Sussex Restaurant Reviews – The Ginger Fox, Hassocks

restaurants in sussex, the ginger fox hassocks, pubs, amazing food

A few days ago we went out for my birthday meal. At first I moaned when I found out we were travelling close to Brighton from where we live in Surrey. But when I discovered which restaurant we were going to, I knew it would be worth the trek. A good few years ago we went to the Ginger Pig in Hove. One of my busband’s clients bought us a meal there as a treat. Even to this day I still dream of the pumpkin pie pudding I had there. It was so delicious.

So on a quiet Monday in January, we paid a visit to the Ginger Fox, which is in Hassocks. It’s part of the GingerMan Group which is made up of four restaurants. From the outside, it just looks like a rather nice pub. The fairy lights looked lovely outside and it appeared to have a little pub garden (it was dark when we arrived).

wall art the ginger fox hassocks sussex

Inside it feels cozy and welcoming. It’s kind of like a pub crossed with a high end restaurant. The simple artwork and framed designs gave the place some character. Our waitress was excellent and made some helpful recommendations (I couldn’t decide between the salmon and the chicken). Due to drinking far too much on my birthday weekend, I still had a bit of a headache so avoided alcohol. Although I did have a sip of the hubby’s wine and it was very nice. I ordered an elderflower, cucumber and mint presse and it was so lovely and refreshing, just what I needed whilst nursing a hangover.

We had some bread to keep us going and it came with a rather yummy beetroot hummus which was quickly polished off. To start we had braised beef and poached quail egg raviolo – and it was ahhhmazing. Packed full of flavour and the perfect size. I’m a massive fan of homemade pasta so this was a winner for me. I’d go back to this restaurant just to have this starter again.

beef ravioli homemade pasta the ginger fox hassocks sussex restaurants

For my main I had corn-fed chicken breast, crispy confit wings, potato fondant, fried hens egg, spinach, glazed sprouts and black pudding puree. The glazed sprouts were incredible. They were all crunchy and crispy on the outside and soft on the inside and were so tasty. I’ve never had an egg with a chicken dish before but surprisingly it went really well.

roast corn fed chicken with egg, spinach, sprouts and potatoes sussex restaurants the ginger fox hassocks

game pie at the ginger fox hassocks

My other half had one of the specials, a pheasant pie I think, and he said it was fantastic. It’s quite rare for the two of us to get full up, and after the main, we were stuffed. The portions appear on the small side but they’re not. I wanted to have a pudding because there were so many on the menu that I knew I’d love – but I was just too full. I might have to go back to try the roasted pear and cinnamon millefeuille, and they had my current fave, a pannacotta on the specials board.

Instead of having pudding we opted to have a chocolate truffle each and a cup of tea. I had a white chocolate and orange truffle and Will had a milk chocolate and hazelnut truffle. They’ve got a great selection of tempting loose leaf teas. I chose a relaxing ‘Parisian floral calm’ tea made up of rose, lavender, jasmine, chamomile and lemon balm. It smelt sooo soothing.

Overall thoughts

This is a slightly more pricey restaurant, but it’s well worth the investment. Plus, for what you get, I actually think the prices are surprisingly reasonable. The amount of quality you get is impressive. It feels like you’re dining at a gourmet restaurant – yet the food is still affordable. The service is first class and the staff are very attentive. The waitress preempted our needs and was very polite and friendly.

I’d make the trip again if I could, and I’d definitely recommend others making the effort to test it out – I would go so far as to say I think it’s one of the best restaurants in Sussex. And we lived in Brighton for three years so we’ve been to quite a few. We will definitely be going back soon, and we’ll also try to stop by the Ginger Man and the Ginger Dog at some point too. Thanks very much for having us.

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