The Downs Man, Hangleton, Hove

The Downs Man is set back from Hangleton Way by a front car park and around to the left is a beer garden with some covered seating and a picnic table can be found on a thin strip of lawn. The interior is made up by the bar area and a smaller room through a door to the right. At the rear there is a dining area that was not in use during my recent midweek evening visit. The pub was empty apart from a friendly barmaid and three locals that were putting the world to rights. The bar is stocked with standard draught and one of the three hand pumps was unused leaving Harvey’s Best and Otter Ale as the cask choices. There were no menus lying around, but the pub grub on the specials board was priced between £5 for a beef baguette to £8 for poached chicken and veg. There was some background music playing very low and I didn’t spot any televisions or upcoming events. I was made to feel welcome, but this pub is well off the main drag and in my opinion not really worth the trip for non-locals.

A very disappointing visit! The staff member on duty(?) was very unhelpful when we asked for a menu. The Landlord was more interested in talking about golf with his friend than helping the barmaid. What a shame. Ideal location to be a true winner both for the local Hangleton residents and visitors to the area as it is very near the end of the track running up to Devils Dyke. The current Landlord seems very unimaginative. The food was good, but sadly let down by the ambiance and VERY high prices considering it’s location (we pay less in the centre of Hove). Our advice would be to go to The Hangleton Manor or for a more rough and ready, but reasonably priced venue, The Grenadier.