A small neighbourhood restaurant with a heart that is bursting with ambition
Lewes, where Fork lives, had evaded my attention until now. Perhaps, like me, you’ve got as far as Brighton and then, distracted by bright lights and candyfloss, never travelled farther. I suspect that’s exactly how the locals like it, slightly ignored by the brouhaha of tourists requiring toffee apples or venues to scream in while wearing hen-night sashes. Lewes is not like this: it is a different land entirely, quaint, quirky, charming and all sorts of other words that make you loiter wistfully by estate agents’ windows, after visiting Anne of Cleves House and buying some beans from Trading Post Coffee Roasters.
Until recently, the rumours were that the local restaurant landscape was a little limited, even if new Turkish place Zorba has breathed life into the town. Others told me to check out the new, superhip Relais Cooden Beach hotel revamp going on at nearby Bexhill-on-Sea, where I went pre-Fork, hoping for Sunday brunch like the cool cats order, but was begrudgingly served an untoasted ciabatta sandwich with a ready-salted crisp garnish at 10.30am, because the chef was no longer doing breakfast. By the time I reached Fork, my hunger was high and expectations thwarted. Luckily, it was worth saving my appetite for.
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