East Lavant, British, Modern Restaurant Guide

This 200-year-old local pub at the foot of the South Downs is “well run and popular”, with a “well-executed and great-value menu” of superior gastropub fare.

2023 Review: The view (towards Goodwood) from the window is said to have inspired William Blake’s anthem, Jerusalem, in 1803, but the current future is uncertain at this eighteenth-century coaching inn, which shut its doors in early October 2022. We await news of the new incarnation of this vantagepoint over ‘England’s green and pleasant land’.

2022 Review: “The food is excellent, and you’re made to feel welcome” at this showcase for the produce of the Goodwood Estate, an early convert to organic farming (although Lord March, the Duke of Richmond, is better known as a petrol-head). “They’ve turned the courtyard into a lovely space”, and the highlight of the menu is the ‘butcher’s board’ sharing selection of various meat cuts.

2021 Review: “A definite must-visit” – “an amazing small gastropub next to a beautiful pond”, on the Goodwood Estate, and with a line in “tasty and flavoursome” victuals (including game).

As it heads into third decade, Viv Casson’s “slightly dated but cosy” restaurant (rustic, with exposed brick and many a beam) has long been known in these parts for its “lovely food and service”, which extends to regular themed dinners, including eight- or nine-course tasting menu nights.

This “charming, small and very English hotel” has “well-kept, comfortable sitting and dining rooms” and “makes a nice place to take aged relatives” if you’re keen on silver service. Visitors can choose between the modern British (with the odd Thai touch) Sea School restaurant or more casual brasserie offering “surprisingly good” prix-fixe menus. Chef Neil Hiskey, who oversees both venues, has been at the Millstream since way back in 2001, besides taking care of the food at the Millstream-owned Shoreside Café and Pop-in coffee shop, both also in Bosham.

2022 Review: Current owners The Epicurean Collection – behind a string of boutique pubs and inns – have a hit on their hands with this award-winning venture: a “worthy addition to an area generously supplied with high-quality country pubs”. The rolling South Downs beyond the windows inform much of the “imaginative menu”, with a particular accent on introducing non-shooting folk to game (the latter courtesy of the local Goodwood Estate).

Four miles from Chichester, and bordering the South Downs National Park, this 200-year-old pub-with-rooms is part proper boozer (upfront) and part tastefully arty restaurant offering ambitious gastrofare. Reporters this year praised the “warm ambience” and a “treat” of a menu that features some “standout courses” such as scallops and venison.