The Pilot Inn in Eastbourne

Went on Saturday night , booked in the Barons room 7.00 ,main bar 5.00 it worked out amazing. Staff great ,food fantastic would highly recommend. Our friends travelled from Croydon ,they will be visiting again very soon

We ate at the Pilot Inn for lunch, what a delight!!!!

I wouldn’t recommend this pub. Went for a few drinks and lunch with friends and was met with some of the rudest and least caring staff. The drinks were over priced and not worth the hassle of talking to staff for.

Another exceptional dining experience. Chloe was amazing, she is a real credit to the Pilot Inn. The food was so tasty, all ordered from the specials board. We can’t wait to return, certainly Halloween was a great fun evening . Thank you Chloe. We can’t wait to return . All the staff are so friendly and welcoming.

I’ve known this pub for decades using it occasionally for a pint. Decided to try it again after a break for a meal with friends, I’ve got to say its the best its ever been, not a gastropub but great meals and its kept its pubby feel in the main bar whilst developing into a restaurant. Loads of investment shows, the back extension feels like you are walking into a country pub, well done you planners and designers, how do you do that? Chloe our server was lovely and I can recommend the steak and guinness pie, with good old fashioned chunks of carrot and potatoes. Beware the pie is filling! The pub is 1 minute from stunning views , its a real asset to our town wish I lived closer and I’d make it our local

Had a fantastic meal tonight, food first class as always! Chloe was looking after us and was exceptional. Highly recommended the Pilot it’s our go to place in Eastbourne.

Such a lovely pub, great food, really delicious, had the ploughman's lunch, very nice. Staff all really pleasant, wish I could pick it up and take it back home with me to Hertfordshire

Unfortunately this wasn’t my first time here where the attitude was poor from people serving me. Certainly won’t be returning now.

Perfect place to hangout with your friends or loved ones on a rainy day, the location is perfect. A must visit even for a cup of coffee.

Best place I've stayed in for a long, long time.

Beautiful pub with lovely rooms to stay in. Great food and all the staff are very friendly. Can't recommend enough!!

A really lovely pub with fabulous food and great staff. Some, but not much, parking. Got there at 12.00am.

Great service and food ,will be back ,thank you

There is nothing bad I could say about this place. Ridiculously good rooms and food. The staff are super awesome and really accommodating. The courtyard is really cool and the whole atmosphere of the place is perfect. Also Bentley the dog is a highlight too!

I loved the Pilot Inn and main one being the staff. The manager at the front desk was very friendly, welcoming and helpful. I had stopped by the Pilot Inn after a beautiful walk from the Seven Sisters visitor centre, and my battery was dead, so they offered to charge my phone for me. I didn’t fancy the walk back, so I had a staff member come and talk me through the bus service back to Seven Sisters. Nothing was too much trouble for any of the staff. They are an assets to this beautiful pub/restaurant/hotel. The venue itself was really nice decor, spacious, nice vibe. And the food was delicious and came out quickly. I fully recommend to everyone.

Nice food, a bit squash together, friendly staff

Lovely staff, delicious food in a great venue

Went hiking from Seaford to Eastbourne and we had our stop at this inn to eat. The food is okay and not too pricey.

Very friendly staff, great food. Wish they dont allow smoking near windows and entrance to the pub😅. We missed out on dressed crab salad.. looked good. Happy with our meal. Recommend booking, as we didn’t and lucky we had the last table.

Great pub and good service. Fantastic outside seating garden.

Hidden on corner but worth a visit Food was good. Quite big inside well decorated. Dog friendly

Fabulous setting. Fabulous pub. Lovely staff. Good choice of Gin! 5 stars for the above. We went for the food. Such good reviews but very disappointed. The chips tasted of old chip oil. Couldn't eat them. Burger was OK. Pasta was box standard cheap dried off the shelf and almost no pesto on it and that was clearly out of a jar? It's not hard to make so why not do it especiallyat the pices you are charging? Would revisit but wouldn't eat unless I was desperate sorry. Not a good look to see kitchen staff out the front smoking every 5 mins.

Fabulous pub with great service and atmosphere. Can't wait to visit again.

Great Pub, Great Staff. However, the Landlord has absolutely no interest in anyone having a good time. In fact, he considers this a nuisance as he believes this gets in the way of the smooth running of his precious restaurant (which is OK, bus nothing special). Regulars and locals seem to be unwelcome, too. Many of whom have started drinking at The Ship up the road. Partly because it's much cheaper, but mostly because of the miserable atmosphere he creates.

Holy 🐖!! What a great roast pork and lamb!

Top quality dining. Beautifully presented. Highly recommend the Sussex Smokie, Ploughman's was great too.

These all are paid ratings, don't go here it's a scam

Great restaurant, good pub, lively place Where friends meet!

Absolutely amazing place! Stayed two nights in the B&B with my partner, ideally suited at the end of the Seaford to Eastbourne Seven Sisters walk. The staff are fantastic, genuinely impressed at how well they worked as a team and communicated so effectively. Great bar with huge selection of drinks, really good range of pub classics done well from the restaurant and the room we stayed in was perfect. Cannot recommend highly enough!

Good pub on the hill, clean rooms and tasty food

What a wonderful little pub, really nice design , lovely garden , fantastic indoors, nice staff too😉👌

- lovely staff - magnificant room - the typical english food We enjoyed our stay. ❤️ Greetings from Belgium! 🇧🇪

Lovely food and friendly staff.

The pilot inn was right next to the apartment we stayed in, so we went there one evening for dinner and drinks. The food was nice and the service friendly. The atmosphere was really lovely as well. We definitely enjoyed our time there.

WOW!! What a find while out on a long Summer stroll around Eastbourne. The place from the outside bathed in sunshine with all the flowers looked So Inviting that we were unable to pass by. The place itself inside was just incredible everywhere i turned there was something else to see. A lovely garden too. We sat down with a perfect Ice Cold Aspall's Cider each. We'd skipped breakfast & were looking for somewhere to eat. The second the wife said Look! There's Ham Egg & Chips on the menu, the food was being ordered!! The wife had a really Top Notch Prawn Cocktail. The owner was a lovely woman & the Blonde lady behind the bar couldn't do enough for us. We were so impressed with the place, the staff, the food & the drinks that we were soon enquiring about staying for our Wedding Anniversary in December. We'll 100% be going back.

Amazing food, friendly staff, and the rooms were really fancy and looked beautiful

The staff were very friendly and a very nice clean pub to visit

Second visit - excellent service, ambiance and food.

Lovely pub with friendly and welcoming staff. The food is amazing and the Guinness is top notch. Nice relaxing atmosphere. Highly recommended

Beautiful rooms, delicious food and super friendly service!

We had lunch here post rock pooling at Holiwell. We took the Dotto along the promenade from the pier and walked up to the Pilot Inn and asked for a table for 11. We got two great spaces in the back garden. Food came quickly and it was delicious! Highly recommend the burger. My mother-in-law had recommended it to us and our whole table listened to her! Great ambience and vibe. Check out the artwork all along the hallways, super lol.

Booked 2 nights on Booking. Com, i then phoned to confirm, spoke to Michaela who then confirmed those dates weren't available, she would ring back, but didn't, so i rang again and was promised a call back, you guessed no call back, so i booked some further dates, rang to confirm, asked to speak to the Manager Lisa, was told she will ring you back, didn't bother to ring me. So cancelled my booking. So beware. dates you think are available are not they can't be bothered to ring you back. There loss, if thats their attitude to new Customers, do you really want to stay there?

A fantastic cozy pub, and the room was also fine. Nice modern bathroom. The food in the pub was delicious. We were able to sit outside on the private terrace.

My review is just of the pub itself not the rooms/accommodation. Recently made my first visit here and can only say categorically 1st class. The food is excellent, the staff very friendly and helpful, other local customers also contribute to a very friendly and relaxed vibe. Pricey, but that's a big plus from my point of view as there was not a single yobbo wannabe anywhere to be seen, just all decent polite friendly people unlike many town centre pubs these days, throughout the UK. The pub is literally just a few hundred yards from the Sth Downs, so is the perfect place to go after a good 2 hour walk up the hills etc.

How have I never been here before, I'm not local but even so. Anyway will be definitely be coming back just my idea of a great pub.

Nice pub with pretty beer garden. Good food though bit of a wait as very busy.

Great food and atmosphere, the staff were very friendly and our food arrived 10 mins after we ordered!

Fantastic food and friendly staff! Beer garden is lovely. Powerful hand dryer in bathroom.

We had lunch here today. Service was excellent. The surroundings are really lovely. But the food tops it off, so good. I had the pie. It was actually a proper pie, none of this in a dish with the pastry missing at the bottom. Served with a choice of potatoes, I had the new potatoes. Also came with a nice selection of veg. My husband had the lemon sole, he said that was really good. The rest of our party had sea bass, a burger and lasagna and there were no complaints from anyone. Good quality, good value, great service. We would definitely come here again. Highly recommend.

Lovely lunch with my parents but my dessert was awful. No taste.

Recommend booking a table for dinner. We popped by on Wednesday evening but didn’t manage to get seats. Made reservation for next day and had a lovely dinner. Definitely recommend the ale pie. Staff is polite and attentive.

Always a great place to stop off after a hike and always brilliant food

After a 5 hour hike, I was in need of refreshments. Stopped here and have to say the staff were really great from the lovely lady on reception helping me to find the number 12 bus and her colleagues. Such a friendly, inviting place Next time we will book for food.

Excellent food and service Rhiannon looked after us well. Some may find restaurant next to garden area a little noisy due to construction but decor good. If car park full free spaces in nearby roads but time limited

Checked the night before our stay and was told that check in was at 3pm. I said not a problem but we would be arriving at 10.30am and parking the car in the car park. I was told that was not possible!!! When we arrived we were told it was ok. When we finally checked in at 8pm, no polite “Good evening” or “ how are you” - all a little curt. Some of the staff need some hospitality training. Room was small but modern. Price of £145 for one night was steep as breakfast was extra.

Personally had a bad experience with my family. In terms of customer service and what it offers is way too expensive. Basics were missing during our dinner.

Best pub food I have ever eaten

This is probably the best pub in Eastbourne, situated in Meads at the foot of Beachy Head. Always a warm welcome, bar staff are excellent but the thing that sets this pub apart from anyone else is the amazing food. Huge portions, freshly prepared and a nice mix of traditional pub food and specials. Have had their Chicken Tarragon recently which was amazing and more recently, a huge pot of Moules Marinere that was better than anything eaten in France! Well done The Pilot team👏👏👏👏

Didn't stay here (although have previously and rooms were lovely) but decided to leave our hotel to dine here and I'm glad we did! Extremely well run with plenty of attentive staff. Very good atmosphere. It was busy but we called ahead and they found two of us a table in the bar with no issue.

The Sunday roast is sublime along with its generous side portion of seasonal vegetables. The waiting staff are warm, friendly and efficient. I would highly recommend a visit if you're in the area.

Really good pub with great food. The interior is amazing. Polite staff. This is the second time I've been here and the steak and Guinness pie was just as good as the first time. Quality. Can get very busy so book a table.

This is probably one of the top five pubs I have ever visited. And I speak as a publican of some 18 years. Super friendly staff, who are always happy to help. Great drinks, superb decor and although I didn't eat on this occasion, both my brother and I are determined to return to sample their Sunday lunch. UPDATE: Well, we did return for lunch but on a Saturday afternoon. My brother, his wife and I booked a table for lunchtime today. My sister in law had a chicken meal with chips, my brother had cod and chips with peas and I had steak and Guinness pie, with mash, red cabbage, carrots and green beans. We all agreed that the quality and quantity were outstanding, my pie was astonishingly tasty and in all honesty it was almost too much...but I soldiered on and managed to finish everything. Meals averaged out at £17.50. Drinks were extra as was coffee. My brother paid for everything and told our waitress that had she not added 10% to the bill, she would have received 15% from him. Astonishing quality fare and I highly recommend booking...but best reserve a table...this place is VERY popular and well supported. A massive recommendation.

Odd experience. We popped in on Saturday morning, doors open, 3 men enjoying drinks at the bar, and a young lady eating at the bar. After waiting for about 5 minutes the young woman explained they weren't open, despite being open to some. She gave some odd excuse about doing the books but we were off by then. Never again, if you want books to do in future I'd try a little harder with the customers that make that this possible.

Had a fantastic stay here this week, stayed for one night, staff were very friendly and atmosphere in the bar was excellent, the room was clean and had all the essentials. Food was some of the best we have ever had, proper heartwarming pub food but such a good standard. Location is excellent, short walk from front, parking is limited though. We will definitely be back.

Stopped for a delicious sunday roast at this friendly pub

Only booked one night but rebooked immediately for a further two nights later this summer. Super accommodation, most amazing food - (steak pie) - friendly and professional service. Highly recommend!

We visited for lunch with a toddler and dog. Friendly service and delicious freshly cooked food. Interesting interior and nice garden area.

Very big portions and all was very good. Definitely would come back.

First time visiting the Pilot today despite living nearby for a few months. We should’ve visited sooner! A 10/10 visit. Staff were very friendly, food and drink were good and, best of all, there’s a lovely resident pub dog called Bentley who was an absolute delight and loved having his belly tickled. 🥰 Will definitely be back!

Beautiful place to come visit this afternoon.... 😍 lovely garden area.... even attracted beautiful wildlife which was lovely to watch from a distance in the beautiful flowers surrounding the garden. Bright and vibrant, Food was absolutely delightful. The pie was the best pie iv had in a long time ! My son loved his mac & cheese and all the staff and customers where very friendly and in aw with him. Spectacular place to spend on a warm almost summer evening...... ☀️ Thank you for having us. 😊

Absolutely fantastic experience in the pub (did not stay in the hotel). Delicious food and cocktails. Really nice and quirky interior. Amazing staff - friendly, helpful, knowledgable, always there when you need them.

Really enjoyable Tuesday drink. Atmosphere relaxed and all staff friendly and attentive.

Great find Excellent food Very friendly welcome and during our stay

Excellent Food and service Highly recommended

Great place. Friendly staff. Food ok to good but getting a bit pricey.

Beautiful place, friendly staff. The decor is amazing! They forgot one of our food orders. Didn't get any money off at the end, or any offer of a free drink/dessert, considering the long wait for the other main. To be honest, what would have made a lot of difference to the experience would be if there had been anything said about the mistake at payment time. But nothing. For such an expensive place, I would have expected better remediation to be honest. If it was wetherspoons it would have been par for the course!

Visited a few times now and food is always good, staff friendly and attentive. Belly pork is a favourite of ours!

Super Super Pub and incredible best food! Very lovely restaurant. Love it. No other comments needed ;-)

Pie and a pint, what's not to like!

Very nice pub with modern, very clean rooms. Food very good and courteous staff. Highly Recommended.

We came here for our Sunday meal, it was beautiful, and the service was great. Very generous portions. Chloe was our waitress, she was very attentive and made sure we had everything we needed, couldn’t fault it. Will definitely return when in the area again. Highly recommend.

Great Sunday lunch for 8. Excellent staff . Great value for money.

Excellent in every respect, especially food beautifully cooked and presented. Pilot is well-regarded in Eastbourne, so safe bet if you're a visitor.

Very nicely decorated pub in Eastbourne. The food was simply fantastic. There is a beautiful and large beer garden. A top address. About 15 minutes walk from the city center.

Was a shame, meeting up with family, booked a table for 10 and they split us up! Meant a lot for us to be together as don't see these relatives often. They then said that they had already told us, which they hadn't. Service slow but waitress was attentive.

Just to say I had a great afternoon and evening at the Pilot Inn. Fantastic pub with great staff. They were attentive, accommodating , friendly and great banter. Please say a special thanks to the bar staff for making the Porn star martini’s and the baby Guinness’s for me and my partner 😄.The food was to die for and at a reasonable price and again the staff were attentive and pleasant. Love the decor in the restaurant and the pub itself. Overall I recommend The Pilot Inn and I’ll be back sooner rather than later and hopefully to book a room as well. Would be nice to sample the full experience. Brad L

Took a day trip to Eastbourne to walk Beachy Head, after a lovely walk I stopped in at The Pilot Inn for a refreshment. Perfectly located and the staff were very helpful and friendly. I was hoping to catch the Grand National and so needed a TV to watch, thankfully a member of staff kindly accommodated me in a busy time and took me to a seat at the bar next to the TV, my apologies I didn't get your name 😕 (long blonde hair and welcoming smile). The drinks were very reasonably priced and served perfectly by the bar staff (apologies I didn't get your name either 😑). A great place, lovely staff and perfectly located. I would recommend to anyone and will certainly go back when I'm in the area again. Thank you Simon & Lisa, and the staff.

Was going have lunch as we saw this earlier, looked very nice but was extremely disappointed. We arrived and were immediately made to feel unwelcome. A staff member was very rude, we left without having eaten due to feeling so uncomfortable. Will not come back.

Nearly always busy but never chaotic.... and as ever the staff were very helpful and welcoming.Thanks again.

Lovely pub, only complaint was portion size of roasts. All of our party thought them a little small for the cost.

Stayed in this lovely pub for 2 nights in a beautiful room that was spotlessly clean. Food here was very good quality and cooked perfectly. Staff were very friendly. Would definitely recommend and stay again

Brilliant pub /restaurant. The barmaid teegan behind the bar was really polite an helpful

A very pleasant evening was ruined by the over aggressive attitude when we raised a query about the sorbet. A polite manner would have been acceptable instead of rushing away to the kitchen to get the tub marked sorbet and then stating that we should have asked if the sorbet was creamy ??!! In over 50 years of dining I have never had to ask this question re sorbet which by its very nature does not normally contain dairy products. It will be very doubtful if we shall return as there are many eating establishments in the town that would have handled our query in a much more affable way.

My Hubbie and I visited yesterday for Lunch for the first time and could see it was very busy...we were greeted by Becky who found us a lovely table by the window even though we had not booked. She said that there may be a wait as the kitchen was busy but should not be too long. It was not too long to wait and the food was lovely 😋 very friendly staff......working under busy conditions....They made us feel welcome and all friendly and helpful. The pub is very warming and although busy with diners I loved that the pub had a very old traditional feel and people can also visit for a drink 🍸 or 2. I did witness a member of staff being spoken to by a group of women at the bar rather rudely and felt she dealt with it professionly and politely. We will definitely return and fully recommend this pub.

Unfortunately my visit today was ruined by the very rude and unpleasant hostess Becky. I have never been spoken to in the way she spoke to me when I asked a simple question as to the availability of a table. This is the last time I will visit or recommend this pub. As someone in the service industry she should have far better customer service

Our fav .. food was really tasty yesterday - roast pork, steak n' guiness pie ...staff are very friendly always accommodating, great service 👍

This place is clearly run by staff that like their jobs. Polite, smiling and very efficient. The atmosphere from the minute we arrived was very warm and welcoming. The rooms were immaculate with a wonderful en suite. The food.... Was worth every penny. I will definitely be returning.

Just spent a week here and have been made to feel most welcome by Lisa and all her team. The room was large and roomy with an amazing in room bath (photo attached). The bathroom was a good size with a walk in rain shower. The decor was modern and clean with a brimming basket of coffee and teas with a kettle and espresso machine also supplied. Breakfast choice was made the night before and, as with all the food served here, was very good and certainly didn’t leave you hungry! The bar itself has a good selection or local beers and Ale’s as well as a good wine list and other sprit’s and Cider’s ect. There are also many numerous nonalcoholic options also. The food was very good as was the service. My favourite were the homemade pies and Sunday lunch. I first set foot in The Pilot around 40 years ago and so glad to see it thriving still. Looking forward to my next visit already!

Had a lovely lunch today. The pork belly was to die for, as was the fish and chips. Excellent service. Couldn’t ask for more. Well done guys.

The pilot made a great spot to land after a long walk to Beachy head. Came across this pub not far from the path to "the Head" slightly off the beaten track. If you love as we do, a typic traditional Old English pub with old-fashioned atmosphere,which is fast disappearing you must visit. Service and cuisine was excellent and although all the various meals looked fantastic we treated ourselves to fish and chips given as soon as my Wife is near to the sea that dish is irresistible. Will most certainly Visit again even though we are 60 miles from the location.