The Black Rabbit Arundel.
The Black Rabbit Arundel or, as us locals used to call it, the Mucky Bunny. It’s a very unique name, I can only find one other pub listed with the name black rabbit. I grew up about 4 miles from Arundel and the Black Rabbit was always a firm favourite of places to go. Its location is quite spectacular on the banks of the River Arun. It’s a great addition to my Historic pubs of Sussex.
Table of Contents
Key Info
As usual on these reviews, we were not paid to do it, we paid for our own food and drink out of our own pockets and the staff had no idea we were reviewing! Therefore, I feel our review is exactly as you would experience when visiting the pub.
Black Rabbit – View across the river
Sitting outside on a summers day you can see Arundel Castle round the bend in the river. Arundel Castle is well worth a visit in its own right, see my Arundel Castle Review for timings and prices. Looking across the river valley it’s almost impossible to see any sign of modern life. It’s like you are looking out on a view that that has not changed in 500 years!
Current offerings at the Black Rabbit
New Pub – For Arundel!
The Black Rabbit is a relatively new pub when compared to the rest of Arundel! Built-in 1894, it is younger than most buildings in Arundel. Although the pub itself has changed slightly since I first came here 30 years ago, it has changed for the better. As I mentioned above the location cannot be bettered, especially for a summer pint.
There are copious amounts of outside seating, some in the shade for hot days and some in the direct sun. There is a large car park to the front of the pub and one in the rear so even when the pub is packed there are always places to park.
Black Rabbit – Outside Seating
I would suggest booking during the summertime and even possibly during winter weekends. My last visit was on a Tuesday in August and it was very busy. That being said service was very quick considering the number of people waiting. Inside it’s kind of a long thin pub with seating areas for drinkers on the left as you go through the main door and the restaurant areas are on the right.
Great views across the River
The Black Rabbit is owned by the Hall & Woodhouse chain and therefore is not a gastropub as such and the food is perhaps a £ or so more expensive than you would normally find. Personally, I think it’s worth it paying for the view. You won’t find any unique dishes on the menu but it is reasonable for the quirkiness of the location. As a guide, 28-day aged sirloin steak 8 ounce is £18. The full menu can be found on the Black Rabbit website at the link at the bottom of the page.
The one gripe I had, and the pub could not really do anything about it, was the number of wasps sitting outside. And by this I mean when I was sitting outside, not that there was a load of wasps sitting at the tables! Wasps can be an annoyance in August when I visited due to the fact that they have finished feeding the young in the nests.
In the end, I retreated inside to avoid the wasps. However, as I say the pub can’t be held responsible for a wasps nest nearby. It would be a mammoth task trying to locate the wasps’ nest and eradicate it because they just set up shop again nearby. But I just thought you should be aware. And, who knows, they may move on next year so don’t let it put you off.
Black Rabbit – Conclusions
The black rabbit schools 3 1/2 stars on TripAdvisor out of over 1600 reviews. On the trip advisor website listing for The Black Rabbit, the manager always seems to reply to the comments. This is a nice touch as I usually see this as a manager who cares for his pub.
Google Maps – Click on the map for Directions
Black Rabbit
Mill Road, Offham
Arundel, West Sussex
BN18 9PB
United Kingdom
Tel: 01903 882638
Email: blackrabbit.arundel@hall-woodhouse.co.uk
Do you know a standout pub?
To reiterate, I don’t do paid reviews and I only include pubs that have something notable about them. However, If you know a pub that you think would make a good addition to this list, for historical or quirky reasons, leave a comment below in the ‘Post a Comment‘ section right at the bottom of the page. If it looks interesting, I will do one of my stealth visits and the review will be posted here. Not every pub makes the cut – perhaps three quarters do for various reasons. And the various reasons for a pub not making the cut are; bad service, bad food, bad experience and just plain boring..!
For the rest of my Historic Pubs of Sussex list, see below
The Duke of Cumberland Arms – Henley
All prices correct at time of writing.
If you are looking for Historic Pubs in Surrey, click here.
Disclaimer: In short, some of the links on this site are affiliate links. These means that if you click on the link and buy the item, I receive a small commission at no extra cost to you. The money helps go towards the upkeep of the site – so it’s a win-win for both of us! Any videos used on this site if not my own, are, of course, used within Youtube’s sharing guidelines…