The story
The Cat Inn is a 16th-century free house in the hilltop village of West Hoathly, set among the rolling countryside of West Sussex. With its oak beams, two inglenook fireplaces, and a terrace for warmer months, the pub balances historic character with a genuinely warm welcome.
The kitchen focuses on British food that is cooked to order, using fresh, seasonal produce sourced as locally as possible. Vegetables and fruit come from Courtlands Nursery, just 1.4 miles away, where produce can go from picking to plate in a matter of hours. The menu changes regularly and includes daily specials. Starters might include a native lobster and cod terrine with tarragon, or heritage tomatoes with white balsamic jelly and basil pesto. Among the mains, the aged Black Angus ribeye with peppercorn butter and the steak, mushroom and ale pie stand out. Sunday roasts are served with all the trimmings, including honey and thyme roasted carrots and cauliflower cheese.
Being a free house, The Cat Inn takes its real ale seriously, concentrating on local breweries such as Harvey’s of Lewes alongside other microbreweries. The wine list is extensive, with a strong showing from Sussex estates like Albourne, Bolney, and Nyetimber, and many wines are available by the glass thanks to a Verre du Vin system that keeps more bottles open.
The pub’s quality and consistency were recognised in 2026 with a Michelin Recommended award, placing it among the dining destinations worth knowing in the region. With four bedrooms on site, it also works well as a base for exploring the nearby Ashdown Forest, Bluebell Railway, and gardens like Wakehurst Place and Nymans.
Dogs are welcome in the pub area, and children over seven are catered for. The atmosphere, whether by a winter fire or on the summer terrace, is cosy and unpretentious—exactly what a good country pub should be.
Recognition
Ambience
Details
History
At the hub of a Sussex hilltop village, with a sunny terrace overlooking the local church, this reimagined 16th-century inn has all the nooks, crannies, inglenooks, oak beams and floral displays that you could wish for. Efficient, cheery staff keep things rolling along, bringing ‘pint milk bottles’ of water to each table as a matter of course. The place gets packed and everyone is here for the food – thanks to a confident kitchen that can deliver consistent crowd-pleasing dishes from a regular menu and a chalked-up specials board that included a tempting with a crab-topped crumpet with cucumber and almond cream. Burgers, pies and battered fish keep the traditionalists happy, but there's room for invention too: a well-balanced goat’s cheese brûlée delivered on all fronts, with a fine lavosh cracker alongside, while cod fillet was perfectly pan-fried, with impressive accompaniments including a crayfish beurre noisette, silky-smooth celeriac purée, savoy cabbage and crispy Parmesan-crusted potatoes. Meaty choices range from Surrey ribeye steaks with peppercorn butter to haunch of local venison richly embellished with a braised shoulder tartlet, quince poached in mulled wine, potato terrine and a boozy sauce. And on Sundays, the prospect of three ultra-traditional roasts guarantees regular full houses. The kitchen puts on a show when it comes to desserts: our deep-filled lemon tart had bags of citrus tang, with blackberry purée and blackberry sorbet on the side, while a dark chocolate terrine was lifted by a raspberry sorbet and maple-flavoured honeycomb. The well-considered wine collection offers oodles by the glass, including a range of Sussex sparklers.
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