The Pass at South Lodge

This clever-concept restaurant has seen a slew of excellent chefs take the reigns over the years, but the latest to pick up the baton is Ben Wilkinson, who moved to the hotel two years ago fresh from winning a Michelin star at Lake District restaurant The Cottage in the Wood. Ben scored again when he won a star for The Pass in 2023, simultaneously putting the restaurant back on people’s radars while strengthening his own reputation as the man that put it there.

The concept is very similar to a chef’s table – only less intimate and more casual. There’s a gaping glass wall on one side of the dining room that functions as a looking glass for diners to peek into the considered workings of the chef brigade. High-top seats allow for optimal viewing into the kitchen, and we find this part fascinating, as we watch chefs finish dishes with microscopic attention to detail – the sort that requires tweezers.

Four distinctive snacks kick off the restaurant’s seven-course tasting menu, including a delicious croustade shell filled with smoked eel and smooth potato. The rest of the menu is jam-packed with clever ideas and fun surprises, but nothing ever feels out of place. Rather, dishes are finely tuned so that flavour and experience intertwine seamlessly. Case in point: a bold, rich dish of slow-cooked beef cheek, shoestring fried celeriac and truffle is served alongside a singular bite of raw beef fillet with smoked emulsion - which we’re instructed to eat first - and a chalice of heady beef broth. Bravo Ben! Next, steamed turbot, sea vegetables and prawn mousse are offset by a vibrant fish and tomato sauce. The sweet course is predictably excellent: a chocolate and hazelnut delice finished at the table with Pedro Ximenez sherry. 

The menu is filled with light and shade, moving from bolshy flavours to more delicate ones, and wine pairings are just as nuanced, with prestige and premium flights available for avid oenophiles. It’s a special experience no doubt, especially being tucked inside a luxury five-star hotel, but the stool seating set up and a team of relaxed, friendly staff ensure diners feel settled from the off. 

The Pass is an intimate restaurant within the luxury spa South Lodge hotel, West Sussex, headed up by the highly talented chef Ben Wilkinson. Under Ben’s guidance, the restaurant is now the proud holder of a Michelin star, winning the accolade for the first time in 2023. The Pass serves exciting tasting menus which make the most of seasonal produce, and promises each guest a unique and memorable dining experience.

The restaurant is able to cater for up to 28 diners within its historic walls, with guests seated slap bang in the middle of the kitchen in order to immerse themselves in its buzzing atmosphere. Overlooking the brigade of chefs in action, diners can watch them create each innovative dish before finishing them at the pass, for a truly immersive ‘chef’s table’ experience.

Head chef Ben Wilkinson lies at the heart of the kitchen, who moved to The Pass following his success working at Michelin-starred The Cottage in the Wood in the Lake District. His partner Monika Zurawska, meanwhile, manages the front of house team, a seemingly unstoppable duo with the aim of bringing diners an unrivalled dining experience.

There is one seven-course tasting menu available, which changes regularly depending on the seasons and what produce is available that day. However, examples of dishes you’re likely to try include celeriac with beef cheek fillet and celery, wild Newhaven turbot with asparagus, oyster, Ridgeview sparkling and king oyster mushrooms, as well as Fallow venison with beetroot, kale, red wine, peppercorn and lardo. Sweet courses, meanwhile, include Yorkshire rhubarb with ewe’s curd, vanilla and rose.

On the drinks menu there is a wide range of wine from all over the world, including a diverse selection of English sparkling wine, and specially curated wines from France, Austria, New Zealand and Croatia. Diners also have the choice to add on a carefully considered wine flight with each course.