The Huntsman, Tunbridge Wells

Blue Scrumpy left this review about The Huntsman

Handy for both the main A26 and Eridge station, this quaint pub is tucked away on a side road, albeit one that was on a very congested road with commuters' cars parked everywhere. Luckily, there is a small area reserved as the pub car park which must be monitored, as commuters seemed to have kept it clear.

The bar is to the front of the pub. It is bare boarded, with a fireplace at one end containing a wood burner. One part of the ceiling had many Trivial Pursuit cards stuck to it. At the other end of the room, the ceiling had newspaper clippings and an upside down Monopoly board. Maybe board games are a big thing here. Multiple Trivial Pursuit sets were available to play, along with Shut The Box and Scrabble.

No longer run by Hall & Woodhouse, the pub has Long Man Best Bitter as its regular cask ale. The guest ale was Larkin's Pale Ale, with a third handpull clipped with a local cider from Charrington's (The Earl's Reserve), which was dispensed from the fridge.

Lunch was being served whilst we were there on a Wednesday. Dogs are welcome and there is also a large outdoor garden to the left and rear of the pub. This pub has not featured in the Good Beer Guide since 2003. I would suggest that the local CAMRA branch re-visit that and take another look. This was the first of 10 pubs we tried in East Sussex and for me, it was the best of the lot.

On 12^th May 2025 - rating: 7
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