Facing the ‘wide sweep of tidal mudflats’ surrounding Pagham Harbour, this whitewashed restaurant-with-rooms stands as a ‘tucked-away’ beacon of ‘delicious food’ and ‘exceptional hospitality’. Owned by Sam and Janet Bakose, the 350-year-old inn ‘has a wonderfully timeless air’. A bright renovation brings a smart rustic-chic style and muted coastal palette to low ceilings and exposed beams. The bar and restaurant with inglenook fireplace, exposed bricks and ‘friendly, efficient’ staff ‘does not disappoint’. Chef Clyde Hollett’s seafood-heavy menu features the likes of grilled mackerel fillet with fennel, pepper and citrus salad, orange and tarragon salsa; Selsey crab gratin. The hum of the restaurant may drift up to the room directly above, but ‘it’s an old building, so not unexpected’. Bedrooms, ‘comfortable, with a fine modern bathroom’, have the same restful, muted colours and contemporary finish as downstairs. Binoculars are left in rooms that look across the marshland. Adjacent ‘roomy, comfortable’ Crab Cottage is ideal for self-sufficient groups. At breakfast, ‘interesting cooked options’ include smoked mackerel with poached eggs and grilled tomatoes. ‘Excellently located’ for twitchers itching to explore the nearby nature reserve. (Michael Gwinnell, and others)