The Restaurant Guide for Wine Lovers
The Parsons Table
The Parsons Table is a small fish-led fine-dining room in Arundel with a list far bigger in ambition than its size suggests. The wine programme earns its standing on genuinely good buying — grower Burgundy and Rhône, a deep local English sparkling section, a fine-wine and magnum tier — and answers the hardest cured-fish plates cleanly by the glass, let down only by the complete absence of any dessert or fortified wine. It will most reward the fish-loving diner who drinks high-acid whites by the glass and treats the floor team as the guide to a well-bought cellar.
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The Ginger Fox
Albourne, West Sussex
Modern British country gastropub
The Ginger Fox is a Sussex country gastropub whose drinks list reaches far beyond its format, from a full Champagne flight and village-grown Sussex sparkling to a Coravin fine-wine tier and a complete fortified corner. Its wine programme genuinely elevates the food — the two hardest plates, the smoked eel and the seared tuna, are both answered correctly and affordably by the glass, with a bone-dry Sherry on hand for exactly the dishes that need it. It will most reward the curious drinker who likes to explore by the glass, and anyone who values a serious cellar in an unhurried country setting.
Read the assessmentThe George at Burpham
Burpham, West Sussex
Modern British gastropub
The George at Burpham is a produce-led modern British gastropub above the Arun near Arundel, with a short, sensibly chosen wine list that leans Old World and organic. The programme earns its place on a genuine sustainable thread and a real local English showing, and on covering the high-acid whites its many fish dishes need, but it is held back by having no prices published, no dessert or fortified wine, and little depth to explore. It will most reward the diner who comes for the seasonal cooking and a well-made glass, and who is happy to take the floor team's steer on the night.
Read the assessment