The Crab Tree

Was invited here for business dinner. LOVED the spot, cosy atmosphere, suprb service with wit and great food. The seatings are arranged in small rooms, as well as outside (that is if UK weather permits…). Menu is small, but selections not only sound good, but also taste great.
Would definitely go again if I am again in the area. Highly recommended!

The Crabtree is now nearly 1 year old, It has been awarded a certificate of excellence on trip advisor
won best pub food award and has been entered into the top finalists for the Susses food and drink awards.
We are always striving for perfection and always appreciate comments.
Please visit us and let us know what you think
Kind Regards
The Crabtree team

The Crabtree has recently been taken over by the Father and Son team that previously ran such Brighton jewels as Due South and Food for Friends. The interior decoration and menu have both been influenced by these earlier projects, but the pub itself certainly has it’s own identity.
Situated in the pretty village of Lower Beeding, just across the road from the Michelin starred South Lodge Hotel, it’s definitely putting itself on the map. It’s already building up a large regular clientele, the car park was almost full when we arrived at 12.30 on a Saturday lunch time.
There are numerous rooms with open fires, pictures of local cricket teams, and shelves full of cook books. The table we sat at was converted from an old Singer sewing machine table — a lovely touch. The gardens also looked fantastic and I will definitely be back when the sun is shining (if that ever happens this summer!)
The food options ranged from tasty bar snacks including scotch eggs, caramelised sausages and a whole Camembert, to a great value set menu at £13 for two courses or £17 for three courses, to a daily changing al la carte menu.
We plumped for the 3 course set menu. Squid salad with fennel and orange salad to start, served in a delicious and surprisingly warm tomato sauce. For main course I went for mackerel fillet served on a bed of crushed Charlotte potatoes, spinach and a superb cream sauce. To finish off, we all went for the lemon posset with lemon ice cream and a shortbread biscuit. The dishes were slightly small in appearance, particularly the mackerel, but I was happily stuffed by then end.
The service was efficient and friendly, the manager taking time to chat with us and make us feel welcome.
With future events including a Argentinian Asado coming up, its certainly a place that will be getting my repeat business.

I thought I’d left a review some time ago but it hasn’t appeared, so I’ll try again.
This new venture is run by Simon Hope’s family a famous restauranteur from Brighton (Food for Friends fame).
However Beeding is a little different from Brighton and will need to be a little more savvy, as invariably people will need to get into their cars to visit this new endeavour. For example not many will travel the16 miles from Brighton unless there is top quality food, service and fairly priced.
I haven’t visited in the evening, but I’m sure that this will work well.
For lunch times, and I’ve visited twice, there is something lacking.
1. Prices are on the high side for what one gets, or for the bar snacks the delivery is short on presentation/​value.
2. Constructive suggestions have been made to improve the overall value, but so far no changes.
3. First impressions are important, word of mouth in rural Sussex does get around, and not just from Qype. People do not return if they feel they are not getting value, especially these days.
So my suggestion to Simon et al, is to revisit the lunch time menus, and try to improve the overall value. Plus respond on here, to tell us that they are listening, rather than a comment below from Smon, saying how great it is (just proves he doesn’t want to listen!!)
Best of luck as we would like to come back, but only if there are changes.

We liked the décor and ambience, staff are very friendly you really want to like the place.
Second visit under new management first time round, echo the comments about the bar snacks -: (i) half pint of prawns refers to the glass not its contents! (ii) pork pie and a sample dish of piccalilii doesn’t look very appetising. Feedback left for the new management, but not heeded.
Second visist today at lunchtime Fish & Chips with peas @ £11 was excellent and nicely presented. However the half brownie triangle @ £5 whilst tasty, was a very poor value. Left feeling a little cheated.
Bottom line, a lot going for this place, but must get its value proposition right, at the moment, it doesn’t work for us anyway.

A pot of piccalilli and a pork pie for £4.75 was a bit steep! Maybe they were covering the cost of the slate it was served on!
However, the roast potatoes on the bar were scrumptious and the staff friendly!
The choice of piped music could be reconsidered maybe.
I don’t think we’ll go back for a meal until they know what they want to be we may pop in for a drink occasionally.

After waiting expectantly for months for the Crabtree to reopen we visited a few days ago for lunch and am afraid to say we we’re very disappointed.
Although the staff are very friendly and attentive the choice of bar snacks for a bite to eat at lunchtime is practically non existent.
There are no sandwiches, this didn’t concern us as one of our guests plumped for the whitebait. This was not available.
They then chose the half pint prawns. This consisted of a half pint glass of lettuce with a few prawns plonked on the top. No lemon and a couple of slices of stale bread.
Our other guest chose the chipolatas, which was just that. A tiny bowl filled with party sausages! No side salad etc.
The chips at £2.50 were said to be hand cut. I would hazard a guess they were hand cut only by the major supermarket that stocked them in the first place. I think there were probably amout 7 in the bowl.
The service was extremely slow and when one of our guests asked the waitress if the mushrooms on toast was nice she was told, I dont like mushrooms so I don’t know.
The mushrooms on toast with spinach consisted of well, mushrooms on toast. The spinach consisted of a mix of herb leaves from a packet.
The bill for four lunches was £49.00.
We left feeling disappointed and quite frankly ripped off!
I would therefore suggest if you are used to London prices for shoddy food then this place would suffice for lunch.
If you are looking for a value for money and unpretentious good food, do not go to the Crabtree at Lower Beeding. We will certainly not be back!

The NEW!!! Crabtree what a great place to eat with locally sourced food as much as possible. As a chef myself with over 25 years international experience when I say the rib eye steak was the best steak I have eaten since i bought meat on the bone hung it till it was ready butchered and cooked it myself for me is a revelation. Often when I go out to eat there is at least one thing that niggles me and spoils the meal. the best compliment I can give is I couldn’t have done it better myself.
Hamish running the dining room and Mark in the kitchen and good staff made an excellent eveningthank you Mike Reid

Im trying not to be rude about this place. From the outside it appears to be an old style pub. It isn’t! It was obviously a pub but now its a restaurant. It has Real ale though.
The menu has some French words on it. This is the part I don’t want to be rude. It really is pub grub trying to sound posh. Food like pie & mash are seen as its special! Steak & fish are also on he billing.
The interior lets it self down. The toilets are on the other side of the bar. It feels like one is going behind the bar. If one didn’t look closely it seems clean. But the floor seemed as if it needed hoovering. Perhaps it was because the had had a busy day. I was here at about 5pm. The toilets were far from clean. There was a spider cosy in its web by the gents door.
The punters didn’t seem to bother dressing up for a meal out. Some were in shorts and open sandels.
This place seems to me trying to be posh but just fails. Their customers dressed as if the place was nothing special. There was no-​where for a local to just sit and enjoy a pint and not to feel pressured to eat. I hope one day it returns into a lovely pub selling good fine food.
I didn’t eat here. And don’t want the reader to think I was slagging of its food. I’m not. I suggest you go and find out whether my review is correct.