Giants Fireplace Bar at The Mermaid Inn in Rother

Very atmospheric. The Inn was rebuilt 8n the 14th century.

Wow , stunning Elizabethan building, oozes history

A great old hostelry steeped in history... must be seen to be believed as pictures do not do it justice.Excellent beer and service...food looked good ..as did accommodation

Just stopped for lunchtime drink, all very good

Didn't stay or eat only popped in for drink lovely old pub xx

Cannot fault,third time here. Hotel is just full of character and the staff without exception are so friendly.Bar and Restaurant food was excellent. Lovely two day break in an historic hotel and town.

We had a really good lunch here in this wonderful old pub in the heart of the historic Old Town of Rye. Service was friendly and attentive and the menu had a good selection of dishes. This venue is well worth a visit for a well cooked meal or a stop for a drink from the very well stocked bar.

Fabulous quirky hotel in the centre of a beautiful town. Friendly and helpful staff.

What's not to love about this place ♥️

Lovely historical building but ordered a chicken pie with mash and veg at just under £20 expecting something really special. What I got was so disappointing, see photo, I would be slightly upset if I got this at a road side cafe for £8. The veg, if you look closely, is hidden under the mash.

The Mermaid Inn is truly a wonderful find in the middle of Rye - it’s like stepping back in time. The building is gorgeous and steeped in history and all of the public areas ooze character but the food was so poor, one of the worst bar meals I’ve ever had - which is a real shame.

The location is scenic, lovely staff, however the food was okay.

This was a once-in-a-lifetime English experience—excellent three-course dinner, English breakfast, royal history, spooky passageways, porters and staff, room amenities very clean, and a phantom cat in the Hawkhurst Suite. Time slowed down. The only thing was the advertised “bath with hand-held shower” is really a bath only because the water pressure from the hand-held shower is so poor. Just don’t go for a run and come back expecting a refreshing shower - ‘cause you ain’t gettin’ one! But you might get a bump on the head! I will never forget this special place.

Sunday lunch was delicious a lovely Inn positioned in the heart of historic Rye

We only came here to the Mermaid restaurant for a birthday lunch and was so impressed with everything we saw and ate.. The reception, bar, and dining areas were out of medieval times, absolutely brilliant ! The food, though, was 5 star, along with the service made for one of the most memorable lunches we've ever had. To start, we had the full flavourd butternut squash Risotto and the Parma ham and melon combination. Both were great starters.. For mains, we enjoyed the pan fried Skate wing with mash and broccoli, and secondly, the leg of duck in a chirzo casserlay... both perfect.. To finish, we had the cheese board and the chocolate torte with mixed nuts and granola..delicious. And we'd like to finish with a big thank you to the waiters for their impeccable service to make this birthday lunch so memorable!

My best experience with restaurants in England in general! You managed to surprise me however my demands are usually very high! Even taste of tap water was unforgettable! You made my birthday dinner special 🤩

We stayed on our anniversary in room 16, the Elizabethan room with 2 aspects, a four poster, secret staircase and long standing residents! It's fair to say that room is dated, it's 600 years old afterall. Staff were very friendly, the restaurant great and I feel privileged to have stayed here. Thank-you.

Attended wake. Nice selection of food provided. Tea. Bar offered good range of alchole and soft drinks. Staff very friendly!

Stopped by for a meal in the bar. Great fish and chips, melting in one's mouth. Service good. Based on the bar meal, the restaurant should be good. The bar is full of character, but a little cramped. It was interesting to visit a building with so much history.

I first began coming here because of their amazing reviews. Unfortunately, my experiences have been overwhelmingly negative. I went there for dinner with my wife and a friend on Saturday 11th May. The bar/Restaurant wasn't that busy but there wasn't enough room for three people inside so we decided to stay outside. We placed a food order around 7pm and we only been served 55 min later after chasing up for food. While ordering I asked if we could go for fish and chips mentioning some allergies to crustaceans and molluscs but the barman and the chef could not guarantee for any cross contamination meaning that my wife had to go for meat instead. I went to order the fish of the day for myself which I was told was a skate, no more detail on the way they cook it. It turned up to be just a boiled and baked dry skate with some capers and almonds on top and 5 dry baby shrimps for which I was charged more than £25. What a special plate. I couldn't manage to heat half of it. I ended up with food poisoning with bad stomach ache for two days and also missing a day of work. In total was billed more than £75. I won't go back

We had an excellent time. Were able to oscillate between the lunch time and dinner menus for our stay. We were able to entertain our friends who were staying in Rye at the Mermaid and they thoroughly enjoyed their meal.

A fantastic stay at the Mermaid Inn! A turn back in time sitting in the cosy fireplace lounges amongst the beautiful historic decor. Rooms very well equipped, mouthwatering food, staff extremely helpful will be back again some day 👍

What a bland offer...I ordered a fish finger sandwich, it arrived in a bun!!! My husband's baguette(sorry about innuendo) was tasteless and bland. Prices for dinner are outrageous We are on a quest to find somewhere decent to eat in Rye..having stayed at The George in January in a room with the window SCREWED open...yet to receive a reply from them!!!!!

A Smuggler paradise. Full of history and hospitality.

Superb meal, very friendly and attentive staff.

It's really interesting and has lots of history. They have a big fireplace that is so nice after a long, windy walk around Rye.

Old and historic hotel in the center of Rye. Full of amazing history and charm. We stayed here 1 night and loved the history of the room and hotel. Unfortunately due to the age of the hotel, the walls and floors are paper thin. This means you can hear your neighbors and the people above you. We had some restless people above us moving around all night and it persistently woke me up. So we slept very poorly unfortunately. Because of that I wouldn't stay again. I also did not find the reception to be particularly friendly or helpful. Our dinner and breakfast at the hotel were both very nice so we were very satisfied about that part. Lots of pros and cons here.

We only went to the pub for drinks. Lovely building. The food looked delicious and people seemed to be enjoying it.

Popped in for just a drink. Nice little oldy worldy building. Small bar and can get quite busy.

I Didn't stay in a room. I just had lunch, but it was excellent as was the service

We booked for dinner and really enjoyed drinks in the bar and a good nose around the historic building staffed by friendly, welcoming, and accommodating staff. However, the experience of the meal itself left a lot to be desired. The amuses bouches and entrées were good: scallops were prepared well and the wood pigeon wellington was tasty and well presented. Yet the mains were more than disappointing. My wife ordered skate—which seemed unusually to be an entire wing… Unfortunately it also came with a pungent smell of ammonia, which means it was either rotten or very poorly prepared indeed—which is hard to say. There’s no excuse for serving terrible fish in a fishing port. At the least, the cook might have soaked it in milk to remove the ammonia or poached it before frying to similar effect. My lamb was edible but lacked flavour, but at least it was edible! We felt sorry for the serving staff who responded to our feedback admirably and and with empathy. There are no hard feelings, these things do happen on occasion, it’s just a shame when it happens to you—especially when you’ve had such a wonderful day up until that point.

Photo trip around Rye area. Quaint, quirky, ye old world hotel. Circa1400. Creaking floors, na'er a square in a room and rumours of a ghost. Many hallways and stairways . Bar, restaurant and lounges. Magic little piece of bygone age but with modcons. Perfectly brilliant.

Stayed for two nights in Q3 2023. Pros: amazing historic building, great location inside Rye, roaring fire in the bar, bookable car parking for residents . Cons: didn’t like the food, quite run down . Would not return, but would recommend to friends looking for an interesting weekend break.

We have been and stayed in other hotel/BnBs and always promised ourselves we would stay in the Mermaid and we did . It was so worth it and had a nice time. Would go back and stay again

We stayed the Monday night at the mermaid. Absolutely amazing place, and so were the staff. We cannot recommend this hotel more highly. Thank you all so much. Roy & Linda Lambert.

Great pub and hotel in a wonderful medieval building. Good food and large portions. Also, should there be an invasion the walls are covered with antique weapons to make a last stand.. Highly recommended 👌🏼

Great customer service. The bar lady was very friendly and helpful. Unfortunately when we ordered the all the food came out cold and the pasta my daughter had was all mushy. Which is a surprise as the food came out about 5 minutes after we ordered. When we asked for a takeaway bag they gave us a bit of tinfoil to wrap up the food in.

Wonderful to sit next to the fire and enjoy a pot of tea

Gorgeous food, with attentive service in a superbly kept and convivial setting. Highly recommended

From the start of our stay we had a fantastic experience! Big thank you to the staff for making our time so special. Highly recommended for a romantic stay!

Rye es un pueblecito inglés para pasar un fin de semana idílico. Y el Mermaid Inn ofrece una experiencia única e inolvidable. Cada habitación tiene su historia, el personal es muy amable y cercano. El restaurante ofrece un menú de festejos delicioso y en el bar, con su gran chimenea tienes un lugar estupendo para tomar una pinta.

Definitely a must visit when in Rye. In fact, a must visit if anywhere nearby. Ancient, fascinating, and rather nice.

Absolutely loving hotel with a lot of history. Lovely staff. Breakfast was lovely, lots of choices.

A lovely restaurant with a lot of history and character. The staff were attentive and considerate, really accommodating of my toddler. It's a great restaurant for a special dinner.

What a delightful place to stay in this historic old town. The staff here are so helpful and provided a high level of service throughout. Creaky floorboards, four poster beds and twisty staircases all combine to add to the atmosphere here. Dining was superb in the ambience of smuggling history. We will certainly come back. A note of caution to visitors over 6ft tall - mind your head and check the size of the bed.

Very special. Staff excellent and considerate. Food delicious. Was ideal to enjoy the Rye Christmas Festival.

Great log fired and selection of drinks. Just what was needed when it was cold and wet outside.

What a fabulous old building. The public bar is small and can be busy at times, but such a great place to enjoy a pint!

The absolute best experience I could have had! It’s like a fairytale town & the people are so kind & amazing! I miss it already! The food is good & there are many places to eat. I highly recommend staying here! The Inn is so historic & beautiful! The staff is very friendly as well. I wish I could give it more stars because I would!

Had a fabulous tour of the hotel led by the owner. Good meeting and a pleasant meal

Great ancient Inn with loads of character a good food. Not stayed so cannot comment on rooms.

Lieu magnifique, typique, original

This is a stunning hotel located in central Rye with parking. Inside it is quirky, historical and well kept within character. I was going to deduct one star for service as we had a very condescending receptionist who did not make us feel very welcome on arrival (the other receptionist was lovely) BUT all of the other staff were friendly efficient and very helpful so left as five stars. Our room was clean and a great character room, perhaps a shower curtain would have been useful to stop water on the floor but lovely to have tea tray and water supplied. We ate bar food here which was OK but did not use the restaurant as the menu did not suit our tastes and was expensive. Overall yes we would definitely go there again.

여기서 식사만 했음. 1420년에 지은 만큼 매우 분위기가 고풍스럽고 벽난로도 있어 중세시대 느낌남. 요리도 오늘의 생선 요리를 먹었는데 진짜 맛있었음.

Beautiful old Inn/hotel dating back to Medieval times. If you want to get a feel for how it would have been to have a drink in Rye, hundreds of years ago, this place is a must. Didn't have a meal. But drinks service was professional, warm and friendly.

We went for an evening meal in the restaurant and it was superb,impeccable service and amazing food and pleasantly surprised when the bill arrived. Highly recommended.

Lovely place to go for food, service impeccable and reasonable prices. We'll worth a visit, but watch your head going in the door as its quite low

Super creaky pub and hotel full of character and history. Really recommend the tour, really interesting. Good lunch too.

Lovely, very old, Inn full of character, with a very interesting past. Stayed there with my girlfriend and two others for an early Halloween spooky stay. The Inn is famous as the most haunted Inn in the Country. However, did not experience any paranormal activity at all during our stay and long time staff hadn't yet experienced anything. The old floorboards are creaky of course and you can really hear people in other rooms talking and doing other things too 🤣. Looking at the floor plan whilst there I noticed that the allegedly haunted rooms are predominantly the biggest and most expensive rooms to stay in. I am not making any aspersions though. Bed was very comfortable and very nice free toiletries provided. Nice hot water for a relaxing hot bath. Quality breakfast the next morning and a good service. Staff friendly. Nice walk up the cobbled Street to the Inn. All in all a very enjoyable stay that will make for a good topic of conversation.

This pub is amazing, so much history and really descent beer

Oct 23 Always a must when in Rye. Great service with staff always polite and professional. The historic nature of the venue is worth the visit. We had drinks but food served to other patrons looked lovely.

All staff were very friendly and helpful.

Had a meal in the restaurant and it was very tasty. Great atmosphere and excellent staff. Tried their battered fish and it was crispy coating with tender fish, the chips were crispy and everything was hot. Very pleasant wait staff who took good care of us. Loved the old room.

Incredible old building that feels like you’ve stepped back in time. Every room filled with character. Amazing atmosphere, lovely staff, great food and drinks. Can’t wait to return.

How can you not love it!? Shame the car park is in the middle would make a lovely court yard.

Wonderful historic inn with superb food and staff. Room was a bit hot!

Love this place ,so steeped in history. Didn't stay only had lunch . The staff are friendly and the food hot and enjoyable. Would definitely recommend.

Love The Mermaid Inn & Rye, been lucky enough to stay there for over 45 years Querky, historical, unchanged. Food and service fabulous.

A beautiful building, I was so looking forward to our anniversary dinner here but i felt like it was very overrated for what we had and how much it cost. The food was nicely presented but not very flavourful, there was no music and the lights were very bright. Little ambience and it didn’t feel like the experience matched the price at all. I wouldn’t return for food but the building is very interesting so I would at least recommend a tour or a drink.

Great restaurant. You can enjoy traditional style of building, furniture, and atmosphere.

Neat building (especially for history buffs), decent service, decent food, good atmosphere.

Had an amazing time. Everything was wonderful, highly recommended

History and old fashioned service and two thumping good lunches. See it to believe it.

AMAZING staff, food and accommodation.

Beautiful historic inn. Totally unique. Higher standards than most.

Beautiful piece of history. Excellent service, great selection on the menu. Pretty setting.

We drove several hours to have lunch at the mermaid, as it was hot we sat outside and all ordered ploughmans lunch’s. We had no butter, so we asked for butter, after all it is a bread and cheese based dish! Waiter brought one tiny pat between four people! no we all want butter ,we asked again and we’re brought just two more pats! They bread provided was one of the meanest ever seen ,one very small baguette on each board.The type of bread that supermarkets sell,oven bake. All four adults immediately commented on the tiny mean amount of bread! On to the cheese, three of the thinnest slices ever cut,how did they manage to cut cheese that thin? It is a ploughman’s lunch not an after dinner cheese board! The chopping board was plumped out with salad and charcuterie (prosciutto an odd choice for a ploughman’s) We would all have preferred being asked if we wanted a cheese ploughmans or a ham/ meat ploughman. We did eat the charcuterie ,it obviously didn’t need any bread or butter! All in all a disappointing mean experience. We had said we would rebook the main restaurant for a more autumnal day..but after the food experience that day we will go elsewhere.

It is many a year since I last visited the Fireplace bar at the Mermaid, but being back in town for the Rye Jazz Festival I thought it would be rude not to look it up again. The interior of the bar is largely as I remember it, but with a fireplace that big, dating from around the 1420’s and that much history it would be remiss to try and change it. But, unless I am mistaken, the outside space in what was the courtyard and stables look like it has been has been greatly improved from my remembrances and there are now several comfortable areas to sit around the cobbled courtyard and the covered ones on the far side looking back at the hotel are a good spot to enjoy a pint on a fine summer evening. And with respect to ale there are three pumps on the bar badged with St Austell Tribute, Harvey’s Sussex Best and something called Mermaid Ale at 3.8%. On enquiry I was told this was brewed by the Longman Brewery and having enjoyed their brews whilst in Eastbourne I plumped for this and was pleasantly surprised on pouring to discover that it was actually Longman Long Blonde and in good condition. This is obviously more hotel bar than a traditional pub and the bar is certainly a magnet for overseas tourists who come to ogle and especially Americans ( and why not, it’s almost 300 years older than their country). If you are on an evening out in Rye with your partner, then I would recommend bringing them here as they would appreciate it. If you are visiting Rye with the lads, there are plenty of other hostelries in town.

I just couldn't stop taking photos such a lovely Inn. Very friendly staff who happily served us excellent coffees in the Giants Fireplace bar. we will go back for a meal one day.

Only stop for lunch, we ordered the Ploughmans lunch, well that's if you could call it that, it's more spainish tapas for £17 pound head was not happy asked for some more bread they told me they didn't have any an gave me the smallest slice of French bread that you could possibly be cut, would not recommend this meal to anyone unless you are feeding a 2 year old, I personly wouldn't go back,

A really beautiful place in the heart of a beautiful town. The listing is for a hotel, but we visited for lunch. We were well looked after and the Staff were extremely friendly and helpful. Certainly recommend and I shall return and stay overnight

I had a bar lunch here. The bruschetta were superb and service very good. I sat outside, and although essentially in a car park, a nice seating area had been created. The great disadvantage was the seagulls - not the hotel’s fault, of course, and waiting staff did their best to keep them away, but they’re a terrible pest. This is the reason for the 4 rather than the 5 star review.

We thought we would visit the Mermaid Inn as it is a star attraction in Rye with it being one of the oldest pubs in the UK to have a swift halve or two. We had to make do with sitting outside at the back which was no bother on a nice day. It was certainly very busy and their tipple The Mermaid Ale is worth a try. Certainly very nice inside and has had its fair share of celebrities stay at the Inn over the years.

Unfortunately we were unable to actually visit this ancient pub which we were particularly looking forward to (making a specific journey to Rye) for a drink in the bar and soak up it’s charm due to arriving and seeing a notice on the main door ‘no dogs allowed in the bar or restaurant’ which we had one well behaved dog in tow. It was disappointment!

Grabbed lunch here on a cold day in January and fortunately the fire was roaring . Given the age and popularity of the place I was expecting attention to food quality to be more of the perfunctory end of the market , How wrong was I , Excellent fish and chips , extra mention for the tartar sauce . If I had had more time in Rye I would have tried the restaurant

Popped in for a spot of lunch in the bar, ordered a baguette with turkey, Brie and stuffing, now I have an intolerance to egg so asked the young lad behind bar and his colleague called the kitchen to find out. Yes there was egg in the stuffing! Please leave it out. On arrival my baguette still had stuffing in it!! Wasn’t impressed with the food, baguette cheap part baked ones, bit of lettuce that was it for about £9.50. Yes hotel is lovely and the two lads helpful but bad service from kitchen.

I went into the bar area and not the restaurant, to have some bar food and a beer. The menu is more limited than the restaurant, but the food remains exceptional. The fish and chips was by far the best I’ve had, and I’m not prone to exaggerating. I sat by the fireplace that has existed since 1420. Amazing! The bar staff were really helpful too. You definitely should pay this historic pub a visit.

We stopped by for lunch - a Traditional Ploughman's and a Quinoa salad - but we wished we hadn't. Both were dreadful. The ploughman's had none of the crusty bread that the menu boasted but some soggy white toast, half a scotch egg that looked as old as the pub itself and some cold meats with sad looking pickles. For £12 my salad was a few limp leaves, a tablespoon of quinoa and an orange segment. The whole thing was so disappointing and a total waste of money. I'm certain there are dozens of better places to eat in Rye.

A characterful place to stay with great staff and lots of interesting features. The bar food menu is limited but well prepared and presented.

We only visited and stayed for lunch ... excellent

Superb food & outstanding service. Do your homework before you write a negative review about creaky floorboards. It's an oldisted building.

Very popular, so was only able to get bar food. But the service was excellent & what a gorgeously historic place!

Highly highly highly recommend dining here. I was visiting from London for the day and wandered into the pub. Great staff, delicious food and an wonderful experience overall. If you are gluten free they make a delicious GF fish and chips… some of the best I’ve had.

Stopped here for a lunchtime snack. Very tasty vegan option.

Popped in for a drink and a sandwich, it was a lovely seating area and great service and food

Absolutely fabulous! The food, service by lovely staff and atmosphere just magical. Can't wait to go back.

Spent a couple of hours there on a lazy Saturday afternoon. Enjoying a couple glasses of wine...

Great food, don't dine late though, because everyone around you will have the soufflé, but you won't =(.

Picturesque olde worlde pub in the heart of Rye. Watch your head on the rear entrance!

We visited the Mermaid Inn for our anniversary. The staff were polite and they even gave us a card which was very thoughtful. The building was beautiful and the interior was very romantic & historical. I would give the staff and experience 5stars but… The huge let down however was the food. Again I find that the vegetarian options are very limited which you would have thought in this day and age would’ve been thought out a bit better. I had the beetroot tartare to start which was so over flavoured I really could not eat another bite. The main, was red roasted peppers which was sloppy and again, to full of flavour… We also ordered the chips which came cold. This place is great to come for a drink but I really wouldn’t recommend the food.