John Harvey Tavern

Featured reviews

• D

  Dominik Jager

  ·2 months ago

  “More or less opposite of Harvey's brewery, but a bit tucked away in a side street. Offers flights of Harvey's beers. Classic pub, nice atmosphere and friendly staff. Can't comment on the food, because I only was there for drinks. Everything I saw leaving the kitchen looked appealing and well made.”

• M

  Maureen McGuire

  ·2 months ago

  “This is Harveys tap room , right across from the brewery., Good to see beers served straight from the casks behind the bar. Very friendly staff . Beautiful pub. Didn't eat but the menu looked good. A trip to Lewes isn't complete without visiting The John Harvey Tavern .”

• L

  Lee Bowler

  ·6 months ago

  “One of the best pubs in town. It’s the tap room for the Harvey’s brewery so great selection of Harvey’s beers on offer. Great pub atmosphere inside and tables outside, plus, it’s right by the river and so you can sit on the riverside and enjoy a drink or two when the weather is right. It’s a great location and very friendly. The staff are friendly, excellent, attentive and professional. It’s a must if you come to Lewes. Enjoy.”

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• P

  Peter Langbridge

  ·6 months ago

  “Dropped in on a music night. Fantastic atmosphere, and food was terrific. Good Harvey's real ales on tap and friendly service at the bar. Will definitely return”

• A

  Amanda Lucy

  ·7 months ago

  “Eaten here more than once now and the food and service has always been spot on. The roast on a Sunday is a particular highlight with the meat and veg being cooked to perfection!”

• M

  Mark Aukett

  ·10 months ago

  “A beautiful REAL, tiny, old English pub in a tiny dead-end lane in the pedestrian only area of Lewes town. This is the real old English pub that tourists expect to see, if you have foreign visitors, bring them here. It even smells right (trust me it's worth it just for the smell). It's owned by the famous Harveys Brewery a few hundred feet away, so it's run as a flagship pub with everything kept traditional and no concession made to the modern (but soulless) machinery and efficiency that you usually find in town centre pubs. Expect to hit your head if you're over 5'10", the toilets are tiny, the stairs terrifying (you can't pass on them) the floors aren't level, the lighting is erratic and NONE OF THAT MATTERS, BECAUSE IT'S HOW IT'S SUPPOSED TO BE. The food is about average for a decently run eatery, nothing spectacular but everything is tasty and well cooked. The beer is (obviously) the theme and it's a bit skewed towards the brewery owners, but you'd expect that. Staff are friendly, helpful, polite and efficient. Parking is non-existant, but being in the pedestrian zone of a large town centre, you'd expect that. On a nice evening it means people can spill out into the lane outside. There's plenty of paid parking nearby and strangely a 1 hour carpark in the lane that you can't actually get to unless you ignore the no vehicles signs in the pedestrian zone.”

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• T

  Tim DW

  ·11 months ago

  “Just had the most delicious Sunday Roast at the John Harvey Tavern in Lewes. We had a roast beef (good) and roast pork (excellent) with Yorkshire pudding, roast potatoes and all the trimmings. Very pleasantly surprised and sure we'll be back. 👍”

• P

  PBD

  ·1 year ago

  “A stunningly beautiful and very old tavern hidden down a side street in Lewes. It is fabulously pretty both on the outside and has exposed low beams on the inside. Very in keeping with the vibe of Lewes. Downstairs it has 2 rooms where you can eat and drink, and then upstairs it also has two rooms filled with bigger tables where you can eat and drink. It is a pretty big pub and offer a nice selection of food. Now the issue, service. Almost non existent. For the first 90m of our visit there were two young ladies serving and clearing for the whole building. As we were a leaving a gentleman joined them. As you can imagine this meant service was slow, very slow, painfully slow. We ordered food and it was 49 minutes from ordering to it arriving, and this was from a fairly limited menu. And the food was okay. £16 for a burger is an optimistic sum for what appeared on the plate. My over salted and only just warn chili was certainly not worth the wait. I now understand why they had so many seat available. So, I'd suggest a drink if you're not in a rush on a slow day, otherwise maybe wander on.”

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• J

  Jill Lownie

  ·1 year ago

  “We had our wedding reception upstairs at the John Harvey. Anton made the whole process very easy to organise. We decorated their function room which looked great. They provided a 3 course meal and everyone loved the food. The staff at the John Harvey were very professional and I would not hesitate to recommend them.”

• D

  dan g

  ·2 years ago

  “A lovely quaint pub next to the river. A pleasant atmosphere, really friendly and welcoming team of staff, and the Sunday Roast - I had the minted lamb - was delicious. A generous portion, with plenty of veg and just the right amount of gravy. I say at a small table outside, and the sun shone down on us. I enjoyed my visit here and trust you shall too. 5 stars for the food and the service. A high 4 for the atmosphere. Overall, easily 5 stars.”

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