One Kitchen in Brighton and Hove

We were looking forward to a Sunday brunch on Apple Harvest Day. Although it was lunchtime only the brunch menu was available but we didn’t mind. Two of us ordered avocado toast with poached eggs, one pulled pork hash and one the full English brunch. The avocado toast came without the eggs and the full English didn’t arrive, It was not busy at all and serving staff were hanging around doing not much in particular. After about 15 minutes we asked about the rest of our order and were assured it was on its way. It wasn’t. In fact it was half an hour before they admitted that the ticket had been lost in the kitchen and a further 15 before the eggs and further meal arrived. We did get an apology and most things taken off the bill. But WHY do this? HOW? How is it actually possible to run a place so badly?

We live in Brighton but haven’t been to Open Garden before. We visited with our granddaughter and her one year old son. Walking around the gardens we found them very interesting. We decided to have lunch in the restaurant (outside table) and ordered small plates to share and chips and chicken goujons from the children’s menu. The food was delicious, a good variety of tastes and reasonable sizes for small plates. The service was great. We found the staff friendly and professional. We will definitely return.

Dreadful! Have tried here a few times but repeatedly disappointed. Very poor service, disinterested staff and over priced food, tasteless and served cold . On another occasion we tried to just have a coffee here , but at 2.30 pm in the week we’re told that you had to eat as well! The place deserves to close. Such a shame as a lovely setting.

What a huge disappointment this place is. A lot of work has been put into the rejuvenation of the former kitchen garden at Stanmer House. The gardens are beautiful and there is a great shop. But the restaurant really lets the side down. We arrived on a Sunday afternoon, looking to have tea and cake. We stood, waiting to be seated, for a few minutes while about four staff members studiously ignored us. Finally someone came up to us and redirected us to the shop, where we had tea in a paper cup and cake in a paper bag - not really the experience we were looking for. The staff in the shop were much friendlier. We thought we would check out One Kitchen with the possibility of making it a regular haunt for breakfast. We won't. One of our pet hates is uncleared tables and there were plenty of them. The staff were not run off their feet - I've worked in cafes and know what is and isn't possible. A bit of pride in your workplace means you clear and WIPE DOWN! tables. The staff at One Kitchen looked like they couldn't care less. They want to be careful, as the place may well shut down and they'll have to find somewhere else to not care about.

Booked a table for 2 for lunch . Decided to eat inside as although it was sunny it was a bit windy outside. Stuffy in the restaurant & the staff member said it should be possible to open the sliding window to let some air in - she’d ask the manager. Order taken and after about 15 mins the window still hadn’t been opened. I asked what was happening and was told they were getting the key . But basically it was never opened. We both ordered the wraps( very limited choice on the menu) . When they arrived they were just dumped on the table , no comment, eye contact or anything. The food was very uninspiring. Dry wraps and a very poor salad and dry couscous salad. I asked for some dressing- the waiter looked at me as though this was a strange request but did return with a pot of what looked like green swamp water - no idea what it was . It was tasteless. The wraps were around £16 each . Very overpriced. All in all a very underwhelming experience. Such a shame as it’s in a lovely setting.

Not much to choose from on the lunch menu, brunch looked better but we were too late. Food disappointing, not much in the flat bread and was a bit dry and stodgy and at £14.50 very expensive!!! My friends felt same. Very slow service despite not being very busy, we cancelled our coffees as they were taking too long to appear. Shame as when I first came it was good and a lovely place.

Very disappointing. Very little choice on the menu which was overpriced. The food itself was average and several items weren't available. It's a shame because it is a beautiful location

Great service, lovely place BUT £9 for two regular lattes????? There were no cakes to have with the coffee as they have all been moved to the shop down the lane

Very limited menu so disappointed before we even started. Burgers were greasy. Fish and chips overdone. Vegetarian main was so small it looked like a starter. Overpriced and underwhelming. Had food previously here and it was good so not sure why it has gone downhill. Definitely won't be going back now.

Lovely cafe, what a RIP OFF though, 12.5% on top of bill, apple crumble £7.50 I asked for a different flavour ice cream & got charged £4 for the privilege, & didn’t get the original ice cream with it?? Waiter staff very friendly, staff at till not so, ignored, then kept being told ‘it’s waiter service’

Dry, calm, light, warm Rain falling, soaking outdoors Cinnamon buns, yum. , Hot cappuccino Laughter, sweet and gentle staff, Writing with a smile.

Having decided to pop back to the farm-shop after a recent walk in the grounds. I was struck by a huge downpour of rain and was ill prepared, so ran for cover only to discover this gem of a place. Was delighted to shelter have a lovely coffee, warm friendly team and a pleasant gentleman the manager wearing a suit, Andy or Adam I believe was his name (sorry if I have it wrong) who seemed to bring a warmth and genuine desire to help which is seldom seen these days. The menu was delightful for breakfast so I treated myself to the avocado and poached eggs on toast which was divine. The cakes looked delicious so will certainly be returning when the weather improves.

Service slow although hardly anyone actually in the cafe and plenty of staff. Ordered toasted sandwich as part of the order which wasn’t ordered as waitress ‘forgot to press the correct button’. Hot drinks lukewarm. Lovely setting but disappointing experience.

Oh dear, arrived with my wife for coffee and a bite to eat to be presented with tables full of finished meals and staff ignoring us. When one did speak to us she said, and I quote, “you’ll have a long wait, we are so understaffed”. We declined and went off to find somewhere that actually wanted our custom.

A disappointing experience with indifferent service and mediocre food. Booked a table to meet & have a late brunch with old friends that we had not seen for ages. On arrival we ordered drinks - to be advised that a) the bottle of local wine we wanted to order was not available and b) there would be a 30-40 minute wait for the food. The cafe was reasonably busy but not excessively so as it was getting late so we agreed to wait for our food as we had lots to catch up with, and ordered a more expensive bottle of local wine to have whilst we waited. It was nice to have a jug of iced water - one bonus point for that! The menu looks tempting with a big emphasis on the words ‘garden’, ‘plant’ and ‘butchers’, so we ordered some food and waited. However, when it eventually arrived after quite a long wait (ok we had been warned) it was brought to the table in two separate lots, with a 5 minute gap between each service, so that the first plates to arrive were getting cold before the rest turned up, and being polite, the first to be served waited for the other meals to arrive before starting. There was an item missing from one plate (when pointed out this was rectified after another short wait). The ‘salad from the garden’ with the chicken Caesar salad, consisted of just some rather limp lettuce - there were no other ‘salad’ items whatsoever, or even a sprinkle of herbs. The chicken was also very dry and lacked flavour. When asked (twice) if we required any sauces, we requested some ketchup & mayo, which did not materialise and as there was no ‘check-back’ to ask if everything was ok, we went without. The food overall was ok, but nothing to write home about - it’s hard to see how burgers, salads and breakfasts could be messed up. After the meal was over there was no table clearance, so we sat with our used plates still in front of us while finishing our drinks. No one came and asked if we wanted any teas/coffees after the meal - much less the tempting-sounding “selection of home made cakes & cream teas” as advertised on the menu. We paid & left without leaving a tip. Overall a disappointing experience - please try and improve a few little things to give better customer service/experience. It really doesn’t take much to get your staff properly trained and to at least check with customers if everything is ok during the meal. The garden itself is nice, but a lot of the vegetables looked like they needed to be picked - maybe even use some in the kitchen!

I went to the makers fair at One Garden with friends. 6 of us had lunch and then tea and cake later in the day. The lunch was of a good quality but some parts of the cooked breakfast were cold. I had eggs Florentine which were excellent. We did not complain about the cold bits because overall it was actually fresh and well cooked. Service was swift and efficient. Later that day we had tea and cake. It was late in the day, 4pm. The table was sticky. 6 hot drinks and 5 slices of cake took more than half an hour to arrive. Two of the hot drinks were lukewarm. We sent them back and it took another 7 or 8 minutes to bring some replacements. We complained at the time. We were given a load of excuses about it being busy, when it wasn't that busy and staff were standing around. We didn't get an apology. This was a Shame. Some small tweaks would have left us happy. In particular if something is not good I do expect an apology.

Although this restaurant is very pleasant inside, there seemed to be a lacking of aptitude by certain members of the team to offer an acceptable level of service that one would expect when visiting a place like this. During our visit there were a number of negative experiences that spoiled the meal which, in itself, was average quality although portion sizes were good. Maybe we caught the "team" on a bad day and were just unfortunate, but even so a good team would rise above a bad day or at least hide the fact. Given the staff the benefit of the doubt we went across to purchase some plants and, surprise surprise, the team members there were no better. Such a pity that it tainted our visit because the grounds are such a joy to see.

Disappointing food. Expected so much more from an organic garden cafe. Burger average, pesto pasta was tasteless. Would only return for coffee or cold drinks.

With the promise of fresh produce from One Garden and Plumpton College on the menu, this could be so much better. I opted for the special , Panzanella, but the waitress wasn`t sure if there was bread in it and had to check ( Panzanella is a salad based on stale bread and tomatoes!). My friend had a burger which was rock hard and over cooked, so asked for another with no bun. She had asked for it to be toasted but it seemed burnt on the outside on the outside (not toasted on the inside!). It was also cold especially the chips. The second burger was also tough. We did treat ourselves to a glass of the Plumpton Estate Brut Classic Cuvee, which was really delicious and served in beautiful coupe glasses. However when we asked for another, they weren`t sure if they had any then managed to find a bottle which wasn`t cold so came with a glass of ice. This was the top ( first) drink on the drinks menu so surprising it was not readily available. I have eaten lunch here before and the menu yesterday seemed very basic - I know it`s summer and seasonal, but there`s usually a lovely soup on the menu.

Great greeting but staff then forgot to take our order so had to chase them up. The venue was not busy! The food was cooked excellently, though not warm enough by the time it reached the table.

Overpriced, horrendous food. Unappetising, awful. Wouldn't give it to my dog. Extremely slow service. I took a friend out for her birthday lunch, so it was really disappointed. Don't waste your money.

Wanted to try this restaurant again as it has had a change of chef. The food was good but, sadly, the service has not improved at all. We waited 30 minutes for 3 bottles of cider and a glass of wine - why? Plenty of staff but no urgency to actually serve it seems. Such a shame as it is a really nice place to eat but won’t be returning any time soon.

A very nice location was spoiled by the long wait for food, which was really not worth it, especially for the price. Poor service, with majority of customers complaining around us.

We’ve been to One Kitchen 3-4 times now over the past 8-12 months. Both foodies and always bring the dog, and it’s always been amazing. We’ve always had very genuinely friendly service, they’re super dog-friendly, and it’s a great place for everyone to visit, with so much to see & happening around it, and its a great place to go any time of year. We had Sunday lunch last weekend and took the in-laws, who also had their dog in tow. They’re both really into their food and both were really blown away by the quality of the food, and wine (their own Plumpton Rose, and their own white is lovely), the friendliness of everyone and just the general vibe. I try to be a real supporter of social enterprise when I can, but expect the same high standards we’d all expect in any eatery. Having read a few of the reviews on here I can only assume they’ve suffered along the way from the same staffing shortages as many catering establishments across the country. Our experience, from all four of us last Sunday, was that this place is a bit of a hidden gem. Really worth a visit and we’ll definitely be back.

Booked well in advance for Sunday lunch for a special occasion. Took 40 minutes to get served our drinks. Came to ordering food and they only had two options left on the menu. Very under staffed and not attentive. Had to pay at the desk as they never came to collect our plates or offered us dessert. The roast was good however (all had to have beef). No ice or wine cooler as they ran out/not available. no spoons offered for condiments. Such a shame. Also very cold in the restaurant. Not sure if it felt more like a cafe but for the prices you would expect a bit better. Shame.

My friend and I had a spontaneous trip to Stamner Park and popped into the One Kitchen. We didn’t book but were able to get a table and enjoyed a drink and some hot food. Service was great, the chips were to die for and...

Arrived to try and get a walk-in table at Friday lunchtime. Immediately when we approached we were just asked if we had a booking, and when we said no the person serving us just said “no” to getting a table, seemed like they couldn’t get...

Good food and great service in a lovely environment. Really good for families and dogs too. Plenty of parking and you can go for a walk in the forest to walk off the meal.

Went for lunch with my wife, lovely enthusiastic and friendly service, we are both pretty particular about good food and we thought it was exceptional. I had a splendid lamb dish and my wife had the sea bass. Can only assume that things have improved...

The 'One Garden' project is brilliant and the gardens stunning. Set in those gardens is the 'One Kitchen' restaurant and here, the project is let down by its 'front of house' service. Lunchtime in very hot weather, plenty of staff (chatting amongst themselves) but not...

We visited the One Kitchen to meet friends (who are vegetarian) . We were surprised by the lack of choice for vegetarians (especially as we were in a garden noted for growing its own produce!) and how expensive everything was. We also wanted a kids...

It’s a beautiful setting in the walled garden of historic Stanmer House. The food was reasonable the service appalling