I haven't written about full English breakfasts for quite a while, well I have, but I've been waiting for a version of this blog to be published elsewhere first, but I've given up waiting, though you may read something similar in print soon! However, do please walk eastwards from the centre of Hastings, and pass Iceland, and you'll reach St
Mary's Restaurant at St Mary in the Castle, which is part of
the, nearly 200 years old, Grade II* listed Pelham Arcade, which was,
and is, a rare and early example of a semi-underground shopping
arcade, built in the style of,
and just after, the prestigious Burlington Arcade in London.
Work on restoring the glass roof above
the internal walkway, and providing timber shop fronts in a
'traditional' style, has been going on for over 4 years now, partly
funded by English Heritage grants, and in co-operation with Hastings
Borough Council, who have implemented
most of the early restoration to date.
Anyway, to the food! On the modern
large square plate provided, were 2 eggs, however you want them
cooked (I chose fried,of course), which were nice and perfect for me, 2 rashers
of well-cooked bacon, a tasty sausage, from Fishers up on London
Road, "Old English" I think it may be called, a fair number
of cut mushrooms, a large tomato cut into two, and plenty of baked
beans; 2 slices of toast, a choice of white or wholemeal, were also
supplied on a side plate.
From my seat in
St Mary's, which is a bright and airy restaurant, I had a view of the
sea, and service was very friendly and efficient. The Full English
Breakfast costs ￡5.55,
and a pot of tea for one is ￡1.75
(plus I had a 'top up' of boiling water 'free'), so a total cost of
￡7.30 altogether.
The meal was very nice, and decent value as well, especially noting
the position of the restaurant. A vegetarian version is not provided
at St Mary's, though a variety of 'Continental' breakfast foods are,
eg croissants, Eggs Florentine, and toast.
If you carry on
walking about a hundred yards or so eastwards from St Mary's, and
just before reaching George Street, you come to the relatively new
Taylor's (nee Plato's), Marine Parade, Hastings. I sat looking out of
the window here, with a view of the sea too! A
very decent breakfast was enjoyed, indeed, and for just £4.90,
the meal included a tasty Cumberland sausage, 2 good thick rashers of
bacon, a fried egg, a choice of tomato or mushrooms (I went for the
mushrooms, thank you very much), baked beans, a slice of toast and a
mug of tea or coffee.
The breakfast
was well cooked by the nice young woman in their kitchen, very tasty, and excellent value, and the service was
friendly. I sat in the room up to the left as you walk in (in the photograph, the window on the left under 'cafe'), which felt
quite like a home environment, especially when a group of older
people sat behind me, enjoying the morning and banter. Taylor's also
"double up" the breakfast for £9.20,
but I'm not sure that even I could eat that much, as I was pretty
full eating just the 'normal' breakfast! A vegetarian version
of the 'Full English' is available here, without the
Cumberland sausage or bacon, of course, but with 2 vegetarian
sausages and bubble and squeak included.
You can sit outside on the pavement of
both venues, who provided me with excellent breakfasts and good value
too, but Taylor's certainly won on value, and edged it on the meal
itself, I shall return to both, no doubt about that!
Further
information of the work of English Heritage can be found online...
