Luxury and boutique hotel destinations

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Boutique hotels in East Sussex

East Sussex
Eating, drinking and dancing

We've tracked down the best cafés, cosiest gastropubs and most accomplished restaurants in East Sussex. Also see our Brighton destination guide for specific Brighton restaurant listings.

Restaurants

(+44 (0)1797 222829)

Landgate Bistro

This long-established restaurant on Landgate in Rye has an excellent menu of classic and contemporary British dishes. Most ingredients are sourced from the surrounding area; try salty Romney Marsh lamb and Rye Bay’s famous scallops. Closed Mondays (and Tuesdays after a bank holiday).

5–6 Landgate, Rye, East Sussex TN31 7LH

(+44 (0)1424 751137)

The Wild Mushroom

This restaurant in Westfield near Battle serves modern English dishes which often use ingredients (particularly mushrooms) gathered from the nearby Brede woods.

Woodgate House, Westfield Lane, Westfield TN35 4SB

(+44 (0)1424 425778)

Blue Dolphin

It’s not much to look at, but this place in the Hastings Old Town fries up some of the best fish ’n’ chips in the UK.

61b High Street, Old Town, Hastings

(+44 (0)1273 776776)

Oblong

There's a short but impeccable seasonal menu at this elegant Hove restaurant and bar on George Street; there’s also a sunny (on a good day) terrace out the back. Try the excellent cocktails, too.

81 George Street, Hove, East Sussex BN3 3YE

(+44 (0)1797 227918)

The Globe Inn

A relaxed, restaurant-quality gastropub awaits behind an unassuming white clapboard façade on Rye’s Military Road; try hearty pot-roast pheasant, Rye Bay plaice, liver and bacon or home-made fish fingers.

10 Military Road, Rye, East Sussex TN31 7NX

Cafés

(+44 (0)1797 222227)

Fletchers House

One of Rye’s oldest tearooms, Fletchers has been selling hot drinks and delicious cream cakes since 1932. At lunch there are soups and savoury temptations such as Kent hop sausages; on a sunny day, you can sit in the secret walled garden.

2 Lion Street, Rye, East Sussex TN31 7LB

(+44 (0)1797 222128)

Mermaid Corner Tearooms

There’s absolutely no chance of you running out of tea rooms to choose from in Rye. This is another historic establishment, with coffee, home-made cakes and – what else? – cream teas.

Mermaid Street, Rye TN31 7ET

(+44 (0)1273 476918)

Bill’s Produce Store

This deli-cum-café meets organic greengrocer is fantastic for a hearty and healthy lunch, which is just as well since browsing its shelves is bound to whet the appetite. Among the bottles of Tuscan olive oil, home-made marmalade and fresh-cut flowers, you can pick from a plentiful menu of soups, salads and sandwiches, all made to make your mouth water. We love to wash down our boiled eggs and soldiers with a Bloody Mary… There’s a branch in Brighton, too (www.billsproducestore.co.uk).

56 Cliffe High Street, Lewes, East Sussex BN7 2AN

Russels Sussex Farm Goods Store & Deli

A great place to pick up locally farmed organic produce, as well as regional specialities such as Paynes honey, bacon from the Weald Smokery and excellent Sussex cheeses. There’s a small family-friendly café, too, with sandwiches and daily specials to eat in or take away.

40 Wordsworth Street, Hove, East Sussex BN3 5BH

Pubs

(+44 (0)1435 863570)

The Star Inn

Of all the excellent pubs in Sussex, this pub in Old Heathfield is a Smith favourite. It has a decent gastro menu and its garden is absolutely beautiful in summer.

Church Street, Heathfield, East Sussex TN21 9AH