Tonka
Best for: Flavour-bomb Mauritian-inspired dishes
Dish to order: Prawn and cheddar crispy roll with pineapple chilli
Kimberley Duke is the woman behind this popular restaurant on Hastings seafront. Partly inspired by her Mauritian in-laws and partly by time spent cooking at Bao in Borough Market, Tonka brings together Indian, Chinese, African and French flavours – all made with Sussex ingredients. Open Thursday to Saturday, the restaurant serves flavour-packed dishes such as deep-fried spiced paneer with toasted cashew, sticky red pepper sauce and green chilli; tamarind pork ribs with peanut sweet chilli; and tapioca fried chicken with daikon pickles. Cool everything down with a side order of sweet soy cucumber crunch salad, and keep an eye out for its beach feasts, where £45 gets you seven or so dishes packed up to eat by the sea.
Address: 3 Marine Parade, Hastings TN34 3AG
Website: tonkahastings.co.uk
Remy’s
Best for: Breakfast with a difference
Dish to order: Sinigang soup
In a beautiful, glass-fronted art-deco building on Kings Road, Remy’s specialises in what it calls ‘Anglo-Asian comfort food’. The café’s menu runs from east to west, incorporating Thai and Filipino dishes with English classics (such as fish pie, toasties and sausage and mash), but most people head here for the curries and all-day Filipino breakfasts. Of the latter, the lugraw congee is a rice bowl with chicken garlic and ginger, while the corn silog incorporates sautéed corn beef with onion and garlic, topped with a fried egg and served with buttered toast. If you’re there at lunch, make sure to order the sinigang soup, a traditional Filipino dish of chicken, tamarind, jasmine rice and homemade chilli sauce.
Address: 21 Kings Road, St Leonards-on-Sea TN37 6DU
Website: cafekulinarya.co.uk
The Seadog
Best for: Pints in Hastings
Dish to order: The Seadog spice bag
Moments from Hastings train station, indie pub The Seadog offers a warm welcome. Family owned with a touch of Irish flare, it’s as good for nipping in to watch the football as it is for its roasts. As of May 2026, the kitchen has been taken over by Kismet – run by the Tonka team – who cook up the likes of tandoori fried chicken with butter chicken sauce, jewelled biriyani rice and cucumber raita; pineapple and chilli crunch salad; and Keralan mac and cheese. On Sunday lunchtimes, expect inventive twists on the classics – think miso and mustard-cured roast beef or stuffed courgette flowers with black garlic chickpeas and black beans, served with all the trimmings, plus fun puddings such as salted chai peanut ice-cream sandwiches and miso caramel banana roti.
Address: 32 Station Road, Hastings TN34 1NJ
Website: theseadogpub.com
