The Red Deer, Horsham

Pub SignMan left this review about The Red Deer

This modern bar, set in a former branch of Waitrose, occupies a prime spot in the centre of Horsham and draws a good weekend crowd as a result. The interior comprises a single, L-shaped room with the servery filling the rear left quarter. There's some great parquet flooring throughout, especially in the wide front seating area, where plenty of tables and chairs have been arranged, all looking across to the bi-fold doors along the front wall, which had been opened out to a small pavement seating area outside. More seating can be found in the rear right part of the pub, much of which looked very comfy, although the space doesn't get much natural light, which made it feel a bit gloomy on a bright evening, but perhaps could feel cosy on a colder day. Lots of deer themed bits have been put on display, including antler lamp shades and a few fake hunting trophy style heads. Perhaps the most striking thing about this place is the bizarrely bright colour scheme, which really dazzles you on entry - it's all very gaudy but it also kind of works. There's not too much else going on, with no TV screens to be seen and no pub games either, but I did spot a stack of board games in one corner.
For such a modern bar, the chances of finding any ale felt like practically zero, so it was a great shock to find no less than four operational handpulls dispensing Sharps Doom Bar, Taylors Landlord, Firebird Parody and St Austell Tribute. The Parody was okay, but not really in top condition, so maybe four is a bit of a stretch for them, but credit for trying at least.
This really isn't my sort of bar, but somehow I quite enjoyed my visit here. The clientele made it feel like a bit of a posers bar and the decor can perhaps be generously described as 'quirky' at best, but I liked that they were trying to do something a bit different and maybe they'll find the right balance for their cask output too, which would definitely make the place more appealing. A fun wildcard to consider on any crawl around Horsham.

Date of visit - 12th July 2024

On 31^st October 2024 - rating: 6
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