Not already a member?
Join our community and
- Rate & review pubs
- Upload pictures
- Add events
JOIN for free NOW
Chat about:
Poll for date of Halifax crawl. with ROBCamra
on the Pub Forum
Detail Pages
The Tiger Inn, Eastbourne
East Dean
Postal town: Eastbourne
BN20 0DA
Reviews (Current Rating Average: 8 of 10) see review guidelines
Blue Scrumpy left this review about The Tiger Inn
Easily reached by the Coaster bus service which runs between Brighton and Eastbourne, this pub is tucked away off the main road and overlooks the village green. On my sunny Monday lunchtime visit, most people were sat outside overlooking the green and enjoying the October sunshine. It was certainly warm enough to eat al fresco and the plates of chips and other foodstuffs heading out looked tempting.
However, I headed inside to get a bit of a feel of the interior. With pretty much all tables occupied outside, quite a few people started to arrive to eat inside too, primarily in a reasonably small dining room off to the right-hand side as you enter. The larger bar area is in the centre, with another dining area off to the left.
Long Man Best Bitter is the regular beer here. Guest beers were St Austell Tribute, Lister's Scrummy Ale, Only With Love Yacht Rock & Lakedown Sussex Pale. With the profusion of Harvey's pubs I was to visit later in Eastbourne, this was probably the pub with the best beer range of my day's crawling. Indeed, had I known that my bus back into town was going to be late, I'd have gladly stopped for a second beer.
The main bar area is dark inside, with stone floors and beamed ceilings. Eagle-eyed staff had noticed that a large mirror on the right-hand wall was looking rather smeared. So, a young waitress was given the task of cleaning it. There certainly seemed to be plenty of staff around. So, they must expect plenty of business, even on a Monday.
Newspapers next to the bar are available to read, if you wish to while away a bit more time. The Beachy Head Brewery mentioned in the previous review seems to be long gone and whilst I was impressed with the range of real ales (and lack of Harvey's) and liked the pub itself, I couldn't help but feel that it lacked drinkers, with all except for me there for food. So, not quite my favourite pub of the day, but worth the trip out of Eastbourne for a visit. Incidentally, the village car park is just down from the pub if you choose to arrive by car.
On 10th October 2023
- rating: 6
[User has posted 2452 recommendations about 2451 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
John Bonser left this review about The Tiger Inn
On the edge of the small village green in East Dean, which is close to Eastbourne, Beachy Head and the Birling Gap, is The Tiger Inn. It’s a 16th century former smugglers haunt, apparently
A large rampant tiger sign on the whitewashed pub wall tells us that we are entering the Beachy Head Brewery Tap. Either side of the entrance is a giant beer barrel. Reflecting the fact that we’re in walking country, the inevitable water bowl for dogs is by the door.
Down a couple of steps, and facing us, is the main bar, featuring light wooden ceiling beams, a lino floor and a traditional country pub feel enhanced by a copper topped fireplace, horse brasses and some old framed photos and prints of the pub. Blackboards on the bar gantry have sayings from various people such as W C Fields and George Bernard Shaw. Behind the bar, we see a number of CAMRA certificates won by The Beachy Head Brewery as “Microbrewery of the Festival”
On the right hand side, down several further steps is a small brighter, carpeted extension, which has something of a small conservatory look to it. On the other side of the main bar, down a small corridor, is a separate dedicated restaurant area.
There’s no TV’s or fruit machines or anything. I suppose you’d sum up the interior as being pleasant, but unremarkable, by country pub standards.
Whilst there were a few locals propping up the bar, engaging in amiable banter with mine host, there’s an inevitable food emphasis with, on my recent Saturday lunchtime visit, a number of walkers and family groups coming in at regular intervals looking for tables for lunch.
Outside at the front are a number of seats overlooking the small village green and its war memorial. On a pleasant, sunny, but fresh Saturday lunchtime in late November, the pub’s popularity was clearly evident.
3 real ales were on – the ubiquitous Harveys Best, Longman Brewery’s Long Blonde plus Legless Rambler ( ABV – 5% ) from the Beachy Head Brewery. The latter went off pretty quickly, and, rather disappointingly, was not replaced at all, leaving just the two beers on, neither of which was from Beachy Head.
The pub is a CAMRA Good Beer Guide regular, but I was disappointed by the absence of Beachy Head beers.
This is a pleasant enough pub with an idyllic village green setting, but I don’t think it’s specifically worth going far out of your way to visit
On 1st January 2014
- rating: 6
[User has posted 560 recommendations about 560 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
paulof horsham left this review about The Tiger Inn
Only popped in for a swift half of one of the several Beachey Head ales (my visit was too brief to afford a sensible rating). Lots of beams and a flagstone floor in the main bar area, but you'll want to be sitting outside as long as the weather's up to it - as mentioned before, the village green is picture-postcard perfect and the kids can run around happily.
Well worth calling in if you're touring, walking or cycling this part of the South Downs. Not sure I would make a special visit, nice though it is; in this part of the world, you're not going to have to go far for a quality village pub.
On 30th August 2012
- no rating submitted
[User has posted 453 recommendations about 425 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Aqualung . left this review about The Tiger Inn
This is a wonderful Olde Worlde building with a vast outside drinkng area. Visiting it on the first warm and sunny day since March meant that the outside tables were being rapidly filled while the inside ones were mainly free.
The two Beachy Head beers were in fine form and the food was very good indeed, maybe a tad pricey but this is Sussex and the salad appeared to be either local or home grown.
I'm not sure that the Beachy Head beers match up to the high standards of some micros, I thought it had a bit of a "home Brew" taste. Anyone who has ever used a Boots home brew kit will know what I mean.
It's a great pub that seems to be part of a larger village complex including the Village Hall.
Definitely worth a visit.
On 19th May 2012
- rating: 9
[User has posted 2143 recommendations about 2143 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Steve C left this review about The Tiger Inn
The Tiger Inn is located in the village of East Dean which is just off the A259 at the edge of the borough of Eastbourne. The area is very popular with walkers and cyclists due to adjacent South Downs and I’m sure that many a rambler has come across this idyllic village green pub and thought ‘wow, that’s just what the doctor ordered’. Unsurprisingly it is a very busy place on a hot summer’s day and the picnic tables outside the front are occupied very quickly and the paved beer garden to the side of the pub fills up equally as fast. Not to worry though as most people sit on the large green on their blankets whilst knocking back some Beachyhead ale. Being the Beachyhead Brewery Tap two of their ales were available in the form of Legless Rambler and Original. Obviously with this being East Sussex Harveys Best was also available and there was a limited draught selection of Stella, Becks, Guinness and Stowford Press cider. Food is served and the mains come in at around the £10 mark with kitchen opening hours of midday until 15:00 and 18:00 until 21:00. My visit commenced at 14:45 on a recent hot Sunday afternoon and the queue for the bar was coming out of the front door as the two barmen struggled to keep their cool. Thankfully my next visit half an hour later was much quicker as the kitchen had closed for the afternoon. Maybe at busier times some thought could be put into separating people ordering food and others just ordering drinks.
The pub itself is split into two with a dining area through a door to the left and the bar through the door on the right, mind your head. The bar area is pretty much what one would expect with an inglenook, low beams and chalk boards giving food prices up on the walls, but it was much smaller than I expected from the outside. To the right of the bar there is a seating area with doors that open up onto the aforementioned paved beer garden. Bed and Breakfast is available and there are some holiday cottages to the left of the pub.
I’m not so sure that I would have been so impressed with this place if I had visited on a cold and windy January evening, but I really enjoyed my visit here and will return when the next wave of clement weather arrives.
On 4th May 2011
- rating: 8
[User has posted 5241 recommendations about 5209 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Grant Doughty left this review about The Tiger Inn
My first visit to a real English pub when we came over to the UK in 2003. A nice warm Autumn afternoon friendly locals, I struck up a conversation with a motorcyclist and enjoyed a pint or two. This little pub was so unreal and after 36 hours travelling I could not believe what I was seeing. Kiwis should get into this laid back social way of enjoying a Sunday Arvo, it was not about sculling large amounts of ale but enjoying the whole atmosphere of being. We will return this Nov 2011 albeit into the Eglish winter, roll on Nov
On 20th February 2011
- rating: 10
[User has posted 3 recommendations about 3 pubs]