The Rights of Man Pub Lewes Sussex. in Lewes

Went for a few beers with friends, and for the second time they refused us because there was ten of us, they must be filthy rich if they can turn down custom, would definitely give the place a miss, there are far more welcoming pubs in Lewes.

Popped in to Lewes for a few drinks with a few friends last night and went into this pub only to be told that we wouldn’t be served as there were too many (10) in our group. This is the second time this has happened to us at this place so we most certainly won’t be going back there, ever. If you don’t want to serve people maybe you should try a different vocation.

Tried to visit the Rights of Man looking forward to trying the good selection of Harvey’s on tap. Be warned if you turn up in a group you will be turned away. We are in a late 50’s and were told we would disrupt people eating.

Service was fast and efficient. I had lamb which was cooked lovely but I found the green beans a little too crunchy for my liking. Terrine for desert was beautiful.

Very nice pub with a cosy atmosphere - very good service. I had the burger which was very tasty and reasonably priced. I would rather have been able to sit in the bar area.

We visit Lewes from West Chiltington especially to go to this pub as an absolute favourite. The food is always amazing as are the staff. This time we were served by Luke, who could not have been more friendly and for whom nothing was too much trouble - so friendly and happy to help. Top marks all round but especially for Luke - wonderful customer service - thank you!

Mixed reviews clean pub friendly staff although more interested in their own conversation. Less hand pump on offer now than before also expensive almost london prices.

Managed to get in here for lunch, luckily we called ahead as the group in front of us were turned away as the place was full. Nice atmosphere in this quaint town centre pub and dining rooms. Small but well thought through menu gave options for all of us. The curried cauliflower soup was fantastic (can I have the recipe please) and the brisket cottage pie with red cabbage was delightful. All the food was very hot with generous portins and well presented. Some well kept ales on tap topped of the meal. Will certainly be back and can highly recommend.

Love the Rights of Man. Great pub with a lovely atmosphere and fantastic staff. Popped in on Friday lunchtime with some friends and although they were fully booked for lunch, they managed to squeeze us in, in the main bar. Much appreciated. Great tapas lunch with friendly service. Highly recommended 🙂

We booked for first sitting at 12. Arriving a few minutes early we were gruffly told the pub wasn’t open yet & we should not come in. Stay outside in the wind & rain. Good day to you as well. A frosty welcome was felt, which continued. Despite booking weeks in advance, our table was in the window of the bar. Fine except one chair was at the wrong height to eat, sat on the window seat. Ok but not ideal given other tables in the place. Menu was limited but fine. Fancy roasts, but other choices as well. Main roast quality was actually great. Good sides though small & shared which made it more difficult not to over take. Extra gravy came. Tasty food. Despite booking at 12, the main dessert (1 of only 3 choices) was already sold out by we got to it. We had coffee & dessert at Caffe Nero over the road instead. Hard to see reasoning for messing this up. Prices were steep, but just above going rate for Lewes. The automatic 12% service was a liberty to add on. It was paid by a more polite member of the group who sorted the whole bill, but a great way to put customers off booking back. All in all, great main. But enough wrong around the main food to want to shop elsewhere next time.

Great beer, and good hearty food, served by friendly staff. Get there early for the best seats.

Booked a table for 2, which turned out to be in the bar area. I assumed the restaurant was busy, so took a walk to investigate. Only 2 tables were occupied. After eating, I can see why. Both meals were poor and I doubt were cooked by a chef, if they were he or she doesn't care what they are serving. Cannot fault the service, it was very good and friendly.

Wonderful tapas lunch today served by attentive and cheerful staff. Very very good prices, chef certainly knows the Spanish recipes and espresso martini cocktails are to die for. Can't wait to return

Great cozy atmosphere, fantastic ale and friendly, welcoming barstaff.

Lovely roast dinner and great customer service.

Fantastic dinner and a drink upstairs overlooking the castle at sunset. Lovely service.

Incredible Sunday roast. Friendly unfussy service and a pleasant atmosphere. Only gripe and it's minor was no apple sauce to go with the delicious belly pork. Advise you to book as was super popular and they were having to turn people away.

Excellent place to grab a bite and a few pints, really good steaks and beers were well looked after.

Great pub and atmosphere with great staff

This traditional pub in the heart of Sussex has been fantastic. Service from the staff and the food was first class. Ace Chef. Would highly recommend. We will be back next time we are over from France.

Two barstaff, a busy pub, & they kept it all running superbly - amazing. Superb pint of Harvey's and fish and chips after a brewery tour - great stuff. Cannot fault, go there!

We had lunch at The Rights of Man for our anniversary. The wife had the chicken, wild mushrooms, gratin dauphinois and puried spinach, which was absolutely delicious, I had the ribeye steak which came with a beautiful rocket and parmesean salad, peppercorn sauce and frites, delicious 😋 We sat in a booth which we love. A perfect afternoon with wine. Buzzy atmosphere and attentive staff but without too much fuss.

Fantastic pub with Harvey's porter on tap really lovely pub very clean and clean toilets Fantastic friendly staff beer in perfect order definitely recommend

Delicious lunchtime tapas on the roof terrace

Lovely food, great setting on the roof terrance

I get more and more fed up with the price that pubs charge for a small (200ml) bottle of Prosecco. But the Rights of Man in Lewes get’s a special mention; £11.50, yes that’s right £11.50 for one little bottle of Prosecco that costs £2.50 in Tescos. Now I know that pubs have many overheads and they have to balance the books but £11.50 is taking the proverbial. That experience was not helped by a very surly barmaid. Needless to say we went down the road to the John Harvey where the same bottle of Prosecco cost a still costly but much more respectable £8. As for the Rights of Man, Thomas Paine must be rolling in his grave.

Just popped in for a quick drink at the end of the day. Staff are excellent, very friendly and helpful. Also very good choice of beers which are kept and poored extremely well. I would recommend this place. Also have the added advantage of an excellent t roof garden.

Insane - OMG BRILLIANT. Loved everything - had the beef Sunday roast it was simply the best.

I’ve had food poisoning now for 2 days. The calamari was under cooked and soggy with oil, the Patatatas Bravas was tasteless, no chilli, bland tomato sauce and smothered with garlic Mayo. My friends burger was over cooked, dry and had no seasoning. The Sunday chef obviously had a hangover and the staff are extremely young with no social skills. Will not return.

The roof terrace on a sunny day is a must. One of the more expensive pints in Lewes - £6.50 for a Brixton IPA

Such a nice place for a drink with a lovely sun trap on the large roof terrace

This evening I had the superb beef burger and requested it dairy free. No problem at all and even had the dairy cheese replaced with my absolute favourite, Applewood smoked vegan cheese! My daughter had the pulled pork burger and she can confirm that that too was divine. These people know how yo make PROPER burgers. They are top quality, supremely meaty and utterly delicious. I can categorically state that it is the best burger I have ever had. And I am FUSSY and paranoid about my dairy allergy. Staff are polite, helpful and soo friendly, they really can't do enough for you. Had a wonderful meal in lovely surroundings, with fabulous staff and even the music was great!! What more can you ask?? If I could award more stars than 5, I would.

Very enjoyable lunch. Great selection of Harvey’s beers and a small but quality menu. We had some tasty tapas to start ( anchovies and padron peppers) followed by 5 star Fish & Chips , Toulouse Sausages and an enormous fish finger ciabatta. Service was prompt and friendly so I would recommend this place.

Fun place for tapas, I'm sure portions are getting smaller!!!

Good pub, friendly staff, nice service and loved the food. Easy to get to by bus from Brighton. Highly recommended but pricy. 5 stars and 10 out of 10. 👍👌🍺

We visit the Rights of Man on many occasions to eat and to drink and we have always found a staff to be gracious, good natured and the food to be of high quality. When the manager came to take our order, I joked with him how disappointed I was that the lamb rump dish was not on and said “you can’t do that”. It was obviously a joke, but the stern reply I received was “we can do what we want”. When he walked away, one of my guests said to me “that’s you been told” and I brushed it off by saying as it’s a bank holiday and he’s had a long hard day, that I quite understand. Three of us ordered the pork belly, but when it arrived, the fat had not been rendered and we were presented with a plate of gelatinous fat. I scraped it off and called the manager over, explained to him why we were unhappy with the dish and my wife and I sent the dish back and ordered something else. Our guest was too embarrassed to send the dish back and left it mostly uneaten which must have been noticed when the plate was taken away. When we asked to pay the pork belly dish was being charged for and I said that I thought that the other dishes we ordered should be priced as frankly the pork was inedible. I was informed by the manager that the chef said that there was nothing wrong with the dish and therefore we were to pay the higher cost of the food. I was humiliated and embarrassed and what for? Is the cost difference between fish and chips and a pulled pork burger really worth making me feel like an idiot? I repeat, the dish was not edible, if the chef and manager eat food like that then I have to question their palate. But this was a case of their ego overtaking their professionalism. Worse still, when I put in a complaint via email the owner/manager was ‘too busy’ to answer me so after four weeks of waiting for a reply I gave up. All this would have taken is a quick apology, a couple of drinks and we’d be patrons again, they don’t care if they serve us or not so we don’t care to visit again, some other establishment can have our money.

We visit the Rights of Man on many occasions to eat and to drink and we have always found a staff to be gracious, good natured and the food to be of high quality. When the manager came to take our order, I joked with him how disappointed I was that the lamb rump dish was not on and said “you can’t do that”. It was obviously a joke, but the stern reply I received was “we can do what we want”. When he walked away, one of my guests said to me “that’s you been told” and I brushed it off by saying as it’s a bank holiday and he’s had a long hard day, that I quite understand. Three of us ordered the pork belly, but when it arrived, the fat had not been rendered and we were presented with a plate of gelatinous fat. I scraped it off and called the manager over, explained to him why we were unhappy with the dish and my wife and I sent the dish back and ordered something else. Our guest was too embarrassed to send the dish back and left it mostly uneaten which must have been noticed when the plate was taken away. When we asked to pay the pork belly dish was being charged for and I said that I thought that the other dishes we ordered should be priced as frankly the pork was inedible. I was informed by the manager that the chef said that there was nothing wrong with the dish and therefore we were to pay the higher cost of the food. I was humiliated and embarrassed and what for? Is the cost difference between fish and chips and a pulled pork burger really worth making me feel like an idiot? I repeat, the dish was not edible, if the chef and manager eat food like that then I have to question their palate. But this was a case of their ego overtaking their professionalism. Worse still, the owner/manager could not be bothered and was ‘too busy’ to reply to an email so after four weeks, I thought I’d post this review instead. They don’t care for their customers therefore I will not care to visit this establishment again, I’ll spend my well earned money somewhere else.

This pub was recommended to us by one of the local business outlets. It did not disappoint. Lovely selection of beers and a must to sit on their roof terrace in the sun. Great place and will return.

We went today as the sun was shining and this delightful looking pub boasts of a roof terrace....ordered a pint of pilsner and a medium glass of sauvignon..the price came in at £15.50.......roof terrace was nice but due to the fact I had just spent so much on two rather underwhelming drinks it was all kind of ruined.I don't think pubs charging these kind of prices have any future In the current economic climate..

I definitely think this place is worth a visit if you’re able to sit up on the terrace, which overlooks part of Lewes castle and is surrounded by the quaint houses ☺️ I had the Katsu Chicken Burger 🍔which came with fries and onion rings and tasted typical of a pub grub burger.

Lovely staff running the place, the rooftop terrace is very lovely in the summer as well

A hidden gem in Lewes. The tapas here is exceptional and the service as always excellent. There’s also a large selection of vegetarian foods. In the summer the roof top terrace is perfect.

Nice relaxed feel, lots of wood, little booths and a sun terrace at the back. Worth a visit.

Still the best Sunday roast out there :)

Great place for a quick pint or bite

An enjoyable early evening call, and distinctly elevated service and atmosphere as compared with the last time we stopped by, which to be fair was twenty-five years ago now

Lovely venue, quality bar staff, enjoyable beer - had I actually got some justice from a place nearby I’d be in an even better mood and you could’ve got 5 stars - my advice enjoy this pub and try not to go to county courts, though I maybe back! Mwah x

Friendly staff. Good service. Had the fish and chips. Very nice piece of fish, but not keen on chunky chips. Reasonably priced. Excellent pint of Harveys. Will go again.

Friendly pub serving great tapas and Harvey's beer

Simply FANTASTIC! Best Sunday Roast I ever had and also the most kind and professional Sammy who looked after me so well! Thanks Sammy for accommodating me despite no booking! Cant recommend this lovely pub enough, food + service at its best, will be back! ❤️

Guy with the long hair and beard was lovely, whole team seemed to have a great dynamic, served lovely drinks and the water was unbelievably crisp

What a lovely pub right in the heart of Lewes High Street. Plenty of room for both drinking and eating and a pleasant outdoor space at the back. As visitors to the town we really appreciated the smiling, friendly staff.

Nice chill clean pub, good selection of beers, calm atmosphere, cosy little place

BEWARE - Outrageous price for a small bottle of Prosecco - £11.50 !!! She had already opened it before we knew the price. Must be most expensive in Lewes !!!

Small bottle of prosecco,£11.50 ....nearly fell over....didn't even fill the glass....what a complete ripp off....Half the price in the chinese restaurant and other local pubs

Stopped in for a quick couple of halves. Good atmosphere and helpful staff. Didn't have food so can't comment on that.

Great atmosphere beer good. Had to change barrel & swap a pint but no hassle and all good.

Absolutely stunning meal here today, can’t recommend it enough, amazing food. Popped in on the off chance for Valentine’s Day lunch and we were so impressed with the service, the menu and the quality of the food.

On a cold Jan day, while visiting Lewes, we popped in here to grab a bite to eat....one of the reasons of choosing it that it's dog friendly and it also look like a nice old pub. Took one of the booths on the ground floor and the hubby ordered a Steak sarnie and I ordered the fish finger sarnie. Well all I can say is both were great. Hubby's steak was cooked well and he said it was the best steak sarnie he's had so he was very pleased. My fishfinger one was very light batter (not heavy going like some batter can be) and very tasty. The bread - i think it was some sort of foccacia was also very light and melt in your mouth so you didnt end up filling up on heavy bread but could actually enjoy the whole lunch. Staff were nice a friendly too. We recommend it to a friend of our who also went in with his dog and he too enjoyed the steak sarnie! We would defo go again if we were back in the area.

The ciabatta sandwich I had was spectacularly good. The ciabatta was so fresh and crisp, the goat's cheese tangy and tasty with delicious Chutney........ marvellous.

Amazing cosy pub with delicious outstanding Sunday roasts for a birthday lunch. The most friendly staff and wonderful atmosphere. Will definitely return. Thanks so much.

Right glass for the right beer, sat opposite an absolute plonk, sat next to pic of wig, good selection of good beer bit spenny

Nice location and lovely decor, good selection of pints but expensive. Back garden was dark and gloomy and upstairs terrace was closed.

Had a fantastic steak sandwich which was recommended by a friend who visited a few days before, the music is fantastic I could sit here all day,would definitely recommend and return and it's dog friendly,Bonus

Staffs were amazing, sorry can’t say the same about the food. Scallop and belly pork starter was Luke warm, and although it tasted ok was a bit smelly ! The belly pork square was tasteless and cold, and had a really tough skin/ with no sauce , and it had cracking, that didn’t crackle, it was just really tough ! For main had the 28 day aged sirloin that was definitely NOT sirloin. I asked if it was served pink, it wasn’t, it was grey and tough and Luke warm ! I ate it because we were really hungry but I am fed up paying top dollar for the worst poor quality meat, I believe it was feather or topside, definitely not sirloin. The Yorkshire pudding was stone cold hard and totally hollow ! The roast potatoes were as tough as old boots, obviously reheated and the rest I’ve the veg, was ok, but cold ! It got worse with the pudding, we ordered bread & butter pudding that had obviously had every bit of stale bread, baguette and bun, chucked in it, obviously made with water, and was more like bread pudding, it again was yuk and cold and served with a very mean splash of cream something or other, definitely not worth the money, all dishes were overpriced I think trading standards will be intrigue to find out which cut of cheap beef they served up as it’s definitely not sirloin ! Never going there again, lovely staff , food dreadful and very very overpriced!

A top place too have a drink after work polite and efficient service

Thoroughly mediocre Sunday roast for a high price. Bland food and small portions. Would recommend going elsewhere.

We went for a family January lunch post-Christmas, and we all agreed that it was one of the best pub lunches we'd all had. Even their onion chutney (with the lovely slab of chicken liver pate) was superb, and the pulled pork burger was - like everything else - just that bit better than everywhere else (it was nice and 5-spicy).

This is a cosy pub with a lovely character. It was fairly busy when I visited, so seating was limited, but there are more areas available upstairs. There was a reasonable selection of beers at the bar, with two or three Harvey's options, of course! It is a pleasant place to meet others and / or have a couple of beers.

Great steak and not had Harveys served better. Was very busy but the staff just about kept up, thanks!

Fab place, didn't eat there but the food coming out looked lovely. Great range of local beers. 👌

We loved it! And Harvey's beers are fantastic

Really cozy spot, with excellent tapas. We had to sit in the back room as the front was busy, but the bartender was really good about checking in on us.

Excellent pint of Harvey's Old. Great selection of beers. Friendly staff. Just a brief visit.

Central location, good food menus. Food and service are great. Like the relax and friendly atmosphere. Had a lovely accompany from next table too 😂

Duck leg 👍 a bit slow to arrive but good service.

Visited Lewes this weekend and had our first lunch in this original pub. The cute snug areas downstairs were all occupied but fortunately we were given a table in ghe upstairs dining room. We decided on a light lunch. I had a toasted cheese & chutney ciabatta and my partner had the steak sandwich. Both were very tasty and filling. The family at the table nearby all ordered burgers, and I was instantly jealous. They were huge with a whole gherkin and onion rings on top. We tried to have Sunday lunch, but the pub was full, not surprisingly. The waitress recommended the Swan Inn. See my other review.

Love this traditional cosy nooks pub with friendly staff.

Great Sunday roast, go for the belly pork.

Great tapas!!! Friendly happy staff

Great find. Food was super tasty, and service with a smile.

We ordered the Duck and the Lamb off the main menu. Both meals were beautifully presented, cooked to perfection and tasted absolutely delicious. Hats off to the kitchen team! Great overall service and atmosphere. The Rights of Man has always been a firm favourite when visiting Lewes.

Great Harvey's pub and good tapas.

Outstanding food, excellent service and Harvey’s Armada on draft! Restaurant quality cooking and presentation using the very best ingredients. We were a party of four and all had a taste of each other’s choices. Every mouthful a delight. Will definitely be making the trip over to Lewes again specifically to eat here.

Lot of dishes unavailable to most of tanlescsat

Enjoyed lunch here on Heritage Open Day with lots to see in Lewes. Food and service good with four Harvey's beers to choose from. Though beer priced over £5 a pint was expensive as only a mile away from the brewery!

Great service especially from Louis who was really helpful with menu options. Food came quickly, roast was lovely as was my friend’s tapas choices. Great atmosphere too. A real treat, thank you!

Never fails to disappoint, always an excellent selection of local and other real ales. Pleasant staff, beer garden at the rear or sit out at the front and people watch or see the comings and goings at the nearby Crown Court.

We visited here last Friday night, we have eaten in many Spanish Tapas Restaurants and have to say for a pub this was by the far the nicest tapas we have ever had. The staff in there are amazing and there was a great choice so something for everyone. They did not have the meatballs that evening so we swapped to the Spicy Pork with Paprika and Garlic and we were pleased they had run out of the meatballs as this had to be our favourite dish out of all of them. Would recommend as great food, drinks choice and great staff.

Called in for lunch after a long walk. Good food well priced

From the street, this place looked quite small. But......what an amazing rabbit warren. A small intimate bar, in my opinion, with cosy wee nooks. The first level and especially the bar area is filled with character, charm, and ambience. There is a roof top seated area as well, how very cool. The menu, again, in my own opinion, is small. The food we ordered, however, was perfect. Risotto and wild mushrooms, roast beef with sides of cauliflower cheese balls and scallops, and belly pork. Absolutely scrumptious! No room for pudding this time, though. We had 2 young servers who are professional polite and personable. Thank you for a fab dining experience.

Food was average. Not a great burger and chips, particularly for the price. My partner found the fish ok. Service was reasonable but not great. On the good side, the pub is dog friendly and has a nice bar. Beer is good if you want cask ale or lager, but not much other choice.

We enjoyed an excellent lunch here yesterday. I had the lamb rump which was cooked and presented perfectly; really tasty too! My mother had the sea bream which was also good. The only slight negative (and I know they'll say it's because the food is freshly prepared) is that we did have to wait a while for our meal. It really is worth that wait - just don't go there if you're in a hurry.

Atmospheric bar. Absolutely excellent meal. Best food in the area. Our party each had different dishes and we all loved them. Great service from Sammy who despite being rushed off her feet, was somehow able to present a calm demeanor, and answer any questions we had about food, wine and the local area.

Great place for lunch you might need to book for the roof terrace great beer

Linchtime visit for the recommended Proper Fish Finger Sandwich ! excellent 😊

Sunday lunch with a friend. This Harvey’s pub (of course it’s in Lewes - the home of Harvey’s) is such a gem. A cross between a traditional pub and a gastro with the best of both worlds. There’s a drinking bar as you come in, and we were shown up a few stairs to the dining room. It was a nice mish mash of chairs and tables. We could only manage one course each (sadly) however it was so delicious and we were so full that it didn’t really matter. We both fancied the slow roast belly of pork and the duck confit so ordered one of each and did a bit of sharing. The pork was perfectly cooked. This is not always the case if it’s been cooked too quickly but this was melt in the mouth and the crackling was perfect too. Lovely selection of veg including red cabbage, cauliflower cheese and pureed swede and roasties. The duck was also perfectly cooked and fell off the bone. It was accompanied by braised lettuce, peas & pancetta and sat on a lovely big potato rosti. We were looked after brilliantly by Finn. Thank you for great service and a great sense of humour Finn. My first visit. It won’t be my last!

Great pub, and enjoyed the roof garden in the evening

Fantastic selection of drinks, great outdoor and indoor experience and the Sunday roasts are to die for. Great job 👍

We really enjoyed our evening at this pub, the team were absolutely great, friendly and accommodating, and a wide range of the local Harvey’s beer on tap in the bar. We shared tapas on the roof terrace, with Lewes castle in the background, the food was excellent and good sized portions, before retiring down to the (cosy) bar for a nightcap. This is my kind of place!