Ben Wilkinson at The Pass

“Understated elegance in a modern way.” - AA Inspector

LOCATION

LOWER BEEDING, WEST SUSSEX

Official Rating
Inspected by
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Awards
award
Book Direct

Housed in an elegant ivy-covered 19th-century manor, the luxurious South Lodge hotel is surrounded by 93 wooded acres, which makes a meal at Ben Wilkinson’s eponymous restaurant all the more special. Taking the chef’s table concept to a very different level, the Pass is a 28-cover restaurant situated in the kitchen itself with guests sitting close to chefs working the other side of the floor-to-ceiling glass walls. The eight-course tasting menu showcases spot-on innovative cooking that’s beautifully presented and always has an eye on the seasons. Expect refined flavours in a starter of prawn, tomato consommé, courgette and fine herbs, which might lead on to day-boat turbot, asparagus, potato, peas, ham fat, Ridgeview sparkling and ossetra caviar. Roast loin of lamb makes an appearance with sweetbread dumpling, artichoke, girolle, lettuce and pine nuts. Finish with a summery strawberry, ewes' curd and elderflower.

Awards, accolades & Welcome Schemes

award
4 Rosette Award for Culinary Excellence
Ben Wilkinson at The Pass
South Lodge, Brighton Road, LOWER BEEDING, RH13 6PS

Features

Facilities
  • Seats: 28
  • On-site parking available
Accessibility
  • Accessible toilets
Opening times
  • Closed: First 2 weeks January
Food and Drink
  • Wines over £30: 180
  • Wines by the glass: 12
  • Cuisine style: British, Japanese
  • Vegetarian menu

About the area

Discover West Sussex

Divided from East Sussex back in 1888, West Sussex is so typically English that to walk through its landscape will feel like a walk through the whole country. Within its boundaries lies a wide variety of landscape and coastal scenery, but it is the spacious and open South Downs with which the county is most closely associated.

In terms of walking, you’ll be spoilt for choice. Studying the map reveals a multitude of routes – many of them to be found within the boundaries of the South Downs National Park – and an assortment of scenic long-distance trails leading towards distant horizons; all of them offer a perfect way to get to the heart of ‘Sussex by the sea,’ as it has long been known. If you enjoy cycling with the salty tang of the sea for company, try the ride between Chichester and West Wittering. You can vary the return journey by taking the Itchenor ferry to Bosham. 

West Sussex is renowned for its many pretty towns, of course. Notably, there is Arundel, littered with period buildings and dominated by the castle, the family home of the Duke of Norfolk, that dates back nearly 1,000 years.

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