The White Hart, Battle

Attractive old village pub doing excellent business on a Sunday lunchtime, with all tables seemingly taken, leaving just a couple of unoccupied barstools. As traditional as you would expect in the various seating / dining areas in the partly opened-out layout, with a blazing log fire at one end. With two of three handpumps in use, I found Doom Bar and... of course... the inevitable Harvey's (£4.40).

The White Hart consists of a large dining area to the left and an L shaped bar to the right. I didn’t go into the dining area but through the opening from the bar I spotted an inglenook on the far left-hand wall. The bar area has a traditional cosy feel which is added to by the wood fire to the right of the entrance. To the left of the fireplace are steps up to the toilets. Around to the left of the bar is a large plasma screen which was off during my Saturday afternoon visit. I didn’t note any advertisements for live sports. Standard keg is available, and five hand pumps are supported. A bank of three were drawing Harveys Best and Sharps Doom Bar, with the third being unused. The bank of two found on the left side of the bar were covered with Sooty and Sweep hand puppets, so out of use. Food is available during lunch and evening times. My visit was just after 15:00 when the kitchen was closed so no menus were on hand. There are a few parking spaces outside the front of the pub and a car park is advertised around the rear. I found the service to be polite and I would pop back in here if passing.

Official site of The White Hart - www.whitehartcatsfield.co.uk