The Knowhere Guide

Eating and Drinking in Chichester, West Sussex*

Chichester, West Sussex Pubs, Cafes, Coffee Shops and Restaurants

Food

• MCDONALDS!!!!!! got banned from ther
• Woodies wine bar/resturant is good but make sure u book. The staff are all gorgeous
• Do not eat in Toad or Pizza Xpress!
• The Thariff Indian restuarant opposite the hospital (the one for the oiks not the private one) has a good reputation, although it is not expensive enough for us hoi-poloi, one understands that the staff of the oiks hospital frequent it and that one young woman has a penchant for exposing her brassiere to obtain free drinks for the assembled company.
• Both the sandwich shops in the Buttermarket are great for sandwiches, cakes, drinks etc, and it's quite easy to get a decent lunch for about 4 quid. The pasta factory is good to go to if you want a good meal, and also just opened in the Vestry, next door to Argos. It does really great food, has friendly staff and it's fairly inexpensivce too. It's also quite a good place to hang out if you want a casual meal with friends; it has a particularly nice atmosphere.
• The Pasta Factory - Unfortunately has started using some sort of pre cooked Chicken which has no flavour or texture. A shame really as it is a really nice place to eat, especially when they have their very good value special offers on. If you do go, avoid the Chicken dishes.
• Mcdonalds is sooo common darling-now theres a lovely little pattiserie down south street that is soo quaint but positively charming
• Cafe Coco is relatively inexpensive, but does absolutely lovely food - south street, opposite white horse pub...
• MC donalds (burger king do a better chicken royale)
• New to Chichester is the `Garrick`. An Italian run restaurant next to the Nags Head in St Pancras. Tony and Sandra Bushell are native to Chi` but with Italian parentage (they are brother and sister). They took over what was the Stateside diner before Christmas 99 and have relaunched the restaurant as a theatric piano bar style dining room. The pianist (at weekends) adds a flavour of romance whilst their unusual style of table service is enhanced by flying visits from Tony the chef to check on his food. Priced reasonably and handy for the theatre which is just five minutes walk.
• Farci's italian restaurant in wittering, gorgeous
• Best place for sandwiches: Chichester Delicatessen in Sadler's Walk, East St. Excellent ... and good value too. You'll never eat an M&S sandwich again! Also sells fab cheeses. cold meat, and all those other fab deli type things!
• Best sandwich shop in Chichester: the Chichester Delicatessen in Saddlers Walk in East Street. THE very best sandwiches at reasonable prices!
• Everywhere... tearooms by the tonne Restuarants down the Hornet opposite Kwick Fix
• The best Indian restaurant chain on the South Coast - try the Little London Restaurant. Aviod Chinese restuarants such as Confucious - unless you've had a few beers. Italian restuarants ok. Large number of trendy wine bar-types; ok but pricey.
• Obvious answer is McDonalds, but this is expensive, and at lunchtime, packed out. But if snacky type things are your style, then you could do a lot worse than going up Saddler's walk (the little arcade just opposite McD's) and going to the little sandwich bar by the model shop. Hot snacks a-go-go, rest assured.

Pubs

• Go to the Bush Inn on a Friday or Saturday Night! With a disco and dancing queens its a great night. Its open to all gay and straight, but any attiude is not tolerated! See you there!!
• Toad on a monday nights good pound a pint and all house spirits. Wetherspoons good for cheap drinks and if your with your friends can be good for drinking game. Hogs good for chillen out. Dont go to the punch house. Vestry good for old folks. White horse has been rerurbished and is now cool
• Toad is great after 9pm-best to get battered in the Spoons first. Wetherspoons is the cheapest place around,i could probably recite their prices-im in there every nite!
• The Woolpack, Fishbourne, gets most of the arrogant brainless prats. Visit and see for yourself.
• The Toad - Unless you have a driving license or Passport or look over 30 you can forget getting in, in the evenings, they have bouncers at the door (how sad). They won't even except the widley acknowledged "Portman Age card" due to being informed by police that it's now easy to get a fake card over the net!. Head down to Bognor if u want a laugh with ya mates, Chi pubs are crap full of old gits and bouncers who "get off" by sending perfectly eligble people away.
• I don't drink in Chi any more - too many kids.
• Best in town are the Hogs Head (with new/returning ex-management Wayne. Always a good selection of guest beers, and if that doesn't appeal, the regular beers are very cheap (Heineken £1.70) for Chichester!!! The other hidden delight is the Park Tavern. The delightful landlady serves some very well kept and well priced Gales ales. The price of other draughts such as Becks, reflect the exclusive nature of the setting. But with a fairly large restaurant area displaying items from the local areas heritage, this has to be one of the best places in Chichester to start an evening out. The White Horse has just been tarted up, and is now totally different to its former being. It's now quite respectable and not at all off putting in the evenings. The Surping Toad?.... more like the Sloaping Turd.. AVOID!!!!
• do you know-one the hardest things to do is talk to strangers in chichester-pubs are full of 'fashionable' yet xenophobic young crowds who r image crazee-you'll be v lonely if you go out on your own here....
• The Richmond Arms - West Ashling is a really nice pub, with Harvey's beer!!!! The landlord and Landlady are top people!!! Always a good laugh on a Sunday Lunchtime! The Woolpack is an excellent pub for beer and watching any sport. The food is also bloody good!
• The Slurping Toad has good music and is a cool venue, shame about the twats that go there. Most of the pubs near the Cross are busiest and most full of the three-eyed Bognor crowd (in-breeding and all that). Although a gay pub, the crowd inthe BUSH is cool and easy going and it has a decent DJ, Weds, Fri,and Sat. Just been re-fitted and looks like a trendy bar now. My favourite Chi pub. Tends to get some negative comment for being a gay pub but, heh, guys who are obviously insecure about their own sexuality should have their say.
• stop press hogshead now under new management and things lok like they are going to be alot better round here look out toad and spoons!!!!
• The pubs in chichester used to be good, but since the arrival of Wetherspoons and the Slurping toad town is now full of Portsmouth and Bognor twats!!! The best beer in Chichester is in the Hogs Head or The Woolpack in fishbourne all the others wouldnt have a clue what good real ale is. Do not what ever you do go to Bush, Swan or The Chi. They are full of queers!!!
• THE BUSH and THE SWAN
• There's a brilliant pub just out of town in Crocker Hill called 'The Winterton Arms'. It is run by Brian and Kathy Goldsmith. The atmosphere is welcoming for people of all ages/sexes/races, and the food is brilliant. Definately worth a visit.
• Wickam Arms . Bognor Road, Chichester. Best on Sunday lunchtimes, Great rafle for meats, worth the visit. Irish landlord,-Peter.
• The Bush Inn to the east of the city centre provides free pool on Sunday all day and Monday evenings. Worth checking out the discos on Fridays and Saturdays. Mary Linfield provides a warm friendly welcome and keeps the best Caffreys and Tetley in town. If you haven`t tried Carling Premier then you are in for a treat! Check out the beer garden on a warm day. It`s a real sun trap. Plenty of parking space out back. visit their website on www.bushinn.org.uk Also the Four Chesnuts further down the Hornet towards Bognor is well worth a visit. Andre and Jill took over 18 months ago and have revitalised the place with a complete face lift. (the pub,that is) Placed on its own island Andre made a stand for independance last year `the Duchy of Chesnutia` and rules his realm with pride and dignity. Of his many prized trophies which decorate the new bar he still yearns for his lost elephant which disappeared last November. Maybe it has returned to the wild or more probably some oiks nicked it!!!
• Do not go to the Bush on the hornet
• Best pubs in Chi: The Fountain and The Hogs Head, both in South Street. Excellent beer in the Fountain - try Pig's Ear at 6%, it's a real belter! Fountain also has live bands on a Tuesday night.
• Best pubs are the Hogs Head and the Fountain, both in South Street. Fountain does excellent beer - and some great strong stuff too (try Pig's Ear at 6%!). Live bands on a Tuesday night.
• The Woolpack, Fishbourne is a bit of a dump. It's full of brainless middle aged wallies who think they're great. Interesting when they start fighting each other, though.
• The slurping toad is a good laugh especially when your with a large group of friends. Look out for the cute bouncer.
• Two new pubs have opened in Chi. One the Smith & Western by the railway station is an immitation of a western saloon and to be honest it's quite good. Free monkey nuts and reasonably (for chi) priced beer. Excellent steaks though. Next is the Slurping Toad. this has been set up in the Old St Marys Church opposite the cathederal. Gets packed quickly and full of chicks. The only other new pub in Chi is the Witherspoons, this is just up the road from the Slurping Toad and if you take my advice you will avoid it like the plague. It has as much atmosphere as a Bros concert.
• The Woolpack, Fishbourne, is a dive. It's full of self obsessed bullshitters and prats. The Richmond Arms, West Ashling, is a hole. It's full of druggies, wallies and crooks.
• The Woodmancote Arms,7 miles west of the City, used to be a very good pub and is trying hard to climb back to its former glory. New landlords are welcoming and serve a limited range to cater for lager louts. Pool tables in what should be a restaurant are usually busy, bar billiards, darts, and a big screen TV as well as an open log fire make this a good local village pub. he food is OK but smacks of a microwave selection. It is not cheap but its filling.
• The Bush in the Hornet is a gay pub The Richmond Arms, West Ashling is full of miserable old men and prats. Unless you're about 60 and hate strangers and decent people, avoid it like the plague!
• Avoid the Woolpack, Main Road, Fishbourne. It's full of yobs, loudmouths and posers. The landlord attracts them, it seems, and his pubs are a haven for unpleasant people.
• Stay away from the Richmond Arms, West Ashling, 'cos it's a complete and utter dump.
• Lots of good pubs in the area. Avoid the Richmond Arms, West Ashling - full of old and miserable locals and loudmouths
• Hogshead if you want a student reunion in the holidays White Horse for pre thursdays drinking
• Pubs in the city centre are full of immature yobbos mostly from Portsmouth or Bognor. Avoid like the plague. Also avoid The Rainbow; gone downhill since a new landlady took over. The Bell (by the Theatre) is a gay pub - avoid this as well! Try The Woolpack in Fishbourne; due to reopen 27 July 98 with a new landlord (used to be at The Bull).
• The Hogshead (South Street - where the Kings Head used to be) is the best pub in Chi, no townie losers (or 'casuals' as they used to be called) and good lagers and beer. Great atmos on a Friday/Saturday night.
• The nearest DECENT rock club is the Hungry Ears In Brighton. Unless anyone knows diferent! (In which case mail me at Tau@inetgw.chichester.ac.uk). There are still some diehard rockers and nutters, still going to the Swan, but I warn you, Donny the resident DJ is totaly fuckin NUTS, he is just so out of it the whole time he just doesnt pay any attention to the programe. Abba to GnR. Jimmi Hendrix to Snap, Robert Plant to The Sisters of Mercy, and The Monkeys, lots of the Monkeys.
  By the way yes the local Gumbies are dumb as arse, they cant tell the difernce between Goths and Rockers! Problem Children every one.
• There used to be a bit of a "Haunt" at the White Swan pub in westgate, but the place has died just recently. All the local Rockers, Bikers, Goths, Punks, Weirdos, and some people who are just plain weird, all used to hang out there, but just recently it's gone to hell in a handbasket!?!
• Best Lager- Heineken Export, Stella.
• Best beer - Probably John-Pierre Smiths, 6X
• Get pissed in the White Horse (Fairly big, friendly).

Cafes and Coffee Shops

• East side cafe rules!!!!!!!!!! By the market oppersite the chemist. The foods really good especially for fry ups, they sell the best hangover cures!
• There are many eateries in which the well educated can mingle without fear of the oiks coming in with their assorted children of assorted fathers, one just has to look for something without the prefix 'big' or 'whoppa' on the menu board. Maison Blanc seems to be sufficiently prohibitive in its prices to keep the oiks out.
• Egertons next to Iceland does really nice fresh cakes, biscuits etc.
• loads in Chi-why?because it has to be soo tres chic here darling mwah! Cafe-Latte anyone?
• BORING

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Last updated: 2007-10-26