The Partridge, Horsham

Official site of The Partridge - partridgepub.co.uk

Official site of The Partridge - partridgepub.co.uk

I had intended to wait for a while before commenting about the new publicans and the changed pub, now that Dark Star have taken over. However, the changes are so good and so significant that I felt it better not to wait. Gone are the serried ranks of lager fonts - leaving just one for those whose palates have not yet matured enough to appreciate proper beer. Instead there are eight beer engines, all dispensing good beer. Yesterday there were nine beers on offer, including a brand new Dark Star brew - Hophead Citra, They also had a locally brewed mild and a locally brewed Porter. From being a very lack-lustre pub it has become one of the finest around insofar as beer is concerned. I can't yet comment about the food as the kitchen has still to be commissioned and staffed. Watch this space.

The present tenants, Clive and Dawn, are leaving on 21 February 2011 and the pub will be closed from then until 25 February. That evening it will reopen as a Dark Star house under the tenancy of Rob and Vicky. Dark Star are brewing a new beer to celebrate the occasion - Hophead Citra. I will report back once the pub has been running for a while and I am able to give an informed opinion.

Sadly I have to report that this pub has deteriorated greatly over the past year or so - starting when the present tenants decided to sell. Although the sale is going through, at present they are in the interregnum period, made all that more protracted by the shennanigans of the legal eagles (or should I say, vultures) and are thus very down in the dumps. Presently the pub has no food, no fire, no atmosphere and few customers (although it still does have decent London Pride). I will report back as and when things change - the Dark Star takeover is still "pending".