The Bat and Ball Country Pub and Haywards Restaurant

Lovely meal- good food with great service. Varied menu with lots of gluten free options and some nice, not run of the mill, vegan dishes.

We booked a meal for four at the Bat & Ball to celebrate a Birthday but due to a planning error on our part had to cancel at short notice . The Bat &Ball staff were able to rescheduled the meal despite being , as we came to realise, heavily booked . That was a good start to the B&B experience . Our booking was for a late slot on a busy afternoon by which time there was apparently a lack of clean spoons . The lack of padding on the chairs in the outdoor eating area came in for comment. The seating position was a bit low . This prompted four reasonably normally- sized humans to joke about falling victim to an Alice in Wonderlandesque shrinking potion . In truth ,the lack of a spoon or two and thin cushions were vaguely amusing. The overall experience was really good . The service was pleasantly unobtrusive yet attentive . The latter was especially welcome as one of our party is celiac . Staff were clearly aware of the risks of cross contamination and several menu options were already or could be adapted to be GF . The food was excellent and portions were generous . The presentation involved wooden boards, mini frying pans and rectangular plates; all of which added an air of fun to the meal. A five star experience!