The Gate... Ifield
Telephone 01293 871271 · Map · Reviews
OS Map : Landranger 187 · Map reference TQ 227 373
Description
The Gate is on a quiet road between Faygate and Crawley. Originally there was a tollgate over a ford at this location - hence the "Gate" name. The pub has two bars joined together and a low-beamed restaurant containing some remnants of an old blacksmith's workshop with bread oven. The pub has paintings from local artists on the walls - and if you like one, the pictures are for sale as well!
Home-cooked food from local suppliers and BBQs in the garden during the summer. Beers are from Hall and Woodhouse including Sussex bitter, Badger and Tanglefoot. There is a quiz night every other Wednesday and a darts team playing on Thursday evenings.
How to get there
By car
The Gate is on a quiet country lane near Ifield Golf Club, a few miles west of Crawley.
Cycling
From Horsham town centre make your way via Rusper Road, or via Crawley Road, and then a short distance on the A264 [busy road for cyclists] to Faygate. At the Faygate roundabout, turn left into the village itself and cycle past the Holmbush Inn pub on the left.
Continue uphill slightly for 1.25 miles [2 km] and then turn right [signposted Ifield, Lambs Green]. After 0.5 miles [0.8 km], cycle past the Lamb Inn to the next T-junction. Turn right towards Ifield and then right again after a sharp left bend [if in doubt follow the signs for Ifield]. The pub is on the left after a few hundred yards/metres.
Suggested cycling routes from here
Come out of the pub and turn right, returning the way you came. Instead of turning left, back towards Lambs Green, follow the signs to Rusper and cycle some quiet country lanes towards the Plough in Rusper village or the Six Bells at Newdigate.
Or turn left out of the pub for a quiet route towards Ifield Wood and the outskirts of Crawley. In fact, if you want to cycle from Horsham to Crawley, this is a cycle-friendly route.
Or turn left from the pub to Ifield and pick up a bridleway near the railway line, after Ifield golf club, for an off-road route back towards Faygate via Kilnwood Farm.
Your reviews
Disclaimer: All reviews and ratings on this website are personal opinions by pub-goers. Horsham Pub Guide publishes comments at our editorial discretion but we are not responsible for comments made.
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Excellent pub with wide-ranging menu served either in the quaint low beamed restaurant or bar served by friendly and helpful staff. Not very often you find a pub like this nowadays, having all the right attributes. Great food reasonably priced, friendly and a good pint of beer. Highly recommended.
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Nice pub with huge portions of well-cooked food.
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A friendly, family run rural pub with a wide menu choice, some charm and a garden. My husband is a coeliac so needs care taken over his food preparation; the owner is really good at taking care of this and ensuring that even coeliacs get an enjoyable meal.
Older reviews
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Went there on recommendation for a casual business dinner with an American guest. The beer was fantastic, the staff friendly, and the food good. It's not Heston but it's wholesome and filling and I thought very reasonably priced.
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We needed to find a pub for a nice Sunday lunch in the Crawley area and, based on the reviews below, we chose The Gate. As soon as I saw the five specials boards and extensive menu we started to worry - fish, meat, pies, thai, vegetarian and roast; the list went on and on. How on earth can everything be fresh, and how likely is it that a chef can be good at cooking everything? The answer is it wasn't and he/she is not! I had a horrible lamb shank that was partially raw [and when I sent it back, I was told that it not raw but dyed red from the red wine gravy!]. The portions and plates were massive [as were the prices] but the veg was boring, and the sauce was gloopy.
This pub thinks it is some sort of fancy gastropub - dishes are £12 and over - but, in my opinion, it's nothing of the sort. I suggest they get Gordon Ramsay in to sort it out...!
Pub score - No Good · - Excellent
