Black Horse

We have dined in the black horse for a few years, we rated it as our favourite pub, however the last few visits have been a total shambles, long waits for food, drinks not coming when ordered, food being quite average, staff terribly disorganised and with very little customer service. We gave it the benefit of the doubt tonight as new chef etc but, again disappointed. Firstly when we arrived we weren’t given an option just sat outside ( main restaurant appeared to be closed with no explanation) , Then over half an hour for a drinks order to be taken & even then they forgot one of the drinks! Had to ask twice for our food order to be taken, even though there were staff milling around, when the food was served the waitress almost dropped half of it on the floor and then just walked away. I ordered the slow cooked lamb although when served it resembled pork belly, it was very fatty and grey in colour, although I ate it I wasn’t overly impressed We were going to have dessert but after being sat with a dessert menu in front of us for over 20 minutes and no sign of anyone taking our order we decided to pay and leave. We also noted apologies being made to several other tables. Very very unfortunate, as used to be so good. Hayley is very attentive & the new menu has real potential however the other girls are really letting her down

One finds oneself obliged, alas, to report on a most lamentable luncheon at The Black Horse in Amberley — a house of former repute now seemingly intent on squandering its culinary capital. What began with the indignity of a tepid beer — a miserable little thing better suited to a schoolboy’s thermos than an adult’s refreshment — spiralled into a symphony of mediocrity, each movement more discordant than the last. We had all elected the ‘Sunday Roast’ of beef — the supposed centrepiece of the British Sabbath — and I, mindful of my own palate and preferences, had made the modest request that mine be cooked well-done. The waitress, a wide-eyed ingénue whose acquaintance with the concept of attentive service appeared wholly theoretical, confirmed this and left to place our order. It should have come as no surprise, therefore, when my plate arrived with a tranche of beef still blushing pink, as if shocked to have left the cow. Sent back, of course — though by that point, one’s appetite had begun to ebb beneath a tide of culinary disappointment. The roast potatoes, which ought to have boasted golden, glassy skins and fluff within, were instead a bizarre contradiction: limp without and leaden inside. The broccoli was practically photosynthesising on the plate — a cruciferous rebuke to the very idea of blanching — while the Yorkshire puddings were blackened, bitter husks. Only the beef, for those of my companions less particular than I, met with tepid approval — faint praise indeed. Perhaps most perplexing of all was the atmosphere of indolence. The establishment, stood eerily sparse, yet the service was desultory, the staff seemingly selected from a sixth-form common room rather than trained in the art of hospitality. That such indifferent fare and negligent service could arise in the absence of pressure from a full house beggars belief. One can only assume the kitchen has slipped into a sort of creative torpor. To their credit — and here we must make a small genuflection — a manager did, upon receiving our measured complaint, deduct the cost of the drinks and the service charge. This gesture, though appreciated, is rather like being offered a silk bandage after an arrow to the heart: gracious, but too late.

Back in May 2024 we decided after seeing advertised to book rooms and the New Years Eve dinner for 6 adults and four children, we were all very much looking forward to doing something different at New Year with the kids, but it wasn’t to be, we had had comms with one of the directors Emma about what the kids could eat at the dinner as obviously they would t be eating an expensive tasting menu, so that was decided and all good, until a week before the actual event and we got an email not from Johnnie or Emma but from another staff member ti say that they had had a staff meeting about the NYE party and the team including the Head chef had decided that they would not be able to cater for the children! So we said we had discussed this before with Emma and she had sorted out the food choices and it had already been agreed, we then had the response that it wasn’t up to Emma a director and she shouldn’t have promised us anything! So you can imagine a week before NYE and we were being told this! They also said they could feed the kids at 6pm but then the kids had to stay in their rooms for two hours whilst the main dinner was being served that they didn’t want the kids in the restaurant at anytime during the meal , so we had two 12 year olds and a 10year old and a 9year old , so we asked who would take responsibility for the kids if they were in their rooms whilst we were eating , the response was that the rooms could be locked and they would be safe!! That most of the staff had skeleton keys! That to me is not safe if people we don’t know had keys to enter our kids rooms!! We asked if they had insurance for the kids to be there with no adults Incase of a fire etc, we wanted it in writing to make sure but nothing was sent to us to reassure us, so we thought ok if we can’t have dinner together and we weren’t happy about the kids being on there own all that time we said can we all eat in the bar and hour earlier , that was a flat refusal, so by this point we had had enough our plans were ruined we couldn’t find any where else at such late notice so we cancelled our rooms which we got the deposit back for but didn’t get the £100 deposit back for the table of ten people For

We've eaten here before a few times and never had an issue, we live nearby. Today's new year day "treat" was awful. Despite the restaurant area being relatively quiet we had to ask twice to order our food and drinks. Only to be told that there was a further 20 minute wait on all orders to the kitchen and that we would have to wait to order our food. After we did finally order, the food arrived 1.5 hours after us being seated. Totally unacceptable. To make matters worse, the food was quite possibly the most salty we've eaten, ever, and the small amount that wasn't salty was completely the other end of the scale being bland and tasteless and dry. Not one to moan usually, but we did make the staff aware of these issues prior to asking for the bill.

Excellent staff and hotel Our stay was wonderful. Staff was especially nice and cordial. Food was excellent. Would love to stay they again

Stay at Black Horse Nice hotel and staff. Good food. Breakfast menu could do with being explained a little better and also having to pay for teas and coffees as these were not included in the breakfast was not good. We were in a “cosy double” which was fine but would have been even better if they removed the chair and added a chest of drawers or some shelves.