The rural county of Sussex is perhaps best known for its Channel seaside resorts and acres of glorious countryside, but it is also home to some of the best restaurants in the south east of England. We’ve taken our pick from the Luxury Restaurant Guide – and the best bit? They are ALL offering complimentary member dining so get booking! Non-members click here to find out how to join today!
1. Gravetye Manor Hotel Restaurant, West Hoathly
Gravetye is a glorious, unspoilt Elizabethan Manor House dating from 1598. Furnished with antiquities, squeaking floors and log fires, it can best be described as a quintessential English home with 17 bedrooms if you fancy a stopover.
The restaurant is an oak paneled dining room with grand fireplace and crisp white linen. Chef, George Blogg, has created a modern British menu, with 95% of all fruit and vegetable used in the Summer months being from their beautiful kitchen garden.
Sample dinner menu – 3 courses £67.50 per person
Starter: Gravetye winter garden salad, confit hen’s yolk, root vegetables, crisp brassicas and winter cress
Main: Loin and shoulder of Southdown Hogget, potato wrapped haggis, purple sprouting broccoli, mint jellies and lamb sauce
Dessert: Forced rhubarb crumble souffle, rhubarb sauce and clotted cream ice cream
Club member offer: member dines complimentary for lunch and dinner from the a la carte menu Monday to Thursday (must be joined by one full paying guest). Click here for more details.
2. The Grand Hotel – Mirabelle Restaurant, Eastbourne
The Grand Hotel is one of the UK’s most magnificent Victorian hotels. Situated on the seafront at Eastbourne, it dominates the shoreline and enjoys a stunning outlook over the sea and, to the right, the cliffs at Beachy Head.
The Mirabelle opened in 1989 being named after its famous Sister Restaurant in Curzon Street, London, which was at the time under the same ownership and is the fine dining restaurant at The Grand Hotel.
Immediately after opening its doors, the Restaurant gained an enviable reputation and is featured in many fine dining guides as a consistent entry year on year.
Sample dinner menu – 3 courses £44.00 per person
Starter: Bresaola of cured beef, tomato carpaccio
Main: Medallions of pork fillet, smoked paprika pancetta, morcilla fritters, broad beans
Dessert: Compressed apricots, almond pannacotta, salted caramel
Club member offer: member dines complimentary for lunch and dinner Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday (must be joined by one full paying guest). Click here for more details.
3. The Spread Eagle Hotel & Restaurant, Midhurst
The Spread Eagle has been welcoming guests since 1430 and is a focal point for many generations of their Sussex traditions. An ash-beamed coaching inn unspoilt by time but well-appointed and impeccable, here you have the quintessential heritage destination very much regarded as a home from home.
The Spread Eagle Restaurant offers diners a perfect balance of old and new with Head Chef, Nathan Marshal’s accomplished menu of modern classic British cuisine served in the hotel’s iconic setting. Candelight in the evenings with a huge inglenook fireplace, it is a wonderful venue for romantic occasions or family lunches.
Sample dinner menu – 3 courses £38.00 per person
Starter: Roasted Jerusalem artichoke soup with parmesan cheese and croutons
Main: Grilled fillet of sea bass with basil mash potato, button onions, ceps and rosemary jus
Dessert: Chocolate and orange delice with Bailey’s ice cream
Club member offer: member dines complimentary for lunch all week and dinner Sunday to Friday (must be joined by one full paying guest). Click here for more details.
4. Alexander House – AG’s Restaurant, East Grinstead
On the fringes of East Grinstead, Alexander House Hotel presents a stunning 3 AA Rosette dining experience. Behind the scenes you will find one of the South East’s most talented kitchen brigades led by Executive Chef, Mark Budd.
Enthusiasm for food and top-drawer ingredients are combined with skilled cooking techniques to produce dishes that are innovative, colourful and packed with mouth-watering flavour. Menus are inspired by the land, sea and season and all are designed to be enjoyed in the chic setting of this stunning 5 star hotel.
Sample dinner menu – 3 courses £60.00 per person
Starter: Arlington white hens egg, pearl barley, Jerusalem artichoke and black truffle
Main course: Partridge, toast, rose hip jam and hazelnut
Dessert: Spiced pumpkin ice cream, ginger cake, buttermilk granita, salted butter noisette
Club member offer: member dines complimentary for dinner Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday (must be joined by one full paying guest). Click here for more details.
5. Ockenden Manor Hotel Restaurant, Cuckfield
Ockenden Manor is a beautiful Elizabethan Manor House tucked away in Cuckfield, one of the prettiest Tudor villages in England. Crammed with history and character it makes for a perfect escape.
The award-winning Restaurant at Ockenden Manor offers a superb fine dining experience from the beautiful new dining room overlooking the gardens with stunning views to the South Downs National Park.
Sample dinner menu – 3 courses £65.00 per person
Starter: Stilton dumplings with chicory, pear, walnut
Main: Honey roast magret duck breast, stuffing, pumpkin, apple and hazelnut
Dessert: Warm cranberry and almond cake, creme fraiche ice cream
Club member offer: member dines complimentary for lunch Monday to Saturday and dinner Sunday to Thursday (must be joined by one full paying guest). Click here for more details.
6. Jeremy’s Restaurant, Haywards Heath
Jeremy’s is a beautiful contemporary restaurant in classical settings overlooking the grounds of the 200 yr old Borde Hill Gardens Estate on the outskirts of Haywards Heath.
Award winning, light and airy with a perfect expansive outside terrace in a Victorian walled garden – this restaurant is rare little find. Approach it via a cobbled courtyard you can enjoy great Modern European cuisine from chef proprietor Jeremy Ashpool. Much is local sourced and grown and the restaurant is well known for attracting a loyal following.
Sample dinner menu
Starter: Rock oyster, brill ceviche, avocado, lime, coriander £10.00
Main: Cumbrian aged beef, smoked pomme Anna, beetroot, celeriac, horseradish £26.00
Club member offer: member dines complimentary for lunch Monday to Saturday and dinner Sunday to Thursday (must be joined by one full paying guest). Click here for more details.
7. Anderida at Ashdown Park Hotel, East Grinstead
Ashdown Park is a beautiful listed 19th century mansion house set in 186 acres of the Ashdown Forest in the heart of East Sussex. With views across the manicured lawns and Lake with secret gardens and woodland trails to explore, Ashdown Park is a delightful place to wine, dine and unwind.
The Anderida Restaurant offers fine cuisine and tastes from home and abroad using the best locally sourced ingredients. Many of the mouth-wateringly inventive dishes from the head chef and his brigade incorporate modern twists on traditional classics.
Sample dinner menu – 3 courses £42.50 per person
Starter: Smoked fish cannelloni, celeriac, walnut dressing, basil
Main: Corn-fed chicken, lentils, raw chicory, pumpkin puree, crispy wing
Dessert: Lemon Tart ‘Alaska’, burnt meringue, rosewater sorbet
Club member offer: member dines complimentary for breakfast, lunch and dinner Monday to Thursday (must be joined by one full paying guest). Click here for more details.
8. Bailiffscourt Hotel, Tapestry Restaurant, Climping
This perfectly preserved medieval house, set in 35 acres of private pastureland is home to the Tapestry Restaurant where Head Chef Russell Williams and his team serve award winning cuisine in a truly unique setting.
With its medieval architecture, mullioned windows and tapestry-hung walls the restaurant is a stunning setting.
Sample dinner menu – 3 courses £53.50 per person
Starter: Quail, honey roasted with Waldorf salad
Main: Pithivier (v) roasted butternut squash, blue cheese and walnuts, squash puree, tenderstem broccoli
Dessert: Toasted marzipan mille feuille, vanilla cream and raspberries
Club member offer: member dines complimentary for lunch all week and dinner Sunday to Friday (must be joined by one full paying guest). Click here for more details.
9. Camelia at South Lodge Hotel,Horsham
Part of the luxurious Exclusive Hotels group and arguably one of the most revered five star hotels in West Sussex, The Camellia restaurant is the larger of the hotel’s two restaurants with inspiring views over the sprawling South Downs.
The brigade of chefs for The Camellia have their own unique style in creating balanced, contemporary interpretations of traditional seasonal dishes with fresh vegetables from their walled kitchen garden along with the finest local ingredients.
Sample dinner menu
Starter: Braised pig head, black pudding bon bon, rhubarb, brioche £10.00
Main: South downs venison, roast loin, baby parsnips, creamed savoy cabbage, pomegranate, chocolate oil £32.00
Dessert: Smoked beetroot and chocolate £10.00
Club member offer: member dines complimentary for lunch Wednesday to Friday and dinner Monday to Friday (must be joined by one full paying guest). Click here for details.
10. The Powdermills Hotel – The Orangery Restaurant
Sweep into the impressive lakeside entrance to the property and breathe in the nature. In grounds of 150 acres or park, lakes ponds and woodland with wandering wild geese, swans, ducks and herons the ambience is set before you walk through the doors.
The restaurant is classical and beautiful with bright floor to ceiling sash windows, traditional black and white marble floor and Romanesque sculptures bursting with flowers. Chef Callum O’Doherty accompanies all this with the finest classical cooking.
Sample dinner menu – not available
Club member offer: member dines complimentary for lunch Monday to Thursday and dinner Sunday to Thursday (must be joined by one full paying guest). Click here for more details.
Not a member? Join now to take advantage of Complimentary Dining and other fantastic club benefits. Click here to join club online.