The Bat and Ball Country Pub and Haywards Restaurant in Chichester

Food good. Service excellent. Nice place for Sunday lunch

Great food, lovely ambience and huge portions for the money. Fabulous.

We visited the bat and ball after a recommendation from jerry at the spitfire experience at wisborough green. We had a very friendly greeting on entering. We decided to have lunch and were seated quickly. The pub has it's own olde worlde quirky atmosphere. The service we received was excellent and the food as good . I would highly recommend a visit if you're in the area and I would certainly revisit.

We went for the bonfire and fireworks. It was an excellent evening. Better than any other locally that we have been to. The only think worth mentioning is the chaos at the end with cars.

Just lunch, very nice. Good service. Lovely setting. Will be back to explore further

We had our wedding breakfast here the end of October, we had the whole pub, the venue was decorated to a very high standard and the atmosphere was great, the food was excellent, the staff were very good too couldn’t do enough for you, we had a DJ so the furniture and tables were moved at one area of the room to make way for a dance floor which worked really well. The staff lit the fire pit outside so that we could have toasted marshmallows which the kids and adults loved. Would highly recommend this venue if your looking for somewhere to have a wedding or party. We would like to thank Caroline, Richard, Dan and all the staff for all their hard work. Ann and Tony Bride and Groom

Lovely pub, amazing food. Stopped there during our weekend motorcycle ride and we were blown away by the food.

Camping next to the pub First class.

Great Sunday lunch, super helpful service.

Fantastic pub Great staff. A little pricey for a pub but Restaurant quality and great food. Definitely will be back.

We camp there and eat, love it x

The location of the pub is really nice. We only went there on an afternoon after work and had a drink. We had to order our drinks at the bar. We choose to sit outside. There is camping and campervan parking on site. They do sell food. From what I could see is regular pub food and nothing out of the ordinary. On a sunny day there garden sitting is inviting. They allow dogs in the garden.

Absolutely lovely little public house,a little off the beaten track but that's the the beauty of it.ample parking,friendly staff and beautiful garden.sadly we didn't eat but will certainly eat on the next visit.

A beefburger is a staple of a pub dinner and if a place can't do that right then I would question if they can get anything right. Even if I had paid half the cost of £18 I would have been disappointed with what I received, the patty was sloppy with little seasoning and the bun was not even toasted leading to it falling apart whilst eating.

Lovely meal , not a huge menu but some interesting choices a welcome change from the normal choices usually offered in pub dining. The sticky toffee pudding dessert was amazing , the best I have ever had. My friend had a fish platter that seemed to be a favourite the mix of fish was great and plentiful , faultless food. Staff lovely and friendly only marked down slightly because it was a little bit slow at the table bringing condiments and add ons. My review is dining only didn't use but the site was lovely we ate outside by lake but there were lots of spaces and choices to chose from. My visit was for lunch to meet up with a friend

An amazing location and service, the best grounds I have been to in a long time- I congratulated the groundsman who I saw hard at work- lovely friendly atmosphere

Good choice of food and drinks at the bat and ball

Well that was a very sad experience at Wisborough Green, we had booked for a birthday lunch with family, as always the staff are very polite, but that's where the good bits end. Roast chicken meal served and was warm at best boarding tepid, requested replacement which came and and sadly when cut had some blood so I requested again for it to be taken away. Apologies we're offered and asked if I like a replacement, to which I said no as I lost interest in eating, so after sitting letting the other members eat, we were asked for deserts, I chose cheese and biscuits, gulp so everyone was half way through thier deserts and my C and B arrive to which point I said "no thank you" you can't just serve me two poor meals and then serve me a c and B when everyone else was half way through thier desert. The server did say apologies again and said I would not pay for my meal! Buy hey I never ate anything. I don't honestly feel anything of substance was offered as an apology, maybe a free drink or some discount for the family would have gone a long way to make amends. A very sad day. I end with saying that all the staff were extremely polite.

We had a lovely evening at The Bat and Ball, food was excellent, the service was excellent, staff so friendly and welcoming, nothing was to much trouble, this is a beautiful pub, thank you Amelia our waitress, btw truffles were amazing what a lovely touch

Had lunch with family. It's such a beautiful setting. Lovely food and drinks

Setting the standard for what a great country pub should be.

An absolutely delicious Sunday lunch in the prettiest of settings. A really lovely feel and fantastic service. Thoroughly enjoyed our afternoon.!

Friday 16th August 2024 We enjoyed a fabulous evening at The Bat and Ball! Greeted on arrival by friendly bar staff. Plenty of comfortable seating outside. Excellent food and attentive and fun staff serving! Thank you 😃

Wonderful location, beautiful gardens and very attentive staff overall with excellent manners, but found the food is not really good value for money or certainly needs some attention. Both myself and my husband had the seafood platter. At £28 each I would have expected the waste sack to have been removed from the langoustines (maybe I'm being a bit fussy). The waste sack of both the two langoustines had burst and left my food swimming in the creatures' last meal. Yum! The chips were also crazy salty. I was literally brushing the salt off before my lips disappeared back into my face. The dish came with samphire and I think I had a grand total of 4 sprigs. To get some more greens we ordered the tempura broccoli. First of all the batter was not tempura batter at all, it was normal batter. And secondly the batter was raw on the inside and just a clumpy dough. Husband's dessert was fine. I had cheese and biscuits and whoever had put it together had literally poured the relish all over the biscuits and the cheese. As in probably four tablespoons worth. As a result most of the biscuits were soggy so you couldn't put anything on them, they just fell apart. I ended up scraping relish off all the cheese. As an absolute cheese and biscuits glutton I like to choose whether or not I want relish on my cheese, rather than have it decided for me. Honestly the whole plate was just a mess. I really wouldn't have said anything, but £13 for such a crime to be committed against cheese and biscuits, was a bit steep. We paid the full bill and didn't ask for any discount because we ate the majority of the food, but when we asked to speak to the manager about the state of the food...all I can say is I think they need training on how to deal with, I don't want to use the word complaint, but constructive criticism. It didn't really feel like they cared and needed a bit more maturity, they just said "I'm sorry about that." The response to the issue with the cheese and biscuits that we showed them was "well it depends whose done it". And then they left. All I'd recommend is doing some check backs on food before dishes go out and perhaps look to see if the menu is accurate, especially when commanding such high prices.

Had an amazing 3 course meal here last night. The pub is stunning the staff are so lovely. And the chef is undoubtedly amazing. Thank you for a perfect evening spent with my bestie

Fantastic lunch for my mums birthday. Jenna was a lovely attentive waitress and made the whole experience very nice. Nothing was too much trouble. Thank you!

Beautiful pub for food and drink

Excellent food, beautiful scenery in the courtyard with friendly and funny staff. Hats of to Jenna and the top tier Gin recommendations.

Amazing food and service. Will definitely visit again!

This pub is very attractive inside and out. The food and service was excellent the only downside it was a bit exspensive.

Lovely pub, great food, fantastic staff!

Enjoyed a lovely Sunday lunch here in the courtyard. Great service and a lovely roast. If only my Jack Russell behaved better on the day it would of been perfect.

The restaurant has since rescinded on the quality of the Vegan options available. Last time I ate there, the choice was a chickpea burger or a vegetable curry (which I couldn't eat as it had peanuts in it). So disappointed in this and felt like I had time travelled back to the past.

We recently went for their themed Mexican night in the garden. Oh my good lord, it was absolutely amazing. From the service, to how they set it all up, and to the taste of the food. Good not fault it. 1000/10. All four of us came back very satisfied!

Incredible pub with such a lovely and friendly team. I hosted my 30th birthday here and they couldn't have been more accommodating! They made incredible sharing platters that were so delicious. Caroline was incredible, so responsive and helpful. The whole team were lovely and so welcoming and we really felt like they loved hosting it for us. Everyone loved the afternoon so much, we had some food followed by a Paint & Sip class which I organised with a separate company. Again the Bat & Ball was so excited to host this which made the whole experience a pleasure. I absolutely love this pub. Thank you so much to everyone for making my birthday so special.

Best pub in Sussex. We meet there every few months and never disappointed.

Great good. Amazing service. I'll always come back.

Lovely meal- good food with great service. Varied menu with lots of gluten free options and some nice, not run of the mill, vegan dishes.

Went to watch the England game Great service and atmosphere friendly staff

Amazing food and also fresh..!! The owner is very welcoming and polite. Would highly recommend.

A wonderful country pub, with exceptional food and service. We booked a table for a late Sunday afternoon roast lunch and we could not have been more impressed. Servings are generous and really delicious. We will definitely be back!

Didn't stay just had dinner Service was great , staff were lovely. Food was perfect , the lobster sharing dish was fabulous, so was the duck

We booked a meal for four at the Bat & Ball to celebrate a Birthday but due to a planning error on our part had to cancel at short notice . The Bat &Ball staff were able to rescheduled the meal despite being , as we came to realise, heavily booked . That was a good start to the B&B experience . Our booking was for a late slot on a busy afternoon by which time there was apparently a lack of clean spoons . The lack of padding on the chairs in the outdoor eating area came in for comment. The seating position was a bit low . This prompted four reasonably normally- sized humans to joke about falling victim to an Alice in Wonderlandesque shrinking potion . In truth ,the lack of a spoon or two and thin cushions were vaguely amusing. The overall experience was really good . The service was pleasantly unobtrusive yet attentive . The latter was especially welcome as one of our party is celiac . Staff were clearly aware of the risks of cross contamination and several menu options were already or could be adapted to be GF . The food was excellent and portions were generous . The presentation involved wooden boards, mini frying pans and rectangular plates; all of which added an air of fun to the meal. A five star experience!

Really good food with great service which is attentive but friendly. Defintely a cut above normal pub food and also most, self-titled "gastropubs". The food is also consistently good, so when you go here you know you will get a good meal.

Landed here by chance. Great food and very friendly staff. A clear recommendation

Great place with a nice family friendly vibe. The drinks and food was good. Service was slow, but they were happy and helpful.

Had to wait for two of our meals to arrive about ten minutes not ideal?

Expensive to what we are used to. Food was delicious.

Worst lunch I have ever had at a country pub. Had fish and chips the fish was more batter than fish, will never eat there again, also the price very high

Thatchers ice cold Cider was well received..

Absolutely stunning area and restaurant and bar was beautiful! Definitely recommend!!

Fantastic food, excellent service, couldn’t be more accommodating. Will definitely be back.

Food was ok, given the prices I felt I had better quality elsewhere. The service was good. The children's menu is very limited and very expensive, when our little ones burger arrived it was pink which given the age was not appropriate they were happy to reheat and cook through but feel this should be standard for young ones. Overall OK but probably wouldn't return as a family as just too expensive and not in keeping with price range at similar establishments, £12 for a kids meal and pudding without a drink is far too much, would be ok for a couples date night.

Had lunch here today, I chose the mussels and chorizo with saffron and I have to say it was amazing! Have eaten here a few times and the food is always good! Nice chilled atmosphere and friendly staff, this pub has got it all going on.

Batting well above the average pub & grub here!

Yet another fantastic lunch here. Delicious food served by very friendly and helpful staff. Highly recommended

A scheduled tachograph break meant a lunchtime visit to the Bat & Ball. Lovely pub. Good menu and friendly staff. Car park big enough for my truck too. Wouldn't suggest trying to get anything bigger than a 7.5 tonner in there though.

We booked for Easter but have carried it over because of the weather. We still travelled down and were made very welcome. Had a lively meal and are looking forward to our stay in May

Just had a meal in here everything is so salty service was great, but the food not the best

Visited this wonderful country pub for Sunday lunch! It's a truly beautiful restaurant with excellent staff. The food was outstanding and incredibly tasty. Great value for money. Highly recommend!

We had a fantastic Sunday roast with family today, it was our first time visiting and we were very impressed. The food was absolutely delicious, we ordered the beef and the guinea fowl and my daughter loved her fish and chips. All the serving staff were friendly and helpful and the pub has a cosy, comforting atmosphere.

We had a lovely lunch here today having just searched Google for a pub in the area, I would highly recommend a visit. The staff were absolutely lovely and gave fantastic service. Food was excellent, the petit four were incredible- I took half of it home! Very child friendly. Will definitely return even though we aren’t local. Looks like it will be lovely to sit outside in the summer.

10/10 would recommend to anyone passing through or staying locally. Food was really delicious and the service was great and very friendly. A warm and cosy pub with fireplaces both inside and out for added winter-warmth. Huge outdoor space will make it a must-visit in summer as well!

Got delayed on the way down to my mum's 70th birthday barbecue. 5 and a half hours through pouring rain and heavy traffic. On arrival the burgers had gone stone cold and the potato wedges were looking decidedly finished. Since cold leftover burgers are inedible I requested the barbecue to be re-lit but this was refused. I pointed out I was tired and hungry but there was no let up. I was grudgingly offered reheated burgers from the microwave but this is also unacceptable since if I wanted microwaved burgers I'd have gone for a Rustlers. I was then told that the kitchen closes at 3pm and nothing could be done. Even waiting gorgeous it to reopen at 5 to relight the barbecue was refused. In order to avoid spoiling my mum's 70th I bit my tongue but the whole experience and thecsurliness of some of the staff when asked to, you know, actually serve their paying customers, left a bad taste. What kind of time to close the kitchen is 3pm anyway? It's driving away customers. Seriously, save your money and do what I did, go to the Three Crowns, and ordered a burger that was actually hot. I made sure to get the exact same food that I missed out on. At least they want your custom and have staff who want to help. Or if it's a family bash, bring a disposable barbecue and extra grub. If they refuse to relight (and let's face it, a gas barbecue isn't actually a proper barbecue) then pull it out and start doing your food on it. Seriously. If you dont get what you're paying for then make sure to make your displeasure known.

Fab place, great location and our waitress Holly was excellent

Very happy with this pub. Great service, location, setting, and the food was good aswell.

Beautiful pub in a beautiful location. Staff fantastic, great beers and food was even better. Outdoor fire pits being on even though not that busy was a really nice touch. It's a great pub for both winter and summer.

Went there for a second visit after a postive experience a while back. Sadly, while the service was good the quality of the food was very poor for all of us. Very disappointing.

Excellent New Year's Eve party with sharing platter casino disco and fireworks

It was my first time there, meeting friends for lunch. Was very impressed with the food & service. For those who live nearby it would be a great meeting place. Definitely recommend.

On 19th 5 of us had the finest lunch. Excellent service from staff. Will strongly recommend it and return soon. My calves pan fried liver was heaven and the gravy sauce with it to die for.

The bat and ball was lovely, and the festive Christmas decorations were out of this world !! They even had a ski theme out the front with bubble snow . The food was stunning and the interior warm and cozy . We will definitely return.

Always a welcoming log fire and a decent pint. Great pub and I hear good things about the food also.

Lunch was fantastic! Huge haddock and chunky chips! Highly recommend.

Decent food, lovely waitress but totally spoiled by the manager poorly lighting a log fire at 12.20 with damp logs causing mass smoke where we were eating (also setting the smoke alarm off). No apology, clothes smelling of smoke. Why couldn’t he come in at 11.00 am to light the fire? £55 for a meal ruined by his inconsiderate behaviour

A magical place for a pub to visit. We really enjoyed. Staff was friendly and prompt, the location is great too. Good vegan options for us also

Always great food here. Menu isn’t huge but that’s because of the quality of the food you get.

Lovely sunday lunch, roast beef. Busy, advisable to book.

Cosy and welcoming country pub. We had a delicious lunch there today, including the seafood surfboard and halibut. A really lovely menu, catered well for veg/gluten free and staff were nice. Enjoyed the atmosphere and comfortable setting, would definitely return and also noted the great outdoor space for sunny days.

Lovely for a warm day in the sun.

We stopped and met friends here for a Sunday lunch! We were a large table and were looked after very well by the staff who were friendly and attentive. The food was great and we are looking forward to returning.

Very expensive very slow service a couple came in after us got served after us but got their food before us they had eaten theirs and paid for it when we had only just got ours wouldn't mind but my husband only had a burger and I had the cauliflower cheese as everything was so expensive won't be going back there

4 stars for the pub - enjoyed the food (though on the higher side price wise) service very friendly but could have been more attentive. 3 stars is for the camping - we had people on the pitch we had booked but saw there was plenty of space on the road side of the field and as the member of staff told us it wasn’t a busy road we camped there - spent the whole night being woken up regularly by cars speeding past. No paper in loos - had to use paper towels. At £30 for 2 people for a night not cheap. Avoid road side pitches unless you are a very heavy sleeper

Camped , but right next to road loads of traffic noise had dinner was a very limited menu but enjoyed the meal the price was a little bit on the high side but it is west Sussex but otherwise very good, service was fantastic and managed to cater for alot of people at once would go again but not camp next to road

Menu not good, food not good, cold atmosphere. Will not be rushing back!

First time visiting the Bat and Ball and was very happy, service was great, food was excellent and location was great, pub was busy and obviously popular, plenty of outside seating areas overlooking a small pond. Well worth a return visit.

Been here a few times and it's always good, but the food last night was absolutely the best dinner I have ever had in a pub. Sale selection reasonable, staff friendly and helpful.

Fantastic food and service. Seafood❤️

Lovely Sunday lunch with family. The service was unfortunately very slow, but the food more than made up for it.

Nice pub with campsite. The food was good, though not cheap. Staff very friendly.

Weirdly slow service, high prices, simple fare. Amazing looking place but they get complacent on a weekday. You're between a rock and a hard place between a very easygoing management, and checked out teen waiters. Don't hesitate to get up and go ask if they've unfrozen your fish and chips yet if it's lunchtime on a Friday.

Brilliant, fantastic county pub. Has everything you would need expect. Great atmosphere. outdoor seating, fire pits, great beer, food is brilliant, overall really great vibe. Definitely worth a visit if in the area.

Welcome from Lisa and Bruno was fabulous 👌.. shame they're going on somewhere else.. Last year we stayed and had a really poor Sunday lunch .. This year the pub was brilliant 👏 Our food was perfect . Jess, our server was so attentive . I would highly recommend the roast beef .. done to perfection. Great place to stay and great place to eat.. Well done 👏

Absolutely beautiful place, fabulous food friendly staff stunning location 👌

What a lovely Sunday lunch the food was amazing 👏

Excellent food and wine a bit on the high side for gastro pub but very good fish choices. Caravan parking and camp site next door

Lovely food, well presented. Attentive staff.

Lovely garden with duck pond. Very nicely refurbed interior. A bit pricey. Camping field. Food looks good but there was a 90 minute wait on a quiet bank holiday afternoon. Update Sep 2023. Gastropub vibe. There was a wedding on so no food for the hoi-polloi for a few hours on a Sat afternoon.

A country pub with a great reputation and this reputation is well-deserved. As one of a dozen aging bikers we rolled in to the car park and were greeted warmly in the bar - ordered drinks and some food and settled into a nice spot in the front garden. A very relaxing time in quality surroundings.

We were recommended this restaurant by our Airbnb. The food was fantastic, we had lovely starters and then we got the fish special which was huge! A special mention to our waiter, Harry, who was incredibly attentive and made great suggestions throughout the evening. Wish we lived closer so we could visit more regularly!