The Duck Inn - Pett Bottom

Braved some narrow country .lanes to get there with high expectations. Had some of their home made bread plus olives to start, bread at £4 and a glass of olives at a similar price was way too expensive. I had the battered cod and triple cooked chips and my partner had pan roasted hake with shrimp on crushed new potatoes. My cod and chips were not great, the fish was translucent and the batter soft and still doughy. Maybe could have spent a bit longer in the oil. Waiter showed his obvious disappointment that we were going straight for a main course, missing the starter. I had a glass of Voignier which was lovely my partner had chardonnay sourced from a local winery, both were served a little too cold. It seemed popular, sparsely furnished, a little cool. Cheeses were chosen as dessert with a glass of port. The cheeses arrived, had to remind waiter that we had ordered port which then appeared. I enjoyed the choices of cheese but at £11 for three small pieces was way overpriced.

Excellent!!!!! Wow. Loved everything. The smell of the wood fire when you enter, the charming barsteward who shared his enthusiasm for wines, the bread and butter, the superbly cooked dishes and the cosy atmosphere. It’s just a shame we had no room for dessert. Although it’s a pub, this is really fine dining food without fuss. Particularly enjoyed the pork as it’s one of the first times I’ve been able to cut and eat the crackling on the pork and eat it all together in one mouthful. I know how hard that is to get crackling like that and our server was well versed on how this was achieved. Personally I think this is nearly as good at the bridge arms, and in many ways more of a regular place you could visit. Can’t wait to go back.

Picked this pub based on both TripAdvisor and Google reviews. For a start, we had to book two weeks in advance that's a great start. Food is great, no default here. Spirit selection is great. Could recognise some of the brands you can only find from Amathus Drinks shops in London. Wine selection is less attractive by the glass. By the bottle, prices could scare average pub goers. Beer selection is good. Venue could do with a little refurb outside and inside Service is good and somehow attentive and efficient. Somehow because they were only two folks running the floor, which includes taking orders, running food, making drinks... In today's hospitality terms, an industry struggling with finding staff, it was a pretty brilliant job. My advice to them on the above last point: get some of your chefs to help you run the food to release pressure on the service. More FOH time on the floor means more effective drinks ordering, an important source of revenue per table. We had the Sunday Roast and highly recommend, excellent.

Fantastic Sunday lunch here! One of the best I have had out. Lovely atmosphere with the open fire, and incredibly friendly staff, with a lot of local knowledge on the food being served. Every dish me and my party ordered was piping hot, delicious and very beautifully presented. Will definitely be coming back; especially as they are dog friendly!

Fantastic food, incredibly strong cocktails. The velouté was better than the parfait, but we shared an enormous steak plate which was absolutely delicious.