Fountain Ashurst in Lancing

A busy country pub!Plus, amazing wonderful steam engines on a visit!Well worth a visit...GO!

The Sunday Roast at the Fountain is really generous, well cooked, and served with generous portions of everything. The setting and fireplace are also lovely. It took a little while for the drinks order to arrive, but the quality of the roast and the attentiveness of the lunch staff made up for that. Highly recommended. GREAT Yorkshire Pudding!

I love the fountian me and my family go all the time aleays good food, also got a bbq and soon to be opening a fish bar

Lovely old pub. Food was great and staff were too

Had a very disappointing roast pork today at the Fountain which is normally very good. Potatoes tasted like they were re-heated in the fryer, gravy was very thin, flavourless and not enough of it. The Pork was very fatty with soft crackling and the veg was a carrot roasted and split in two which was very dry, spring greens and some pureed sewed. The dish was not very hot and the bar staff were clearly understaffed with little experience but to be fair thats seems to be pretty normal these days with the lack of staff available to employers.As I was very hungry I didnt bother to ask for a new plate / complain but took my experience to the manager and she said to me please be mindful of posting any negative reviews as this really effects our business (asking me not toand I do appreciate how tough it must be these days with costs and staff shortages, she also told me her chef was in Mexico and her husband was running the kitchen so please bear that in mind. What got me was the fact she stared to sob and didnt ask if there was anything she could do to sort it out which surprised me. Good customer service is not about giving a sob story as to why I shouldnt post criticism basically making it all about them but should be looking at ways to improve and work with the disappointed customer which she didnt do. She never said she was sorry for "my" poor experience she made it about her.The £16.50 roast pork was much more a kin to a carvery than a lovely country pub roast. Bear in mind Ive had a lot of good meals and nights out there but this was so disappointing in both the quality of food and the response I got that I felt like I needed to post this.

Service poor with very young staff, sandwiches need more filling.Not impressed as it used to be very good

Decided to stop for a quick drink and ended up having a meal. The food was wonderful, great food full of flavour, really good value, the staff were very friendly. Will definitely go back

As someone who regularly reviews pubs and restaurants I had the fortune to visit this amazing pub/restaurant yesterday for the sixth time. The landlord and landlady are so welcoming and accommodating and put their whole heart and soul into the business. Both my husband and I ate 2 main meals from the menu that were reasonably priced in their garden that is a dream to be in. It has a beautiful duck pond, an outdoor bar and bbq area, a small beach area just for the kids and future plans for a champagne oyster bar too. I was disappointed to hear others complaining about standards of food yesterday as I’m a real foodie and their food is fabulous. Perhaps in future if food is not satisfactory to yourself, that you have the decency to mention this whilst you are eating not after you have cleared your plates as I’m sure that these hospitable people would have been only too willing to replace your meal had you mentioned this. I was also shocked to hear it from a whole party of people and wondered whether this was serial complaining with only one motive. I firmly recommend this venue it has so much to offer.

Very friendly staff , great atmosphere and food always great! Highly recommended !

We have been coming to this pub on and off for 45 years. Sadly its really gone downhill in the last year. Understaffed and lousy service. We had prebooked the night before & endured a 40 min wait for drinks and well over an a 1 hour wait for food. No priority given vs drop-in customers. No apologies. We have heard from others that this is becoming a persistent problem. Employ more staff, stop being greedy and prioritise customers who book. 4 of us left very disapponted. The owner simply bursts into tears on a regular basis it seems as ahe knows the service is so bad. We are local people and reputations are easy to lose and take years to regain. We may try again when there is a change of ownership in the years to come. For the foreseable future we will be giving it a wide berth

As usual the place delivers with great food and service. As a walker the pub and restaurant is a great halfway house on my walks, staff are always friendly and very efficient. And the food is excellent and great value.

This historic Sussex is an absolute gem of a find. The setting is stunning. The service is amazing - Lindsey is such a welcoming host. The menu caters for all tastes and the meat and fish is sourced locally. I can’t recommend this pub more you simply have to try for yourself to believe it

Food as always was fabulous staff were friendly and knowledgeable on their wines

I really like the fountain its a great place to go for a quiet midweek country glass of rosé. Does get quite busy at the weekends..

Gastropub - the food was good but limited selection of ales.The evening we went for dinner they were down several staff but the owner made us feel welcome and still served food rather than cancelling our reservation.

Lovely pub, owners/managers were very friendly and chatty, popped in with a couple of mates on our motorbikes, easy parking and lovely gardens

I recently visited The Fountain with my mum after a friend recommended it to me. We had a really enjoyable experience and will definitely be back soon! We went around lunch time and both of our dishes were brought out quickly and tasted amazing! (I would recommend the Plaice). The overall service of the pub was very friendly and welcoming with the owners of the pub willing to chat to anyone. With the pub also being dog friendly it wad a very nice bonus also! Looking forward to the next visit.

The worst meals and service. Food was limited, 2 meals went back. Landlord very defensive about their food. Said they wouldnt charge us for the returned meals but still on the bill when it arrived. The best part of the evening was leaving.

Food very mediocre especially the BBQ, dull and uninspiring. Could do better!Staff friendly and great location but understaffed and very busy.

Its been quite a few years since we last visited, but we wont leave it so long for the next time! Visited to celebrate a family birthday on a beautiful summer evening, and had the best experience from start to end. Super friendly staff and a very welcoming owner, fantastic food from the kitchen and from the BBQ, and a lovely pint from the Long Man brewery. Even picked up a couple of very reasonably priced chilli plants from the garden on the way out!Really looking forward to our next visit (possibly for the seafood bar opening soon)

Our first visit to the Fountain turned out to be a real treat. Made to feel very welcome by all of the staff. The food was superb. Cannot fault the experience. Well done the Fountain!!

We turned up on a day we expected to be quiet - hence wed not booked - only to find te Fountain was fully booked and were a man-down in the kitchen - so the owners must have felt pretty challnged if not worse.. Despite this, Madame kindly sat us down at a great table overlooking thei lake, and our meal was served without fuss. She found a moment to recount the recent birth of her 10-month old son - who we gurgled at - and introduced us to her delightful dog. So far, so impressive!Madames day was soon complicated by a power cut. But she, her husband and staff stayed friendly, calm and coped with everything brilliantly! They delivered a great afternoon for us and other guests. And sent us off with some complimentary cake! A wonderful place, team, food and tp class friendly, can-do service. Top markets and compliments to everyone involved. Well be back for sure!

After ordering our 3rd pint this afternoon, I’d told bar staff they’d see me again soon as me and my partner had settled in and decided we’d go for food and some heavy drinking. Sat on a table outside, half way though a pint, we were bluntly told by a member of staff who might have been a manager we needed to leave in 15 minutes for a reservation. Shocking front of house.

One of the most lovely pub gardens to sit on a warm summer night out in the Sussex countryside. We really enjoyed our burgers here and the staff all seem very nice ☺️

V expensive to eat here with the children (£13 inc a juiceand the childrens pasta meal is hideously overpriced. If they are going to charge a £10 for pasta and a tub of ice cream they should at least make sure the serving is generously sized. My steak was also not medium rare (Id say it was medium-well), probably because it was a thinner piece than those served to my companions and the cooking time not adjusted correctly.

Really friendly landlady and her staff. We went as a group and they looked after us very well. The bbq kitchen food was very nice and sensibly priced to the quality. The pub itself is very traditional and true to its period and the garden which wraps around it well looked after and inviting. Would definitely recommend.

What an excellent friendly pub. Staff are so helpful and friendly. Pub and garden were really nice, such a relaxing pub would definitely recommend

An absolute gem of a place. Gorgeous country pub with beautiful garden and incredible food. Despite being unexpectedly short staffed, we just had a wonderful meal here - the staff were super busy but dealt with challenge with charm and efficiency. Well done team, we will definitely be back.

Lovely old pub with some recent history. Large car park. Great food, good portion sizes.

Came here for a roast dinner with my husbandLovely looking pub and beautiful settingStaff were politeBut the food was awful!Very Small portions for the prices you payMy husband had prawns to start with & I had the Brieneither was great no taste to anythingAnd he didn’t get a dish of water to wash your fingers after having to peel your prawns!My husband had the beef he said the meat was goodBut potatoes wasn’tI had roast pork (very bland no cracklingroast potatoes were so dry I could barely swallow them ( worst I have ever eaten)Very little veg on the platesI asked if they had any sides like the website says ie: cauliflower cheese, pigs in blankets ect to be toldNo !!!No flavour/taste to the gravy at all eitherThank goodness we had horseradish & apple sauce to add a little flavour to our meal !!!All round not a good experienceWon’t be visiting again for food.

Awful, plain and simple. Booked table not available on arrival. Drinks taken to wrong table or missing and had to be chased up. Very limited menu and what there was, some was unavailable. Chips were ok but the fish was very poor and the pea purée did appear to be a puréed pea, had to search the plate for it. Overall the service was beyond chaotic, all we seemed to hear all night was the staff and manager going round tables with excuses and apologies. We were lucky though, the next table had the wrong meals delivered on several occasions, one not delivered at all which resulted in tears from one of the children in the group. The desserts eventually arrived after the group started to leave only for one of them to have plastic in it. This place should be great but on this showing it will be a long time before we bother to try again.

Positives:Lovely looking historic pub in a rural location. It had a couple of ales on.Negatives:The food, a very poor uninspiring selection of mains of which the bangers, mash and peas was perhaps the most adventurous. The bangers were not great, the mash was dry and flavourless, difficult to say what the peas were like as there were so few of them.The prices, more than £40 for two mains (bangers and mash and a veggie burgera half pint of beer and a glass of white wine.Summary:Might be ok for a beer but they really need to improve the menu (it was dreadfuland reduce their prices to about half what is being charged.

Lovely location, quaint pub with nice outdoor seating. Food was excellent.

Ive been past here on a motorcycle countless times but on this occasion I stopped.What a lovely country pub it is. Huge well kept outside area, great food, great service, lovely coffe but dont go there late, they knock off at 9pm, which makes perfect sense out in the countryside.Will definitely be stopping here again.

First time here, the service, the food and location were amazing! Highly recommend! And even made us special cocktails! Wonderful afternoon thank you x

Visited the Fountain Inn Ashurst and stayed over the one night in our Motorhome. Great experience with lovely staff and fantastic menu. Food was delicious and plentiful. Great location with the Motorhome as large car park and quiet. Will definitely be back when touring the Sussex area.

This is a marvellous English country pub and the food and service are top notch. I enjoyed a rather fantastic pheasant bun which has made anything else in a bun seem rather mundane and the price was excellent.This venue was a recommendation from a couple of different friends so when in the area we made a detour to visit for lunch and Im glad we did. Definitely one for a return trip in the Summer to investigate the garden!

beautiful country pub, friendly service, food portion was small for the money but the quality was excellent.

Loved our Christmas Eve meal here. Brilliantly cooked meals for all 4 of us. Will be back!

Food was below standard, expensive,slow in coming and small portions. If the order was correct that would have helped. Lack of choice of cider. We will not be returning which is a shame as it was a great pub.

Recommended by Merrion Farm, a lovely Pub with friendly staff, great food! Nice outside space/garden with a sandpit/beach, pond with ducks. Some parking. Would visit again

Idyllic country pub with beautiful features, attentive service and a great selection of drinks & food.Popped by to check it out and make an August booking and was pleasantly surprised to find this gem. Lindsay and staff made us feel very welcome.It features a mini beach, skittles, duck pond, numerous outdoor areas, love shack kitchen and live music Saturday and Sundays!!! Cant wait to come back!!!

Such a lovely find on the way back from the airport. The scenery is amazing, with the most welcoming staff and the food is so good. Hoping to get back soon.

Ive wanted to visit this pub for over 40 years, in fact from the very first time I see the video as a kid. My daughter lives in Chichester , so during a visit I decided they would take me here for lunch.I wasnt disappointed. It was better than i could imagine. Beautiful countryside setting, stunning old building, Outside gardens, A small pond, childrens area and BBQ shack for summer. I cant wait till summer to pull up on my bike and have a BBQ !The Food was as expected. Mouth watering, Both visually and tasting. I had the Pheasant Burger. The staff made us feel so welcome, even though my initial conversation centred on Sir Paul McCartney. The Homely smell of a real log burning on the fire !!!!I wished I lived nearer to this pub. I really do.Thank You.

Nice pub, the food is nice and the whole place looks very much like an old pub. Slightly on the expensive side. Enough parking for a busy day and enough staff to make the food come at a good speed.

Lovely country pub, building has lots of history. Full of character. Staff very friendly. Food is good quality, although slightly more expensive than other pubs

As featured in Hilaire Bellocs The Four Men. I imagine Belloc would still recognise the interior a century or so on - the bar room I was in felt very well preserved and pleasingly devoid of modern affectations. There were flagstone floors, low hanging beams, an inglenook fireplace, bare brick walls (a blessing for dissuading the dreaded Farrow and Ball paint job), a few horse brasses and a shepherds crook above the fireplace, and simple wooden chairs and tables. Very tasteful and just as it should be.Harveys on tap (delightfuland local wines available by the glass - still wines from Poynings Grange and Nutbourne and English sparkling wine from Wiston. I thought the food was of a very good standard (but thankfully not erring towards gastropub pretentiousness), and shortly after I arrived there seemed to be a bit of an onslaught of people coming to eat. Im glad I got here early!

Great old pub. Real fire place. Excellent food and wine options (could get Viognier by the glass as well as some of the excellent Sussex wines). Also had a duck pond in the beer garden. Whats it to love?

Beautiful, unique pub. Lunch time menu over priced, more like a dinner menu. Apart from that, gorgeous atmosphere.

Great food. lovely garden. And Harveys ale ( although Dark Star from up the road maybe nice 🍺🤓very friendly and helpful staff made this sunny visit even better