The Daily Telegraph - Saturday - Travel
The Cat Inn Still purring contentedly
Fiona Duncan revisits her favourite pub in West Hoathly, to see whether its recent refurb is up to scratch
Do you have a favourite inn? A rural pub with rooms where you are guaranteed character, bonhomie and great food in the evening, then peace and a perfect breakfast in the morning, all for half the price of a hotel?
Of course, I have a list of pet addresses, but when asked, I’ve always cited two first: the Beckford Arms in Wiltshire and the Cat Inn, West Sussex. However, while I visit the former quite often, as it’s closer to home, it’s a decade since I stayed at the latter. When I heard that its four en-suite bedrooms had recently been refurbished, I had the perfect reason to return. But 10 years is a long time in hospitality, and like re-reading a novel that had once meant so much but you now find wanting, revisiting a beloved inn or hotel can also result in disappointment when competing with a cherished memory.
I need not have worried. The Cat is still purring contentedly, a perfect blend of contemporary and traditional, of local meeting place and destination eating place where standards are sky high, the welcome is genuine (for canines, despite the name, as well as humans) and the world’s best pie and chips is still on the menu. The Cat’s longstanding chef Alex Jacquemin now acts as consultant and it’s Suphi Ergin, originally from Turkey, who mans the stoves to great effect. Our starters of teriyaki watermelon tartare with avocado, and mozzarella and beetroot tart, and main courses of steak, mushroom and ale pie and lamb rump with freekeh and homegrown pea purée, were pretty much perfect, as was the irresistible banana and chocolate soufflé for dessert. We had kicked off the evening with excellent local wines, sitting at the bar, chatting with the locals.
The Cat still is first and foremost a pub. Not, as with so many, a faux-rustic restaurant masquerading as one. Indeed, it’s been a pub non-stop since the 16th century, its name originating from a lynx on the coat of arms of a grand family in the neighbourhood. Their workers would be given tokens engraved with a lynx in exchange for beer at the alehouse.
How many landlords has this modThe
The Cat is still first and foremost a pub. Not a faux-rustic restaurant masquerading as one
est inn seen? Dozens, but surely none better than the current incumbent who is, of course, the reason for the Cat’s enormous popularity. He is Andrew Russell, who learnt his trade at nearby country-house hotel Gravetye Manor, where he was a very young general manager. Gravetye and the humble Cat have a close relationship and rightly so; both independently owned, both retain their soul, both loved by their owners.
They also share locations in a beautiful part of the country that also happens to be conveniently close to Gatwick Airport. The Cat Inn stands opposite a church; follow the path through the churchyard for a spectacular view across the valley to the South Downs beyond. Two fine houses nearby are the Priest’s House, a medieval hall open to the public since the early 20th century, and the recently restored Elizabethan Manor House, built as a dower house for Gravetye Manor. The surrounding area has many attractions, as well as fine walking (ask at the inn for suggestions and directions). Wakehurst Place is very close, other gardens within reach include Borde Hill and Nymans, and the Bluebell Railway is not far away.
Andrew brings a perfect mix of cheerfulness and professionalism to his role, and both his team and the many regulars are visibly content. He is the last to leave at night, and the first to arrive in the morning.
“Do you ever sleep?” I asked. He paused, and grinned. “An overrated pastime, I find.” challenges in hospitality are constant, but Andrew meets them head on, keeping costs down where he can. During the pandemic, he made fabric screens for the tables (guests sent up balloons to show they needed service). When it was over, the fabric was repurposed to make curtains for the newly refurbished bedrooms, all of which are simple and elegant, with good bathrooms. Like many similar establishments, he now closes on a Monday and Tuesday (save for a popular pizza van on Tuesday evenings), which he says has brought nothing but benefits, including a team that is far less frazzled, with “room to breathe”. Other than that and the new bedrooms, mercifully little has changed and the Cat still sits at the very top of my tree.
Doubles from £160, including breakfast