Rock A Nore Kitchen
Hastings, East Sussex
You can’t get much closer to the sea than this tiny, unassuming dining room housed in one of the tall, black, centuries-old fishermen’s sheds on the front in Hastings Old Town. It’s incredibly atmospheric. The ‘refreshingly succinct’ menu is chalked up on a board – all it tells you is what’s going to be on your plate and the price. For starters, that could mean scallops, whitebait or chicken livers; for mains, perhaps whole sea bass with clams, scallop risotto or guinea fowl (there are a couple of meat options, plus something for vegetarians, say lentils with squash and goat’s cheese). At a June meal, potted shrimps were served in a Kilner jar with toast fingers, calamari came in feather-light tempura, while a hunk of 'beautifully cooked' roast cod arrived in a classic parsley sauce. Elsewhere, a dish described tersely as ‘Dover sole, shrimps’ was exactly that, nothing more – and 'faultlessly executed'. Desserts are limited to the likes of summer fruits and cream (‘simple, delightful’) and (if you’re lucky) a homemade Eccles cake with a hunk of cheese. Service is ‘swift and friendly’ and the sunsets are stunning.
