THE CROWN INN, DIAL POST
FOREWARD
The Sunday roast; an English classic. Want to know why it started? As with other Christian countries, eating a large meal following church service is common to all of the continent of Europe, but the Sunday roast variant of this meal is uniquely English. On Sundays, all types of meat and dairy produce are allowed to be eaten, unlike on Fridays where many Roman Catholics and Anglicans traditionally abstain from eating meats, so ate fish instead. While I’m not in any way religious, it’s interesting to understand its origins nonetheless.
While I was away in Australia for all of last year, I struggled to describe what makes the Sunday roast so iconic. People would look at me in bewilderment as if to say, “Is that it? Meat, vegetables and gravy?”. Yes, yes I guess that is ‘all’ it is, but get it right, you have a savoury taste sensation to please such a palette craving the ultimate comfort food. Get it wrong, yes, you have a dejecting plate of just meat and vegetables. But there’s far more to a traditional roast than just those three elements because let's face it - we all live for that golden, crisp Yorkshire pudding with a fluffy centre, gluttonous accompaniments such as cauliflower cheese with its strings of cheese clinging on like the icing on a sweet bun, braised red cabbage with its distinctive colour and flavour which can be adapted to your taste by using ingredients such as maple syrup, or port for the grown ups. While the roast dinner is the perfect recipe for the anti-perfectionist, ironically, the supporting act of the plate has to be perfect. You’ve guessed it, it’s those roasties which make or break the success of the chef. To me this means a golden-brown, salty carapace of crunch on the outside, with a sweet and almost feathery inside. It’s easier to achieve this by making them slightly smaller in size and cooked amongst the meat itself, directly absorbing the juices and the excess fat. Even the most accomplished of cooks can get this wrong, so no matter how many extravagant, fancy things you can make, you’ll win me over with perfectly made, trusty roast potatoes any day.
Personally, I want a decent plate of hearty food with each element well-executed and almost clumsily dished up. In its most basic form, maybe the English roast does deserve the twee title of nursery food - but it’s nursery food I’m willing to pay good money for. I feel that this is the general consensus amongst many Brightonians, given your average roast costs around £15 a plate here now. On the other hand, I have found a minority of the offerings in Brighton to be underwhelming. Being a part of [arguably] the country’s foodie capital, restaurants here are riddled with this reputation even before serving their first plates of food. Foodie followers digitally congregate and fantasise at any new restaurant opening before it welcomes diners. Then boom, upon opening everyone wants to be seen at the next best venue everyone is talking about; while some review the standard of food, others simply flex their dinner on Instagram in the name of ‘likes’. A dish I firmly contest should not be presented in a dainty way, is a Sunday roast. As mentioned, it does need to be tidy with each element well-executed. I digress.
My reason for saying all of this is that sometimes, it takes an experience outside of our “bubble”to notice some of the shortcomings of this status-quo, which is precisely what our experience at The Crown Inn did for me.
A QUAINT, COUNTRY HAMLET
Once a hive of industrial activity, Dial Post is a small settlement in Horsham, West Sussex. The impressive Knepp Castle Estate is just two miles down the road from The Crown Inn, with its Mill Pond, roaming deer and multitude of other grazing animals; proving a great spot to wander and sustain a hungry stomach before entering the pub.
The award-winning gastro pub is the central hub for the community here with landlords, Penny and James, knowing guests on a first name basis (despite having a very hospitable team to manage daily service on the pub floor), as well as getting stuck into local events such as Vintage Car Day on the third Friday of every month. Penny is a country girl through and through. Born into the local farming family, she understands the impact of supporting local and this explains why almost all of their ingredients are from local suppliers. Beyond this, The Crown Inn is also a boutique-style B&B with two double rooms in the old stable block, made complete with a continental breakfast offering for if you’re wanting an overnight escape to the country.
YOUR QUINTESSENTIAL BRITISH PUB WITH A YOUTHFUL SETTING
Here there are no frightful locals turning as a new face walks through the door, no syrupy pint glass rings stuck to the surface of the bar, no dreadful food arriving at your table just several minutes after it’s been pulled out of the freezer and shoved in the oven. It’s not to say that many pubs are this way any more, but The Crown Inn does separate itself from others with its refurbished interiors, contemporary menu and super-Covid safe operation. Even better, as a dog-friendly pub, there are plenty of canines in company (all sat at their owners feet like good boys, of course!). Choose your dining spot from the cosy snug by the fire, the restaurant, bar, or the light and airy garden room overlooking the village green. There’s also the front patio and beer garden to enjoy in warmer months.
And finally, for the food. The regular menu provides a hybrid of your well-loved pub classics as well as international, seasonally picked flavours such as Persian-style lamb, Spanish tapas and pork and apricot terrine. Although we were here for the roast, we shared a couple of starters just to taste some of the plates offered across the full week.
STARTERS
The hand-potted Portland crab came with warm seeded granary and a dish of salted butter. This was a great dish to share while we could each have a slice of the bread to mop up the creamy crab meat. Our second starter, The Crown Inn panko breadcrumb halloumi bites, was served with a grand tomato chilli jam. As expected, the jam was made entirely in house - not poured from a bottle of that ‘Blue Dragon Thai Sweet Chilli’ as you would find in your pantry at home.
ROASTS
The Crown Inn provide a humble and succinct Sunday offering with a choice of the following:
Roast sirloin of beef, served slightly pink with a Yorkshire pudding
British roast chicken breast, complete with bread sauce
Royal Sussex pork belly with crispy crackling
Vegan nut roast, roast sweet potato and fresh seasonal vegetables
I opted for the sirloin of beef which was presented neatly alongside those lavish potatoes and a crunchy Yorkshire pud. I often find thicker cuts of beef less enjoyable where they tend to have a leathery texture. However, this was rosy in colour, finely sliced and easy to chew while retaining the depth of flavour expected with a lightly cooked meat. It’s safe to say they aren’t shy on portions, particularly proven by the roast chicken!
All roasts come with unlimited, freshly sourced vegetables and roasties, which was frankly a game changer for me. Of course being the centrepiece of the plate, the meat must be well prepared in order for a restaurant to obtain the title of a reliable roast dinner. But give me a mountain of vegetables, crispy spuds and a hearty gravy made from scrapings of the roasting pan - I’m sold. These guys have really hit the nail on the head in offering unlimited veggies on request. This way bellies are full and wastage is kept to a minimum. Whatsmore, the gravy is more than just a condiment; it’s a liquid hug in a jug as you pour the hot, salty contents over your plate. It’s got to be ‘proper’ gravy, which is exactly how The Crown Inn name it on their menu. We also ordered braised red cabbage, maple-glazed parsnips and two individual portions of the oozing, Tellegio cauliflower cheese (because who can resist the urge against that sumptuous, stringy goodness).
DESSERTS
After a short interval to give our stomachs a break, we dived into desserts. These were:
Homemade sticky toffee pudding, toffee sauce and homemade vanilla ice cream (few can complain about that dark and dense sponge cake)
Homemade rhubarb, orange and ginger crumble (again, a simple yet irresistible English classic, complete with that thick vanilla custard)
Vegan chocolate and passion fruit tart with vegan cream and berry coulis.
Might you have slightly less of a sweet tooth, or want to resist the temptation of something sweet to finish your meal? There’s also a cheeseboard with exclusively local cheeses, quince jelly, biscuits, celery and grapes on the menu.
CONCLUDING THOUGHTS
The Crown Inn have really pulled the best of our British traditions under one roof, from the informal, chipper service, uncomplicated but reliable, good food, and last but not least that wholesome countryside feel. Being only a 35 minute drive away, it makes for a lovely trip out of the city. Parking was alarmingly easy, giving all the more reason to explore the setting beyond Brighton.
DETAILS:
Worthing Road,
West Sussex, RH13 8NH.
01403 710902 / info@crown-inn-dialpost.co.uk
