The Star Inn, Felbridge, East Grinstead

This is a rambling old affair of a pub on the main London Rd into East Grinstead. Inside it's still got something of the feel of a country pub, and although some of it really is old, it's clearly been extended into adjoining buildings making it something of a rabbit warren of interconnected rooms. The ceiling beams are wood clad false looking things, and although one or two of the wooden posts look pretty ancient, I reckon they don't serve any practical purpose, other than decoration. If you enter via the corner door you are in a sort of public bar of a room, with just two low tables with some sofas and armchairs, and a couple of stools at the bit of bar counter that extends into this room, and you need to walk through into the main bar/resturant area to find the handpumps. If you enter via the main side door you are confronted by the "wait to be seated" sign, which tells you what this "pub" is all about. It's a Chef & Brewer pub, so obviously it majors on food. There were, however, a couple of rather nice large old fireplaces, the one in the restaurant area with a real log fire on the go, making a warm welcome on a wet and miserable November day. I didn't examine a menu in detail, but I did see that jacket spuds and sarnies are between £4 - £5. There were three handpumps on the bar - one not in use, and the other clipped for Bombardier and Timothy Taylor Landlord (£3.84 a pint). Apart from the sofas/armchairs in the "public" bar, all furnishings are normal tables and chairs with the tables all laid for diners. They were well geared up for Christmas, with santas, red stockings hanging from one of the mantlepieces, Christmas trees, hampers, and even a table laden with baubles, around the place. An evening visit for just a drink confirmed that the only seating available for those just wanting a drink is the minimal bit of seating in the "public" bar. I found it very disappointing that such a large pub could not allocate a few normal tables and chairs for drinkers. I would not recommend this place as a somewhere to spend an evening if you're only after drink. However, it did come in handy for a couple of us to escape a wedding reception at a nearby hotel for a couple of pints of admittedly decent Landlord when we didn't fancy paying £4.30 for pints of fizz there.