The best restaurants in East Sussex

Steps from the Camber Sands dunes, this understated brasserie leans into French tradition with a menu featuring escargots, rabbit with mustard sauce and a proper Sunday roast, in an elegant, white-tablecloth dining room.

Dashes of tableside theatre push Harry's into special occasion territory, with big sharing dishes for two like côte de boeuf with green peppercorn sauce.

The Lanes outpost of Dishoom's cocktail-bar spin-off, built around Bombay's post-prohibition drinking dens.

Over half the sharing menu is vegan or vegetarian, with no red meat at all, and the 24-hour black daal has near-cult status. Loud, lively and built for groups rather than a quiet dinner.

Chef-proprietor Martin Peacock has run this Rye bistro by the town's medieval gate for over two decades, plating Romney Marsh lamb and Rye Bay fish with classical French technique.

A sublime example of a proper neighbourhood restaurant, expect unique, forward-thinking food using produce from local fields, woodlands and water.

Run off its own 100-acre regenerative farm near Alfriston, this South Downs free house serves dry-aged steaks, rich pies and Sunday roasts built almost entirely from what it raises itself.

A proper farmhouse pub with the produce to match its setting. Child-friendly menus make it a great option for families. 

A working biodynamic vineyard and farm near Rye, Tillingham serves a single ever-changing Garden Menu built almost entirely from its own kitchen garden and livestock, paired only with its own wines.

It's one of the most sustainable restaurants in the UK, and a brilliant example of farm-to-table dining in East Sussex.

Three floors of a seafront site with a retractable-roof terrace over the Channel, Rockwater covers everything from breakfast through to late-night cocktails, via pizzas, grills and its own Sunday roast.

Dog friendly, wheelchair accessible and with dedicated kids menus, it suits big groups and lazy all-day visits more than a quiet dinner.

A decade-old fixture on Church Road, this neighbourhood restaurant and wine merchant pairs globally inspired small plates with the largest sherry collection on the South Coast.

Cold sharing boards and confit duck sit alongside an exceptional-value set lunch, served with the easy charm of a proper local.

A centuries-old free house in a South Downs village, run with a hyper-local sourcing ethic that rules out olives and avocados in favour of whatever nearby farms produce.

Pies, Sunday roasts and a serious wine list make it East Sussex's benchmark countryside pub.

Brighton chef Dave Mothersill's Georgian-fronted dining room delivers some of the city's most accomplished cooking, with an Asian-accented, seasonally driven menu built around innovative dishes like a langoustine royale with caviar and yuzu kosho.

An outstanding fine dining option in East Sussex, we're proud to call Furna the beholder of a SquareMeal Gold Award.  

Perched on the second floor of Towner Eastbourne's gallery, this Scandinavian-inspired spot serves roof-terrace views, all-day menus (from brunch to dinner) and a dedicated vegan lunch offering for plant-based diners. 

A bright, modern and creative place to eat in Eastbourne, best booked around a gallery visit.

James and Faye Thomson and Rob Maynard's Church Road bistro built its following on whole-animal butchery and produce from named local suppliers like Saddlescombe Farm.

The menu turns over weekly, but the 'Sunday Lunch Club' has become the regular fixture locals plan their week around.

Metres from Hastings' fishing boats and net huts, this Old Town institution has served fresh-off-the-boat seafood for over 25 years under chef Paul Webbe.

Simple, unpretentious cooking such as oysters, fish stew and the day's catch are served in the heart of the town's historic fishing quarter.

Former Le Caprice chef Nick Hales has run this St Leonards townhouse restaurant for over two decades, built around daily-caught seafood and locally-sourced produce. 

The team prides itself on making everything from scratch, from housemade soda bread to classic puddings.

Rafael Cagali's first restaurant outside London brings Da Terra pedigree to a 38-cover Hove dining room, fusing Brazilian and Italian flavours via crab-topped crumpets, build-your-own tacos and a 30-day-aged picanha.

One Michelin star and a place in SquareMeal's UK Top 100 list for 2026 confirm it as the county's must-book special-occasion table.

This Alfriston kitchen sources nearly everything within an 18-mile radius and turns it into confident, authentically Italian cooking, backed by a wine list good enough to win awards. 

One of the most accomplished tables in the South Downs, pop in to try vegetable-led plates, cured meats, seafood dishes, cheeses and house specials.

The in-house restaurant at Malmaison's marina hotel serves competent British-French brasserie classics - spanning steaks, risotto and sticky toffee pudding - in a seaview conservatory with a sun terrace.

Great for dining with a view in Brighton and celebratory meals with friends, this buzzy spot regularly draws a crowd for its contemporary food and unbeatable views. 

Duncan Ray, once of Heston Blumenthal's Fat Duck, cooks a single evolving tasting menu built entirely around the day's catch from local boats, in a converted Hove fishmonger's with room for just 20.

Understated menu descriptions - 'Brill', 'Scallop' - hide some of the most refined cooking on this stretch of coast.

Attached to Lewes's independent cinema, Depot covers breakfast, brunch and an evening menu of small plates and mains built around ingredients from the surrounding countryside.

Easy, all-day and family-friendly, it's a natural pick before or after a film rather than a big-occasion destination.

Just 12 counter seats at Dan Kenny and Marcin Miasik's Preston Road restaurant, where a blind, ever-changing tasting menu of 12-15 courses runs on whatever's best that day.

Bold, Asian-flecked cooking - think scallop tikka masala - served just three evenings a week, phones away for the duration.