The Hastings community is as tight-knit as a ‘gansey’ (that’s traditional fishermen’s woollens to the uninitiated), but the town is fiercely independent and resistant to chain stores when it comes to shops and eateries. It’s a trait that makes my hometown thoroughly fascinating to explore, with something new and surprising behind every door.
Even where you stay reflects that same spirit. Just 20 minutes out of town by car, Crafted at Powdermills offers a creative, design-led base set in Sussex greenery, offering a place to decompress after a day uncovering Hastings’ independent scene. With that in mind, here’s our guide to the town’s biggest indie hits.
Hastings Old Town
Hastings’ headliner is its Old Town. Here, cottages with crazed proportions date back to the 15th century, and the burly guardians of the East and West Hills loom over bunting-strung George Street and Rock-a-Nore’s jet-black net-drying huts. It’s the beeline for tourists, but with an authentic heart and lesser-known lures.
I’m often tempted to start my day with breakfast at The Café at The Old Rectory, tucked away on Harold Road, which does its bacon-curing, fish-smoking and crumpet-baking in-house. Admire both its slabs of cake and local artworks (such as Colin Booth’s mod-Pointillism) and ask about its many dinner pop-ups. If grab-and-go is your speed, Good Grades coffee at the quieter end of the High Street has a gallery upstairs where you can muse over monthly exhibitions as you sip a strawberry matcha. Past shows have featured works by travel photographer Max Siegel and dreamscape-maker Abi Moffatt.
Hastings Contemporary gallery might take top billing here, especially now that Coquina’s sharply executed tapas plates can be enjoyed at the sea-view tables upstairs. But I’ve found many a cultural pocket in pubs, too — fittingly so for a place known as a ‘drinking town with a fishing problem’. The Crown’s walls are frequently updated and its roster is eclectic, from nine-year-old Arthur TT’s Daniel Johnston-esque sketches to Ibi Meier-Oruitemeka‘s expressions of Nigerian identity. Enjoy with a sweet treat by Em’s Bread on Wednesday mornings, or a Bad Boy Brewing Co IPA after noon.
Beautiful objects abound on independent-boutique hub George Street. Butler’s Emporium, once a Georgian hardware store, sells aesthetic trinkets; Twigg offers folk arts and decidedly non-twee seaside prints. For vintage finds, seek out Endlings, tucked away in a ‘twitten’ (narrow alleyway), whose sign confusingly reads H.B. Wright; I’m very taken with its beautifully curated vintage lino-cuts, lithographs and textiles. Even more obscure is the boutique that sits at 12 Courthouse Street, which has no sign, but is the town’s most fastidious antiques shop run by Myerscough and Mairs. Nearby A.G. Hendy sells the Victorian-style kitchenalia of your dreams in a wonky Tudor house.
Rock-a-Nore Kitchen is one of Hastings’ best restaurants, but with only six tables and ravenously returning customers, reservations are rare. Visiting on a Thursday or Friday lunchtime is your best bet to sample the potted crab and scallop risotto, or, in summer, order oysters and champagne from its hatch for picnicking on the pebbly beach. If you do miss out, try Tonka for bold Mauritian fusion cuisine like prawn toast-stuffed courgette flowers with pineapple chilli, sweetcorn wontons or watermelon salad with ginger.
For drinks, you’ll usually find me a couple glasses deep at Noah’s Goat on George Street, a wine emporium where there’s always something new and niche. The addition of a cheese counter has levelled up its pairing game: Pevensey Blue, flower-wrapped Sussex Bloom and Burwash Rose give you the county on a platter. Wine pretty much runs through co-owner Nick’s veins (as an Italian Wine Scholar, his knowledge is top tier), and thus tasting evenings, quizzes and gig nights fizz with tipsy conversation.
I’m also fond of slipping into a discreet booth by FILO (First In, Last Out)’s blazing brazier. It’s a warm hug of a pub, with comfort eats adding to the ambience. Its own microbrewery supplies ales and porters, and local musicians join those from New York for live jazz nights. There are few things more rousing than shanty Thursdays at the Jenny Lind Inn, where you’re invited to grab a song-sheet and warble ‘Chicken on a Raft’ (even if you’re unsure what it’s about). For quieter evenings, just across the road is the Electric Palace Cinema with cinephile-pleasing programming.
The New Town and Trinity Triangle
As you leave Hastings station, the New Town’s modern office blocks make first impressions fall short. This is where you’ll find a congregation of chain stores, but like taxable goods in smugglers’ hands, treasures are secreted here and there. Shop-lined Trinity Triangle is also known as America Ground, once a shanty town whose residents declared themselves independent as the 24th state under the US flag. Nowadays, its independents are more bakeries, bars and cute cafés.
Skip to the back of the Priory Meadow Shopping Centre, where you’ll find St Andrew’s Mews. Once a shady throughway, it now feels much sunnier thanks to Greyskull Coffee, a queer-safe space where the owners cure their own bacon for crackling-filled morning rolls and have been known to spit-roast a whole lamb in the courtyard. Breakfast raves and gigs add to its inclusive conviviality. Crêperie by the Sea is another draw, where the French who’ve hopped over from Dover or Ashford can enjoy authentic Breton galettes.
Along Queen’s Road, see how Hastings’ ceramics-crafting legacy has evolved at Neighbourhood, a pottery studio committed to supporting local makers (its tiered pricing system for supplies allocates funds to low-income creatives) and open to all who want to learn. Further along, an arts village awaits at The Yard, where 50-plus makers work their magic in converted stables and stripy, oversized beach huts. Visit on weekends when a market often brings the community together — Small-Batch Babka is a personal favourite, but there’s much to explore, from Liv Vintage’s homewares to ‘shrooms of all sorts from Basil’s Fungi Farm.
The Little Bulgaria is where I once ducked into to avoid the rain, then returned to for its reasonably priced meze and grilled meats (plus fruity rakija shots for those who dare). The Imperial is another great lunching option for pizza and locally made pints by the Brewing Brothers. Then stroll along Robertson Street and around Trinity Triangle, sourcing gourmet eats at Red Basil deli, vinyl and comics at Wow and Flutter, and colourful homewares at Dyke & Dean, where even the light switches are dreamy. Nose into Grade II-listed Arthur Green’s Antiques (34 White Rock Road) to see the remnants of an Edwardian menswear shop, then pit stop at Maker + Baker nearby for seasonally flavoured Danishes or ‘crioches’ (a croissant and brioche hybrid).
Skaters and bikers could swoop round the curves of subterranean playspace Source Park, but I’d rather put my energy into dancing to Afrobeat or Psychedelic Prog Rock at The Printworks or The Pig. Sunk into Source Park’s courtyard is small yet mighty eatery Winifred’s, where chef Benjamin Cumberpatch’s cookery shows a love of provenance and wild imagination that deserves an above-ground reputation. To my and many residents’ joy, 3 Souls in a Bowl — chef Raj Deb’s brightly flavoured pan-Asian dining experience — has a bricks-and-mortar home next door after many a pop-up appearance. And while its station-side setting isn’t romantic, Coast Restaurant is founded on a sweet notion: to support catering students of East Sussex College, who show off their skills over lunches and a five-course dinner each Thursday.
Sophisticated Sri Lankan eatery Lury is my date-night pick — it goes big on flavour, number of dishes and culinary excellence. Tasting menus of up to 14 courses tell edible tales of chef Jack Lury’s British, Mediterranean and Burgher heritage, further embellished by artists in residence who dress the dining room with their creations, tying together Sussex and Sri Lankan ceramicist traditions. Even the napkin rings are works of art.
St Leonards-on-Sea
Just one stop from Hastings Station (or a 20-minute stroll along the seafront), St Leonards-on-Sea has graffiti-splashed corners, an artistic frisson — and, yes, London transplants. But there’s a fresh-sea-air feel to the neighbourhood that you won’t find in the capital, with King’s Road, London Road and their bohemian offshoots abuzz with activity.
Step off the train and into the fray: opposite is The Royal, run by James Hickson of London’s St John restaurant, who has brought the refined yet fuss-free dining with him. You could order dishes such as confit duck or guinea-fowl pie, but us locals know the cheese-and-onion toastie with piccalilli is the real lunchtime legend. To the right is King’s Road, a whimsical drag with serious buying and dining options. It’s all very ethical, with sustainable shops such as B Corp Positive Retail who sell surplus wares from Damson Madder, Wax London and the like; Carousel jewellers who plant a tree for every order; and vintage outfits like Pitch and Pass Muster reclaiming pieces that truly make a statement.
At record-store café Stereo Retro, both brews and tunes are deep cuts: perhaps an Ethiopian Yirgacheffe to go with your copy of Sham 69’s Tell the Children? For lunch, Sleeper’s bagels are well-renowned, but check Instagram for the current special and sweet promos, like the teeny-tiny ice-creams it sometimes gives away. The small plates at Sonny’s of Rock-a-Nore — a third-generation fishmonger and smokehouse — pick and mix beetroot-cured salmon, smoked prawns or crab with apple and other cured fishes, all tasty foils to crisp, chilled English wines.
On London Road, Folks coffee house is ‘cool beans’ all round. Beyond its speciality brews, it’s a place where I feel I can linger, and its friendliness is further felt in its collaborations with artists that make covetable merch, and Wermut Bar, who shakes up cocktails for the café’s monthly Nite Folks events. Then walk towards the sea, making stops at Black Gull Books to peruse highbrow art tomes and Collected Fictions for equally cultured wines. If you’ve ever wanted to try Welsh orange, now’s your chance.
Heist describes itself as an ‘indoor street-food market’, and newbies might be unsure which zone to hit. At the back, Boatyard is a kind of cosmopolitan chippy with elegant fish dishes. Its cider-drenched mussels with a glass of wine make a satisfying lunch. To the front, there are low-intervention and natural wines and Bolthole coffees; in the next room, pints from Three Legs Brewing and various food outfits, depending on who’s in residence. Currently, it’s The Clam for birria tacos and micheladas, Dough Ray Me for the Bloody Mary pizza, and Phoenix Dining for many dumplings.
For dinner, seek out Three Faces of Del Parc on Western Road, an unassuming tapas joint confident enough in its cookery to have the chef pick out all dishes for you. If it’s full (which it often is), more culinary clout awaits atop Norman Road at St Clement’s, one of my most fortuitous finds, whose beautiful, seasonal cookery, high-quality ingredients and house-made ice-creams match its elevated position — and at this point have made me a regular (hi, front-of-house hero, Micky). Make it a gentle, if wobbly, walk up with apéritif stops at beachside Graze on Grand, Salon wine bar or No.40 Bar Kitchen.
Kino-Teatr is this end of town’s arts hub for a subtitled, after-dinner watch. Or scoot down the East Ascent to end your sojourn watching the sunset with frozen margaritas at sea-gazing bar Ritual.
Where to stay
Crafted at Powdermills is a 20-minute drive inland from Hastings. Set beside a lake and pristine, rewilded greenery, it’s a best-of-both-worlds experience. There’s alfresco hot-tubbing, nighttime biofluorescence walks, padel courts and superlative Sussex-gleaned dining.
But much of its character comes from a cast of locals who’ve muralled its walls and ceilings (Chiara Perano), hung colour-drenched works (Elizabeth Power, Euan Roberts), tooled furnishings (MakerMark) and taken the helm at kintsugi classes in the crafting cabin (Holly Dawes). And with a members’ club and dedicated co-working space guests are welcome to use, it’s somewhere you can really immerse yourself in the local scene.
Plan your trip to Hastings
When to go: Hastings’ opening hours can be as unknowable as the sea. More places close during winter (many vendors holiday in January), and often on Mondays and Tuesdays, too. It’s rare that Hastings isn’t throwing some kind of shindig, but key dates include February’s Fat Tuesday Festival, the town’s music-led take on Mardi Gras; 1–4 May for pagan revelry and a biker rally at Jack in the Green; June for Pirate Day, when the locals don swashbuckling costumes and say ‘arr’ a lot; September for Coastal Currents art fair; and October for the Tap Takeover, when the town’s pubs promote local breweries.
Stay in the know: Many places only update menus, opening hours or upcoming events on Instagram, so check the grid for the latest.
Track upcoming events: There are more pop-ups here than the Whack-a-Mole in Flamingo Amusements arcade. Some to follow are Sable, Suppa, 666 Devil’s Kitchen, Bunka, Supernature, Smokeshack, Bangkok Delivery Boy and Wine with Friends.
Transport tip: Hastings has Uber, but 247 Taxis are more widespread, so download the app before you arrive.
How to get there: Trains travel direct from London Victoria and Charing Cross — the latter is the quicker train, arriving in around 90 minutes.
Get even better acquainted with the county with our full collection of hotels in East Sussex and our weekend-break guide to Rye