black Swan. Menu good but waited long time for food. Queried delay with waiter whip went into kitchen. Our food miraculously appeared. The cold dish was warm, two warm dishes were over cooked and dry - presumably as they had been kept warm in kitchen too long. The fish and chips was hot and fabulous. Might give them a second chance . Not sure if just short staffed ….

This is a definite come back to place to eat. The food is great and the service pleasant. There is ample parking.

Lovely pub in a beautiful setting. Table service & food was good but unfortunately the experience was overshadowed by the length of time we waited for our main course (1 hr!)

I have tried the roast dinners in Greene King pubs 3 times over the past month and they were all very disappointing. Tough meats, salty gravy, a vegetarian Wellington that tasted like an old muddy boot and tasteless pork. Not only that but you are paying premium prices for what quite frankly is rubbish. Come on Greene King...stop relying on beautiful locations to cover up substandard fare! Luckily you have really good staff to carry you.

Lovely food and lovely people. The burger is extra delish!

Visited for lunch on 23rd May. Attentive service, decor a little tired, food so-so. Felt it was expensive for what it was, particularly the wine.

The gardens are lovely and the weather was great but the service was really poor. We waited over and hour and 15 mins for our food to arrive and when it did the quality was poor. The steak for the sandwich was chewy with no seasoning and there was no sauce in the sandwich at all. It wasn’t that busy either. They did apologise for the service when we asked for the bill however with the average food I don’t think we’ll be rushing back. Such a shame as the previous times we’ve eaten there have been good.

We were warned by telephone earlier in the day that various dishes had run out. Very few customers on bank holiday evening. Menu was indeed limited as we had been warned. Had impression that this was end of day and that food had been kept warm for rather too long. Not compensated by having very large portions overloading plates. Disappointing - but service was attentive and the setting was very pleasant

Slow slow slow. 1 hour 45 minutes for one shared starter and main courses. Gave up on pudding. Not at its best.

The food quality seems to have diminished since we were last here in August. The service was great as always!

Great pub in a great part of the country. All the staff were polite and attentive. Food was really good quality. The outdoor space will be amazing in the summer months. Highly recommend.

Friendly professional staff, great food and pleasant ambiance.

Very very good food and atmosphere, highly recommend - 5 ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

The Sunday roast was lovely; and desserts extremely good. The goats cheese (main course) salad was a bit of a disappointment; the leaves too tough and didn't really complement the rest of the dish - but overall had a nice time.

Great roasts. High quality worth paying few pounds extra for great food and service

We had a great Sunday lunch and will return again.

The staff were delightful but the service was erratic (it is a big space) we had to chase for order, food and for drinks and then for the bill. Food was ok - standard pub food - we did not go for the gastronomic experience! The starters were a lot better than the mains. I would recommend this for an early weekday lunch and probably advise to stick to the simple sandwich options. Very welcoming, very helpful people.

We had an excellent lunch. The service was friendly and attentive! Our three dogs were made to feel welcome, free bone marrow all around! Highly recommend and in the summer the outside space is lovely.

Great food and really friendly service. Would recommend

We waited along time for two glasses of wine to come so I had to track down and enquire. The waitress leant casually against the booth when taking our food order which felt inappropriate and she had very long finger nails which was off putting. The food was nice but had noticeably small portions which left me hungry and I dont have a big appetite!

We went for lunch yesterday but was disappointed. We asked for 2 glasses of blush but didn’t get blush as there wasn’t any on the menu but the waiter just brought 2 glasses of the most expensive Rose & didn’t offer us a choice. Ours was £14 per glass but there was one for £10.50. It wasn’t very nice either. My friend wanted to order a sandwich but the waitress insisted that she ordered the soup as it was gorgeous. It wasn’t gorgeous at all but thick & lumpy cauliflower soup. I had Croque Monsciour which didn’t even come with any garnish. My glass of wine was more expensive than my sandwich. No water was offered either.

Great food, great staff, will definitely be back. Thank you

Fish and chips were ok But Roast Dinner vegetables were overcooked and mostly left. Sea Bass was also overcooked. Service was good otherwise

We stopped off here for a quick bite and thought it was nice. The service was a bit slow but the food was decent and really like the decor inside. It was very full so clearly popular!

The new menu and new chef are nowhere near as good as the old. This is a great shame as its a great location and the food used to be excellent. We have given the new menu 2 chances and both times it has been a disappointment.

Dinner with friends who we hadn't seen for a couple of years. We went to the Black Swan because it was local and its website made it look interesting. Menu and food turned out to be a little disappointing. The claim to be a gastro pub is a little over done - actually it's very ordinary. So on that basis I'm giving the food a 'fair' grade, and ranking it 'fair' for value.

Food was good but the service very slow. More than 30 mins for the starters which were just a soup and a salad. Then a 45 minute wait between finishing starters and the mains arriving, again nothing time-consuming to prepare/cook, burger, salmon fillet.

The drinks were food quality and the food was really good. Nicely decorated and good for Mondays with 33% off food. Second drinks were slow to come but overall a nice budget pub for families.

Lovely evening. Food fairly standard gastro fare but lovely staff and a cosy setting

Good tasty food good service and nice relaxing atmosphere

Black swan again was terrific and the staff really good. Looking forward to their new menu starting today which in my opinion was slightly overdue

We had the worst experience for a long time. The service was terrible we waited over an hour for our food when it came it was Luke warm. The worst experience was the disabled toilet. My brother aged 90 said the seat was broken, there was water? All over the floor and the toilet bowl wax filthy. When we asked for the manager the chap said he’s not around. We used to meet regularly at your pub and it was thriving and fun but after this experience we will Never ever come back. Very sad what has happened have you been taken over. Mary

Great food, great service, nice surroundings, nice people. love the place

Staff were absolutely fantastic!! Food was good my lamb was disappointing would have liked my lamb in slices not rolled. Rather too much gravy plate was swimming in gravy.

The waiter and the food were both great! Loved it!