Dining Out
Restaurant Review
THE SUSSEX OX By Amanda Menahem
I
worked for many years in Bexhill-on-Sea as
So it was with some relief that I read about the
concerned with train times and the lack of
the HR Director of Hastings Direct Insurance
Sussex Ox in Polegate being shortlisted as a
parking, so I booked the Sussex Ox feeling
and have many friends and colleagues
finalist for ‘Best Eating Experience of the Year’
pleased with myself for pulling a good option
dotted about East Sussex. This has meant a
at the recent Sussex Food and Drink Awards.
out of the bag for him.
long-term hunt for eateries between Brighton
Perhaps, at last, I won’t have to drag East
and Bexhill for after work soirees. In my
Sussex dwellers to Lewes or Brighton!
opinion there is very little to choose from at
The pub – a beacon of light and warmth in the surrounding countryside - is tucked away in the
“On entering the pub, the atmosphere felt immediately cosy and welcoming, and it’s full of character with oak beams and open fires I love this sort of place.”
middle of nowhere (near Polegate and Alfriston).
Pelham Arms and the consistent Bills. I guess
I reserved a table for two, for dinner on a
the lighting and ambience was pleasant. This is
you could choose to go Michelin and head to
Thursday night with a friend from Hastings.
clearly a place for the locals, giving it an intimate
Ockenden Manor but for a casual dinner with
We had been due to dine in Brighton (The
family feel - I felt like I was in someone’s lounge
a colleague, sometimes this can be a bit much.
Ginger Pig), but he became understandably
(in a good way).
that end of Sussex. There’s the Jolly Sportsman at East Chiltington (very good), and well... that’s it isn’t it? Lewes is usually my safe bet with the promising Limetree Kitchen, the Mediterranean style home cooking of Le Magasin, the fairly decent pub food at the
62
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It’s set within its own farm, which supplies much of the restaurant’s produce including the meat. On entering the pub, the atmosphere felt immediately cosy and welcoming, and it’s full of character with oak beams and open fires - I love this sort of place. We were shown to our table in the corner of the bar area, by the fire where