The Friars Oak in Mid Sussex

We went for brunch with Santa this morning, the staff and Santa were amazing, our daughter even received a free gift. We often come here for dinner and roasts, the food has always been brilliant.

I’ve been going to the Friars Oak for about 8yrs on and off. I have found of late the service is awful. Waiting so long for everything. The staff are very pleasant but having to wait so long to even get a drink is so annoying. I have decided not to go back.

Excellent meal, friendly staff, great atmosphere.

Excellent food, perfectly cooked steaks. Log fires, attentive staff, nothing is too much bother. It's got a lovely Christmas feel at the moment. We've always had a nice welcome and never had a bad meal. Thank you.

Lovely food and staff were extremely helpful and quick with serving drinks.

Great time, reasonably priced, lovely atmosphere, the tables don't feel crowded, everywhere has its own private space

Had a lovely meal here I had the pork and my partner had the sea bass and it was delicious

Good food, good service, nice atmosphere.

Nice venue. However service was very slow. We arrived for our booked table, at 12.30, which was in the lower half of the pub. Lots of empty tables. We were seated and asked what drinks we wanted. The drinks arrived. After a while we were asked for our meal options. We then wanted and waited, before food finally arrived an hour later. The venue was also cold enough for me to have to wear my coat, until I requested that the radiator behind me was actually turned on. The food was good when it did finally turn up, but I doubt I will return.

Frequent customer so it obviously ticks lots of boxes for me. Nice surroundings and warm feel to it Service always on point. Food generally good and varied menu. Nice range of beers and lagers.

The best Sunday roast I've had in a long while. Healthy portions, beautifully cooked and as good a gravy as I've ever tasted. However, we had to wait over an hour for the main course to arrive and 45 mins for dessert. Worth the wait, but pushed our patience, and those of the diners around us.

Food was delicious but sad to see they’ve reduced the sizes of the portions since the new menu has come out. Staff are friendly but didn’t know how to use the Vintage Inn App so didn’t get my coupon. Other than this, really enjoyed the food and service.

Had Sunday Roast here recently.The lamb and beef roasts were excellent. Generous portions, perfectly cooked meat. Potatoes were a bit soft. Roasted veg good too. Hot food and hot plates. Quite expensive. All roasts came in at over £22. Good ambience, lovely comfortable area, very dog friendly too. Service a bit slow, but it was very busy. Would return.

Nice atmosphere and tasty food. Good service.

Food was okay. Service was good. Very long wait times. Won’t be back again

First experience of Sunday lunch at The Friars Oak. Really impressed, food and presentation was excellent. The staff did a brilliant job, nothing was too much trouble so hats off to them. We'll be back.

Came down for the quiz, lovely food great selection of beers, the servers were very welcoming and attentive

Our sever Bella was so friendly and gave some lovely recommendations an asset to your restaurant. Food was superb

I've lived near this pub for a couple of years but never visited due to the limited vegan options, particularly for kids. It's definitely improved but you'd want to like butternut squash! It features on the vegan starter, two mains and wrap. The festive and Sunday menu (both the same), also have a squash starter and main. There is also a rather pricey veg curry that doesn't have it. Whilst there is an extra charge to add chicken to it on the set menu, this isn't reflected in the regular menu where the price is the same. Despite the squash prevalence, the chickpea squash burger was surprisingly good and makes a change from fake meat, and the chips were freshly made. The pub has a nice ambiance and great service. Hopefully there might be some alternative (not all squash!!) options in future, and some non-dairy ice cream (not sorbet) would be great.

This pub is a work Friday lunchtime favourite and we head there every Friday at 13:00pm for our lunchtime pint to finish off the week.

Nice place, good staff and food , nice place for a Sunday out

Lovely country pub with great service and delicious food....need more of the potatoes on the roast, roasted

Very enjoyable meal. No pressure for table. Nice relaxed atmosphere. Kebab skewers were very good

Had sunday lunch - for was OK. Service was good.

Lovely place, great staff and delicious food!

Lovely evening here with great menu choices. Had quite a wait between our starters and mains which was disappointing but our lovely waitress Bella kept us informed and was very apologetic which made a difference. Will return.

The service was great. Unfortunately, that’s where the good news ended. Both my partner and I can 100% genuinely say that’s the worst food we have ever been served. My sandwich was a hot drip beef brisket that was clearly several days old. It was dry and the bread was stale and comprised of 2 incredibly small end pieces. My partner had a Margherita pizza which instantly tasted like cleaning fluid and her triple cooked chips were raw in the middle, which would suggest they weren’t triple cooked. The food was inedible and we sent it back immediately and then left. It is by far the worst meal we’ve ever had. I would never recommend this establishment.

The Friars Oak was a great finding. We ordered the lamp rump, which was tender and very tasty. The portions are fairly ok, although the cauliflower cheese was quite small. The atmosphere is very cosy, but the waiting times were quite long. We waited over 30 minutes for the food. Other than that, it was a great experience. If you are not in a rush, this is a nice spot.

If you're the sort of person that marvels in a long wait for food to arrive, bags a thrill from paying £15 for a bowl of leaves (oh sorry, plus 7 lentils) or seeks the illusive greasy film over your pudding, I would highly recommend the friars oak......Go on, you know you want too

Visited for a celebration, staff are very welcoming and helpful. It was slightly confusing when roasts were served as a gap on all plates. It wasn't until the last one was delivered that we were told the remaining vegetables would be coming separately. The portion of veg for 3 people was quite small, and carrots were slightly undercooked and very crunchy. Parsnips were soggy. Yorkshire puddings were hot and miss in terms of cooked through. I had lamb, which was quite pink in places, leaving it very chewy. The roast potatoes, however, were lush. I noticed others complained about parts of their meals but that was only in our section and not just mains. There are dog water bowls and treats for your four-legged companion, of which we had one. Overall I would say that we had a reasonably good experience, and if the food had been a bit better it would've got a higher overall score. The atmosphere is very nice and the pub is also very clean and well lit.

Lovely food and fresh veggies. Service was a little slow but overall very good and will visit again

First visit back here for us in a long time. A quiet Monday lunchtime so not busy at all. We were both very pleasantly surprised with the food, both of us taking from the set lunch menu. Starters and mains well sized, presented nicely and very tasty. I doubt it will be so long before we are back.

My favourite pub for food. Every time I go it's good

Food was delicious. Just love the feeling of the place

Wonderful! We popped in to have a look after the refurbishment. I had the cod gujion wrap, with chips and lime and chilli tartare sauce, my grandmother had the melt in the middle salmon cakes. Gorgeous. Very reasonable prices and the food was to die for, tasted fresh as though they'd caught it this morning. Coffee was delicious and they catered for my lactose intolerance with ease, also we got 3 cups out of a teapot of earl grey (served with lemon of course!). The interior is done with skill and finished to a high quality whilst retaining the original features of oak beams, I could quite happily sit here and relax with a book all day!

My friends and I had a lovely time grabbing lunch at The Friars Oak. The menu featured a wide array of options, including Halloumi Fries, Calamari, Chorizo, Flatbread and Beetroot Dip and Cajun Fries (all of which comprised our order). The food came quickly, and was all cooked to perfection and well priced. For the above dishes and 4 coffees, our order totalled around £37. We will certainly be returning to try other options on the menu that caught our eye!

1 1/4 between corses cold staters not great

We had a family gathering here after a funeral and it was perfect. Thank you.

We went for lunch on a Saturday with family. Food was really nice. Service was good. No complaints!

Brilliant experience with good food

Went for a family meal on a Monday lunch time. Service was very slow mainly because there seemed to be a lack of staff. Only 3 people appeared to be covering the whole restaurant. Ordered our food and after waiting ages (we were not the only ones waiting ages) asked what had happened to it. It then suddenly appeared, it had obviously been sitting under the hot lamps as the plates were very hot and the food dry on top. Had a beer (Hophead) but that was flat. All in all disappointed with the place, I don't blame you the staff as they were doing their best. Obviously a management issue.

Food was excellent and the staff were very excellent too. Helped with all queries in a polite and efficient manner. Nice to see staff that are obviously enjoying their employment. You must be congratulated for making their place of work very satisfactory

Went to celebrate Granddaughter and son-in-laws birthdays Booked in party of 7 for 7pm waited to be seated then ordered starters and mains waited about 20 mins for starters finished starters and then waited for main course 9.10 still waiting Service was terrible so cancelled meal and left . Will a long time before we return if ever No apology just shoulder shrugs

Really nice place and good food and service

Excellent service and excellent food I eould definitely recommend to my friends

Service and atmosphere was exceptional. I was comfortable and throughly enjoyed the food.

Slow service in a empty restaurant, 2 and a half hours to have a meal and dessert ,no more than 4-5 tables to serve so were hardly busy. Food was average,lacked flavour and seasoning, over priced for what it was. Dessert took 30 minutes from ordering to arrive which consisted of a sticky toffee pudding and 3 scoops of ice-cream, good job we weren't in a rush! Food out of stock ,wanted pizza and garlic bread,neither of which was available due to a dough shortage apparently, not sure why a chef can't make an easy dough recipe???? Wouldn't be in a hurry to go back!

First time we have been to this pub and so glad we stopped off for dinner while travelling through the area, the service and food was amazing and the pub was so dog friendly, loads of dog's in the pub and friendly people who love dogs our little pooch was spoilt with kindness and strokes ,staff was amazing 👏

Sadly, the worst meal i have had in a long time. The pub is all very "style over substance" with a fancy app which you can order through, sadly the food does not match the modern tech. We had to wait nearly an hour and a half for 2 main meals, after going to enquire where our food was after 45 minutes we were told it would be ready in the next 10 minutes. We waited and waited and then after 1 hour 15 minutes i asked again, at this point they said they were sorry and offered us a complimentary pudding, it would have been better to offer a couple of free drinks as we had to purchase 2 rounds just while waiting for dinner! When the food finally arrived i would have hoped they would have made sure it was really spot on but the chicken burger tasted like it had been in the fryer for the entire time i had been waiting, it was dry and virtually inedible and the fishcakes tasted very cheap and were cold. Unsurprisingly we did not take the option of a free pudding and left after our meal. We would definitely not go back.

Great food. Sunday roast was delicious

Very efficient service with a smile and amazing roast turkey and lamb with a side of cauliflower cheese. Very generous portion size. Lamb nicely and rare with soft yet crunchy veggies. Splendid gravy! Lovely dessert, a little on the £££ side but still very good. Cheese could do with a little relish to compliment. Would definitely recommend and be very happy to return.

The best I have had in a long long time.

Great food and service. Lovely airy restaurant.

Really nice pub friendly staff, only had a drink so can’t comment. lovely beer garden on a nice sunny day would definitely recommend

Excellent service and wonderful food

Food could be better, reading curry very dry overwhelmed by the amount of rice, the prawn skewers once shells removed there was little left

Staff were lovely and the food was great. Not too pricey and very good value

Nicest place to eat that we found in our stay in Burgess Hill.

Great meal,great service, would reccommend.

We had conservatory area for my sons wedding meal and drinks, it all went smoothly polite fast service😁👍nothing was too much trouble

Really great service throughout and very welcoming with our dog joining us too. The food was also delicious!

I went here twice, once with a friend and I was not impressed with the food. It was very expensive for what it was. I went the second time for a work lunch. I thoroughly enjoyed my food. I had a salad with chicken breast. It tasted amazing. Shortly after, I ordered that same salad to be delivered to my home address. It was dreadful. There was barely any chicken, the salad was flung in a cardboard box. Not a container. The box was dripping wet. It was inedible. The partner ordered a burger which also arrived in a box and they forgot to put it in a bun.

Sadly, it's a very slow service today. Had to leave the free app dessert today. Had to return to work.

Lovely pub. Delicious, great quality food cooked to perfection. Great choice of drinks. Friendly and helpful staff. Plenty of parking.

Thanks to Hannah and the team for a lovely lunch shared with my friends. A really nice pub with food food choices.

Nice place. Staff can't do enough for you. Food is good.

Lovely lovely place, staff are very friendly and the food is amazing. Visit this place when down from Newcastle visiting my girlfriend as much as possible. Keep up the good work girl's.

Lovely Sunday roast, friendly staff and great service as always and Buddy loved his puppacino 🐶

Family get together from Leicestershire, Worcestershire and Newhaven enjoyed a lovely meal at Friars Oak 7th June. Great service by Lucas and the food prepared by Mark was brilliant. Highly recommended and hope to visit again. David

Really lovely meal and such nice staff, cauli cheese and unlimited gravy just makes the roast! Ashame the vouchers don't say they have to brew for 24 hours before you can use them, but was so good we didn't mind, will be back, hopefully while vouchers still valid, knowing marketing though probably won't

Very disappointed it's the worse sandwich I've ever had ,for almost £12

We arrived at 6.30pm for dinner and had a nice seat by the open window, as it was a warm day. Our drinks orders were taken, including water to the table. 20/25 mins later, the waitress finally came back but said that there was a wait on drinks! Not her fault obviously.. But, no water to the table while we waited. She took our food order, which is weird without having a drink to sip whilst looking at the menu.. She then appeared with drinks that had infact been made and were waiting on the bar! Food then took until 7.30 to arrive (we arrived at 6.30). The table next to us ordered and had their food within 10/15 mins... Outside was fairly busy, so I can only imagine that the pub was low staffed. No one came during our meal to ask if it was OK. When we finished, we decided NOT to order desert for fear of waiting another 30 mins, so the pub missed put on that. We waited 10 mins for plates to be acknowledged/cleared but in the end, we called the waitress over for the bill. Again, more waiting, so we settled up at the bar and left. Went via Waitrose for a dessert as this was my Birthday meal, on my Birthday. Real shame as we have been to The Friars Oak many times and I normally recommend. Possibly, allowing diners to book the patio tables would allow you to monitor demand during warm weather. There is zero point in booking an inside table if the pub can not cope with these booking's... I HATE to complain, but this visit was just not great... Really sorry!

Your chef needs to be reviewed as the whole restaurant was waiting for their food and making complaints about the length of wait to receive it. I waited half an hour for my lunch before I was told that it wasn't available because the chef didn't notify the staff that it wasn't available. Your manager on the other hand was exceptionally calm in this difficult situation where she was apologizing to almost every table for the 30 minute plus wait for food. You should be proud to have such a profession person running your establishment, she was amazing!!

Great sitting in the sun watching the classic truck and cars

Really lovely lunch with great service. So nice to find quality and value served with a smile!

What a great place we both had the Garlic And Mint lamb shish utterly stunning food with triple fried chips, great table in a lovely place and made my wife’s birthday really enjoyable.

Run out of the starters we wanted and one main course, took hour to get food, meat was cold, wrong side order,coffee arrived before puddings, had to wait ages for puddings, then more coffee turned up but no puddings. They asked if we had ordered puddings twice, no, ordered up at desk and then waiter came and we told him what we had ordered, he seemed to reorder it for some reason. Always enjoyed visiting but not rushing to go back. There was 3 of us, we were taking friend out for her birthday and it was so disappointing. Oh and no stuffing on one of the roasts!

Came here for a birthday lunch today. . We had a lovely young man called Lucas who served us. He is worth his weight in gold. Thank you. All the other staff were good too .

Great atmosphere and family friendly good location and plenty of parking space really enjoyed our family occasion .

The Sunday roast was absolutely amazing, puddings to die for. staff were brilliant,

Lovely atmosphere. Good food good service.

Not to bad, but wouldn't rush to head back. The food is VERY expensive. Nice, spacious beer garden which on a sunny day is definitely a perk. Just off the main road so keep an eye out for the turning. Service is not too bad, friendly enough, but weighed down by way too many customers. The establishment's clearly adopted a strategy of cramming as many people in as possible but not got the staff to cater. Nothing against the staff, it's a strategy issue. All in all, ok but not sensational. And avoid on Sunday's like the plague!! Rammed with 'Sunday lunchers'. Unless you're having a Sunday lunch.

Burgers are great and it’s nice when you have lunch and coupon specials throughout the year

Didn't enjoy our food. It was overpriced and underwhelming. Staff was more interested in their chats than customers and it felt uncomfortable to ask them anything.

I have always enjoyed my visits in the past. This time however it was very disappointing. Our drinks order was requested too soon, we had hardly sat down. They then took 20 minutes to arrive. All the staff were scruffy. The price of food had increased excessively. The fixed menu of two courses is the same as The Ivy at £19.95. My usual lovelyfish cajes were mostly mash and hardly tasted of fish. We had the mini puddings with hot drinks, the coffee were cold by the thectime the puddings arrived, for which £15:taken off bill. The rug on the floor was recovered in stains. Not difficult to replace. Not a good visit.

Had such a lovely Sunday lunch at the Friars after a ramble on the old golf course opposite with our doggo. Staff were lovely, food was good - pork crackling was sooo crispy - and I enjoyed having the trio of roast option. Dog also enjoyed the free treats! Definitely one of the best pubs around. Interior is really nice so does feel more special than just your average pub.

Absolutely fantastic place. Sammy was an awesome waitress too she should get a bonus. Have the House Burger it's the best burger I've ever had.

Don't be put off by a slightly unkempt exterior. Inside you will be pleasantly surprised.

Amazing roast! Plenty of extra gravy. Super tender pork belly and extra crispy crackling.

Excellent service staff very nice and helpful the food was excellent more than plentiful serving . Very relaxed atmosphere. My husband and I had the roast was so good and nice you had a side dish of vegetables. Thought maybe some things on menu a little over priced but overall value for money. Everything cooked just right. Deffinately go back again. Thank you Rachel and chef mark

Staff were friendly and efficient. Food was good and service was timely

A very nice pub located out of town so not too busy. Had some bar snacks but there was a lot of the menu not available. The food we did have was very nice. A wide drink range is available and will be back in the future to delve into their main menu

We were a large booking with children and the pub was so accommodating! We had dinner in a beautiful back room that meant the toddler especially was able to roam around and not disturb anyone! The food was delicious, and service was fab! They even sang happy birthday to the baby! Special thanks to the kitchen as it was a large order with a variety of items that we hadn’t pre-ordered!

Lovely beer garden, dog & child safe (fenced), no food when I went (kitchen closed), enough beers etc to choose from.

Laura, who looked after us this evening, was a fabulous host. The food was, as usual, delicious with hearty portions. It’s a beautiful venue and the rear section where we were seated was nice and quiet. All the staff are always very friendly and give a warm welcome.

Loved it here. They’re full cooked English is the best thing ever

The food that we received was really well made and tasted delicious. However, quite a lot of our order was missing, so unfortunately, we didn't have quite the meal we had originally planned for Mother's Day!

We love this pub as the staff are friendly and professional and the food has always been great with an excellent large garden. We particularly like how dog friendly it is.

Had the perfect Sunday Lunch with great food, great service and great atmosphere.

Service was wonderful , we weren’t rushed to eat and run! Food was excellent . The two ladies serving worked so hard, plus a lovely smile on their faces !!