Lewes Restaurants

I will try to remain totally objective in my comments about this establishment. We booked at this hotel for a special occasion Sunday lunch it was generally very dirty, the child chair they gave us for our small child was filthy with food remnants that had not been cleaned. The chairs were covered in stains and very grubby. The waiters and waitresses suffered from lack of good management and were huddled together chatting and consequently not clearing tables or seeing to diners. The food was exceptionally poor quality and under cooked meat and over cooked vegetables. Flies were all over the deserts. We complained in what we thought a constructive way and the manager was indifferent to our experience. I urge you to save your money and if you are hungry in lewes go anywhere but here.

After our long hike we were looking forward to a nice pub meal in Lewes. However, it was almost 8pm by the time we returned and none of the pubs we tried were serving food. We had a few pints in the Brewer’s Arms before going to eat at Ask, a chain restaurant specialising in Italian food, especially pizza. The food in Ask is standard Italian cuisine and we had a very nice meal here.

In truth the Garden Café is less of a restaurant and more of a hatchway but on a Summer's day the opportunity to take tea in the beautiful gardens of Southover Grange shouldn't be missed. There are few tables and chairs, in fact, unless things have radically changed recently, there aren't any. There are however nearby park benches and plenty of good English turf onto which to place your bottoms. (..'er, thats collectively of course - I'm not suggesting you have more than one each! If you do, a life in the circus almost certainly awaits!!) The only thing that might shatter your idyll is the unwelcome attention of a passing wasp - but if you wolf down cakes as quickly as I do, that's unlikely to last long.

I mean, what could be better than an egg and cress sandwich followed by a rock cake and a cup of tea with which to swallow it down? (Unless of couse you're a vegan coeliac in which case you'll just have to have the cuppa). 10am til 4pm daily during the Summer months.

Favorite Dish: The blessed egg and cress sarnie!

Seasons has been around in Lewes for many years now - tried and tested, it is THE place for diners with a social conscience. It combines catering for vegetarians and vegans with a wholesome nod towards the organic food movement too. Best of all it pulls of the rarely performed feat of being wholesome, wholemeal and wholly edible. As a result it can get jolly busy at peak times as it is very small. My one disappointment is that they use marg or equivalent instead of lashings of butter on their baked potatoes - this is not a disappointment shared by my blood pressure! Plenty of delicious flans, rice dishes, salads etc organic soft drinks, fruit juices and fruit pies and crumbles for desert too! I always leave Seasons feeling the better for it. Excuse me whilst I go into Brighton and sneer at the local McDonalds! (...and don't the blighters deserve it?)

It's worth mentioning that it shuts on Sundays and Mondays but is open 10am - 5pm otherwise. You can actually take away most of the meals in freezer packs to impress your friends with your vegetarian knowhow. I only hope you can live with yourself afterwards!

Favorite Dish: The nutloaf in tomato sauce is a delight!

This cafe had fresh salads, sandwiches and a nice assortment of cakes and biscuits. It's housed in an old factory, now the site of a lovely pottery shop and other craft businesses.