[Sussex] The Stable Yard - New Member's Club in Worthing

[thedonkeycentrehalf]

The Last Resort on Worthing seafront is a private members drinking club and has been open for about 20 years.

 

[Weststander]

It’s hard enough for London type venues to make it in the far larger and wealthier conurbation of Brighton. Coastal urban areas literally have half a geographical sphere of economic influence.

To summarise … it will go bust in that format.

 

[Live by the sea]

How are those two places getting on? I remember about 15 years ago Brighton had a couple of higher end members clubs but neither seemed to do well and eventually closed. Think one was run by Blanch House, another was at The Hanbury Ballroom.

Both doing well . Rockwater is very busy thur- sat nights and the food thankfully has improved a lot , Bruno & his wife were there last month .

Soho house is doing ok , it’s not in the same league as the one in Soho London but it’s not bad although food and service needs to improve .

 

[The Clamp]

 

[BN41Albion]

View attachment 164637

I've pierced my foot on a spike!

 

[Bozza]

Though some of the restaurants are closing down. Pitch?

I don’t like Worthing anymore, and certainly don’t agree that it’s dining out locations are notable. Went out on Friday evening with a pal, and it’s just not a very nice place.

The best restaurant by an absolute mile is Ami Bistro.
Perch wasn’t too bad either to be fair….

But I didn't say that any of the restaurants are notable, did I?

You say you don't like it anymore - when did you, out of interest?

 

[The Clamp]

Hmmm, bear with me, Lynn..

Coleman House, Atlantis, Ace House, Alan House, The Cottage, The Old Rectory, Barn Cottage, Follyfoot, Steed Manor, Lord House, Rockford House, Flambards, Brideshead House..

The Stable House?

Lynn, that’s brilliant.

 

[One Teddy Maybank]

But I didn't say that any of the restaurants are notable, did I?

You say you don't like it anymore - when did you, out of interest?

So, ordinary dining establishments? Great!

To answer the question when the shops were better, fewer better restaurants and cafes probably 10-20 years ago. Wheatsheaf was a good pub for example.

Most importantly at night it also felt a lot safer.

Going back further the failure to properly redevelop the Guildbourne Centre and Teville Gate was such an own goal.

 

[Herr Tubthumper]

Both doing well . Rockwater is very busy thur- sat nights and the food thankfully has improved a lot , Bruno & his wife were there last month .

Soho house is doing ok , it’s not in the same league as the one in Soho London but it’s not bad although food and service needs to improve .

Rockwater isn’t a proper full members club though is it? I thought they merely had a small members bar/terrace but the rest is open to the public?

As an aside, back in the days of pubs closing at 11pm I was a member of a few Brighton bars which were basically late night drinking dens. There was one in a basement in Regency Square which was particularly crazy and had some interesting characters, the owner was an older gent who liked his sniff and would swing between being the perfect host and a psychopath. When I was taken along to join, the owner came outside in a “heightened” state, stood away from me and literally looked me up and down a few times, paused for a bit, and then said he liked me so I could join. I asked about membership card etc he just said he’d remember me. I have some stories from that place.

 

[Live by the sea]

Rockwater isn’t a proper full members club though is it? I thought they merely had a small members bar/terrace but the rest is open to the public?

As an aside, back in the days of pubs closing at 11pm I was a member of a few Brighton bars which were basically late night drinking dens. There was one in a basement in Regency Square which was particularly crazy and had some interesting characters, the owner was an older gent who liked his sniff and would swing between being the perfect host and a psychopath. When I was taken along to join, the owner came outside in a “heightened” state, stood away from me and literally looked me up and down a few times, paused for a bit, and then said he liked me so I could join. I asked about membership card etc he just said he’d remember me. I have some stories from that place.

Sounds a laugh . You are correct , Rockwater it’s not a proper members club anyone can book. There are some perks about membership but I can’t remember what they are . I’m not a member of Rockwater.

It is nice though .

I do agree , Worthing seems to have gone downhill . Lots of trouble in the evenings especially town centre.

 

[Lenny Rider]

Paging @Lenny Rider , what’s your take on this sir?

We were only talking about this at the weekend, I commend anyone who puts their head above the parapet and gives it a try (apart from Masterchefs Kenny Tutt, who’s a complete gobshite) but it’s a big ask in a town centre like Worthing which unfortunately has like a lot of places seen better days.

Soho House in Brighton wasn’t really for me, if they think they can replicate something like that in Worthing that’s extremely ambitious, I will support them and I hope others do as well, but one of the figures I’ve already heard bandied around is a 1,000 members within 12 months, I’m not sure there‘s that amount of people locally who’d be interested.

 

[Live by the sea]

We were only talking about this at the weekend, I commend anyone who puts their head above the parapet and gives it a try (apart from Masterchefs Kenny Tutt, who’s a complete gobshite) but it’s a big ask in a town centre like Worthing which unfortunately has like a lot of places seen better days.

Soho House in Brighton wasn’t really for me, if they think they can replicate something like that in Worthing that’s extremely ambitious, I will support them and I hope others do as well, but one of the figures I’ve already heard bandied around is a 1,000 members within 12 months, I’m not sure there‘s that amount of people locally who’d be interested.

The Brighton Soho House isn’t a patch on the London one !

 

[Herr Tubthumper]

Sounds a laugh . You are correct , Rockwater it’s not a proper members club anyone can book. There are some perks about membership but I can’t remember what they are . I’m not a member of Rockwater.

It is nice though .

I do agree , Worthing seems to have gone downhill . Lots of trouble in the evenings especially town centre.

It was a madhouse.

PS Regarding the last sentence....I did not say this; you're confusing me with @One Teddy Maybank .

 

[Herr Tubthumper]

The Brighton Soho House isn’t a patch on the London one !

There's one in Berlin as well. It's more a general public hotel these days, quite a grand hotel to be fair with an amazing roof top pool and bar, but I think it was struggling as the ground floor members spaces have now been turned over to an externally run public restaurant and event spaces and no one really talks about it any more.

 

[Bozza]

So, ordinary dining establishments? Great!

To answer the question when the shops were better, fewer better restaurants and cafes probably 10-20 years ago. Wheatsheaf was a good pub for example.

Most importantly at night it also felt a lot safer.

Going back further the failure to properly redevelop the Guildbourne Centre and Teville Gate was such an own goal.

I also didn't call them ordinary. You keep putting words in my mouth to suit your agenda.

One definition of notable is "remarkable" - and there might not be any remarkable restaurants in Worthing. I say "might not" because Tern is getting very, very good reviews locally - including from those on the Brighton food blogging scene, but I've not eaten there myself yet, so I can't judge. It will be interesting if any of the big-name reviewers come down to take a look.

But there are plenty of solid restaurants now but, other than Tern, not much in the realm of fine dining for those that want such a thing.

In terms of pubs and bars, there's simply no comparison to around eight years ago when I moved back to the town from Bristol - there's a wealth of great options now that just didn't exist then. The problem plotting an evening out now is deciding which pubs you'll have to miss out on, whereas eight years ago you'd struggle to find enough good options to fill an evening.

As I said way back - Worthing is no Brighton. Brighton is no London. There's no point in making a comparison. But it's improved significantly, and I think is still on an upward trajectory.

 

[Live by the sea]

London is no New York .

 

[Live by the sea]

It was a madhouse.

PS Regarding the last sentence....I did not say this; you're confusing me with @One Teddy Maybank .

Apologies - however on this particular instance I tend to agree with Teddy , Worthing did seem nicer certainly at night a few years ago .

 

[Chicken Run]

We were only talking about this at the weekend, I commend anyone who puts their head above the parapet and gives it a try (apart from Masterchefs Kenny Tutt, who’s a complete gobshite) but it’s a big ask in a town centre like Worthing which unfortunately has like a lot of places seen better days.

Soho House in Brighton wasn’t really for me, if they think they can replicate something like that in Worthing that’s extremely ambitious, I will support them and I hope others do as well, but one of the figures I’ve already heard bandied around is a 1,000 members within 12 months, I’m not sure there‘s that amount of people locally who’d be interested.

I’m not sure Soho house in Brighton is hitting the management’s expectations or so I’ve been told

 

[One Teddy Maybank]

I also didn't call them ordinary. You keep putting words in my mouth to suit your agenda.

One definition of notable is "remarkable" - and there might not be any remarkable restaurants in Worthing. I say "might not" because Tern is getting very, very good reviews locally - including from those on the Brighton food blogging scene, but I've not eaten there myself yet, so I can't judge. It will be interesting if any of the big-name reviewers come down to take a look.

But there are plenty of solid restaurants now but, other than Tern, not much in the realm of fine dining for those that want such a thing.

In terms of pubs and bars, there's simply no comparison to around eight years ago when I moved back to the town from Bristol - there's a wealth of great options now that just didn't exist then. The problem plotting an evening out now is deciding which pubs you'll have to miss out on, whereas eight years ago you'd struggle to find enough good options to fill an evening.

As I said way back - Worthing is no Brighton. Brighton is no London. There's no point in making a comparison. But it's improved significantly, and I think is still on an upward trajectory.

Agenda - get over yourself!
Having a discussion or is that discouraged?

Solid/great options? Depends what you’re after.

Tern (thank you) will have a look though sounds promising

 

[Giraffe]

We were only talking about this at the weekend, I commend anyone who puts their head above the parapet and gives it a try (apart from Masterchefs Kenny Tutt, who’s a complete gobshite) but it’s a big ask in a town centre like Worthing which unfortunately has like a lot of places seen better days.

Soho House in Brighton wasn’t really for me, if they think they can replicate something like that in Worthing that’s extremely ambitious, I will support them and I hope others do as well, but one of the figures I’ve already heard bandied around is a 1,000 members within 12 months, I’m not sure there‘s that amount of people locally who’d be interested.

Absolutely no chance of that amount of members I'd say. 500 tops? That part of Worthing is definitely improving though but all the time McDonalds is there it isn't going to help their desire to make this more up market. Nandos moved in recently which they heralded. I think that says much really. They want it to be the restaurant area, but it has a long way to go along there.