BY RUTH LAWRENCE
ADVERTISING FEATURE
At the Heart of
CHAILEY
The Five Bells combines the best of a traditional pub with the best of an upmarket restaurant Within moments of meeting Catherine Field at The Five Bells in Chailey, I was sitting warm as toast in front of a roaring fi re in the 15th century inglenook fi replace. What began life as a tiny yeoman’s cottage six hundred years ago before becoming a coaching inn, today The Five Bells is developing a fi ne reputation as a destination pub combining a wonderful country setting with excellent locally sourced food that is achieving rave reviews. “Our menu is seasonal; we do traditional pub food with a modern twist,” Catherine told me, mentioning how the game is all sourced from Chailey by a local gamekeeper. Venison, rabbit, partridge and duck may grace the menu and chef Andy Wiles presents fresh fish from Newhaven as the highly popular ‘catch of the day’. Even the bread is homemade and the
menu varies daily as all food is delivered on the same day; a superb Sunday lunch menu is so popular that tables have to be booked in advance. Even a dish as traditional as sausage and mash contains three different Sussex sausages and a trio of complementing mash varieties; the full menu offers extensive choice and inventiveness rarely experienced in a country pub. Real ales are becoming a strong feature with local favourites complementing the extensive wine list, including those from the Bluebell Vineyard and a fi ne selection of top of the range Bordeaux wines. A recent feature of the pub is the ‘Purple Room’, a beautifully furnished private dining room catering for larger parties of 16 at no extra charge. By summer, an alfresco dining area called the Chailey Secret Garden will be created where sit down functions for 60 people can take place; ideal for weddings, anniversaries or parties. With lovely views over fields and facing into the setting sun, it would be the perfect place to celebrate a grand occasion where numbers require extensive seating. A much loved feature at The Five Bells is their monthly
themed event; a ‘Best of British’ event is planned for April where a menu has been created with choices from England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. History buffs will fi nd much interest inside the pub; its previous owners include Joe Cornelius, a famous East End wrestler and its name comes from its former days as the fi fth coaching inn on the London to Brighton road. The bell used to ring five times as the coach approached, hence the name Five Bells. You can see centuries of use in the ancient original oak beams and the lovely dips in the floor where old Sussex bricks have been trodden by countless feet, part of the rich history of this wonderful place.
THE FIVE BELLS Chailey Green, East Sussex, BN8 4DA 01825 722259 thefivebellschailey@gmail.com www.thefivebellschailey.com
SUSSEX LIVING April 2017
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