The Old Vine Cousley Wood in Wealden

Rustic pub in a great location that is a bit tired…

After a recommendation from a website we decided to go for an early Friday evening dinner.. I wish I’d stayed at home chucked some chips in the oven and poured a load of bbq sauce over some chicken and saved myself £60 This pub has everything you could possibly wish for on the outside and really could be an absolute gem in the village. Unfortunately the first conversation at the bar with some work men I over hear is them discussing which sauna they would like to spend their Friday evening in and how much they would pay for a “brass” clearly the bar man felt awkward about this conversation and I don’t believe that reflects fairly on the normal clientele. Anyway - we ordered some food - squid to start, it came out so quickly it nearly beat me back to the table. Some pre made slaw, some calamari rings fresh out of the packet with a dollop of chilli jam out the jar on top. The mains arrived shortly after and were on a par - chicken Caesar salad, swimming in sauce. BBQ chicken swimming in sauce, oven cooked chips and yup! More slaw with a dollop of chilli jam on top. Not to mention the chef sat out the back of the kitchen chain smoking. As I said, has all the potential to be a great village pub. Sadly it failed this evening.

A very atmospheric place, we had lunch here, everything was very tasty.

What a lovely place, very good fixed price lunch menu. Lovely atmosphere of a proper village pub

Perfect stop-off whilst doing a Bewl circular. Lovely pints and food. Good atmosphere most times I've been in. Staff young and friendly.

I've known the Old Vine for years. It's been through a number of owners and its stock has risen or fallen depending on who is running it. It's a pretty typical Sussex Weald pub. We're not exactly short of mediaeval or Tudor buildings and this one has charm and character and has been brought up to date very sympathetically so it's both cosy and bright. The beer is generally pretty good. They try to put on local breweries regularly. But I hadn't eaten there in a while until earlier this week. It's pretty much exactly what I want from a pub kitchen even if I rarely dare hope for it. The menu is just the right mix of familiar and adventurous but rather than over-promise and under-deliver the kitchen seems to focus on just getting it right. Fish and chips is normally a pretty good benchmark. Everyone known how it should be but loads of places do it poorly. The Old Vine was up there with the best. The fishcake in cream and white wine sauce was a hit and the steak sandwich was done perfectly. At £21.95 for two starter and mains it's good value by local standards and the quality of the food served. The pub offers a la carte as well. Worth booking weekends but otherwise it's generally not as busy as it deserves to be. Give it a whirl. I'd be surprised if you were disappointed

We stopped for dinner after a day out. I had the Nut Roast and it was bad. The whole meal was tired. The nut roast was burnt all around it's edges (and I mean black) so I could only eat half of it. The Yorkshire pudding was overcooked and burnt so instead of it being how it should be - soft in places contrasted with crunchiness this had been cooked for so long it's composition had changed and it didn't resemble a Yorkshire pudding at all. The whole dish was too salty. A small thing, I know, but it was served on a black plate. Bright coloured food should only be served on a black plate - not a roast where most of the colour of the food is brown. Brown gravy on a black plate - really off putting. The nut roast and Yorkshire pudding had been cooked for lunchtime and by the time I had it it was way past it's best. I don't know who made the decision to send out burnt food. We paid fine dining prices for a very poor meal

Friendly owners, homely atmosphere, super fresh pints...quality

Lunch ... service and welcome, excellent Atmosphere and dog friendly excellent Helpfulness excellent Whitebait really good Fish and chips probably worst ever...oil needs changing plus overcooked meant dark brown batter was barely edible and some of the chips were so hard you couldn't get a fork in them

First visit to the dog friendly pub, very welcoming, friendly staff, had fish and chips, ate it was polite as with friends not nice overcooked chips and batter, oil might of needed a change, some chips could not get fork into, shame as was looking forward to it. Really nice apple sorbet.

Lovely place to stop for a couple of refreshing pints on a hot day. Friendly landlady 🙂

The four of us really enjoyed our meal. Delicious good .Excellent service.Good value.Pleasant atmosphere Will be returning again soon.

Not welcoming food not great would of thought good country pub but walked in amd made to feel really out of place and very un welcomed shame as living in the village won't be returning

Good atmosphere, and a nice buzz with friendly staff, I hope after quite a few proprietors in the last few years it settles down. As a coeliac, the pub needs to offer more gluten free beer, other than just peroni (and we don't always want to drink cider) There are two breweries nearby, Lakedown and The Gun Brewery who do great gluten free beer options and sell to local establishments too. I would go to their taprooms in preference because of this.

Great place to stop for like lunch, warm welcome, nice food and good selection of drinks.

We went there on two occasions as we were staying at the Blue Cap Farm campsite. Really lovely and friendly staff who helped us get a taxi on a Sunday! Very tasty and generous portions for Sunday Roast. Also very clean loos. A great pub.

Great to see this place open again...and thriving... really great staff and good food

Excellent food, service and very reasonable prices. Will be visiting again!

My wife and I went for lunch here. The food and the service were out of this world. Highly recommend.

Food was alright, Large portions for starters. Service was bit slow for drinks. But no major issues.

Amazing service, under new management and the food is exquisite. I have tried nearly everything on the menu and am yet to be disappointed! Caters to allergies and chef is happy to alter dishes to suit lactose.

Lovle staff delicious food highly recommending.

Food was good. Rear garden area needs more furniture and a tidy up. Staff very friendly

Lovely little pub with great food and a wonderful atmosphere. I booked this for a large group of 23 and felt very well looked after. We used it for a buffet lunch lunch and a three course dinner - all delicious. They accommodated all of our various dietary requirements without a hitch. I would highly recommend either for food or just popping in for a drink. Lovely friendly staff, I would 100% go back again!

Our 1st visit as wanted to find a pub with a sunny beer garden to enjoy an afternoon with friends. Lovely pub, beautiful building and a garden to enjoy the summer sun. Service was good and the food looked great. We will definitely have to try the menu next time.

What can I said food was a amazing. The stuff was lovely and helpful. And beautiful place. And you can also take you dog x

Lovely country pub ! Food and drink excellent ! Give it a try !

Be very careful parking here. We came here for a nice enough lunch. There were only two others cars parked outside - otherwise empty. We did not notice that we need to display a ticket and got a ticket. I tried calling the pub, and and the lady took down the details of our lunch bookings and she’d she’ll fix it but did not. Couldn’t get through after that despite repeated attempts. Just paid a £170 fine…

Really open till 3am with noone in the pub and you told all of us you were shutting at 10pm so stop lieing

Booked a table for Boxing Day. My family came down from London but when we arrived the pub was shut. No response to messages. Avoid.

Had a lovely Christmas lunch. The staff were brilliant. Thanks.

Decided to go out for Sunday lunch and have been wanting to visit the old vine since it returned to being a pub again and my wife used to be the head chef there and was interested to know what it’s like now . First of all we received a very warm and friendly welcome with drinks bought to the table for us and had some doughballs with a garlic dip appetiser which was very nice and for our mains I had roast pork and my wife had roast beef and it was lovely and cooked beautifully and plenty of it and everything was home prepared The pork was tender with a beautiful crackling , lovely roast potatoes, parsnips, 3 more veg cauliflower cheese and a lovely gravy with apple sauce . My wife’s just as good with beautifully cooked tender beef . Lovely service too We will be back

l called into this pub/restaurant early evening on Saturday 19th November with 3 friends after a sporting event. After a period of being closed we were pleasantly surprised that the bar was open with the restaurant running a new menu that was available, this had new items and some old favourites - with a bias to Italian cooking. We had drinks then went onto ordering food, the calamari and mozzarella starters were promptly served and were very tasty, the mains consisted of 2 lamb shanks and 2 fillet mignon, all well cooked as requested and well presented . All in all a very nice relaxed drinks and eating experience.

Very enjoyable meal! A great fusion of traditional, home cooked pub food and authentic italian gives plenty of choice. Dog friendly and a cosy atmosphere with the open fire :)

Very enjoyable Sunday lunch. Delicious roast, very friendly service. So glad it's reverted back to a pub again.

Staff are really friendly and welcoming, even let us pop in for a drink when they weren't yet open. Went back the next night for food. Pizza was excellent and pasta was delicious! Definitely recommend. Thank you!

as you wrote earlier, they helped Ukrainians. But how did you help? Without paying us a salary. And do not respond to messages in the mail.

Fantastic pub after a long walk through the Weald countryside. Staff were warm and welcoming and we enjoyed a lovely lunch in the garden. First class! Thank you!

Came for lunch and the staff and food were lovely! Beautiful place.

Had a lovely roast dinner this afternoon and then went back for the football (31/7/22) thank you for your lovely hospitality really nice people. Zoë and Mark

We met with visiting French family for a reunion lunch at this country pub. The beer was OK, but the poor waitress got the order wrong and brought two extra drinks that were unwanted. The food however was d i a b o l i c a l, clearly the menu is a work of creative writing. We all (6) ordered the Double Steak Burger....... Burgers were poor quality meat 'patties' (the type you get from those mobile food vans). The patties were only cooked from one side (top side to trick the eye perhaps?), the underside had barely touched the grill. The fillings were sad to say the least, some skimpy lettuce two slices of white onion , some grated cheddar and some chopped tiny tomatoes (clearly run out of beefsteak tomatoes), and along with a mound of chips, the charge was £18!! Disgraceful to say the least, could have had better at a truckers stop-over!! Of the six in our party only one ate the lot (person who chose this pub!), all others hardly touched their food and mine went back as it was served. The waitress )did not even bother to ask why we had not touched the food when clearing the table (she was very nice but had zero waitressing skills, because when you see the food returned intact - by most - you would expected to be asked why you did not eat it). That is all I have to say. Needless perhaps to say that we are NEVER going there again, as for recommendation to anyone considering going, I can only say read the reviews (clearly widely contrasting opinions) and make your own choice.

Lovely old pub though recently decorated. Still olde worlde but brighter & more inviting. Without even asking I was often tastings of different roses when I asked for the driest. Both were delicious. My fussy beer drinking husband said the ale was perfectly kept. Food great & large portions. So friendly. Will definitely return.

My family has been coming to the Old Vine for decades, but this week was our first visit since the Latin American restaurant moved out - we are thrilled to see that the old pub is back. The menu has many delicious options to choose from - mostly traditional, but with a few tapas-inspired selections - and the staff were very friendly and helpful. Our food was delicious and we had a fantastic evening enjoying a beloved family favourite and chatting with the new owners. It's wonderful to see an old pub returned to the village. Thank you, Elaine and Mike!

Been before and was excellent..a few problems this time ..but he ho ...hope next time will be better ...Good luck to everyone there ....

I visited the Old Vine where l was welcomed by very friendly staff Elaine and Mike.I had a very good meal while being entertained by live music. I also stayed in one of the light and airy bedrooms with breakfast . Will definitely be going there again.

Was recommended this pub by our friends who visited last year but I think it may have changed hands since then! Ordered drinks and the poor waitress didn’t seem to know what tonic water was in my gin, so not a great start as she out lemonade in it which then ran out. Ordered our food and one of the starters wasn’t available due to food shortage then one of the mains wasn’t available for the same reason which couldn’t be helped I’m sure but they should have mentioned this before we ordered. Starter never did arrive just the mains which you couldn’t fault which was good. Ordered dessert but again the waitress didn’t know what cheesecake was but we ordered that and Eton Mess which was literally two scoops of ice cream and strawberry sauce not a piece of fresh fruit in sight for £8 which is a little steep! Bill arrived with the missing starter on it but they sorted this out quickly. Sorry guys but I won’t be returning.

Kleiner Pup,gemütlich, mit live 🎶

Love the atmosphere and the owner is always there to talk to. Very friendly staff. Food delicious and even have rooms available should you wish to spend the night. Have music on certain evenings.

Full of character.. very friendly staff and locals. Dogs are most welcome. Intimate music events!

Went here for a meal Sunday- delicious roast dinner. Hidden gem of a pub

Lovely people and delicious food.

Thankyou Elaine and staff today on a very busy Mothers Day. We had a lovely meal the sea bass was very tasty and the roast delicious especially the venison. Thankyou again. Dee&Ted

Staff nice but could only smell fried fish

Customer service was shocking we had asked for a high chair upon booking but they didn't have one spare when we arrived, after 30 minutes of waiting for menus I went and asked for them but they had no menus to give us and didnt have a childrens menu to offer, When we finally got menus 10 mins after asking we had all chosen to be told they only have roast chicken left off the whole menu. There was no acknowledgement when at the bar just a totally horrible experience.

Had a fantastic night here , great friendly atmosphere with a live band , The food was excellent, I understand they have a new Chef, will definitely be back with the family, All the staff were friendly , a little gem of a pub in Kent.

Land lady cons the tax system. Underpaying staff every month but not actually on a PAYE

We had a really delicious Sunday roast here this weekend, the roast pork was divine! And they have cosy sheepskin rugs on seats now which adds that little bit of extra comfort. Lovely big log fire.

Saturday afternoon, full to bursting with people and dogs. Friendly staff, good service, nice country pub atmosphere.

Friendly local pub. Good burger and pizzas. Nice log fire.

Nice music on the Thursday I went and generally it was a nice pub. I thought the food didn't quite live up to the ambience or price though.

We popped in for a meal on our way to a holiday. We took our dog with us too and he was made very welcome! I had the turkey with all of the trimmings, my wife had a cheese baguette with chips. The food was amazing, the turkey really did come with all of trimmings and the portion was very generous! The chips were probably the best I've had. The staff were so friendly and welcoming, they were very nice to our dog (and even gave him some turkey too)! All in all, a really lovely place that I would highly recommend. We'll certainly be going back (hopefully on our way home)!

Wow, such a lovely evening we had tonight at the Old Vine, my wife had haddock rissoto with poached egg and I had fresh skate wing with new potatoes and green beans probably the best iv had. We will definitely be back. Very warm and welcoming cosy feel thoroughly enjoyed, The chapel down was an added bonus to such a great evening.

A really depressing evening. What a rip off! We waited nearly half an hour for a menu and the food took over an hour to arrive. We had steak which was a special that night and stupidly didn’t ask the price – it wasn’t on the menu. A very small steak cost £30!! A cherry pie looked bought in and came with what tasted like tinned custard. A cheese board was sent back as brie and stilton were unripe and all cheese very cold. We mentioned this to the manager/owner who seemed completely uninterested. Will not be going again.

Nice pub with good food and friendly staff.