Located in the seaside town of St Leonards-on-Sea, BAYTE is a neighbourhood Modern European restaurant with a big focus on the little things. From hunting out vintage furniture to sourcing organic ingredients, BAYTE has been carefully curated to become somewhere that locals want to come back to time and time again.
BAYTE is owned by Ruby Boglione, daughter of the Petersham Nurseries founders, and her childhood friend Silvy Pilkington. The pair clearly have good taste, having kitted out the interiors with old-school leather stools, parquet flooring, industrial bare plaster walls and potted trees. They even removed the false ceiling of the former antiques emporium to reveal the original glass atrium, casting natural light across the space. The atmosphere is effortlessly cool yet comfortable and the prices aren’t bad too.
Given the proximity to the ocean, BAYTE is a fish-forward restaurant, with dishes including skate wing with brown butter and capers, pollock with celeriac and bergamot and turbot with leeks and ikura. Head chef Joshua Dickinson works from an open fire grill and takes influence from cuisines across the globe. As a vegetarian, Ruby also ensures that the menu is peppered with organic veggies including grilled oyster mushrooms with spinach and pomme purée and radicchio and olive salad. Mondays at BAYTE means pasta; you can grab a bowl of homemade pasta with £6 negronis and they also offer a cocktail happy hour on Wednesday and Thursday nights. For dessert, there’s tarte tartin, rice pudding with dulce de leche and chocolate and pistachio ice cream. In terms of drinks, there’s plenty of organic wines, seasonal cocktails, aperitifs and digestifs.
Open all day and with walk-ins welcome, BAYTE is a valuable addition to the local community and a great option for relaxed farm-to-table dining.