Stanmer House in Brighton and Hove

Had a Sunday roast for my wife’s birthday. We were a large party and were given a room to ourselves. The service was great and the food excellent. We bought a cake with us and the staff were happy to let us use their plates for the cake. Would thoroughly recommend this place for Sunday roast. Thanks everyone.

The Victoria cake was really good but the latte was less than average.

Called in for lunch today and found it open (often pass by on a Wednesday and its been shut so Google opening hours need updating.) But apparently they will now open Wednesdays for the summer. Snack lunch was fine with friendly service.

A walk then food and drink. Another good day out

Great Sunday roast. Service was excellent. No complaints will visit again.

It's a bit of a weird vibe in the place I think it's because it doesn't really have any furniture in it. So it's not the most welcoming of places. But the staff are nice enough and the service was okay. I did like that they were playing the music from the Netflix show Bridgeton. That gave the place a bit of class.

Grim roast, beef was very tough and carrots under cooked. Not good

Got a lovely hot chocolate. Lovely building which is just gorgeous inside and is totally my jam!!

Awful experience. Most over rated roast we’ve had. Our food came out wrong to start with and when the right order came it was cold. Watery gravy and rock hard cauliflower “cheese” which had a limited amount of cheese burnt onto it. Deflated Yorkshire pudding. The roast potatoes were awful and hard. We wanted to politely give some feedback when we asked for the bill and were met with a frustrated manager who then decided to go and try the items of food we had said weren’t very nice. Most bizarre response to feedback I’ve ever come across. Only positive was the pigs in blankets and beautiful setting! £90 later.. never again.

Lovely place for a coffee and catch up with friends and you could walk around the area and enjoy the nature

They don’t publish their cafe opening hours. I turned up at 3.40 and they were closing, but told me the official closing was 4pm. They just wanted to leave early. Wasted journey. Lost customer. Their bad reputation still stands. Badly run.

dull and zero atmosphere, tea that tasted like toilet water and ‘cakes and pastries’ prepackaged cellophane type that you can get from your local BP garage, walk a bit further round the corner to the cafe/restaurant in Stanmer village

It's nice for a drink after a walk in the park, and it's well kept, but I wouldn't come for a meal.

We arrived late but drinks and sumptuous cake were delivered and we were made so welcome. My dog was treated with adoration, snacks and a water bowl provided, she adored the attention and didn't want to leave. It was so lovely to relax in beautiful surroundings with views of Stanmer Park. So happy to have made the visit and experienced the hospitality.

We visited this place by chance, and the atmosphere was elegant and cozy. The staff was friendly, regularly checking if we needed anything. She even took photos of our happy group. Thanks to her, we had a truly joyful time. Lastly, I'm very grateful for her returning my wallet that I left on a chair.

Staff snooty. Our young nephew (under 2) touched the keys of the piano, resulting in a staff member to emerge from nowhere. 'There are other customers here!' Perhaps lock your piano next time, then. Not a welcoming venue for children or families with children

My first time was went there with a friend who living in village! The food were delicious and tasty; the team were so great! I turning to go there weekly to have some fun with them to create a nice afternoon!

Nice setting but the coffee is of a pretty poor standard

The bold statement of 'Best Sunday Roast in Brighton' enticed me to book a sitting. Situated in Stanmore Park, the surroundings are pretty, but car parking is a nightmare, and it took us 45 minutes to find a space. After finding a place to park, we arrived at the restaurant - decidedly average greeting, a cold restaurant (both temperature & ambience). After ordering our drinks, we waited 15 minutes for them to arrive. The roast: soggy Yorkshire pudding, bland gravy, average lamb, overdone pork with rubbery crackling, bitter mint sauce, roast potatoes from frozen, mushy bland cauliflower cheese. Good: carrots & roasted beetroot. £18 for a roast. Of the 6 places we've been to for a roast so far in Brighton & Hove, this place is firmly at the bottom with not one saving grace. Never going back, and recommend to avoid at all costs. There are so many great alternatives in this area.

The cafe counter area is quite small and only one till so often gets slow queues. However the staff are very friendly and polite. Could do with more vegan options like vegan hot chocolate, proper cake etc Very tasty. Worth a visit when it's not too busy.

This place used to be pretty good but it must have changed hands. Turned up on a sunny Saturday afternoon looking forward to eating lunch in the lovely gardens to be told by surly staff they are not serving lunch as they had an event on so weren't serving the public - despite having signage outside advertising lunch. Why can't you do both ? Won't bother coming again. Will always go to the Stanmer tea Rooms from now on - much better option...

Came here today for afternoon tea for my Mother’s birthday. This had been booked for a few weeks and we we really excited about attending. Upon arrival it was quite busy but I found a server and asked if we could be seated. She obliged and asked us to wait one moment while she took her tray full of dirty glasses to bar. I thought she was coming straight back but then starting pulling pints for people at the bar. I waited a few more minutes before I asked again. She finally seated us in a large room which apparently is where they hold afternoon tea. I was really shocked to find the layout as bizarre as it was. There was a table layout ready for a party of 15 in an hour and in the corner was our two person table on its own. This huge room with just two people in it pushed in the corner felt incredibly uncomfortable. There was a function going on in the room over which had a door that was constantly being opened with loud music and then people walking back and forth past our table. As I said it was just myself and mother in this big room with all these people walking past, it felt so unsettling. The lady who seated us happened to be the manager. When I explained how unhappy I was she repeatedly told me that no one else has ever minded it this way and this is just how they set out their afternoon tea. She processed to offer a free drink, which my mother took advantage of. When the first part of our food came out, which was nice I might add, people were just walking past staring at us. (See photo of the room lay out) the noise from the other room was so loud and it was really hard to enjoy being there. When I said I still wasn’t happy, the manager proceeded to say we could move to the bar area which I said I’d prefer. She did make a point of saying it would just be the same as in the current room, just us in a room. I explained that the other room was a lot smaller and was more cafe like and would be more fitting. We moved, the rest of the food came out and we did end up enjoying the rest of over reservation. The manager got my drink wrong and made out like i ordered it incorrectly, I ordered an apple juice, she brought me orange, it’s not difficult. It was incredibly busy as there were people complaining about the lack of food and poor service (something I just picked up on) we finished up and I asked if I could take the rest home, the manager kindly obliged and supplied us with take away boxes. I asked for the bill and before I could even put my card down to pay, she very obviously pointed out that she had provided us with a free drink and additional tea at no extra cost, I feel she was anticipating me asking for a discount which wasn’t the case, I was happy to pay for the food and told her I wouldn’t be leaving a tip for service. We got up to leave and the manager made one last comment for all to hear that “I hope you’ve been able to enjoy the rest of your tea despite needing to be moved, which no one has ever had a problem with before”. I was really exasperated by this point and just left and continued to hear her turning people away. The manager seemed so stressed and not in control of her service. She wasn’t overly professional, she had an attitude and made it very clear that she thought we were being awkward. I wouldn’t recommend coming here purely for the service and I certainly won’t be back. The food was nice but not worth the price tag for afternoon tea.

We held our wedding reception at Stanmer House last Saturday and it was AMAZING! The venue is absolutely stunning, the staff were incredibly helpful and organised, and the food was delicious (our guests said it was some of the best wedding food they have ever had). We're still on cloud nine. We would definitely recommend it as a wedding venue and thank you again to all the staff that made it happen.

This is truly a fabulous  venue for a wedding. It is very easy to get to by taxi or bus from Brighton town hall. The staff, atmosphere and organisation were brilliant and the food was excellent . Luisa and James help plan our day brilliantly…What a great day we had !!! And if we ever choose to get married again we’d definitely do it there .

I had a meeting at this event for a group of 25. We had the beautiful room that leads out onto the garden. Everything was perfect. We had a vegan buffet lunch and vegan birthday cake. Lovely food, lovely room, lovely staff and lovely cake.

Stanmer House recently hosted a wake for our father. Very many thanks to Luisa and her team for making a very sad day a very special day too. Very professional, food and venue excellent. Lovely comments from all the family. We will be looking to return again for a happy occasion. Thank you again.

Really unusual tea room based on Alice’s tea party . Loads of food and plenty of doggy bags. Maybe offer a choice of sandwich fillings as I didn’t like any of them

Very nice place! Beautiful building and location

We ordered Sunday roast! It arrived looking very good. However,the beef was tough and had a terrible test! My 10 year old daughter was dissapointed as she was starving. The veg was precooked and gravy was sugary with a king of jammy test. I informed the waitress and he kindly replaced with chicken breast which was even worse. I went to complain to the bar that there was not anything to eat decent on the plate as nothing tested fresh but looked good! She rolled her eyes to me and offered me refund which made me really upset. The point is not trying to get the refund. The point about listening the costumers complain to improve the service and quality and offer them something better than being rude to customers! I made my point and walked out not to return ever again where the food is over rated.

A beautiful venue in a fantastic location with very nice food and drinks, lovely service and a gorgeous outdoor space. A couple of weeks ago, I sat outside listening to a really cool band with a great Americano coffee. Afternoon tea there is also lovely! It's calm and peaceful inside and very pretty outside. Good for families too, with a play area for kids and it's dog friendly inside and outside. Highly recommend!

I booked a table for a special birthday meal and had a disappointing experience. I used to enjoy visiting a number of years ago and the cafe has sadly completely changed. The floor was covered in mud, the table dirty and there was a bowl full of dirty serviettes/food on the floor by the table upon arrival. The food quality was poor and did not match up to the cost of the menu. Due to the self-service I had to queue to ask for the dirty bowl to be cleared and unfortunately the waitress appeared reluctant and frustrated at this request. The teapots and tea cups were dirty and there was no clean drinking glasses other than a wine glass to have a cold drink in. I would not recommend this cafe, especially if you are coming for a special event.

Walked down the hill to here after trying to find something to order in the trendy new cafe in the walled garden. Well the staff in the walled garden were awful, so far up there own backsides. Would not accommodate my partner and my request for low carb options, all we wanted to do was substitute an additional egg for the chips and a sausage for the pancakes, no joy. In the main house (which has been closed for a couple of years), they couldn't have been more helpful, and the menu had much nicer food, grilled peppers and tomatoes, haloumi, avocado, mushrooms, in addition to the usual eggs, bacon and sausage, they had black pudding too. This was just the breakfast items, they were happy to substitute toast and sweet potatoes for avocado and additional mushrooms, such a lovely experience in the main house after trying up the hill.

This is a glorious building for a cafe. Like serving a cup of tea out the boot of a rolls Royce. Coffee is pretty good, nice ice-cream and snacks, fab garden which is enclosed with a nice play area suitable for younger kids. Set in beautiful walks in stanmer park. Lovely jubbly!

Its a pity that the management at Stanmer House Restaurant were completly clueless from the top down, its the worst managment of a place that I have ever experienced.Proud thought he new what he was doing but obviously should be nowhere near restaurant management and it flowed downwards from there. Whats really a shame is all the people that went there expecting to have an enjoyable meal and were completly let down by such incompetent management and staff. Staff training was completly inefficient, my guess is they employed agency staff day by day so a different set of staff virtually on a daily basis. They must have customers pay thousands of pounds for what was effectivly obtaining money under false pretences. Its a good thing that hopefully someone will take it over who knows what they are doing, this crowd certainly did,nt have a clue. The best of luck to whoever takes it over as its a fabulous location. We wasted £340 there for a family christmas meet up, I hope its cost the management alot more than that.

Used to visit but now closed not clear when will open again Hopefully someone will take over soon the location is excellent and good for stop when walking the Downs

Food wasn't very nice service was even worse the restaurant had more empty dirty tables than clean set tables also fire exit blocked with a table did not enjoy my time .

Appalling service from kindly, clueless staff: indifferent /terrible/expensive food - 'mushroom soup' turned out to be onion soup, full of raw onions and cold. No welcome reception, nor help to our queries about bringing a walking party for lunch in March, but actually now wouldn't want to risk it, anyway. This is very sad: Stanmer House is beautiful and deserves much, much better. And, my pet horror, loud 'background' music which is totally inappropriate for an 18th mansion.

Appalling service and extortionate prices. We visited at 4pm on the only day of the week they’re open, Sunday. Two small glasses of house white wine (warm) and 4 children’s hot (cold) chocolates were £27! Yes, £27, really! I hate complaining about poor service but took them back and the manager was very rude. Two of my kids had drunk their cold chocolates so he only gave me a partial refund. Pretty poor customer service, considering. I told him that the toilets were filthy and 3 out of 4 of the sinks didn’t have working taps. The manager said he had cleaned the toilets himself this morning (how did he not notice the lack of running water?!) and that they were clean. They were not clean, they smelt terrible. Why is the manager cleaning the toilets and why only once in a busy day? Stanmer House used to be a lovely stop -off after a country walk. It had roaring fires, lovely staff and reasonable prices. A done deal really, considering the perfect location. Since Proud bought it they have killed the goose. No more golden eggs, only unhappy customers and fewer of them than ever. The only decent reviews on this site are from before Proud took over. This place is awful, we will never go back and we will tell everyone we know to do the same.

Words cannot describe how awful this place is. I can’t even go into detail because I’d simply run out words. Avoid this place like the plague and go absolutely anywhere else. Expensive, disgusting low quality food, incompetent staff. And to top it off 15% service charge slapped on top of the bill after possibly the worst service I’ve ever received. Pack a sandwich and enjoy the walk, but do not eat here.

Lovely staff, but poor venue overall. The food and drinks service area had litter on the floor. The service was very slow. Staff serving food did not have their hair tied back or up. No drinks prices were displayed in the service area and the table food menu was positively bizarre with no prices for any meals apart from one! It did however display very clearly that there was a compulsory 15% service charge. I would never order a meal without knowing the price first - this is just weird.

Popped in for a cup of tea.It took over 20 mins for it to be made after informing us they had no milk?!Five or six clueless staff faffing around the bar area ignoring customers that were queuing.After 20 mins we had to go and collect our tea from the bar.Also, the place was filthy.Give it a miss!

Received the offer of 33% off, can only say it is worth nothing as 33% off an abysmal experience, from start to finish, is still abysmal... whatever you do don't go here under any circumstances.

We had a lovely breakfast here, the food and the service were good. The place was let down by filthy toilets - really need redecorating and steam cleaning, and also we were given a tiny table even though no one else was in so we had to remove everything non essential, sugar, water etc just to fit our breakfast plates on. The staff were great but the owners need to invest in the cleanliness, decor and furnishings.

Popped into Stanmer House after a gorgeous walk through the woods to treat ourselves to a glass of wine...£10 each for a glass of HOUSE white...OUCH!!! Slow service.

Popped in hoping to have coffee/cake on a Sunday afternoon. Church closed. No cakes available except for sad coffee cake on its own. Nothing else available. Coffee good and house lovely inside. Staff very welcoming.

Last night we had our work Christmas party at Stanmer House for the 2nd year running and it totally lived up to expectations, a great experience.

We were at Stamner House as a large group for Xmas lunch. The venue is beautiful, but the food was dreadful. The fish stew I was served was almost inedible. It contained a small amount of low quality fish and seafood shells rather than seafood. It was served tepid, as was much of the food. The children's vegetarian meal was equally as poor quality.

We had our work Xmas party here yesterday eve. The venue was beautifully decorated, Xmas trees in every room and roaring fires. It was a shared party but we had our own room which again was beautifully laid out with four large tables. The other group had there own dining room but we all met up in a mid room after dinner where there was a DJ and bar. Food and service were excellent, nothing was to much trouble. The only reason i didn’t score a 5 was that the drinks were on the expensive side. Maybe a few less expensive bottles of wine on the menu would be good.

We went to Stanmer for our work Christmas party. The whole evening went really smoothly and we all had a great time. The management were amazing, thank you to Tom and Katie. They kept us up to date with everything that was happening and managed the timings well.

My son bought me this "treat" for my birthday. I booked online, it took my card details, it said tell your waitress if you have a voucher. Oh No! It took 60 pounds off my card. I emailed. No reply. Went today.Told the waitress. Manager Tom said there was nothing they could do, get your money back from Groupon. The sales manager says it is the customer's fault if they have paid when they have a voucher! I can honestly say the food was not worth the 100 pounds that has been paid out. Or even 20 pounds! Went on their booking site when I got home and see they have changed it. You now scroll down to the bottom if you have a voucher! Also the place is grubby! Choose somewhere else if you want a treat not a trauma!

Thank you to Emily, Josh and all the staff on the day of our event who made it a success. Lovely rooms, attentive polite staff and the buffet was delicious.

Unfriendly staff seemingly without a clue, most food not available at 2pm. Wrong drink brought to table twice.

Beautiful house, run by a miserable team. The house should be a treasure, but it is filthy, rundown and needs a thorough deep clean. Food is poor and the dining rooms cold. Enjoy the view from outside but don't waste money going here.

A few months ago I had purchased some Afternoon tea vouchers from Groupon. I had contacted the Venue to ensure there was availability for the preferred date, which was in 2 days time.

I had a voucher which the staff said wasn't working, so I paid on my credit card and was told to get a refund on my voucher. When I tried to refund the voucher, they had used it! So I paid twice for a very poor, sub-standard afternoon tea. I have sent plenty of e-mails, but no one has replied, so the only option I have is to raise a dispute with my bank which involves lots of paperwork. There are so many other nice places to visit, give Stanmer House a miss. The waitressing staff are doing there best, but this is not value for money and the management should be ashamed of themselves.

regalo a mitad de precio sigue siendo una decepción. se contactó con casas de campo orgullosas directamente después de que enviaron una solicitud de revisión. cuentan incluso molestarse en responder. Sugiérales que busquen o visiten otros establecimientos para averiguar cómo organizar una fiesta de té.

This should have been a special experience, and we were looking forward to a nice, relaxing afternoon of being looked after. However...

We made the mistake of having a large family lunch here last Christmas, it was the worst meal and service imaginable, Proud the owner still thought that he was right and his customers were wrong, we may as well have thrown £300 down the drain.We dont reccomend for any sort of family meal.

I was given a groupon voucher for processo & afternoon tea. Difficult to book as Stanmer House is closed in the weekday & they only do afternoon tea on a Sunday. I e-mailed the company pre- visit about this situation & to date they have still not replied.

Oh dear. Like others, we given a gift of tea (with Prosecco or mulled wine) as a gift. Apparently Stanmer House, can only serve tea on a Sunday... I would argue they can’t even do that .

It is such a shame that this lovely venue with so much potential is let down so badly by poor food and service. When we arrived it wasn't clear if we should take a table or if we had to wait. It wasn't clear if they were serving food as there were no menus to be found. It wasn't clear where to order. Staff walked around ignoring us. We went up to the bar and asked for a menu (given only 1 for 4 people) and back again to order but there was only 1 chap there and he was also making coffees so it was slow.

After a lovely autumnal walk with a friend & her dog , we thought we’d treat ourselves to a Sunday roast at Stanmore house. We were delighted that they had a table , it was early 12.30ish , as I hadn’t been there for a while & remember it as always busy & buzzy !

I’m a local resident who uses Stanmer Park regularly. There was a time, a few years ago, when a visit to Stanmer House was a treat. But for some time now, it’s been a disappointment -and an expensive one.

The venue and location great. The house inside good but after that a disappointment

I took my grandmother to afternoon tea here for her 80th birthday and my mother accompanied us. The waitress that seated and served us was not very friendly or welcoming. We were told to choose a table in the lobby as we had a dog with us, and after sitting down we waited 10 minutes before anything materialised. Cutlery was laid down, then 5 minutes later the tea was brought out and after another 5 minutes the food was finally brought out. The sandwiches were not very good but the cakes and scones were quite tasty, but not enough to save the terrible service.

Fui a tomar el té de la tarde hoy con mi madre y mis hermanas, salimos esperando durante más de 10 minutos para que nos llevaran a una mesa, luego tazas sucias sin cubiertos y personal grosero. ! ! La comida no era mucho mejor. Luego, para rematar, cuando volvíamos al coche, ¡vi una gran rata huyendo del montón de basura que quedaba junto al asco! ! ! !

Fuimos a tomar el té de la tarde hoy en familia. El servicio era terrible, los cubiertos faltaban o estaban sucios, la comida era aceptable y los baños estaban asquerosos. No volveremos y no recomendaría a nadie que vaya! !

El servicio puede ser un poco lento a veces, pero, hey, era domingo a mediodía, ¡así que quién quiere apresurarse! El personal era encantador, tres de nosotros tuvimos el asado y fue absolutamente fantástico, casi demasiado en el plato. Las verduras eran excepcionales. Nuestros dos nietos pequeños fueron bien atendidos con pescado y papas fritas y salchichas y papas fritas. Incluso nuestro gran perro fue bienvenido. Y para seis de nosotros una comida de un par de horas a un precio muy razonable.

Awful! Limp, squashed sandwiches and we couldn't identify the fillings! Scones were dry as we're the cakes. Waiter pointed to our table then brought our tea etc then we didn't see anyone again. We won't be returning!

We booked an afternoon tea at this establishment. On arrival, there was no Maitre d' to welcome us and the overall service was offhand. There was no 'tea menu'; just a choice of tea bags. The food was just plonked down with 'there's your afternoon tea'. No description of the food; soggy sandwiches; no enquiry to ask if everything was alright; dusty and dirty surroundings. On the plus side the scones were nice. Overall, it was a disappointing experience. Shame!

Very disappointed. Given this as present. Sandwiches very small and tasteless. Bite size cakes and scones were flat and stale. Small pot of tea and no offer of any extra water to refill. Nobody asked if everything was ok. Shown to seat, served and then never saw another person. Very poor service. Toilets very tired and overflowing rubbish by the car park. Would not go back.

We used to love going to Stanmer House after a walk with the dog. Not any more! This place is so badly run, the staff are totally disinterested and the afternoon tea is a complete rip off. Very overpriced for the paltry pathetic offering that they are passing off as being worth £24 pp.

Great place to chill with your dog or dogs Inside or in the garden Good food nice staff Nice walks in grounds Has a little museum of old bits and pieces from the past

Booked a friends lunch and arrived to find it was shut, despite having a confirmation email and had only booked the day before. I rang the doorbell to be told the manager hadn’t turned up so weren’t open and they shut the door!! Anyone that knows this place knows it is on the middle of nowhere so we were stranded, an absolute joke, I would avoid it like the plague!!! I am so angry I can’t type fast enough!

Visit Stammer house for a afternoon tea which was a birthday present from my daughter. Went with my friend Louise and we had a lovely time. The afternoon tea was lovely. Tom who looked after us went out of his way to make the experience lovely, nothing was too much trouble always making sure we had enough tea and water . He made our day . Will definitely come back and highly recommend it. Thank you Tom

Stanmer house is a beautiful house let down by the car park that looks as if it is a rubbish tip and the dead plants at the front of the house. A not very friendly welcome, no small talk, just shown to our table in a completely sterile room. All of the panelling and detailing has been painted white. No choice of tea or sandwiches. The 3 tiered stand arrived with very soggy tasteless sandwiches, bite sized cakes, and a scone each. One strawberry sliced into four, two small jars of jam and the smallest pot of cream completed our tea. Not once were we asked if everything was ok and our request for a little more cream was refused and we were offered butter instead.

Just got home from a wonderful cream tea, the experience was made all the better by Tom our waiter who gave us exceptional service and was so helpful and friendly, thanks Tom for making our afternoon special!

Went here as I have been before for an event. Really lack lustre and cold Sunday Lunch. Food came fast which given it was Luke warm implies a lot of prepared content. However this place isn’t cheap so really poor value for money. Charged £10 for a glass of wine! Even the fish and chips was so oily it couldn’t be eaten. Did I complain? Nope I just won’t go back but we’re we asked why we left most of it?

A splendid ambience in unbelievably grand dining rooms, the whole building and décor is like an upmarket stately home with incredible carved cornices in the high ceiled rooms. It really is very spectacular. The bar and lounging rooms are very relaxed and have a 'shabby chic' feel.

This was our first visit , some confusion over pre booked Gluten free request, which was rectified but the Gluten free scones and bread were certainly not the best . Staff did replace and were apologetic but they need to research a better service for people who require Gluten Free . Dining room uninspiring and spent whole time I was there looking at some quite impressive cobwebs with flies attached !

Myself and a friend came to Stanmer house for afternoon tea for 2.

Great location for a car meet. Breakfast was really tasty - but no beans!!! A little expensive, but worth it as the quality was good! Looking forward to the next visit here Missing the beans, though!

Why why why its the middle of summer and its not open in the day..their website says it is another website gives all sorts of times for saturday and Sunday ...looked through the window bowls of sugar cubes left out yet they said open weekends thats 3 days later so hope those bowls get thrown good luck if you try and go there and dont have sugar...what a waste of a beautiful daytime venue and a waste of my time coming especially for lunch time food etc...have been there in the week before many times so what on eaeth has happened ...very very disappointed...beautiful house but not run or advertised well...

Let me say right away that I love Stanmer House, I've had some really lovely meals here, and if going for a full meal or bar snacks I would not hesitate to return, but as for the Afternoon Tea- never again! A large group had booked for my sister in laws birthday and at £24 a head for afternoon tea with a glass of prosecco I was expecting something great. So teas and coffees were brought out- very slowly, seriously chaps it is possible to carry 2 teapots at a time, then the main event arrived. We were presented with a single 3 tiered offering between 3 people, so we are talking just under £75 here, 8 finger sandwiches hidden under a mound of lettuce leaves was bad enough, but they'd been squashed flat, there were 4 scones, with a miserly single small bowl of clotted cream, no jam with ours but that was rectified quickly and a plate of stodgy, soggy cakes, all which seemed to have been chopped about, there were 4 macarons which to fair were nice, but seriously for £75 - ridiculous! My husband didn't fancy afternoon tea from the outset so he opted to have seabass for dinner which was excellent, he had a lovely meal that came in at under £20. I don't understand it, I've had lots of afternoon tea and Stanmers food has always been so good, but this really really let the place down very disappointed!

We had the pleasure in spending time in stanmer house. Great decor, could not fault afternoon tea in restaurant. The grounds well kept . highly recommended.

The worst afternoon tea we have ever had. From the second we parked it was disappointing. The car park is full of rubbish. There are weeds everywhere. The formal shrubs outside the house are dead. The toilets are filthy. The 'tea room' is bland. Somebody needs to buy light bulbs - 5 out of 12? were working. The plates are worn and stained. The tablecloth and napkins are soiled. The staff, although friendly, are scruffy - jeans and trainers are not suitable uniforms for a 'grand house'. The tea its self was covered in wilting salad leaves (including the cakes and cream) the sandwiches were wet, thin and tasteless. The scones were alright. 3 were plain and 1 had some fruit in it. The cream was solid and so couldn't be spread. The cakes were odd. Dry. Tiny. Covered in leaves?! We left them (I've never left a cake) the garden was closed (on a lovely sunny day) because they had had a wedding the day before and hadn't cleaned up (at 1pm the next day)

Having had a lovely cream tea last week at Ashburnham Place for £12, I was really looking forward to a wonderful tea at £28. We were so disappointed. The stand on which everything was brought to us contained no presentation. One sandwich contained a smear of cream cheese and cucumber, another, tuna and lettuce (salmon at Ashburnham) and lastly a ham sandwich, (I make a tastier sandwich every day for my husband’s lunch box). A large scone, jam and cream, no butter - Ashburnham supplied butter, (I know some people don’t have butter but the option should be there) and the bite size cake slices were uninspiring.

Quite possibly the worst afternoon tea I have ever had. The two stars are for the scone which was the only upside! The room they served the tea in is stark and not inviting, it is a minor point but in such a lovely building it could be great. It took ages to order a drink (which turned out to be £7 (!!!) glass of the prosecco that wasn't even that cold) and then we waited a further 25-30 minutes for food. The sandwiches were pretty awful and the cakes were basically 3 sponge squares with some rubbish icing piped on. The photo on the website could not be more different from what we were served. It all seemed to be pretty disorganised and another table had eaten their afternoon tea and were still asking to have their hot drinks served to them...slightly awkward at afternoon TEA.

Instead of booking at one of Brighton's many pubs, all of which offer excellent Sunday roasts, myself and two friends decided to go off grid to Stanmer Park, a large former country estate out by the University of Sussex, and to the Palladian-style mansion in its midst, Stanmer House.

I’m really sad to write this but as someone who has visited for many years, I have seen a significant change in the restaurant. Staff are rushed of their feet and unfriendly. Food is overpriced. Really hope the best as it has lots of potential to be something great. Food is still delicious too, apart from the wait and the pricing

Great location, value, delicious food

Walking up to the property the first thing that you see are urns with plants that have been left to die because no one has bothered to water them then your eye is drawn to the tatty looking curtains on the upper floors, Then you don’t go in first impressions are everything

Went for cream tea after a walk with family , it was lovely food ,if you can get the sofas to sit on makes it very relaxing

What can you say about this venue that hasn't already been said?

The restaurant is located in a beautiful historic building & we know the chain of restaurant & pubs it belongs to so we were looking forward to this meal. We were very disappointed. Maybe we should have guessed the moment we saw the dead box trees in the pots on both sides of the entrance. The interior was cheaply decorated & not clean. every thing looks dusty. The food was less then mediocre; the portions were small but the bill was high. What a shame a place with so much potential.

Father’s Day family roast. Welcoming courteous staff, need a bit of training on product knowledge, and working efficiently. Main courses very good and relatively large portions. Plenty of flavour on the plate and beef cooked to perfection. Desserts reasonable, but room for simple improvement ie Warmed brownie and the apple tart to be finished in an oven to keep pastry crisp. Espresso very good (This is always a good barometer of the bar).

Popped in for a drink here after a lovely walk. Not allowed to sit in the garden?? On a lovely sunny June afternoon? Mandatory service charge as you can’t order drinks from the bar which makes a pint an eye watering £6.20, which is absolutely disgusting! Used to be this place was heaving on a sunny Sunday afternoon, now there was only a handful of tables. Such a shame! My advice.. avoid and bring a picnic, sit in the sunshine and save your bank balance!

This has to be the worst roast I have ever experienced. The service was awful, everything was awful.

Came here after a lovely walk in the park. I’ve been here before and it’s over priced and food quality not goo. Ordered cream tea , no choice of different types of tea or coffee , scone stake . Moody service .

Stanmere House have taken on board all the negative comments. Just had afternoon tea for 2. Sandwiches were fresh, scones warm and fluffy with loads of cream and a small jar of jam each. An assortment of homemade cakes. Staff couldnt be faulted. Only real downside was on this warm sunny day we couldnt have tea in the garden as they didnt provide table service outside. I cannot stand egg sandwiches which came as part of assortment, waitress was wonderful and switched them to tuna. Maybe they could ask customers preferences or if vegetarian. Will we be returning YES. If you havent been to Stanmere its a little jewel with plenty of walks.