The Steam Packet, Littlehampton

Very restricted open hours at the moment, WhatPub says Friday, Saturday, and Sunday only. Check before visiting.

This is a pleasant looking traditional pub on the banks of the River Arun, a short walk from Littlehampton station. Inside, the pub occupies a single room with a part-terracotta tiled floor and carpeted seating spaces to either side. Pew and chair seating runs around the perimeter, including under some windows with nice views out to the river, whilst in the centre of the room, there is a very unusual, enclosed seating space with stained glass, low partitioning screens encircling a small number of tables and chairs. The servery is in the far corner and has a nice traditional counter and part-mirrored bar back. A door to the right of the bar leads out to a tiny garden with space in a narrow strip for a couple of tables, but if you follow this area to the rear, a small staircase appears, which leads up to a much larger raised patio garden, with rows of picnic benches and plenty of bright plants and unusual garden ornaments on display. The view up here is also pretty good, so we ended up sitting here despite the chilly weather. There are four handpulls on the bar, two of which were not being used, leaving a choice between Downlands Best and Vibrant Forest Pupa, with three real ciders also available from the box. I tried both of the ales and found the Pupa a little flat but the Best in good condition, whilst my Father enjoyed one of the ciders. We came here for lunch and found the service super-friendly, but somewhat chaotic and I would question exactly how fresh some of the ingredients were in the meals we were served. I wanted to like this pub, as the people who served us were all incredibly nice, but something was a bit off about the place and we didn’t really enjoy our food all that much, whilst the beer was hit and miss. Having taken a look at a few other pubs around Littlehampton, this might still be the best bet for decent beer and a pleasant atmosphere, but there’s plenty of room for improvement as well.

I didn't have time to fit this pub in during my brief visit to Littlehampton however in reply to the previous post I can assure that this pub is now open again and seemingly thriving, plenty of people inside eating when I passed by.