BRAVO award winners for
Best Sussex Pub
Best Sussex PUB BRAVO 2024
Of all the amazing pubs East Sussex boasts, and there are a lot of them, you voted for your favourites and chose a BRAVO winner for 2024. The pubs that make the Top 20 list for this new BRAVO category are all pretty special places. Many have historic buildings with welcoming open fires and classic blackened beams crossing the ceilings. Local ales and craft beers are served on tap from behind smooth, sturdy bars by friendly teams. Pub grub, now often quite elevated, is typically served in cosy dining rooms perfect for relaxing with family and friends.
Some Top 20 pubs are found in coastal towns, others in pretty Sussex villages while others yet have more remote South Downs locations. The epitome of British hospitality, the Best Sussex Pubs lure city-dwellers beyond the limits to enjoy some great ‘home-style’ cooking, a warm welcome and a well-poured pint. Of course, for some of you, one of these amazing pubs is your local! Lucky ducky!
And the BRAVO for the Best Sussex Pub goes to – The Eight Bells Jevington. Huge congratulations to the team.
First place
The Eight Bells Jevington
Serving the local community for hundreds of years, The Eight Bells has taken the top spot in this year’s BRAVO Best Sussex Pub category. With its historic home in the heart of the picturesque South Downs village of Jevington, The Eight Bells is a small, independent free house with beautiful landscaped gardens boasting the best view for miles around. Still a firm favourite with the locals, the pub also attracts a year-round flow of eager pilgrims; walkers, cyclists, daytrippers and tourists, eager to share in the best local beers, tasty bar snacks, à la carte menu and Friday Night Takeaway. A wonderfully worthy winner!
Second place
The Cat Inn
If you sat down to dream up the perfect Sussex pub, you’d probably come up with something quite like The Cat Inn. With its hilltop home in the picturesque village of West Hoathly, the16th century free house sports weathered oak beams and not one but two inglenook fireplaces making long, cosy afternoons here a delightful reality. The pub prides itself on the quality of its real ale and works with local producers like Harvey’s of Lewes and other micro breweries. The kitchen produces a delicious menu of modern and traditional pub dishes using locally sourced, seasonal produce and the Sunday roast is a must. With glorious surrounding countryside and plenty of local attractions we’d encourage you to make a day of it. BRAVO!
The Cat Inn has also placed in the Best Roast category.
Third place
Nestled in the peaceful countryside at the foot of the South Downs, The Jolly Sportsman in East Chiltington is an absolute gem. With country-cottage charm and a stunning pub garden, this is the perfect place to relax with friends and family over some great food and your drink of choice. Locally sourced, seasonal produce is cooked using traditional and live fire techniques. The evolving menu has a low carbon footprint; bread is baked daily, fresh fish is caught off the Sussex coast and meat is sourced from local farms. Sunday roasts are legendary. The pub is located in the heart of Sussex wine country, surrounded by vineyards, and the wine list boasts a great local selection as well as bottles from further afield. Local Sussex bitters are fresh from the cask and a roaring fire will warm you during the winter months. Sussex pub perfection.
The Jolly Sportsman has also placed in the Best Roast, Most Sustainable and Best Team categories.
Take a look at your other BRAVO winners
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Brighton’s pubs are plentiful with about 340 in total and these are spread out in a number of popular areas. This pub guide defines the different areas which include The Lanes, North Laine, Hanover, Hove, seafront, Poets Corner, Fiveways, Kemptown to name a few. Here are the best pubs in Brighton in 2023 according to the public voted BRAVO awards. There are 11 pubs per square mile in Brighton.
The Cricketers on Black Lion street is Brighton’s oldest pub with connections to Jack the Ripper and Graham Greene. Ghost Walks around Brighton also take place from this venue located next to Brighton’s famous twittens or hidden streets. Twittens means a gap or a passageway leading between two buildings to courtyards, or streets. These are the BRAVO award winners for best local in 2023.
Here is the Brighton beer garden guide. You can also enjoy a drink at these Brighton alfresco dining venues or these Brighton beachfront bars.
