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The Beachy Head, Eastbourne

Pub added by elizabeth mcgraw
Beachy Head Road
Beachy Head
Postal town: Eastbourne
BN20 7YA
Phone: 01323728060

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Pub Type

Vintage Inns (Mitchells & Butlers)

Reviews (Current Rating Average: 4 of 10) Add Review see review guidelines


Steve of N21 left this review about The Beachy Head

If I say we didn’t catch this one on one of its better days, then that would be an understatement. After walking from Eastbourne to Beachy Head we planned to stop here for a bite of lunch. Or at least that was the plan until we approached the front door to find a sign saying, “kitchen closed today, sorry for any inconvenience”. Oh well we better just have a beer and some bar snacks then. And in this respect things looked encouraging with five badged ale pumps on the bar with three ales and two ciders available. On inspection no make that two ales as the Doombar was badged twice , one of my pet hates when visiting a pub.
We will start with the Rhubarb cider please. Er no you wont, that’s not on and neither is the Doombar despite it having two pumps. So in reality one ale and one cider. So I enquired why the other clips not reversed, as this is another of my top hates in pubs. “Oh that’s not our policy”.
Really !!, So the policy here is to fool the customer with what you haven’t got. Great one.. At this point this pub was doing its utmost best to hate it as it’s a food led pub, but without a kitchen and ticking two of my top hates in pubs.
But fortunately the one available ale was St Austell Tribute, which was actually a very good pint and went well with the crisps and Nobbys nuts, which sustained us until we made it back down to the excellent Pilot Inn back in Eastbourne And the service levels from the young guys behind the bar was very good and friendly and I didn’t hold them responsible for the ridiculous double badging and non reversing the pumps clips policy.
So in conclusion, ten years since the last review and not a lot seems to have changed. Still a tourist trap and still a very average experience.

On 5th July 2023 - rating: 5
[User has posted 2094 recommendations about 1985 pubs]


Please Note: This review is over a year old.


Just a quick pint, then I'm off left this review about The Beachy Head

Large food-led pub in a prime position just a short distance inland from the eponymous headland. An absolute tourist trap, and very annoying in that they don't do anything light to eat, but at least you can stop off for a pint during or after a bracing walk along the clifftops. Plain patio seating area at the windswept front, and a more inviting beer garden to the rear (although - despite being the warmest day of the year so far - apparently "too early in the season" to have any chairs put out!). Two of three handpumps on, with Harveys and Scottish Borders Foxy Blonde available (once we got served, which took a very long time).

On 14th April 2013 - rating: 5
[User has posted 8061 recommendations about 8061 pubs]


Please Note: This review is over a year old.


Steve C left this review about The Beachy Head

After some entertainment hunting around the rock pools with the kids down the road at Birling Gap the Beachy Head was a haven from the freezing weather. This large pub had a homely feel, if maybe a little corporate, and there are lots of different sections to hide away in and most have wonderful views of the coast out of the many windows. There are a couple of fireplaces that were giving off some much needed heat and there was some relaxing background music playing. I found the staff to be very friendly and the barmaid sorted out some ice cream for my nippers that wasn’t actually on the menu. Talking of the menu I thought that the mains were very tempting and pricey ranging from £8 to £17, but this is a tourist trap and the only pub for quite some distance. Two of the hand pumps on the bar were unused, but Greene King IPA, Doom Bar and Abbot were available alongside some standard and premium draught products. I thought that the Guinness was spot on and not that expensive coming in at £3.15 a pint.

Obviously there is a large car park to accommodate the sightseers and some picnic tables can be found at the front of the pub, but there is far more seating on a slope at the rear of the pub.

I found this Vintage Inns pub to be very pleasant and I would have no problem returning, but I will mention that my visit was on a very quiet Monday afternoon so the problems about service and management mentioned before may still be valid. I will still stop off here again for a pint the next time I go rock hopping with the kids.

On 17th December 2010 - rating: 7
[User has posted 5178 recommendations about 5147 pubs]


Please Note: This review is over a year old.


Pub SignMan left this review about The Beachy Head

After a lengthy slog up the hill from Eastbourne to the cliffs of Beachy Head, it was something of a 'Holy Grail' moment to see a pub appear over the horizon. Of course, I should have twigged that this pub, far from the nearest settlement, is a tourist trap of the grimmest kind.
Impressions of an initially agreable interior and decent enough ale selection (Harvey's, Spitfire, Landlord) are soon tempered by realising that the place doesn't appear to have been cleaned in ages and that your beer has been poured well short of a pint.
An extensive and tempting food menu nearly led to us grabbing a bite to eat, but we were put off by overhearing a number of customers complaining about their meals.
Complacency reigns supreme here. They know that there will always be a steady stream of tourists who can't resist a pint overlooking he sea, so they've stopped trying.

On 28th May 2009 - rating: 2
[User has posted 3102 recommendations about 3102 pubs]


Please Note: This review is over a year old.


Nick Davies left this review about The Beachy Head

Now a Vintage Inn and a particularly hopeless example for this dire M&B brand. 1pm on a routine dull Sunday lunchtime and they're completely out of their depth, quoting 45 minutes to reheat the factory produced meals, and that's once you've waited for what seems like for ever to get served at the bar. Even getting a cup of coffee was difficult, requiring someone to go out and clear up some tables and wash some cups up. The one saving grace was the Harvey's best, which was in reasonable condition.

This place, and so many others like it, is extraordinary popular with the Daily Mail reading classes taking their in-laws out for lunch. Indeed for them it's the pinnacle of dining out. It only goes to show that there's no accounting for taste.

On 16th November 2008 - rating: 1
[User has posted 567 recommendations about 559 pubs]