Hailsham, British, Modern Restaurant Guide

This former religious hostel on the banks of the Cuckmere River is considerably less humble than in days of yore, having been given the Olga Polizzi treatment (Bloomsbury Set artworks, fancy Elizabethan-style floor, plush bedrooms) a few years back. While some baulk at the “very expensive” price tag, for most it’s justified by the “very good” British cooking and, if you overnight – perhaps after a trip to Glyndebourne or a stroll on The Downs – “it should be mentioned that the breakfasts are particularly good”.

Dining amid the Edwardian “time-warp” splendour of the Grand Hotel is “always a wonderful experience” according to traditionalist fans of this seafront landmark, which “continues to sail along offering well spaced tables, attentive silver service”. One or two reports regret that in moving with the times it’s become “sadly less stylish than in times past, with no serving cloche or pianist on the night visited”, but all acknowledge it’s “still a lovely room”, with “imaginative cuisine” from chef Alex Burtenshaw – cooking that all reports acknowledged as consistent this year.

2022 Review: They “recently extended the outdoor space and garden” at this imposing wattle-and-daub Elizabethan inn, built for the Keeper of the Privy Purse to Elizabeth I, no less. Together with a “new menu” of snacks and heartier grub it now makes a “great eating place” by all accounts.

Former Le Caprice chef Nick Hales this year celebrates 21 years at his townhouse restaurant, where he showcases the daily catch provided by Europe’s largest beach-launched fishing fleet at Hastings – “there are meat dishes, but the fish and seafood is what you should come here for (and I’m not a great fish-eater!)”. All reports suggest its “on top form” currently.

“In a delightful village”, this “scenic” gastroboozer-with-rooms continues to please, two years after longtime owners the Pullan family handed the keys to the Young’s group; the “best atmosphere is in the bar” (as opposed to the annexe), though the “great garden” remains the standout here, offering lovely views of the Ouse countryside.

This “satisfying haunt” – a smartly renovated Victorian hotel opposite the station – attracts a “relaxed regular clientele” with a “solid-if-limited menu on weekday lunchtimes, but more varied and flavourful choice in the evening”.

“Paul Webbe’s original restaurant is still a pleasure to visit” almost three decades after opening, the farmhouse venue having since spawned a clutch of fish-centric spin-offs alongside a cookery school in Hastings. “Reliably old-fashioned (in the best possible way)”, it combines “superb service and some first-rate cooking” which, as per the name, is focussed on foraging, including “a marvellous set luncheon with a very large choice for each course at a reasonable price in this day and age”. For several reporters this is a place to “go back to on special occasions as the quality is very good”.

A “totally unpretentious” venture serving “lovely, simple seafood, cooked well and at a decent price, in a little shack of a dining room down on the Hastings seafront”, and where the catch is, reassuringly, “landed on the beach just opposite”. Add in “lovely relaxed service” and is a “really enjoyable” formula all-round.