The House Café At Stanmer House in Brighton and Hove

We attended Stanmer House for our family pre-Christmas get-together on Sunday 17 December 2023. At the time of booking we were unaware that the date we had chosen was a 'special' Christmas event with a fixed menu of 2 courses for £38 and 3 courses for £45 (£20 for children for a non-Christmassy offering of nuggets, mac & cheese or spagetti bolognaise). I had contacted the venue prior to our visit to ask whether there was any possibility of a one course option for members of our party who were elderly or wishing to have a smaller meal due to ill-health. No response was received and when I asked on arrival I was firmly told that it was a fixed menu and there was no other option. The fixed menu was essentially was their usual menu, i.e. Sunday roast and starter/desserts, no frills, not even a Christmas cracker. Throughout our visit we continually needed to ask waiting staff for clean glasses at arrival, cutlery and items listed as included on the 'special menu' (eg, coffee). The menu also mentioned that bread & butter would be served with the meal, but this neither appeared and we couldn't quite understand which course this was meant to be served with. Members of our party repeatedly went to the bar to order drinks for themselves as the customer service was almost non-existent other than to take our orders for food and serving the food. When it arrived the coffee was served in a cafteiere with very basic cheap cups (no saucers) and a member of my family had two teaspoons unceremoniously plonked in their cup by a member of the waiting team. It really wasn't very 'special' or Christmassy and certainly not worth the price that was being charged for what felt like a very basic Sunday dinner. Each member of the family had a random serving of different vegetables with no consistency (I as the only vegetarian had no sprouts and each person had something different). Finally it took three attempts to request the bill and to be honest we really wouldn't recommend or come to Stanmer House again due to the poor customer service.

Lovely food and friendly(ish) staff, but appallingly managed by people who don't care about even basic customer service. Last month I tried to book online but the system was seemingly glitching. Phoned 3 times at different times. Each time asked to leave voicemail. Turns out was closed for entire weekend - they just couldn't be bothered to mention this on their website, booking app or phone. So much wasted time! Just tried again today. Website not connecting. Phone number given is a mobile phone(!) Goes straight to voicemail. Voicemail message is the default message for individuals so you could be ringing your gran. No certainty it is even them one is calling. Crashingly amateurish. They clearly don't care. When I ate there recently the service was mostly friendly, but utterly disorganised. A great location and good chefs, but desperately in need of a real manager and not the person(s) currently pretending to manage.

Perfect place to go for a Sunday Roast. Delicious food & super friendly staff. The roast potatoes were my fave :).

Beautiful atmosphere. Elegant manner and wonderful service. The food was amazing. Thank you to the helpful staff.

My recent visit to Stanmer House in Brighton for their Sunday roast fell short of expectations. Despite a few positives, the overall service and attention to detail left much to be desired. From the start, our order was mishandled. Incorrect food was served, and even after requesting a correction, the replacement dish arrived with errors. Addressing the matter with the staff, we were disappointed to find that we were still charged for the vegetables that were tasted on a meal that was returned! This lack of consideration for the customer's experience was disheartening. Furthermore, the service was sluggish, leaving us frustrated. The staff seemed overwhelmed and unable to keep up with customer demands, worsening the overall experience. On a positive note, the roast pork stood out as a highlight. However, the same level of quality was not maintained across other dishes we tried. Additionally, our attempts to contact the establishment through email have gone unanswered, magnifying our disappointment and frustration. In conclusion, our visit to Stanmer House for the Sunday roast was a waste of time and money. The mishandled orders, mix-up with tables, billing issues, and slow service demonstrated a clear disregard for attention to detail and customer satisfaction. While the roast pork was commendable, it couldn't salvage the overall subpar dining experience. It was terrible! I sincerely hope that Stanmer House takes customer feedback seriously and improves their service for future customers as the setting could be really lovely!

I’ve emailed 3 times and rang 5 times to no avail. The phone is constantly busy and no emails replies to over a week. They take a deposit but how do you get it back if no one is there to communicate with?

Had a great lunch cooked by Russell Tisbury at Stanmer House on Coronation Sunday. Food was delicious and the staff were extremely helpful and attentive. Would definitely recommend to anyone for a top Sunday roast in a lovely setting.

Sunday lunch, food very good but let down by slow service. Table booked for 2.30, we expected it to be busy on Easter Sunday BUT on arrival we stood waiting for 10 minutes until someone checked us in and showed us to our table ( several staff walked past and knew we were there). Once seated no one came to take drinks orders, after 20 minutes we asked two staff if we could order drinks, it took another 20 minutes until they were brought to us at 3.10pm. We ordered our food at the same time as we weren’t confident anyone would come back to the table. Food was very tasty, compliments to the Chef, but we didn’t stay to have desserts or another drink due to the slow service. We asked for the service charge to be removed from the bill since it was below standard. The serving staff were all polite but it seemed like a good manager is needed to improve service. We were visiting family in the area and sadly won’t be returning here next time we visit.

A fabulous Sunday lunch for my birthday with family , Excellent food ,very attentive pleasant staff nothing was too much trouble. Set in the beautiful Stanmer Park, We shall be back ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Stanmer House is set in a beautiful park next to the ridiculously pretty Stanmer village. We were on a walk when we came across it. It’s a restored stately home, very nicely done from what I could see. The very tall waitress who served us was really helpful, professional and proactive. There were a good number of options on the menu and the we all enjoyed the food. The outside garden area as well is a really pleasant place to be. Nice place, great staff, good food.

I hired a room in Stanmer House at the end of August for a memorial afternoon tea for my mother, who loved Stanmer Park. It was a lovely bright room with doors opening onto the garden and just right for the occasion. James, the manager, and his team were friendly and very helpful and nothing was too much trouble. The teas were very good with a selection of good quality sandwiches, scones, with plenty of cream and jam, and also petit fours. All who attended thought it was a lovely occasion and enjoyed the tea and being in the room. Mum would have approved.

Ordered 2 Afternoon Teas value £30 also extra Ham sandwich and Onion Rings. Onion Rings came no problem, Teas arrived on one server tray, 8 quarter sandwiches, 4 Scones very thin (advertised plain or Sultana) not asked got Cherry sandwiches included Ham n Mustard but when asked NO mustard, also 8 mini cakes NO Macaroons as advertised, had to ask twice where extra sandwich was also had to ask for pot of tea as advertised, really poor value for price and bad service, will stay well clear in future

Lovely setting, but.....Not sure how they could have made an egg mayo and cress sandwiches taste so horrid. It had no cress, but this didnt really matter. The mayonnaise/salad cream was horrid, the egg tastetless and blue band margarine?. Sorry you need better quality eggs (perhaps free range) better mayo, no marg, and dont forget the cress. My friends cheese and tom wasnt much better. Better bread too. Thank goodness we didnt go for the main meals. Chips ok.

Have eaten here a few times over the past ten years. The place used to serve great food and the service was decent. Went today with the kids and waited for an hour for the kids food to arrive, our food having arrived half an hour before. The waitress had said there would be a twenty minute wait, although maybe more… fair enough, I didn’t mind waiting the half hour for ours. But then asked a couple of times about the kids food (a bacon bap and kids fish and chips), the waitress was friendly and apologetic and when the kids food finally arrived she said they would refund the kids meals. We asked at the counter as directed by the waitress and the manager was totally unhelpful and reused to honor the refund saying we could give the kids food back and he’d refund the money. I’m pretty patient and would have just shrugged it off but the food was terrible too, sadly. The club sandwich was served on cheap white burnt bread, the chicken looked like it had been deep fried multiple times and was the texture of an old leather boot. My halloumi burger was ok, but more the kind of food you’d expect at a greasy spoon, soggy iceberg lettuce & tomato, deep fried (refried halloumi) in a white bun with some chips, that had visited the fryer more than a few times. Again, I’m not super fussy but when you’re paying gastropub prices (nearly £12 for a halloumi burger), you hope for better. Especially in Brighton where there’s so much good food available for much less.

Visited today reminiscing of happy times spent with friends and to celebrate best friends heavenly birthday. Well the only good thing about it was the wine and company. Didn’t bode well when the sandwiches were just passed across the bar still in its cellophane wrapper. I had to ask for a plate!! Then the said sandwich had mould on it! Replacement sandwich was served on dry, less than fresh bread and skimpiest of filling. Oh Stanmer House what’s happened to your staffs customer service, attention to detail and quality food???????????

What a nice surprise, we were in the park and found out the Stanmer House Café served roast lunch so we went in and I am so glad that we did! The roast beef was perfectly pink just how it should be (so many places...

2nd time been over charged here! The lady serving simply said ‘ well it comes up as a different price in the till’ no offer to rectify or even offer something extra to make up for it. Then as I walked away she muttered ‘oh...

Had fish and chips and lasagna. Straight out of the freezer. Cheapest cash and carry stuff with no skill or imagination. Garden looking nice though and deserves better!

Expensive Poor service….overworked, understaffed & very customer NOT friendly. Closed very early…16:00