La Farola in Mid Sussex

I've been dining at la farola for over 20 years and I've yet to encounter another establishment that has the friendliness and attententiveness of the staff here. p.s. the food is exceptional. make sure you try the paella (you will have to order 24 hours in advance)

Confused by all the good reviews. I feel bad because they were nice enough people but I was really disappointed in the food. Can get much better tapas elsewhere so personally I wouldn’t return. I feel like its focus is more on the bar than food.

Group meal for function. Very fine evening

Another wonderful dining experience, as always. I never tire of this restaurant. Staff wonderful + food authentic+ delicious. Authentic Spanish cuisine in the heart of Sussex!

I have eaten in LaFa for years and always had excellent food with great personal service, allowed at a reasonable price

The salt and pepper shakers were nearly emptied because we tried to infuse some flavour into our garlic prawns, garlic mushrooms and something that resembled shredded cardboard supposedly spicy pork served on a bed of fries. The sangria and the Aperol Spritz however was perfectly mixed and tasty.

Another delicious meal here with friends. Great welcome and service from staff who clearly enjoy their work. Nothing too much trouble for this family run establishment. Clean,comfortable surroundings and such good value for money. I NEVER tire of this place.

Always enjoy coming back to this friendly restaurant.

Great food, excellent service and sensible prices as always. £20 a head for a varied Tapas selection (min 6 people). All great authentic tapas (I lived in Spain for a long time). Gracias Pili.

Lovely food, lovely staff and brilliant service. La Farola is always a pleasure to go to and we always have a fab evening! The tapas are generous and varied and the paellas are really super too. Especially love the whitebait, sardines and various salads followed by some meat tapas and potato bravas…..

Always excellent food and service and reasonably priced

I live very nearby this restaurant, and have driven by and walked by for months, but never had an opportunity to try it. Upon entering we had a friendly greeting. Promptly seated and ordered a couple of Spanish lagers. Questions for the waitress about what's good for dinner. She suggested 3 tapas plate each. Ordered, prawns with garlic mushrooms, mussels, spicy chorizo, sirloin and grilled onions, chicken kebabs, and something called "White bait". Which is actually anchovies battered and deep fried. I took one but of the "White bait" , and it was revolting. But I don't like anchovies. So I didn't eat any more than one small bite. The prawns were tiny and few. The chicken kebabs were tasty ,but over cooked and dry. The mussels were chewy and overcooked. The chorizo was ok . My dinner partner ate a few more " White bait" We had 2 pints each and " tia Maria " coffee for dessert. This came to _84.75. We left and walked uptown and started to feel ill. This worsened and my partner became violently ill. By the time we got home we both had very bad stomach. My partner began to vomit and it tasted like fish. We've been sick all night and today. It's appalling to serve spoilt fish, simply deep frying it does not make the bad bacteria go away. Although the wait staff was friendly, this pretty much ruined the experience and could have endangered our health. My partner has been in bed all day and in the loo. I will not be going back ever.

Great people, great food. I have been going here for years and it is a must visit whenever I am in the area. Super friendly people who make you feel like family. Great tapas and great meals if you prefer more of a sit-down experience. I love standing at the bar or sitting in the dining room. Love this place.

Loved it. Staff are so attentive. Food amazing.

Can’t fault it, they did run out of their Russian salad…a late evening meal was perfect like in abroad, with only a drive ahead of us instead of a flight!

I thought the food and service were great but it was terribly loud making it very difficult for our party to actually talk to the person even next to them. I think this was due to a combination of the number of customers many of whom appeared to be consuming a lot of alcohol and shouting plus all the internal surfaces of the restaurant are all "hard" with no absorption of sound. I certainly would not go to La Farola for a quiet meal with a partner or my family which is a shame.

As usually faultless service and great quality and quantity of food. Thoroughly recommended.

Four of us for a lateish 9pm walk in Sat night, got a table straight away, food was delicious, piping hot and delivered promptly. Great value as always.

A fabulous dinner as always! Loved the beef with onion, very tasty! Everyone's always friendly and welcoming. We return every couple of weeks, and have done so for many years. My husband loves the crispy sautee potatoes. They are like mini roast potatoes. Try La Farola on a Thursday if you've never been before, as you'll get a better first impression when it's not too busy there. Also Sunday lunchtimes are wonderful when the sun shines in through the big windows. With that, the music, the delicious food and authentic Spanish decor, you can pretend you're in Spain.

Great atmosphere and hospitality. Over ordered so was stuffed by the end of it.. definitely didnt need the 3rd dish per person, 2 would have been just fine. Patatas Bravas different to others i have had but still good.. star of the show for me were the beef meat balls. Would definitely come back.. great for a family get together or reunion and at a reasonable cost. Parking opposite at a local carpark, was free after 6pm

I lived it Spain for a few years, this place is as authentic as it gets.

We had a great family meal, great food friendly staff, good atmosphere,would highly recommend the La Farola.

The quality of the food in a restaurant doesn't matter when the service and noise are so bad. Things quickly turned downhill for my dining companion and I when a group of around 15 drunk men began loudly carousing by the bar. This continued for the remaining 45 minutes or so of our meal, unabated, despite my complaining to a waitress. Furthermore, nobody apologised at any point. Instead of appeasing what I suspect was a group of regular punters who fill your coffers through their copious alcohol consumption, consider other, more peaceful, customers who are unaware that your restaurant doubles up as a rugby pitch. A bear robbed of its din-dins would make tonight's lot blush with shame.

A very enjoyable meal with friendly and hospitable staff. We feel like we were back in Spain! They have great menu choices and at affordable prices. We highly recommend this to all seafood lovers!

Tonight we celebrated a birthday and we had ordered a take out dinner of paella & chicken which was absolutely amazing the chicken was tender the huge paella was delicious would definitely recommend

Love tapas great meal great service

La Farola is good restaurant for lovers of fish, crab, lobster, squid are the best locally. It is cost but it worth to visit at list once. Service is very good and nice atmosphere .

Excellent food and great service. Recommended

One of the best restaurants in East Grinstead

Highly recommend La Farola, loads of space for groups or nice small tables for couples. The drinks are priced reasonably - cheaper than the local pubs, the food is great, good portion sizes, and the service is lovely, attentive and personable. Totally worth a visit - parking is easy with a free carpark opposite.

Lovely food at a good price, but majorly marked down by volcanic roar of drunken clients in adjoining bar/pub! My eardrums almost shattered from the noise of immature men in their 40s and 50s egging each other on to “down it” like teenagers who’d just discovered Strongbow, seriously cheapening the image of the restaurant and ruining and chances of a relaxing conversation. The staff were incredibly unconcerned. Do not go if you need a peaceful evening as you won’t be guaranteed it.

Staying over in Dormansland on Sunday evening we looked for somewhere to eat. We visit frequently and had noticed this place but never investigated. It was great, we ordered seven dishes and were told not to order any more! We were not disappointed, these were more raciones than tapas and thoroughly enjoyed them all. There is a great choice and at a reasonable price. The staff are Spanish so there is an authentic feel to it all. We will go again.

Fantastic place. Great atmosphere whether you're having just a drink or a meal. I had a massive piece of Fillet. Cooked perfectly and so tender. My wife had fish which was moist and tasty. We have had tapas in there before which we also enjoyed. Staff very attentive and friendly. I can't speak highly enough.

Excellent, varied menu and very reasonably priced. The portions are bigger than you usually find in a Tapas bar. The staff were lovely and the food served quickly even though the restaurant was busy.

Ate there last night, had a lovely meal. Great staff, very attentive and courteous.

A great place to be in with friends and/or family. Being Spanish myself, 'La Farola' truly represents Spanish culture to the detail; from the restaurant architecture to the music: Julio Iglesias, Alex Ubago or the old Shakira tracks among others. The dishes are a mixture of traditional and modern dishes, a decision you are able to make freely. It is such a lovely atmosphere, the staff are caring and the cleanliness is superb. My brother and I have truly felt like home. I would highly recommend this restaurant to the maximum extend!

Every time I visit La Farola I'm never disappointed. 5 stars all round. If you like tapas then you have to visit!

Friendly, nice atmosphere, well kept bar We use La Farola as our ‘local’ 🍹🍷🥂🥃

Three generations of our family had a tapas meal in La Ferola last night. It was fantastic. My wife and I spend part of every year in Spain, so we are used to tapas cuisine. La Ferola es estupendo. .

Wonderful people work here and terrific food and atmosphere. Have been many times. They also catered for us externally the day after our wedding, which again was terrific

Had a fabulous meal, son in law , who is Spanish, said the best food he had tasted in a very long time, great service, friendly staff. Well worth a visit

I Visited For My First Time Last Night & What A Gem Of A Place. From The Minute I Walked In The Door I Felt I Could Have Been In Spain. Very Very Authentic Setting & Layout. The Service Is Too Class & The Food Is Another Level. Best Calamari I Have Ever Tasted & The Russian Salad Too. This Is An Amazing Place & I Will 100% Be Back For More.

I visited La Farola October 22 after a previous visit around 8 years ago. The reason for the long gap is the underwhelming basic food which could be prepared much better at home. The food was basic, rubbery calamari, basic salad, and overall bland dishes. The staff are very friendly and helpful. The bar is so overpriced. I understand a mark up on wine but charging £26 for a bottle of Trivento Malbec which is £6-8 in the local supermarket is absolutely outrageous. It’s a popular local establishment, and I hope it continues. The menu and food ( and possibly decor) need improvement to ensure the restaurant continues its success in East Grinstead.

La Farola while not situated in the best place locally as is on the one way system there is parking directly opposite and the food here especially if you like fish is excellent it has decent tapas and the restaurant food is very good for highish end fish , crab lobster ,grilled.sardines probably the best locally unless you want to eat in a fish and chip shop . Good place for a date or nice vening meal service is very good and nice atmosphere .

Very friendly service, but needs to work on the food. Wasn't fresh and wasn't worth the money. Wouldn't recommend it.

Had a great night at La Farola. Really good food, Amazing service and the bill was very reasonable. We pitched up for our booking to find we had booked online a similar named restaurant in central London!!! The manager couldn’t have been more helpful and quickly moved things around and we were seated before we had finished our first drink!!! We stuck with assorted tapas rather than main courses and it was so so good. Tried the house red which was super too. This restaurant is a great find for us and we will return soon I am sure.

Ate here last night and couldn’t be more complementary. We pitched up after thinking we had booked a table online to find we had actually booked a similar named restaurant in London!! Even though the place was already mega busy, the Manager was fabulous and switched a few tables and we were seated before we had finished our first drink. We stuck to tapas which we all love rather than 3 courses and it was fabulous. All 5 of us ate amazing freshly cooked food till we were stuffed, The service was second to non, obviously a family run business. The house wine was great and we were offered complimentary drinks at the end, Finally we were shocked at how reasonable the bill was!! This is a gem of a restaurant and it will probably become our local!!!!

First time here considering I’ve lived in the area for a couple of years! I’d mucked up the reservation and actually booked a restaurant with the same name in Islington, but despite me being a full blown idiot, the staff were fantastic! They found a table for us. It was Saturday night and they were heaving but they found a great spacious lovely table for us. The food was great, the staff was great, the bill was great. It was truly……GREAT!!! I will definitely going back! Think I’ve found myself a new local!!

Family of 3 with a very active 2 year old, they were simply amazing, so warm, welcoming and only to happy to help. They really made the visit for us! After we ate we sat in the bar area and the shear atmosphere was amazing! Can't wait to go back....sooner rather than later I hope!! Thank you to all at Farola.

Family of 3 with a very active 2 year old, they were simply amazing, so warm, welcoming and only to happy to help. They really made the visit for us! After we ate we sat in the bar area and the shear atmosphere was amazing! Can't wait to go back....sooner rather than later I hope!! Thank you to all at Farola.

Excellent food and service. A must visit for anyone visiting East Grinstead.

I'm a vegetarian and don't feel there's much choice of food. Both tapas wise and I even tried the meal options before. Staff always friendly

Fantastic tapas restaurant and bar. Reasonably priced for the portion size. Attentive, friendly staff, lovely atmosphere in the centre of town.

Excellent quality and lovely service- will be back (if around here)

First visit , the whole experience was great. Friendly welcoming staff , tasty food , generous portions , decent prices. Will definetely be a regular from now on! Highly recommended

Super evening with superb tapas. Service was fantastic and friendly as always. Would highly recommend!!

Good food, nice staff, good portions really enjoy

Our family visited the restaurant yesterday and was delighted by the good food and friendly service. Will definitely return

After a warm welcome the food and atmosphere were excellent ans vwry goid value for money

Absolutely perfect in every way. There were three of us and between us we ordered seven dishes - enough for at least two more! Big portions and absolutely scrummy. Staff were very attentive and fun and can't wait to go again. Highly recommend a visit.

Three of us went for a birthday meal and ordered seven or eight dishes which would have been enough for at least two more. The food is very authentic and delicious and the staff extremely attentive. We had thought about visiting this restaurant and I...

We visited as a big group. As we were the first sitting the waiters didnt hang about. The food came thick and fast and was cleared just as quickly. The staff are friendly and efficient. The restaurant is light and airy. Too bright for me....

Just got home from eating here, sevice was 5 star, food tasty. Had 4 tapas each with bread, glass of red.Plenty to eat. Would deffo recommend. Drove from Crawley because we were recommended to try here so glad we did. Would deffo return very soon....

Great food, interesting dishes. All the tapas seem to come in portions for 2 (not your usual 3 prawns etc) so it really is great for sharing. Cheery staff.

Wow! Food is amazing. So many flavours, so much taste. Everything is so good, you feel the need to eat it all. We ordered 11 dishes between 4 of us being quite used to tapas. It was too much. The portions were twice the size of what we'd normally get. Would recommend to anyone. Many thanks to the staff and the chef

My wife booked the Six Plus menu for our family of six for my birthday. Due to lockdown, we hadn't been here for at least two years so were hopeful it was still good. It wasn't, it was really terrific. The 6+ fixed price consisted...

Really great authentic tapas in this family run Spanish restaurant. We tried six dishes and they were all delicious. The restaurant is huge and tables and well spaced out so you don’t feel concerned about sitting too close to other patrons. The place was busy...

We saw the restaurant online and can thoroughly recommend the lamb chops, chips and salad!

Glad La Farola is open again. Food is as great as ever and the staff as helpful and fun as ever.

La Farola is my go to place for meeting up with the girls. We're always greeted with big friendly smiles who make sure you dont go thirsty or hungry. The service is always amazing and make you feel like one of the family. The food...

Had our 4th lockdown La Farola meal since March 2020 and they are fantastic, the food is amazing and can’t wait until we’re allowed back to the restaurant to thank them in person. Can’t rate the service, food or staff highly enough. A definite must...

Hi, got to say the quality while eating here is amazing so I was a little worried about the takeaway effect... WOW ... I was wrong the food is still amazing... ok I don't plate it like they do so can't show pics of display...

Good tapas, quite big portions, friendly staff, and quick service. I enjoyed my couple of visits there

Great food and service as always xxx

Another lovely evening there,food great ,service exceptional and so friendly. 10 out of 10

We should all support this restaurant as they are amazing and the take outs are as wonderful as ever. I would say to everyone to treat yourself to a wonderful tasty takeaway.

Unbelievably, having lived in the East Grinstead area for 22 years, this was our first visit to La Farola. How could we have missed out on such a fabulous restaurant for so long? But we nearly didn't get there. I looked at their website and...

This place is amazing - the tapas is outstanding with large variety on menu, the staff are friendly and provide excellent service and there is a great atmosphere! Truly love this restaurant - a real favourite! Highly recommend!

Visited on Friday night evening meal, was completely covid safe with table distancing and staff wearing masks. Toilets very clean. The staff were Spanish and super kind/ friendly engaging and attended to all our needs. To get us in the Spanish spirit, we ordered a...

Very unfriendly on arrival. Young male waiter simply said, “Have you booked?” That was it, no welcome, Hi etc. he then walked away. Need to work on your welcomes. After a short delay we were seated at a table we’d specifically pre booked after being told it was reserved....yeah by us! Asked for fritelli which isn’t on the menu as they’ve done it for us on previous visits. Why it’s not an option in the menu I don’t know but they are delicious. Steaks for mains cooked rare were simply perfect 10/10. Round of drinks forgotten by the male waiter, he really was the week link in the waiting staff. All staff wearing masks, sanitiser at the door and screens between tables. What was disappointing was the amount of customers not wearing masks when entering, waiting to be seated or getting up for the loo (now law to wear a mask unless seated at your table) As a business you have a responsibility while customers are in your restaurant to ask people to put a mask on. Only one other couple wore masks when entering the whole evening. Food 10/10Customer service 6/10COVID 6/10

Food was excellent, service brilliant and very good value for money

Spain in East Grinstead - REALLY authentic

Was a wonderful night will go again

Had to return 3 meals as the food was still frozen, piece of lettuce leaf as a garnish on most starters, dried out meat platter and a very grumpy/terse looking waitress. Although there were two other waiting staff who were very friendly and helpful with issues we had with the meals.Basic meal sides like vegetables and chips all had to be paid for additionally. We could have gone to a very up-market restaurant for the price we paid for our meals.This is definitely not a traditional Spanish Tapas restaurant, very basic menu.Atmosphere was not Spanish in the least. A real disappointment.

I have come to this place for many years and slowly it has gone downhill. The staff used to be quick and friendly and now are slow and we ended up waiting half an hour for a waitress to come over with a card machine. The portions used to be bigger and are now quite small. The prices have gone up. Given the tapas menu - the prices vary £6-£13, for what really are small dishes. Not great value for money. Wine ok but again used to be better quality. The seafood is still nice and fresh: we tried fried calamari, spicy prawns, sardines, whitebait, spicy potatoes (tasted prepared earlier and reheated) , olives ( nothing special), chicken in beer ( very salty), spicy chorizo sausage, manchego cheese ( very small portion). I always supported family run businesses but this will have to improve to survive.

Quite expensive, reasonably good service, food very tasty.

Just superb! Brilliant skate wing, yum yum!!

Went with friends and had a lovely tapas. The garlic mushrooms were very nice. The octopus in our opinion was a tad over priced. The Spanish salad was lovely. As were calamari. The prawns with mushrooms were good but needed something else. We had plenty to eat as the portion sizes were good. Check with bill though as the first 3 items on ours weren't ordered by us

The food , compared with Spanish food is not very good.

All very nice staff fantastic food outstanding and Service was great Will be back soon. I was the other day they greeting me When I arrived and they sit me in a nice table.

I came here with a group of work colleagues on a Thursday evening. Although not terribly busy, there is a real nice atmosphere to the place. After chatting with drinks, we were escorted to our table where each of us ordered three dishes from the tapas menu to share between all of us. Well everything was absolutely delicious. The garlic prawns were a firm favourite as was the spanish omelette and the mixed salad. Everything was authentically Spanish and cooked fresh to order. There was so much food that we could have easily just ordered two dishes each. The staff were attentive, ordering drinks as and when needed and even though we were the last to leave they did not rush us at all. I will definitely return again.

Excellent choice of tapas on offer Good atmosphere Nice bar area also offers a la carte restaurant if preferred Good friendly service And most importantly great food

We recently held a post-Christmas celebration with close friends. The staff were brilliant and the food excellent

Stopped here on a Wednesday evening to eat tapas. Always a friendly welcome, efficient serice without being overattentive. Very busy for a Wednesday evening, so great atmosphere. Good plates of baby squid, octopus, smoked peppers, spicy chorizo and good coffee and manchego cheese to finish. Tasty bottle of New Zealand sauvignon complemented the food. Reasonable prices for everything.

We visited La Farola for the first time recently, following several recommendations from local people who we know. We enjoyed a great tapas meal and a very pleasant evening overall, the staff are friendly and the food excellent and reasonably priced. Quite a few visitors to the restaurant had come in just for drinks at the bar or at a table, whereas others, like us had come for dinner in the restaurant. One of the best things about tapas is that you can create a light snack, a full meal or anything in between and this seems to be one of the main attractions of La Farola. We chose our tapas dishes with some guidance from our waiter who was very friendly and knowledgeable. The restaurant was clean and the Spanish-themed decor helps to create a relaxed atmosphere. There are several sections in the restaurant and it would therefore be ideal for parties. I recommend this restaurant and will definitely visit again.

Brilliant atmosphere very friendly, good a d attentive service. Food was excellent and great value. Have always enjoyed eating at La Farola

Visited La Farola on a night out with friends last Saturday. Very disappointed, the standard of Tapas served was very poor. It was like it was made with no care and microwaved. I had been a year or so ago and it had been much better. I will not return again unless they improve. It was costly also for the quality of food delivered.

Nothing will make you desperately want to tell your friends about the experience but this place isn't bad either. Coffee was nice and the prices aren't too bad.

Got order totally wrong, left without a meal while everyone else was eating. Same old starter dishes. Fat in the fillet. Overpriced and no attempt to recompense the errors. Really gone down hill.

I’ve been here three times now, and every time I leave I can’t wait to come back. Seve at the bar has turned me into a Galician beer expert, and I have never had calamari cooked that well in my life. The food is incredible, and I will happily commute from central London again for this super affordable gem. All the staff were friendly and attentive, and I can’t find tapas like this this in the WHOLE of central London. My favourite place by far!