Hastings Restaurant Guide

East Sussex luminary (and foraging pioneer) Paul Webbe’s Old Town venture (est. 2009) offers “a good selection of mainly seafood to reflect its position on the seafront (but also meat and veggie dishes for those who need them)”. “Friendly service and a reasonable atmosphere” contribute to its continuing success.

This family-run chippy in a wooden shack right on the town’s fishermen’s beach is now in its third decade, and wins plaudits for its “excellent fresh seafood”, straight off the boat. “Friendly staff” and “generous portions” make it a “great location for a family seaside lunch” – although it’s at its “best when not too busy”. “Booking is highly recommended – you may have to wait for a dull midweek in the ‘off’ season to get a walk-in table!”

This “tiny converted fisherman’s hut by the harbour” serves “amazing fish, straight off the beach-launched day boats, so it couldn’t be fresher”. “Exceptional cooking” is backed up by a “delightful owner”, “brilliant service” and a “very good wine list”. Not surprisingly, it’s “essential to book”.

This “beautifully presented pub” – a run-down 1860s hotel until a renovation five years ago – offers “great service” and a “hearty menu with generous portions”. “The choice of dishes at lunch seems more limited in recent months” – “sign of the times?”

2022 Review: Owners Alan McNally and Steve Morrish (who have collectively worked in some of London's trendier spots: Crispin, Leroy, Lyle’s and The Clove Club) run this tapas, eatery and deli with the aim of creating a “Balearic vibe”. No feedback as yet, but on paper it looks well worth a try.

“On top form” since the pandemic, this low-key spot in a townhouse away from the seafront, founded by former Le Caprice chef Nick Hales almost 20 years ago, does not generate a huge volume of feedback in our annual survey, but what we do receive is uniformly positive. The menu favours locally caught fish and seafood.

This “pleasantly traditional and old-fashioned restaurant” “has been a favourite for years” – and is these days “serving a more modern style of food” without losing any of its attractions. It was chef-patron Paul Webbe’s first opening more than 25 years ago, and has been followed by his fish specialist venues in Hastings and Rye.

On a 70-acre estate with views to Rye and the Romney salt marshes, Gusbourne CEO Ben Walgate’s farmhouse winery-with-rooms (and tents in the grounds if preferred) enjoys a “superb setting” and “the space itself is fabulous”. New chef Brendan Eades worked at zero-waste pioneer Silo, so a field-to-fork ethos prevails (already winning them a Green Michelin star); despite limited opening hours (lunch Fri-Sun, a 6-course tasting menu by night) it garners a large volume of positive reports – as does the “perfectly good” sourdough pizzeria in the barn opposite.

The “historic location” (a 600-year-old building with mullioned windows and many a beam) certainly adds to the charms of this old smugglers’ inn – “a little old-school, but that’s all part of the experience”. It’s been under the same owners for three decades, and while it’s not the main draw, the “lovely food” also has its fans.

“If you like fish, come here” – chorus the many fans of Paul Webbe’s “reliable” spot, which serves some of “the freshest seafood ever” at “good VFM” prices – such as a “stonking portion of sprats with super-light batter for under a fiver” and “scallops which melt in the mouth”. “Acoustic panels have been fitted to the ceiling to absorb noise” but the setting can still appear a little bare.

This “really lovely small restaurant”, housed in interlinked Georgian shops, has “been excellent for years” owing to its “short, interesting menu” of locally sourced British food (some foraged) and its “charming and efficient service” too.

2023 Review: “If only every pub was like this!” – “a quirky place” a short walk from the town centre which makes the most of its olde-worlde decor. The food is “competent and innovative”, and there’s a “good range of drinks”.

“You wonder what’s in store when you driving up to The Gallivant” – built in the 1960s as a beachfront motel by Camber Sands – but “you enter an oasis of calm, with a light and airy restaurant” serving “outstanding and interesting food” from MasterChef contestant Nico Fitzgerald. The venue operates as a wellness retreat, whose “friendly and knowledgeable team” provide a “truly relaxed environment”.

“The only true fine dining restaurant in Eastbourne” – Hrvoje Loncarevic “continues to gradually restore the reputation of the fine dining room of the elegant Grand Hotel”: a large, 150-bedroom grande dame of a property on the seafront and “an excellent venue for business or celebrations”. “Beautifully laid out courses” are provided by “service of the high level you’d expect from a five-star hotel, and the wine list has a very broad range of fine vintages”. “We had a table in the window overlooking the garden on a lovely summer’s evening, all the while being accompanied by an excellent pianist playing a mixture of standards and modern jazz”.

2023 Review: No feedback as yet on this August 2020 arrival in this ever-more fashionable seaside town, but it’s a July 2022 tip from Giles Coren writing in The Times and awarding it 23/30. “I probably shouldn’t have been as surprised as I was by the low, low prices on the menu” achieved with “unfashionable fish – mussels, sea trout, plaice, mackerel – and plenty of pasta.”

Opened on April Fool’s Day 2022, but set on a site which has seen many incarnations (it was converted into a hotel from a cowshed back in the 1920s), this “wonderful” new arrival from husband-and-wife team Olivia and Henry is already a local hit. Chef Nick Hales oversees the “unfussy and well-executed” menu – “defo more restaurant than pub” in quality – with the “catch of the day supplied by a local fishmonger” and greens grown 400 yards away. Bonus points for the staff (“nothing was too much trouble”).

2023 Review: “The most intensely tasty, well executed and imaginative street food outside of Shoreditch”, say fans of this new permanent home for a popular food truck familiar to visitors to Camber Sands: “great service and reasonable prices complete one of the best places for proper eats in this gorgeous little gem of a town”. Top Menu Tip – “the chilli brisket or buttermilk chicken burger with maple bacon and satay mayo will transport you into raptures to say nothing of the spicy chips with scotch bonnet jam that always remain crispy no matter the additions piled on!”.

2023 Review: This “brilliant country gastropub” (with rooms) offers a “wide range of modern-British style food” – with many dishes making reference to local provenance. “Views of Bodiam Castle” and the option of glamping in a 5-person teepee on the grounds add to the considerable appeal.

2023 Review: “Great attention to detail is the hallmark of this Italian restaurant close to the seafront in Eastbourne”. Run by chef/patron, hospitality veteran Lorenzo Cinalli, it’s in a traditional mould and – according to a recent review from the Mail on Sunday’s Tom Parker Bowles “is one of those rare places that manages to combine the old school with the resolutely regional” including “spanking fresh turbot... up there with Scott’s, Wiltons or Bentley’s”.