Lewes Restaurant Guide

2022 Review: At the heart of a picture-perfect village in the South Downs National Park which was beloved by Virginia Woolf in her day, this rambling brick and flint pub-with-rooms has a “great garden, or more like field” (!) offering views over the Sussex countryside. Inside offers an “intimate” and “romantic” backdrop to “modern and fresh” food of a “reliable” bent.

2021 Review: “More ‘pubby’ than The Gingerman” – the namesake group’s original site and flagship, opened in 1998 – “but more relaxing” too, this dog-friendly Kemptown spot is a solid performer which “cannot be beaten for family get-togethers”; the newest ginger, The Flint House, mixing tapas, cocktails and a roof terrace, opened in central Brighton in spring 2019.

“Ambience is not key when you just want to stuff your face!” – you “just get a great dirty burger” at these tongue-in-cheek diners, whose signature offering is the ‘Dead Hippie’. Founded 16 years ago from the back of a truck by Scott Collins and Yianni Papoutsis, at the time a technician with the English National Ballet, it now has 15 London outlets and a national delivery operation.

2023 Review: Isaac Bartlett-Copeland’s ambitious and ultra-local operation in Brighton’s boho North Laine is “so original and never the same twice”, with its ‘taste of Sussex’ menus and an all-English list of wines. The “NYC vibe” goes too far for some tastes (“well-meaning front of house told us everything, and I mean absolutely everything, about every dish…”)

2023 Review: This “little” Victorian boozer on a North Laine corner is “a bit away from the centre but not far from the station, so perfect when arriving at lunchtime” – “the menu’s not massive, which is usually a good sign, and you’ll find Sunday roast, fish ’n’ chips, and classic pub dishes”.

2022 Review: Occupying the basement Kempton site of the eponymous Drakes of Brighton, the new restaurant at this boutique hotel is headed up by chef Ian Swainson (previously at The Pass). It started as a pop-up in 2019 and went permanent in 2020. Our limited feedback said the food is very good, but was too limited for a rating. But the word on the street is that his food is some of the more interesting to be had in the town.

2022 Review: “A fire before lockdown, followed by Covid restrictions, mean it's been a tricky time for this well-loved Brighton institution”, but the “fabulous” North Laine veggie and vegan café is happily once again back in business. “Beyond-delicious food, lovely people and a great atmosphere” ensure that it's “definitely worth a visit even if you’re not vegetarian”.

“Outstanding pizza that’s super-light and oozing Italian style” (“not usually a pizza fan but really enjoyed the food”) has made the name of this “buzzing and hilarious” but also “good- value” Neapolitan joint. It’s now part of a five-strong chain, spanning two London outposts (the most recent in chi-chi Covent Garden), a newly refurbed Hove branch and this, the original, where “sitting outside to people watch is also great – it’s Brighton after all!”.

2023 Review: “Not a restaurant… rather a tiny room with some bar stools along the wall”. Fans say “it’s a ‘must-try’ experience for all lovers of honest, tasty cuisine! The burgers are juicy, and full of flavour from the quality of the meat to the seasonings”.

2023 Review: Decked out with neon lights, graffiti, sugar skulls and vivid flowers, this ten-year-old cantina has also spawned a (larger) Hove spin-off. Such feedback as we have says its “great value, with really enjoyable food” – more reports please!

“For a large chain, they still do pretty much unbeatable Mexican fusion fare”, say fans of these “busy and atmospheric” street-food cafés, now with 11 London branches and three others around the UK. That said, there are also some niggles in feedback; and the sentiment is widespread that – though “still enjoyable” – the food can seem “a little mass-produced”. Even so, practically all diners still consider them “dependable for a quick, cheap ’n’ cheerful bite”. Top Tip – the new, 150-cover Paddington branch is their first opening in six years and puts a focus on sustainability and a menu including some larger sharing plates (e.g. grilled Achiote Seabass, Lamb Barbacoa and Chimichurri Cauliflower).

2022 Review: “Creative and delicious” – this pleasing Lanes spot, say fans, “takes Indian food to new heights”. One or two reporters this year, though, craved more spice here.

“Brighton’s most popular restaurant” (our survey agrees – it’s the most commented-on in town): “small plates rule – and the choices are definitely out-of-the-ordinary” – at Pamela & Ben McKellar’s venue in the Lanes, where “most of the seating is counter-style, which is great but arguably limits its appeal (you have to be very lucky to get one of the tables if you want a six, for example)”. For £50 per person, you can avoid having to choose and go for the chef’s short tasting menu, which is “really good, and a good representation of the kitchen”. Notwithstanding its popularity and virtues, though, ratings overall here are only in the middle ground and one or two more sceptical reporters “expected more given its reputation… I’m not sure exactly what it is attempting”.

“Exceptional seafood, ultra-fresh off the boat” is the order of the day at this classic oyster bar down “one of the cutest winding alleys in the Lanes” – “every Brightonian has either been in this place or stared longingly through the window” since it opened almost 20 years ago, and it’s “definitely a must-stop for visitors to the town”. “The USP is that you can choose your fish from a board showing the day’s catches. When it’s gone, it’s gone (but it’s annoying when the board isn’t kept up-to-date – we missed out on the Dover sole!)”. There’s a newer branch in the Rotunda on the Promenade (see also). Top Menu Tip – “the seafood risotto”.