British, Modern Restaurants in Polegate
1. The Tasting Room, Rathfinny Wine Estate
British, Modern restaurant in Alfriston
Rathfinny Wine Estate - BN26
Panoramic views of the vineyards and South Downs accompany a trip to this seasonal dining room (which is closed in October during the wine harvest). Some reports are of outstanding cuisine from chef Chris Bailey, although there is the odd concern about some “huge mark-ups” on certain items. You can always opt for the “really relaxed” Flint Barn dining room also on the estate (“keenly priced, lovely posh grub with a large choice of wines to wash it all down”). There is also The Hut at Rathfinny – a wine bar with week-round opening.
2. The Star
British, Modern restaurant in Alfriston
High Street - BN26
In a medieval village at the foot of the South Downs, a “fifteenth-century inn transformed into a delightful boutique hotel and restaurant” by hospitality guru Olga Polizzi, who acquired it in 2021 for her now three-strong chain. Most (if not all) reporters laud River Café alumnus Tim Kensett’s “delicious” locally sourced food, though “what makes this place is the service and setting” (the “very sophisticated” decor includes Bloomsbury Set artworks, and, in the dining room, a striking monochrome Elizabethan-style floor).
3. The Mirabelle, The Grand Hotel
British, Modern restaurant in Eastbourne
King Edwards Parade - BN21
“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”.
4. Middle House
British, Modern restaurant in Mayfield
High Street - TN20
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.
5. St Clement’s
British, Modern restaurant in St Leonards-on-Sea
3 Mercatoria - TN38
“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.
6. The Royal
British, Modern restaurant in St Leonards-on-Sea
1 Saint Johns Road - TN37
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?”
7. The Griffin Inn
British, Modern restaurant in Fletching
“Family friendly and lively” Sussex pub-with-rooms that was taken over by the national Young’s chain in 2022, after over four decades under the Pullan family. There is the odd grumble about the switch, but most reports remain positive and its “lovely terrace” in particular continues to win approval.
8. Fork
British, Modern restaurant in Lewes
14 Station Street - BN7
This “tiny restaurant with big-flavoured food” was opened without much pizzazz in 2021 by former Ledbury and Dairy chef Richard Falk, and has attracted positive reviews from the Guardian’s Grace Dent and the Telegraph’s William Sitwell. It has yet to generate much feedback, but what there is, is uniformly positive.
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