The Holly Bush pub in Waverley

The Holly Bush is a cozy and welcoming spot with beautiful cottage-style décor that makes you feel right at home. The staff were lovely and seated us quickly, setting the tone for a great experience. The food was the real highlight—we started with whitebait and halloumi sticks, both perfectly cooked and full of flavor. For mains, we had a burger and fish cakes, and both were 10/10. The drinks were great too, and the warm atmosphere just made us want to stay longer. A fantastic place for a meal—we’ll definitely be back!

Food very expensive, one chicken breast no accompaniment, vegetables, rice, potatoes or anything, £18 on its own, thought very overpriced for what it was

The Holly Bush is a fantastic experience. The pub is situated in a peaceful countryside setting and offers a cozy atmosphere with its vintage decor and distressed walls. The staff were friendly and attentive, and the food and drinks were delicious. I highly recommend making a reservation on weekends as it tends to get busy. Overall, a great spot if you are in the area for a relaxed and enjoyable evening!

Really nice place, lovely atmosphere, hope to go again for food one time. Staff cannot be faulted. Fab xx

Lovely pub great ambiance, eclectic in a good way. Good selection of wines by the glass, food is good, nice place to meet up and have a meal.

Welcoming and relaxing environment. Staff were attentive and helpful. We asked about the dark chocolate and apricot cake which we’d been told about. The lady said if we phoned and told them we were coming in on a certain day, she’d ask for one to be made! We’ll be back very soon - my daughter said it was ledgendary!

Didn't have food and was only here when it was quiet so have to be neutral on atmosphere, but I liked the pub, nice wood burner, nice decor and the bar staff very friendly.

Lovely, stylish pub with the best staff. Great coffee. A bit disappointed that the kitchen wouldn’t bend to make a simple egg on toast, but still. I love it there, it’s my favourite place for morning breakfast.

Magnificent Sunday lunch. Never seen so much beautifully rare roast beef on a plate, with all the trimmings and a giant portion of cauliflower cheese on the side. Extra gravy and horseradish ordered and brought in seconds. Best pub in the area by a mile.

The Holly Bush, Frensham – A Mixed Experience We recently visited The Holly Bush in Frensham based on a recommendation. The pub makes a great first impression with its charming exterior, and the staff were welcoming and friendly throughout our visit. The venue features two distinct bar areas: one is cosy and inviting, complete with an open fire, while the other, located in the barn section, feels a little less atmospheric but still pleasant. Unfortunately, we were disappointed to learn upon arrival that the cosy side required prior booking, a detail that wasn’t mentioned when we initially made our reservation. The food was enjoyable, though the experience was let down slightly by a few minor inconveniences: there was no Guinness available, and the coffee machines were turned off early, meaning we couldn’t end our meal with a coffee. Overall, the atmosphere was relaxed, and while the visit had its flaws, it left us open to giving The Holly Bush another chance in the future. It’s a nice spot, but a few tweaks could really elevate the experience.

A quality venue with outstanding breakfasts! It was hard leaving and not sampling the cakes. Really friendly and well worth a visit

Great friendly service and considering they were fully booked, very accommodating. Highly recommend the cake

Excellent food, good service, seating inside and out and very dog friendly. Add smoked salmon to the smashed avocado. Delicious.

Amazing place and amazing people.

Very disappointing new menu - very over priced, a small lamb burger that used to come with a very nice Lental salad and or fries now you have to buy separately a very small salad £7 making the burger option very expensive! Not good will think twice about visiting!

Great grub, great service. Would recommend the nachos and the confit duck in particular! Also has a relaxed and cosy atmosphere.

I don't want to join in a pile-on but, as others have mentioned, this lovely place needs to rethink its recent changes. We've been coming here for years; the food has always been amazing and the staff delightful. When we arrived recently though, we were asked the dreaded question: 'Do you know about our new menu concept?' We did not. The new menu concept as it turns out, is small plates of odd food at very high prices. £7.50 for a plate of broccoli for instance. A similar price for three ham and potato croquettes. Three cubes of grilled fish for something like £11? I could go on. Gone are the kinds of basics you find in most gastro-pubs – a simple burger, a salad main, etc. Replaced by the most random tiny expensive dishes. Anyway, someone tell me when it's over and common sense returns to the Holly Bush. We won't be returning until it's safe.

I can’t add more to the recent reviews- this was a favourite but the new menu is awful and well overpriced. The only good value item was the kids lamb burger which was £7 cheaper than the adult burger but the same size! Very disappointing and a waste of money - nice to see our friends though!

There was a warm atmosphere in the dining room. The service was good. Food was nicely prepared and tasted delicious. I had the Guinness tart which I really enjoyed. I think it's a bit off having to order vegetables separately and that they are not included in the main dish. Otherwise, an enjoyable lunch.

This used to be the best pub in the area with good food at a reasonable price and always busy. With the Introduction of the new menu style this place a no longer the case. Very small portions at an exorbitant price, 2 lamb chops for £20 and then you have to buy sides for at least £6/7 a pop and the waiting staff recommend 1/2 sides per person! A sneaky underhand way of making you part with over £30 for an underwhelming meal. Please bring back the old menu.

Came here after a walk in Frensham country park. The main reason was they are doggy friendly and for good Google reviews. We weren’t very hungry so had some small plates to share. They were really tasty especially the crostini with chorizo, fig, goats curd and honey on top. Oh my lord, it’s so delicious and I’m still thinking about. I might need to visit again just for this.

It's totally underwhelming. Food average, cold, and the menu is a mish mash of tiny portions. Cake ok , coffee average but worse of al the incense burning. Definitely will mot return and a total waste of money. Go to the Blue bell pub only five minutes away instead

Whoever this Caroline weeks lady is (who left the previous 1 star review) may have reviewed the wrong pub. The staff here are always friendly and helpful—maybe she was just being a ****. To quote her 2023 review, “resonating the same energy,” I think this perfectly sums up that if you’re friendly to bar staff (or any human, really), they’ll be friendly back. And if you are going to say that it is a “truly lovely pub with lovely food and a great large beer garden” why leave a 1-star review that hurts a small business, just because someone mirrored your own rudeness? Anyway, less of my personal philosophy on how to be polite to people… Great pub, great food, great staff—5/5

I am updating my review from a year ago. I had a terrible experience last year in this pub, but I thought I would go back and give it another go.This is a truly lovely pub with lovely food and a great large beer garden. Almost all the staff are lovely and very friendly BUT this pub still employ this very grumpy, over privileged young lad who lets the whole place down ..lazy, grumpy, rude! We ordered brekky and they gave me my baked eggs covered with cheese ( cheese ingredient was not on menu so was not expected) I explained I can't eat cheese. This lad offered no apology! Told me it would be at least 20mins but the place was almost empty?? Very few people. (1030 am) After 25mins when my husband and friend had finished their brekky I was still waiting! My friend went in to enquire and she was told to wait 10mins by this very rude lad and then she was told he had forgotten to reorder..big smirk on his face!. We cancelled my order and we just paid for the food we had . I am not sure why a pub would employ such a rude person especially as all other staff are so lovely. I can only think there is a family connection and they have to employ him! May 2023 review: Lovely pub, great garden but it's always about the staff and service! Lovely walk today with a friend..stopped at the Hollybush for a nice drink. staff seemed distracted (told me they were all drinking wine (which I thought was unusual as bar staff don't usually drink, do they?) But it was was very quiet ( 5.30pm/Closes at 6pm) . Bought some drinks and asked for some salt and vinegar nuts . The nuts were very sweet which was odd so I asked for some alternative non sweet nuts, nothing available and told by the very rude young man that they were fine?. I asked him to taste them..he told me he had a nut allergy but assured me they were fine! I asked for my money back. He argued with me , was very rude, insisted on showing me the bag with the description, and I asked him why he was being so grumpy (clearly he had a bad day) .. and he told me he was resonating the same energy?? What does that even mean? Shame. Nice pub and often go there for a drink but when you source most of your bar staff with very young people with no direction/no training or indeed any manners, I guess they go rogue and forget all about customer service .

Amazing vegetarian sharing tasting menu. This food was so much better than we have ever had in a pub. Great and different flavours and superb value.

Popped in for lunch. Loved the food, reasonably priced for great quality and portions. My two kids cleared thier plates. Staff were helpful and friendly aswell.

Breakfast was very small filling half a plate and very expensive for what I got

Poor service and slow , and breakfast is small no butter no sauce ,

This was again the perfect venue to bring my grandsons (16 years and 11 years) to. All four of us enjoyed our meals. Both boys ate everything on their well filled plates. Our waitress was kind and attentive. We are grateful to the Holly Bush for this venue.

Hidden gem. Top level food. Cut above normal gastro pub fare.

Family meal, food delicious, service good

Too expensive for average quality food. London prices on drinks too. Its my local but rarely go as prefer other further away options. £28 for steak and chips!!!!

Lovely food, maybe they could have more choice

Food is really good, standard menu + changes & special new dishes are rotated to try; well made cocktails & they welcome dogs or reserve our favourite tables. My perfect spot for a quality outing. It won’t be cheap but well worth it. Book ahead. We’ve been many times never disappointed

Great pub excellent food and staff are so friendly

Went for Sunday roast with friends, don't know how they do their roast potatoes and veg but they are superb. Excellent all round, and good service too.

Lovely place to catch up with friends

4 of us enjoyed a delicious Sunday roast accompanied by our 2 dogs. The staff were very friendly. Plenty of room for us all at our table.

Fantastic pub with really lovely food and great service !

Nice place and staff. The food is ok; had a burger and chips, which was £18 and the chips were quite greasy.

Great food in a comfortable atmosphere

This was a last minute decision by my wife and myself to pop in for lunch to one of our favourite local pubs and as usual we were warmly welcomed and very well looked after. Our meals were delicious and the service was excellent. Thank you so much to Alex who looked after us. We shall definitely be back!

Wow what delicious food! The portions were enormous and all of us said how tasty everything was. The atmosphere is so cosy and welcoming and the staff are super attentive. Just loved every minute. Would absolutely recommend, this is a gem of a place.

A fresh take on the Surrey Gastro pub with excellent food and lively atmosphere. The decor is shabby chic, but with their own twist, creating a cosy and cool place to eat. Music is turned up and upbeat, but not intrusive. In fact, it creates privacy between tables. The young staff gets it right and are relaxed but efficient. My rare sirloin was excellent and cooked just right. My wife's linguine was al dente and very tasty.

Ordered two bowls of soap, which arrived late (20 mins), cold. Asked for new, hot soap, after waiting another 10 mins, walked out. Pub was quiet, so no excuses.

Only came in for dessert after a disappointing meal somewhere else. Very impressed by the crumble of the day and the ice cream. Nice energy to the place.

Best pub food I've had in and around Farnham. Lovely staff and atmosphere.

My Burger wasn't good and very dry. Beer was well kept. Everything is very expensive.

Stunning food. The burger was fresh, flavourful, perfectly seasoned, and chips that were crisp with a fluffiness inside -perfect. Also had the soup of the day which was freshly made tomato. 😋 just beautiful with a perfect accompanying focata bread and parmigiano. My labrador was quite happy to be there, too. Definitely recommended!

Had a lovely meal there last night.

Beautiful food, surf and turf sharing platter was delicious and Miso marinated salmon was amazing. Lovely pub with great food!

The best pub in UK!!! Fresh and super tasty food, cozy atmosphere, high level friendly service x

This is one of the best pubs igavebeen to in a long time. Sally the manager found myself and my husband and dog a table and she and the staff could not have been more accomodatong. The food a d service us amazing and we can't wait to go back. A really amazing place thank you so much x x ❤️

Lovely country pub with great staff and great service. The food was excellent but this was only related to cakes we have tried. The full food experience is something I still want to try out next time. And yes it is a place I will come back too.

Staff are fantastic, food was yummmm, very grateful you are just down the road from me

Unfortunately food wasn't great, Tiramisu was disgusting watery as if just bn defrosted. Fries, vegetables & burger good. Chicken burger hard & too spicey. Service slightly rushed but generally very good. A bit too dark in there & draughty from door constantly open & closing. Staff did pull curtain across when asked which was kind of them. Annoying having an automatic gratuity of 12.5% added to bill, I like to decide on my own tip for service. Nice dog friendly village pub.

I have been to the Holly Bush before and found it to be ok. This time I was there with an old friend…the staff were charming and attentive. The pub is cosy and welcoming, my friend chose the duck confit which he declared was very good. I chose crab risotto and it looked every bit like I expected except it had no trace of crab meat in it. I complained, the staff apologised and deducted the price of a glass of wine from the bill. OK but disappointed.

Popped in for a drink, friendly, cosy atmosphere. Lovely village pub.

The staff here are excellent. I love the ambiance. Lovely decor, and a crackling fire. Unfortunately the food was disappointing.

Lovely atmosphere, friendly and chat staff, happy to help and accommodate requests and make suggestions. Never had a bad meal.

The Holly Bush was recommended to me by my daughter. I am so glad she did. Beautiful place and the staff were absolutely lovely. The food was really great too. 5*

Lovely pub, full of character. Great staff and superb food. Will definitely be back!

The pub is OK, decent location and pleasant environment. The food was mixed quality and let down with a very dry chicken burger. Where I had the problem was with the 12.5% service charge that was automatically added at check in. This made my burger cost £20.25 and definately not worth it. They even added the service charge to the drinks I collected from the bar! I know I could ask them to remove the charge but when you are hosting friends you don't want the hassle. I think it's time that service charges should be dropped and the real cost of your meal shown at the time of ordering.

Lovely Sunday afternoon pint, expensive though. Didn't eat - but menu looks fantastic. Friendly staff. Dogs welcome.

Wonderful place with friendly, helpful staff and delightful food. More a community hub than a pub

Lovely food, great menu too. The service was excellent, and the ambiance and decor was lovely . Would thoroughly recommend .

Very nice location, food is good and lovely staff. Spinach side deserves being promoted to starter; it is more than spectacular if you miss mediterranian taste. We will come back for sure 😊

Beautiful setting, great wine selection and dog friendly. Perfect location after a walk round Frensham pond. A gem of the area! Service always friendly, may be a new regular spot!

Always a great place for a drink and/or a meal. Comfortable feel and pleasant surroundings - shabby chic is the decor apparently. Friendly and usually young staff but they always seem to be smiling. Garden at the back and tables out front, and set on an accessible though not busy road.

We’ve been to the HollyBush many times as we are lucky to be local. Love this place, quirky style, great menu options and lovely young staff. Definitely a number one choice for us as a couple, with family or with friends.

Lots of work going on but it still is wonderful

Phenomenal place. Great vibe. Friendly staff. We’ve been a few times and I know that we will return many times more.

Nice food and good selection for drinks. It's a bit pricy, though

Was with a group and stopped for lunch. Food came out promptly and all served at same time. All dishes v.tasty. Staff attentive and v. welcoming. Will definitely return.

Very nice country pub with friendly staff.

Stopped in for a drink and snacks lovely country pub with amazing staff

We walked to the Holly Bush from Rowledge. A beautiful walk and delicious lunch! We'll be back. Lovely atmosphere and friendly, but professional staff.

We chose the holly bush for an evening meal out, as we like the quirky interior, but have previously only popped in for a drink. The food and service were ok, albeit a little slow. However, the reason for 2 stars is they're one of those places that automatically adds 12.5% gratuity. For legal reasons, It's probably stated somewhere in the menu that a gratuity will be automatically added to your bill. However, its probably deliberately printed inconspicuously somewhere on the menu! Why not be up front and bold about this charge, and place a message in bold print at the top of the menu? I'll happily offer a gratuity for great service, but this method of forcing customers to pay more, seems rather clandistine.

WOW what a wonderful pub. Banana bread was the best. Very accommodating and wonderful service

A rare lunch date with the wife ,we decided to revisit the Holly Bush based on good previous experiences. We didn't make a reservation but managed to get a table at the top end of the bar. It took a while for us to be served and the lunch menu was pretty limited and the dishes were quite pricey. I asked if there was a sandwich menu but only a brunch menu. We both ordered the Vegetarian brunch breakfasts. It took a while for the food to arrive. The breakfast is pretty small for £16 and very small pot of baked beans and poached eggs were a little hard. A shame no Avacado added as you are paying quite a bit for small portion. Staff were friendly but I don't like the fact that 12.5 % discretionary service fee is added. The table behind me commented on the quality of the burger priced at £21 which seemed high. It's tough for pubs in this climate but the pricing has got a little steep compared to other comparable establishments in the area. This is our experience and hopefully management acknowledge our feedback.

Food that we had was pretty fresh and nicely cooked. Service was polite but scored low as they were appalling with allergies. Asked 3 times whether the chips had any spices on (and gave a list of what the problem spices were) and was told "no" - even after checking in the kitchen, apparently. 4th time we asked as we weren't confident (!) they showed us the ingredients, and we found they contained paprika and turmeric. Not good. Will give it a miss for a while. Quite limited on vegetarian options, although there were some available.

The Holly Bush has a nice atmosphere with friendly staff. However, it is very expensive for the quality of food that is served. Don't get me wrong the food is not bad, but its definitely not as good as it should be for the price.

Beautiful location and nice pub however the manager was awful never had attitude like it before. Anywhere. We were looking forward to a nice meal as a family and that’s not what we received. We won’t go back which is such a shame but we’ve been a few times now and the food is not great and the service is bad and it’s expensive for bad service. We went in happy and came out in shock of the rudeness and the bad food. Wouldn’t recommend unfortunately.

Not many vegetarian options but the food is good and tastes fresh and the staff are helpful.

Have visited this place a number of times over the years while visiting Frensham. Staff are always very friendly and the pub itself is always confidently busy. Food is always of a high quality year round, with a choice of locally brewed beers available as well.

Our table had been booked for 12 midday for lunch, but when we got there, got seated and started looking at the menus, we were then told that they didn't serve food until 12.30pm. I don't understand why this wasn't made clear when the table was booked. In fact no-one took our order until 12.30pm, and it was 1pm before the food arrived, and one meal had been lost off the order. This didn't arrive until 1.30pm. Not good service!

I didn't know you could go to The Holly Bush for morning coffee and cake. I went with a group of 12 and sat in the large covered outdoor area, which was very comfortable. The staff were very polite and helpful. I had been here for lunch in the past and that was very good as well.

I am a regular customer here at this excellent pub, where the meals are delicious and the service is first class. Recently I enjoyed a very companionable lunch with some cricketing friends from the Surrey Seniors. As usual, everything was tip top and a good time was had by all. Thank you to Sally and all the staff, particularly Helena who was friendly, efficient and highly professional. I shall definitely be back very soon.

Great food and excellent service. Many thanks to the staff, especially Helena, for their warm welcome.

A lovely little pub situated in a nice village. I came with my family and a friend who had been recommended it. It’s very dog friendly which was great and very busy (Sunday lunchtime) which was also a good sign. It’s quite tightly seated but that wasn’t an issue and it felt very comfy. Even though we really enjoyed our meals I have had to go for 4/5 stars as the chap taking my order seemed to have no idea what a vegan was and unfortunately the menu didn’t seem to have any clear vegan options. So I reckon it’s 5/5 for non vegans but I struggled a little and ended up with a falafel burger, although I’m pretty sure it was a brioche bun. Thankfully the vegan police didn’t seem to be on duty at the time but it would have been nice to definitely know there were vegan options. The roast, I heard, was particularly good, especially the gravy.

Really enjoyable lunch. Beautiful venue, great selections attentive staff. Can’t wait to go back. Our two dogs loved it!

I have to confess that when I read some reviews I had doubts about the choice we had made. However, I do feel that those concerns were allayed quite quickly. We made our reservation the day before and our table was ready at the appointed time. Party of 4 with 2 dogs, as one was a pup and his first ever outing to a restaurant, we asked if we could move to the covered area outside; it had warm air heating, and blankets if required. An extra nice touch here was the provision of a fluffy mat for the dogs to lie on and keep themselves occupied with some treats brought from home. A nice selection was available from the menu. We skipped starters and went straight for mains, which were good sized portions and exceptionally well cooked. Followed by desert of Apple Crumble and custard in deep bowls. I didn't want it to end but like all good things, eventually it did. I found the staff to be very welcoming and polite and was impressed that the Manageress took the time to come and chat with us and even petted the dogs. I am glad that we chose to ignore the negativity of some reviewers as we had a thouroghly enjoyable afternoon here and will definitely return again - soon!!

Stopped off for Sunday lunch. Very nice food, couldn’t fault it, possibly the best apple crumble I’ve ever had. Staff were very friendly and on the ball. Dog friendly too! Top stuff.

Caught up with some old mates on a wet day. Gnocchi were delicious.

Great brunch menu. Helpful, friendly and conscientious waiting staff.

Lovely decor and vibe, amazing food!

Attention to detail and very friendly atmosphere.

Our waitress was charming and helpful, reading back our order to make sure she had it correctly written down, but the food that arrived wasn’t what we’d asked for. I mentioned it to her and she apologised but I said I’d eat it anyway (mainly because I didn’t want to wait any longer). Getting the order wrong wasn’t the end of the world, but unfortunately the food was almost inedible. The chicken breast I had ordered had the consistency of a marshmallow which was pretty unpleasant, and everything else on the plate was dripping in oil (despite me asking for the veg to be steamed and without oil/butter). I really want to like this place, and maybe I just ordered badly. But I went home hungry.

Friendly and accommodating staff and delicious food.

My friend and I went for a Saturday lunch in February after a walk around the area. The pub is very well appointed and was packed on a Saturday lunchtime. The staff were very pleasant and the beer well kept. We had reserved a table but were placed next to an outside door and with no other available tables for two we had to put up with the constant blasts of cold air. The prices were on the high side but the food was very good. The small menu (to be welcomed) was interesting and above and beyond the normal pub grub fare. Service charge is added to the bill at 12.5% Would I go again? I would probably wait a bit to save up!