Black Horse

This pub should have everything going for it: a central location in a beautiful village of thatched cottages, with a fine old interior and even a resident folk club. Unfortunately this is all spoilt by an unadventurous menu, poorly cooked food, a restricted choice of beer of disappointing quality, and uninterested staff. My partner and I went there for a meal a few days ago, the last night of a walking holiday along the South Downs. The "trout with almonds" I ordered had clearly been microwaved from frozen and was uncooked and only luke warm in the middle. There was no sign of it having been finished in an oven or under a grill. The almonds had presumably simply been poured on top from a cook's jar at the last minute. The landlady looked surprised when I sent it back. When a second one arrived we were assured the cook had "done her best with it" but it was still raw in the middle. We sent that back too. Rather than do the decent thing and apologise in person or offer us something else from the menu, the landlady then simply avoided us. We paid for my partner's meal (adequate but basic) and our drinks and left. It seems such a shame that a pub in such an iconic position in such a pretty village should be run so apparently badly.