Artisan

Recently opened on Lewes High Street, Artisan is a place that’s difficult to define.

Is it a cafe, a restaurant or an art gallery? Owner Kasia Zindulska is certainly in no hurry to pigeonhole her new venture, preferring to describe it only as, “somewhere to escape from your normal life, to relax and meet people and eat good food”.

Kasia, a Polish national, came to England ten years ago to study English and fell in love with the country, if not with her demanding job as a lawyer in London.

“I had no time off at all and I decided life was too beautiful to waste sitting on a train for hours every day and that I wanted to do something different.”

Brought up in “an arty background” (her father was an arts minister), Artisan was inspired by Kasia’s parents’ ambition to open a gallery and displays the work of both noted Polish artists and that of local talents.

Her creative upbringing is also evident in the subtly glamorous décor – a charming mix of whitewashed car boot sale furniture, mismatched vases, glass chess sets and chandeliers that she describes as “shabby chic”.

“Someone said I must be Polish because of my décor,” Kasia laughs.

“It’s a poor country but we want to show off with things, so I have these grand chandeliers but scratched floors.

I just want people to feel comfortable.”

Open from breakfast time until late into the evening, Artisan is intended to be a friendly, relaxed stop-off for a full English, coffee, business lunches, evening drinks, a special meal or even a wedding reception.

Kasia has launched Polish nights on Tuesdays (“lots of vodka, beer, breads and live music”), jazz evenings on Wednesdays and Spanish-themed music nights on Thursdays, while on Sundays, young families enjoying lunch will be entertained by a magician.

“I want this to be the place where people meet,” she says.

If the venue itself seems wildly all-encompassing, it’s a relief to find the menu more focused, incorporating classic British dishes with a few Polish flavours.

Head chef Lewis Evans, whose impressive CV includes a stint working under Ready Steady Cook star Toby Tobin at The Dining Room in Reigate, is a man who is passionate about food.

The frankly astounding lamb shoulder he serves at Artisan is the result of a long and painstaking process that involves slow roasting the meat in duck fat for four hours, rolling it in a rosemary, garlic and thyme salt then chilling it in clingfilm before cooking it with baby onions and serving it on a bed of pesto mash.

The Australian Barramundi fish came from a meeting with a trusted supplier based in Pease Pottage.

“I said, give me something different, and he suggested it,” Lewis says.

“I wanted to avoid things like cod because of the overfishing issue and Barramundi is perfect – unusual, meaty and delicious.”

Desserts are a speciality – Lewis recently had to bring back his signature honeycomb cheesecake after an outcry when he tried to take it off the menu.

He has even taught himself to make the elegant spun sugar decorations that adorn it.

Innovation and skill are at the heart of what he does.

“You have to follow a recipe but at the same time really go out there with it,” he explains.

“I want the dish to go down in front of someone and for them to go, ‘woaaah!’ – and we want them to be doing that with every dish.”

Sample the menu

Starters
Squid with sweet chilli (served with a dressed salad): £5.65
Black Pudding, Smoked Haddock and Welsh rarebit: £5.95
Polish Potato Salad: £4.95
Mains
Grilled red mullet on the bed of summer cous-cous, with a tomato, red onion and balsamic dressing: £12.25
Polish Goulash (pork stew with peppers, mushrooms, carrot and paprika, served with potato pancakes and veg): £10.95
Slow roasted comfit of lamb shoulder (with pesto mash, caramelised onions, button mushrooms and smoked bacon): £11.50
Dessert
Honeycomb Cheesecake: £4.95
Apple and Rum Souffle Omelette: £4.95 Sussex Cheese Board: £6.95

Open Monday to Saturday 8pm-11pm, Sundays 9.30am-9.30pm