The Gardeners Arms in Adur

I feel really bad having to write this review because looking at past reviews most diners had a positive experience. There were four of us and we all belong to local groups and were interested to find out if the Gardeners could be a possible venue for about 25 people for the Christmas meal etc for some of the groups so we went with a very positive attitude. We arrived promptly at 12.30pm to be shown our table. We were all very impressed with the room. It was sparkling clean and spacious and loved the wall colour and it’s so much better without the dividing doors. The tables were well spaced out and well planned. Our waitress arrived and took our drinks order but her knowledge was unfortunately lacking as far as knowing what was available. When asked what was on draught she didn’t know, I asked if they did an elderflower and she said they did then came back and said they didn’t. The drinks were delivered one at a time. We asked for the menu only to be told they were already on the table. We all thought they were placemats! It would have been nice to have been told that the menus were on the table. We were not asked if there were any allergy issues. A very serious error. Two chose the Tomato and Basil soup and one the Prawn Cocktail. The starters were prompt coming with the soup being delivered but it was a cream colour! When she came back with the Prawn Cocktail we asked about the soup and another waitress told us it was Butternut Squash and Sweet Potato. As it was it was very nice and tasty but if someone was allergic to one of the ingredients it could have had repercussions and our forth diner would have ordered this as she can’t eat tomatoes. After we had finished our starters we waited over an hour for our mains. One ordered the Chicken Roast and three ordered the Mixed Meat Roast. After an hour we asked why it was taking so long as diners after us were being served. We were told it was because we had starters. When the meals arrived in all fairness we should have sent them back. They looked dreadful nothing like the illustration on the website. The food was served stack style. The vegetables were like a frozen mix of mange tout peas and very thin carrots plus one walnut size roast potato hidden in the middle. It looked dreadful. The meat was tasteless, I never did find the lamb, a tiny piece of pork that tasted of nothing and a huge thin slice of beef folded over on the top. This was tough and full of sinnews and again not flavour at all. It came with the gravy poured over, not in a jug so you had the choice. No accompanying condiments to complement the differed meats brought out but were asked did we want anything. The Roast Chicken was overcooked and dry with the drumstick inedible. A cauliflower cheese was brought separately but instead of florets in a sauce it was a large head of cauliflower that you had to prise off a portion but it was tasty. I personally like to see what I am eating not be presented with a roast dinner that was a mess with the meat on top and a large Yorkshire pudding on the top of that but had fallen off and was on the side. At £18 I expect a roast dinner with either vegetables served in dishes or at least placed on the plate individually. Very disappointing and will certainly not be going back for the Sunday Roast but we liked the pub and may well try the Tapas night. The staff were friendly and helpful but poorly trained.

Can not express how delicious the Ham was. Really wasn't expecting it to be so good. Melt in the mouth, tasty sweet glaze. Amazing. Friendly staff, very helpful. We will definitely recommend to our friends and family

I had my late Husband reception at Gardiners arms they were truly amazing the food was fantastic and they could not do enough for.me Thank you so much for making the day so special

Had a fabulous Sunday lunch today. 4 of us. We were treated so well. The service was excellent. Food was excellent and the atmosphere was relaxed and homely. A lovely traditional pub with a very warm reception from the landlord. We will be back xx

Pub didn't look terribly exciting...would have been nice to have a garden to eat in. But the food was really tasty & well cooked. The bar lady/ waitress was most obliging and friendly. A good find as we didn't know the area and it was a half-way point meet up with family.

Great place nice food and staff

Walk out into some excellent live music. Real bonus for our evening out.

Awesome little pub. Like stepping back in time a little.

My dad used to come here with the Sompting footy club, he loved it and I can see why, the environment is brilliant and everyone is friendly as from the bar staff to the complete strangers, the service is top notch and the staff are always polite and accommodating but also know how to have a laugh, and the food is top tier quality pub food, genuinely a really amazing place and I’ve made so many mates that I wouldn’t have before

This pub is amazing, the staff are superb and experts at their jobs makes the whole atmosphere and environment friendly and have honestly never been to another pub that makes you feel so welcome! The food is to die for and so much option from main meals to picky bits to have with a drink. Would 1000% recommend for a Good Friday night dance or sing along and staff are always sure to stop the music and loud noises at 11pm once again never seen a pub to be so on it, it’s great!! But also the weds night quizzes really bring a big crowd and is lots of fun xx

Have loved every moment I’ve spent at this pub. The food is always beyond expectation, the staff are always on hand to provide a top service for all their customers and, along with all pub goers, makes anyone who walks inside feel like a member of one tight-knit family. I haven’t felt so welcome anywhere else.

Love this pub there’s not a better local around, the staff are all so friendly and the atmosphere is always what you need. The food is 10/10 and the prices are ridiculously cheap for the insane quality. Can’t think of a better place to spend my Friday night or any other night for that point x

My son fell into the pit of eternal damnation in the restrooms of this establishment and I have not seen him for 3 months!!! 1 star!! PLEASE FIND MY SON

lovely atmosphere of an evening at this pub and most times i attend this pub. love the staff who are always friendly and welcoming. toilet facilities are good with very good services and cleanliness throughout. parking is efficient and motorbike friendly. just a shame neighbours have complained with our motorbike engines being too loud when we leave! which we always do try to keep quiet when possible but we do have to let our engines warm up. this sometimes does put a downer on our great evenings here at the pub but other than that great service and food and love the outdoor heating a tv supplied i enjoy coming here 😁

The chef will come out of the kitchen and have a full on melt down at you for starting a vehicle as she deem it dangerous.

Great pub good people,good food, great staff.

Had a fantastic Sunday roast with all the trimmings, delish! Also dog friendly and the toilets are in an old railway carriage, cool!

Love a bit of Big Char. Sorts me everytime

We had the Sunday roast. The food was amazing, good sized portions, and at a very reasonable price. Not expensive. The pub wasn't particularly busy, so it was a very relaxed experience. I can thorough recommend a Sunday roast here. Parking was not a problem either.

Horrible pub. Loud, rude and disrespectful is a polite way to describe this pub! This pub is the perfect place for bike heads and car meets. Most nights of the week, up until past midnight, you will hear revving, up and down the streets. And guests shouting in the car park. You will not find good food, or affordable pints. Instead, you will find intoxicated drivers and anti social behaviour.

Only popped in because car broke down, staff very helpful, food was great, I will be calling back

Only called In because car broke down,very helpful staff and manager , misses had food and loved it, now I know its there we'll be going back.

Lovely pub with excellent, fast and friendly service. Update - had a FANTASTIC roast dinner in here. As always, the service was peerless - particularly the two people working in the restaurant bit. A beer in the garden after which was also flippin' good.

Great pub with great outside space

Finally tried the Tapas, which is served Thursday to saturday, we had heard such good things about it. 4 of us picked 3 dishes each which were £15.00 for 3 and we were not disappointed. The food was amazing with great flavours and there was plenty of it. If you go try the beef cheeks they are so tender and delicious as was the pork belly. Maz the chef is so passionate about her cooking and you can taste that in her food. We will all be going back and trying other dishes that we didn't try tonight. Also there was a live band that started at 9 so it wad nice to stay after our meal and listen to them. Neil the landlord has worked really hard getting our village pub back to how it should be and he is doing a great job.

A very quaint pub with a nice atmosphere and the gentleman behind the bar was very social and took being on the job very seriously.

A great family pub , glad I got lost.

This pub has lots of potential, in all - an ok but frustrating experience for a Sunday. The service needs alot of work - the girl attending the restaurant spent lots of time with her back to the restaurant at the bar to generally not being proactive with the tables. To start, we had to go an ask a member of staff if we could order drinks after being seated for a while without anyone attending, these drinks had to be chased and arrived after our starter did. Our starters took a while to come though, when arrived some of the breaded garlic mushrooms were fridge cold. The mains were really big and the veg was good, however the lamb was quite chewy. The cauliflower cheese was the best cauliflower cheese we had tasted! Desserts arrived promptly however, 1 out of 2 desserts were incorrect. We were not told that the dessert we had pre ordered (so assumed they would order enough) had run out. My partner was served with apple crumble and custard and only then told the food we had pre ordered had run out. Paying the bill was another frustrating mission, they got the bill wrong for the table next to us and then after waiting far far too to get someone's attention to just pay and leave - we were also served an incorrect bill which was fixed but just another annoying aspect. Such a shame as we were told weeks prior how good the meal was. A nice pub to drink at but food service needs some work.

Wow!! This place is actually unbelievable!! It’s like going back in time, where value for money, good food, good staff, friendly staff, amazing atmosphere, pub raffles, pub games are brought back to the table… it’s just like the good old days, before it was £8 for a pint of lager and £9 for a glass of wine…. So nice to take the whole family out here, come home happy, and not feel like you’ve been completely ripped off! We will never go anywhere else on a Sunday. Great place to spend the afternoon and the food is amazing. Very very highly recommended

Went for Lunch on Sunday 10th December 2023 and had a great meal, it was tasty home cooked food and there was plenty to eat on the plate, cauliflower cheese was delicious and I don’t normally eat cauliflower. The staff were amazing and joined in when my son decided he was going to start a game of charades, we all had a great time. Local pubs like this should be supported as once they’ve gone, they are not replaced. Well done

It smells a bit of mould but is clean. It's an old fashioned pub, which is fine, but could do with a lick of paint. It all felt like it was stuck in the 1970s. Friendly service, good range of beers. Unfortunately the food wasn't great. I had a roast Xmas meal. The green beans were grey, the parsnips were virtually raw and the whole thing tasted of washing up liquid - I think wahing up liquid had tainted the gravy.

Wow! Chose for a special meal out for 4 based on the reviews on here (we even booked). Reviews suggest the food is "second to none"... think you need to get out more! We were the only ones ordering food in the pub on a Saturday...45 minutes later... over cooked frozen battered fish... cold peas... home cooked burger that I would think unacceptable if I cooked it at home... bread with no butter... Seriously.... to say this is very basic food on a very basic menu is being extremely generous. DON'T EAT HERE!

Friendly staff and other customers

What a great turnaround for this lovely little village pub, great food and atmosphere, loved the nibbles on the bar Sunday lunchtime. Best Roast I've had in quite some time and great price too. Keep it up, we will be back 😋

Lovely pub, lovely landlord. Very friendly service. Highly recommended

Met Kat and team this weekend at this lovely pub! Never had food there due to other arrangements so cant put any feedback there but suspect its good! Nice pint of Guinness if thats your thing, local ales and regular lagers on tap. Great space, bar billiards table, and (clean) loos in an old train carriage !! Hope to return soon when next down that way :-)

Lovely meal, and friendly staff, some drinks were not available, but was not a problem

Had lunch there today, good food and service. Nice atmosphere. Will return

Absolutely brilliant nite Friday with drag with no name

Steve and Kat has opened since Christmas. A bit of a spruce, log fire, billiards, darts, Wednesday quiz, lovely roast dinners on Sundays (yum, yum!) and other days new food menu coming soon. London Pride Harvey’s Best Sussex, Guinness, Birra Moretti and cider with the usual brand spirits and wine. Use it or lose it. This is one of those lovely welcoming traditional pubs and in the middle of Sompting village with lovely people and I would highly recommend a visit!

Great service, good atmosphere enjoyable

always love a visit to the Gardeners, Maggie and her staff give a lovely welcome, good beer good wine, good food and a cosy place to rest .

Nice little pub, cosy with a warm welcome. A true local.

Great pub Great food Thanks for dad's birthday party

Lovely food all home cooked, staff fantastic very friendly,helpful and attentive, felt a very homely place. Looking forward to going again. 😋😋😘💯

Very friendly pub great sitting outside on the decking in the sun.

Awesome roast dinner in a great village pub/ restaurant

Great atmosphere, friendly staff and landlady.......

Hi just pop into Gardeners Arms for a pint first time since lock down still have friendly staff and locals.We have had the Sunday Roast before its lovely food good value

Very reasonable price, great sunny Sunday roast, friendly staff.

Its one of the best place to go to I go there and the people are really nice

Very friendly lovely atmosphere

Grubby old pub and grumpy staff. I'm sympathetic to their situation but still expect a pleasant experience when I go for a Sunday walk and a pint.

Friendly staff. Lovely roast. Excellent desserts.

Not worth going to any pub right now unless it is to eat.

Disgusted by the way the locals treated a gentleman today just because he sneezed. I DO NOT recomend going there, rude local customers and staff did nothing to stop the disgraceful attitude of their locals towards other customers.

Lovely atmosphere, super good, a very comfy pub

Lovely little pub and the staff are lovely and beautiful xx

Had dinner with my wife , 3 kids and MA on our way to a friend's house food was excellent as was the service the place could do with a little updating , but that's all part of the charm of the place definitely go back again !!!

Lovely staff but could do with a refurb.

This is a good pub. Good beer, food and people, the fire in winter is very welcome! Car parking is pretty good although the decor is a little throw back to the 70s.

Lovely little original ol' boozer country style...locals are friendly....good reasonably priced food,children made to feel welcome....only a few ales on tap but who cares when they have the Harvey's! Five stars

Old time pub with traditional pub people. Excellent food piping hot and freshly cooked. Great selection of beers.

Amazing food and service also well priced

Basic food at a reasonable price. I had cottage pie and it came with 5 different vegetable simply boiled. Nice gravy!

Great atmosphere. Lovely home cooked food. Reasonably priced. Well worth a visit.

A great village local, catering for people who want to eat and others who want a good place for a drink and to meet up with other locals,great atmosphere some evenings with lots of friendly /cheeky banter, one of my altime favourite pubs!

Very friendly and pleasant place

Great old style pub wi th h regulars and great bar staff reccomend

A lovely pub where you always feel welcome. The food is excellent and reasonably priced, it's always clean and the regulars there are always ready to help.

Great little pub that serves up some of the best home cooked food in the area book if you are going on a sunday for lunch as it will be very busy

One of the best Sunday roasts in Worthing and great value for money

Nice Ambience and good food! All they need now is a pianist.......!

Lovely traditional pub with a good selection of beers and ales. Good Sunday roasts too and a great pub quiz on a Tuesday evening.

Food was ok-ish atmosphere was a little bit like the slaughtered lamb just without the werewolf and nobody knew how to smile,

Only sandwiches available for lunch today but they were very nice

Usual chain pub. Uninterested staff poor range of drinks. Excellent setting nice gardens.

Sunday lunch with friends and family. Pub roast.

Didn't see any gardeners arms but loads of plumbers had their arses hanging out.

Very old world and friendly. Very pleasant little pub

We love this pub. It's a proper locals pub where everyone has an opinion on everything. The staff are magnificent and the is a good selection of beers. And the food is second to none.

Fantastic place Great atmosphere Highly recommended

Had a very good real ale here, a traditional pub, dog friendly

Lovely food, all freshly cooked and locally sourced. Family run and very friendly

Really friendly pub that serves good food.

Lovely friendly pub and good food for all

Traditional pub great atmosphere good home cooked food

Friendly local. Proper country pub

Friendly staff, good value and great beers.

Good value for money. Friendly staff, family friendly. Great choice of food and Beer.

Fantastic pub. Real ales, proper pub, friendly and efficient bar staff. A real find.

The best pub locally, excellent food and a friendly atmosphere

Nice typical local. A bit odd that when last orders are called at 23:50 when the advertised closing time is midnight I am refused service at 23:56 approx! (Well before time is due to be called.)

was really quiet when we went but had a nice querky atmosphere

I don't go here often but when I do it's always welcoming, nice log fire in one corner, friendly staff & good food. Nice village pub with good atmosphere. What else can I say?

We all love it in here! Our ages are 30's through to 60's but it has something for us all. We drive down and park in the great size car park or enjoy a nice walk for half an hour. It's lovely and welcoming with the fire in the winter and has a lovely decking area for the summer. The staff are lovely and Mick and Maggie great landlords working hard and have done a brilliant job of resurrecting the pub. The pub quiz is fun, the food lovely, the sunday roasts divine. We've been in on nights when their is cribbage club and when musicians are getting together to play. We really do love it!

Great Atmosphere great bar staff great couple, well done Mick and Maggie

Clean and tidy but rather 'working class' and frequented by chain smokers which spoils the sun verandah as you don't want to sit and eat surrounded by nicotine addicts or I don't anyway as it ruins my food and everything.