At first this place almost seems out of place in Lewes as it doesn't seem to feel dangerous or historic in any way. But then you come to remember that Lewes is a town of many sides, for the main part a town steeped in history that succeeds in doing things a little differently, but then almost as a side line it has a Steyningesque home to the moneyed of Sussex feel. This place is the latter.
Once inside the tables are earthy and rough hewn and the walls are adorned with photography, doubtlessly from some local artist. So far so good then, the decor is very pleasant. They also serve extremely tasty coffee and the service that conveys it to you is a great balance of chummy and respectful.
One thing lets this place down a little though, and that is that despite the numerous locally produced jars of heaven knows what and the general shabby chic fair trade stylings they still have things like piles of tiles on sale at four pounds fifty a tile. These tiles may well have been Portuguese but given that they were so handmade that I couldn't think what you might do with them and clearly cost the Portuguese man who made them threepence a piece, I had to wonder where all the money was going which shattered the illusion of this place a little for me. read more