We are graced with an embarrassment of dining riches in Sussex - but sometimes you find a place that simply ticks all the boxes and really sticks out as special.
I was invited to The Jolly Tanners in Staplefield and found it is a wonderful place to eat, from the setting to the pub décor to the service and the marvellous food.
Just a short trip up the road from Brighton, it is along a beautiful country lane at Staplefield, near Handcross.
The Jolly Tanners has a huge garden with a play area for children and a newly revamped outdoor eating area too.
This gorgeous, cosy country pub now has an extended eating area inside, the orangery looking out through the glass onto said garden.
Executive head chef Mark Charker popped out and told me about his love of the produce he can get nearby and how he can use that to come up with his fantastic menu choices.
He sent us out a selection of sharing plates from the a la carte menu to begin with and they were all sumptuous.
Even the basic items are special here; lovely bread rolls with Marmite or salted whipped butter, posh sausage rolls (my description) and cute cheddar and pineapple goujeres that I could have eaten all night – the little choux pastries were so tasty and fresh too.
The smoked salmon and lemon cornettos say it all about The Jolly Tanners: imaginative, beautiful to the eye and palate. Flavours that all shone through and complemented each other.
None of those dishes for two were heavy though, setting us up for the mains which we chose from the a la carte menu and the bar menu.
My South Downs Lamb came three ways, again it was high end food creatively presented in a fun way. The loin was melt in your mouth luxury. Then there was lamb tartare, which I was really looking forward to as I had only had steak and tuna tartare before. It was given a really fresh taste with the dressing, so easy to eat and well presented in a stack. Then there was the kebab with some crispy onions and lettuce with a proper piece of lamb on a wrap. Again fun to the eye and a taste sensation.
The honey glazed English duck was cooked perfectly like the lamb, a little pink, coming with stuffed rainbow chard, Parma ham and onion potato, celeriac and preserved wild garlic. So much going on that you can mix together or not, as you like. It is all about trying out taste combinations, it seems, at The Jolly Tanners.
From the bar menu one of our youngsters enjoyed all of the honey roast ham with fried eggs, chunky chips and piccalilli ketchup. The crispy cod burger was deemed very nice and I can recommend the tater tots with garlic and chive mayonnaise.
For dessert the selection of sweet treats continued the flamboyance of the A La Carte Menu, in a great way.
I want to return for the Sussex cheese plate and I bet the Sunday roasts are something else here.
Manager Roisin’s team were a real joy and she gave us a lovely tour of this old pub, with rooms for groups to eat or meet upstairs. It’s a really smart and lovely old English inn with food which is more gastro than any gastro pub I’ve been to. I loved it because it suits people who want to be adventurous with their food while also having nice twists on classic pub dishes. A place where foodies can take their parents or grandparents and their children.
There is a craft and cask Festival tomorrow, Saturday, September 27 from noon to 8pm with cask ales, craft beer and artisan gin. They have the North Garden Brewery, Brolly Brewing, Harvey’s and Three Acre Brewery.
Then there is a tasting experience curated by executive chef Mark Charker and his team on Thursday, October 9 at 6:30 pm. It has a five-course set menu with artisan bread and a selection of chef’s canapés, followed by an introduction to Mark and his team as they share the inspiration behind each dish. A true celebration of flavour, craft, and culinary creativity is promised and I know they will provide that.
Call 01444 682550 or email hello@thejollytanners.co.uk for more information. See thejollytanners.co.uk. The Jolly Tanners is in Handcross Road, Staplefield, near Haywards Heath.
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