Sussex

<img decoding="async" loading="lazy" class="alignleft size-full wp-image-31960" src="https://sussex.muddystilettos.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/sites/11/2018/11/The-Crown-Inn-patio.jpeg" alt="" width="1000" height="666" srcset="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/sussex/wp-content/uploads/sites/11/2018/11/The-Crown-Inn-patio.jpeg 1000w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/sussex/wp-content/uploads/sites/11/2018/11/The-Crown-Inn-patio-300x200.jpeg 300w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/sussex/wp-content/uploads/sites/11/2018/11/The-Crown-Inn-patio-768x511.jpeg 768w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/sussex/wp-content/uploads/sites/11/2018/11/The-Crown-Inn-patio-720x480.jpeg 720w" sizes="(max-width: 1000px) 100vw, 1000px" />
Want to know a fancy word for stuffing your face with pudding? Tell someone you had an Assiette. It&#8217;s French for plate, and on a menu is a variety of the same type of food prepared in different ways. Order it at The Crown in Dial Post, near Horsham and you&#8217;ll end up with a heavenly row of desserts.
More of that later.
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First off, a look around. This is a lovely cosy pub, with a wood burner, old beams and nooks and crannies.
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It works well across the seasons or different moods however as there&#8217;s also a conservatory that looks out over the village green. It&#8217;s a dog-friendly pub and there were a couple of pooches snoozing on the floor by the wood-burner on my visit.
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The place has been spruced up in recent months so, for instance, the old swags of fabric in the conservatory have gone and its a more simple, modern space&#8230; with some lovely autumnal dressing when I was there.
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The pub has a Countryside Alliance award for being a rural champion. It gets meat, fish and free-range eggs from local suppliers and the chef goes foraging for wild garlic, blackberries and the like. I&#8217;m told locals have also been known to turn up with game at the kitchen door!
The manager, Penny told me that she and her husband wanted it to be a foodie pub but an unpretentious one and they seem to have hit the mark.
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From the specials board I ordered a chicken dish with chorizo that was hearty and full of flavour and my friend had a rather large sea bass that just about fitted her plate.
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Classic pub fare done well is at the heart of the menu. Individually wrapped, homemade pies are a speciality, there&#8217;s also the likes of local ale battered Haddock and chips, butchers’ steak and chips, steak burgers and halloumi burgers and sandwiches available at lunchtimes.
There&#8217;s game in season with specials like pheasant with toasted almonds.
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Kids&#8217; versions of meals are available on request and there&#8217;s a garden for them to potter about in in warmer months. And if you&#8217;re gluten-free is good to known you can get a gf-free bun for your burgers and on Sundays the gravy for the roasts is also gluten-free.
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As for the drinks, it&#8217;s a freehouse, beer lovers will be pleased to know.
And so to that pudding. &#8220;I haven&#8217;t got much of a sweet tooth&#8221; I said&#8230; before being enticed to order this!
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It&#8217;s billed as a for two, though frankly could have served four easily and would be great for sharing with kids.
From left to right it&#8217;s sticky toffee pudding, rum and raisin ice-cream, fruit crumble, creme brulee, gluten-free chocolate bread and butter pudding with some shortbread biscuits and extra ice-cream and physalis fruits in there. It&#8217;s great value too at £14.
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Heroically we dug in. The sticky toffee pudding was my favourite, light and spicy, so I definitely recommend that if you&#8217;re going for the usual solo pud. There was also an enticing sounding clementine and sherry trifle on the menu, or you could swerve the sugar and go for a selection of Sussex cheeses with port.
Staying over
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There&#8217;s basic, reasonably-priced accommodation in a stable block beside the pub.
In the area
The Muddy-award wining <a href="https://www.kneppsafaris.co.uk" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Knepp Wildland Safaris</a> is just up the road where you can take wildlife tours, go glamping in a yurt, shepherd&#8217;s hut or treehouse. You&#8217;re also within striking distance of Horsham for the shops and <a href="https://www.thecapitolhorsham.com" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Capitol Theatre</a>.
Regular events
There&#8217;s a curry night the second Thursday of every month and on the third Friday of every month at noon you&#8217;ll find vintage cars lined up around the green as their owners meet up and everyone has a good gander before a pub lunch.
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Christmas
Naturally there&#8217;s a Christmas menu. The pub is open for lunch on the day itself if you don&#8217;t fancy cooking for your tribe. I&#8217;m told some locals book as early as summer to ensure a place! Before then there&#8217;s a Christmas party menu with forest mushroom, tarragon &amp; chestnut soup; crispy whitebait with curried mayo and pub potted prawns with roasted red peppers, among the starters, then individual pub-made pies; turkey and all the trimmings or a superfood &amp; nut Wellington among the mains.
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Good for: Comfort food, pub classics, game in season, great puddings, characterful, cosy surroundings, bringing your dog, classic car spotting.
Not so good for: If you&#8217;re looking for your trendy Farrow and Balled modern gastro pub or fancy food.
££: Sample prices for mains: local ale battered haddock and chips £12.50 Calcot Farm Butchers’ Steak and chips £15, homemade pies £12-£14.
The Crown Inn, Dial Post, Worthing Road, West Sussex, RH13 8NH, 01403 710902, <a href="http://www.crown-inn-dialpost.co.uk" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">crown-inn-dialpost.co.uk</a>

The Crown Inn, Dial Post

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