Whether you’re meeting friends for coffee, heading out for dinner or filling your basket with Sussex produce, Horsham has plenty to tempt you. Horsham’s vibrant food and drink scene brings together cafés, restaurants, markets and traditional pubs, with vineyards, cheesemakers and drinks producers in the surrounding countryside. You can keep things simple with coffee and cake in the Carfax or make a day of it, exploring the town before heading out for a vineyard tasting or a country pub lunch.
Coffee shops and cafés
Horsham has no shortage of places to catch up with friends, take a break from shopping or settle down with something delicious and watch the town go by. Cafés are dotted around the Carfax, Market Square and the little streets between them, with more to discover beyond the centre.
Café No4 in Market Square is a place for tea and patisserie, while Swedish Johansson’s and Carmela Deli are two of our favourites, not to mention Trading Post, which is fast becoming a very popular Sussex chain.
Restaurants and outdoor dining
East Street is one of the main ingredients in Horsham’s restaurant scene. On warm summer evenings, when tables spill outside, it takes on an almost Mediterranean feel. That atmosphere continues into Market Square, around the old Town Hall, and across the Carfax with plenty of places to enjoy a slow lunch or turn a supper with friends into a long evening.
There’s a good choice of food too, from Neapolitan pizza at Monte Forte to French-inspired dining at Côte and Felix, and Indian dishes at Horsham Tandoori. Explore the twittens and nearby Piries Place too. Part of the pleasure is discovering what’s on offer or perhaps lingering over a cocktail at Sit and Sip while you decide.
Markets and local produce
The Carfax market brings another layer of flavour to the town, and if you love local produce this is the place to go. Chat to producers and pick up ingredients for home, eat as you go along and indulge in a few treats. It’s the best way to enjoy a market.
Horsham also has a dedicated vegan market in Piries Place, normally held on the last Saturday of the month, except December. Together, the markets offer plenty of reasons to shop beyond the supermarket aisles and discover smaller businesses. Just outside the town, the farm shop at Westons is another great resource with a wonderful selection of local goodies.
Bread and cheese
There are a couple of excellent bakers in the town. You may see queues outside the ever popular Gwyn’s Bakery in the Bishopric and the smell of fresh bakes often wafts out of Gail’s in the Carfax.
The surrounding countryside contributes its own flavours. Bookham Harrison Farms, on the Surrey–Sussex border near Rudgwick produces Sussex Charmer cheese: fast becoming a Sussex staple and definitely one to add to your baskets.
Vineyards, distilleries and breweries
There’s plenty happening in the glass as well as on the plate. Cabin Pressure Spirits produces gin in Horsham with gorgeous locally designed labels that tune into Horsham heritage, while Goldstone Rum, in nearby Henfield, and The Custom Spirit Company are both local producers of rum.
Wine lovers can explore nearby Leonardslee’s by way of their vineyard tours and wine tastings along with a host of other experiences.
And if you just want to slurp really good local wine without visiting the vineyard, grab a bottle of Coolhurst from The Wine Cellar in the Carfax and enjoy!
Horsham is almost synonymous with great local beer having been home to the famous King and Barnes brewery for many years. From that legacy, a legend was born, namely Andy Hepworth, who went on to found Hepworths Brewery. The brewery has since moved out of the town to Pulborough but the legacy certainly continues.
Other local breweries and tap rooms you will now find in and around the town include Brolly Brewing, Firebird and Kissingate.
Pubs and restaurants in and around Horsham
If it’s Michelin standard dining you are after, head out of town to Interlude at Leonardslee or South Lodge almost opposite. They have three restaurants at the latter which include Camellia Restaurant, The Pass and Botanica.
And a Sussex food guide would hardly be complete without a pub or two. In town, The Black Jug is conveniently close to Horsham Park, while the surrounding villages offer plenty of opportunities to combine lunch with a countryside walk. The Chequers at Rowhook is a particularly inviting destination, with its old beams, flagstone floors and welcoming atmosphere providing the setting for a leisurely meal. Over in Warnham, The Greets Inn offers another village pub stop.
The Horsham food scene is surprisingly comprehensive as well as being very very tasty of course. There are plenty of places we haven’t yet taste tested or simply haven’t got room to fit in, so bring your napkin and your appetite and prepare for an absolute feast.
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