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Chat about:
Beer of the Week (w/e 27th April 2025) with Thuck Phat
on the Pub Forum
Detail Pages
The Lansdown Arms, Lewes
Lewes
BN7 2JU
Reviews (Current Rating Average: 6 of 10) see review guidelines
Real Ale Ray left this review about The Lansdown Arms
This pub blends in well with the rest of the buildings along the street, similar brickwork and matching upper Georgian windows. The exterior also has bold and colourful signage, one of which reads welcome to platform 6. I thought the barman on our visit did an extremely good job, opening up the pub to a crowd of thirsty Pubs Galore crew waiting patiently at the door.
On 15th April 2025
- rating: 7
[User has posted 3645 recommendations about 3645 pubs]
Tris C left this review about The Lansdown Arms
This is the closest ‘real’ pub to the railway station, making for a natural starting point for our crawl.
As mentioned, the interior is quirky with an arboreal leitmotif running through it; it’s also big on live music.
My first – though by no means last – drink of the day was from Harvey’s, a half of Sussex Best, £2.50 and nice.
This is a good place to start a day of drinking stuff from the local brewery and better than your typical railway station pub.
On 14th April 2025
- rating: 6
[User has posted 2208 recommendations about 2165 pubs]
Bucking Fastard left this review about The Lansdown Arms
Close to the station on a busy street corner,the interior is quirky .There is a tree trunk and branches next to the servery,a wooden hindu relief above the bar and some old exposed timbers above a stepped left side.To the right is a seperate section with traditional furniture.Music plays a large part in the life of this pub with regular DJ's and live performances and the overall feel is of a decent ale house.As mentioned below there were 4 ale options and my Gun Extra Pale was decent (NBSS 3.5).
A very good start or finish to any crawl around town.
On 12th April 2025
- rating: 7
[User has posted 2936 recommendations about 2936 pubs]
Will Larter left this review about The Lansdown Arms
I was unable to get a good impression of this pub as it was crowded with about a dozen Pubs Galore members and their friends - and family in my case - in what was agreed as the first pub of a visit to Lewes. Service was friendly and beer very good. My half of Harvey's Sussex Best was in good if not outstanding condition, the other beers on the bar being Jaipur, Landlord and local Gun Extra Pale. Definitely worth a visit, as either first or last pub in Lewes.
On 11th April 2025
- no rating submitted
[User has posted 4274 recommendations about 3935 pubs]
David Walton left this review about The Lansdown Arms
Visited 02/01/25. Visited counted first on 01/12/18.
Five hand pumps dispensing Gun Extra Pale Ale, Jaipur, Harvey's Sussex Best, TT Landlord and Old Rosie cider. Keg offering of Guinness (at least 2025 starts with something the last pub of 2024 didn't have), Thatchers Gold, Aspall, Neck Oil, Madri, Pravda, K1664 and Peroni.
Corner pub near Lewes station with outside drinking on the hill up into town a popular spot in warmer conditions. Pretty basic interior with bare boarded floor in the front, up a single brick height step to flag stoned floor rear of pub. Pretty basic apart from the good painted tree trunk just inside door with upper branches tacked to the ceiling and holding a long string of bright white fairy lights. Walls partly exposed brick, partly dark blue painted boards. Wooden fronted bar counter against back wall opposite the corner entrance with relief carved Eastern mystic sculpture above the bar counter. Pretty basic wooden tables and chairs and tall stools at the bar counter popular with the older local crowd on my early evening visit on my first pub visit of 2025 albeit not a new and hence counted venue for me. No TV's in this venue and generally have always found the music in here to my taste but it was turned up a bit too much on my visit this evening.
On 7th April 2025
- rating: 6
[User has posted 631 recommendations about 631 pubs]
paulof horsham left this review about The Lansdown Arms
It seems that the ale choice in The Lansdown hasn't varied for a while: the choices available on my visit corresponding exactly with those listed by the previous reviewer. The Gun Scaramanga was reasonable enough, if lacking a bit of condition.
The single room inside is liberally adorned with plenty of bric-a-brac, including a fake tree in front of you as you enter which all adds a bit of interest. Furniture comprises Church pew type seats and simple wooden tables throughout, which wouldn't seem to offer comfort for an extended stay.
The pub works well as a pit-stop before or after exploring the town's pubs if you're on the train, but I'm not sure I'd contemplate staying for too much longer than that.
On 27th January 2025
- rating: 6
[User has posted 554 recommendations about 516 pubs]
Pub SignMan left this review about The Lansdown Arms
Just a short walk from Lewes station, this is a rightly popular pub with a compact interior and a good ale range. A corner entrance leads you into a bare boarded room with the servery along the back wall and some limited seating options in the remainder of the space. Most of the seating comes in the form of simple tables and chairs, although a few high stools are dotted around for good measure – ideal for perching along the bar or any ledges you might come across. The bar has a rustic, timber fronted counter, smart modern shelving on the bar back and an eye-catching wood carving across the canopy depicting some sort of Far Eastern scene. There’s a fair bit of wood panelling and dark wood beams around the room, but a contemporary colour scheme helps make the place feel like somewhere most pub users could enjoy and the décor includes a few modern bits alongside the usual breweriana, paintings and photos you might associate with a traditional boozer. Perhaps the most striking feature is the presence of a tree in the middle of the room, with one branch carved into a tiny table surface big enough to hold one pint glass. Our visit wasn’t timed too well, with us tipping up an hour before a game was due to start at Lewes’ nearby Dripping Pan ground, so the place was mobbed with football fans, making it hard to move around an ultimately forcing us to take a seat on one of the pavement benches out the front.
The five handpulls were all clipped, offering a choice of Gun Scaramanga, Harvey's Sussex Best, Taylors Landlord, Thornbridge Jaipur and a real cider. The Scaramanga was in good condition and a great first pint of the day, whilst others reported the Landlord to be in fine shape as well. The place seems very popular and was doing a good trade when we passed on our way back to the station at the end of the day, long after the football was done.
I liked this place and thought it makes a good introduction to Lewes’ strong pub scene. I couldn’t really enjoy the place to the full due to the crowd and therefore can’t be entirely sure where it ranks among the town’s other top ale houses, but I enjoyed it enough that I’ll definitely make an effort to stop by again the next time I’m in town.
Date of visit - 12th October 2024
On 3rd January 2025
- rating: 7
[User has posted 3350 recommendations about 3350 pubs]
Danny O'Revey left this review about The Lansdown Arms
Nice pub at bottome of hill between the high town and the station. Bare floor boards, chunky tables and chairs and some fairy lights to soften the effect
On 31st August 2024
- rating: 7
[User has posted 1542 recommendations about 1519 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
BRUMMIE STEVE left this review about The Lansdown Arms
When'ever I'm in Lewes having a drink I always make this pub my last before getting the train, do like it, it has a good selection of ales even though by the time I get there I've had enough of ale and alway's go for the Thatchers Gold. A one room pub which does have a local's feel with several tables outside the main door on the pavement, alway's quite busy and just a couple of minutes walk to the station.
On 3rd November 2022
- rating: 7
[User has posted 14 recommendations about 14 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Moby Duck left this review about The Lansdown Arms
A slightly quirky split level pub , I agree with Grahams bohemian take on the pub and clientele, but no sign of any cliqueness. I counted eight hand pumps in total, beers on were Gun Scaramanga, Harveys Sussex Best, TT Landlord and Thornbridge Jaipur, Old Rosie Cider Occupied one of the handles. A good start or end to a crawl of the town being close to the station. This pub exceeded my expectations having walked past it in the past.
On 8th September 2022
- rating: 8
[User has posted 2151 recommendations about 2118 pubs]