Pick up a salt pot and you’ll be serenaded by 27 chimes. Peer into the glass table and you’ll see a mini pier, complete with moving rides.

And is the table growing or are you shrinking? Things aren’t as they seem at Bom-Bane’s. The Kemp Town cafe-restaurant is a haven for those who like things quirky.

Owners Jane Bom-Bane and Nick Pynn have let their imaginations run amok, installing each table with a nifty little gadget and giving it a name.

In The Aesop’s Table you can watch black and white cartoons inspired by Aesop’s Fables; the Turntable slowly revolves; the Water Table has the intricate model of the pier inside; the 27 Chimes Table does just that and the prism-like Tablerone is made from reflective mirrors.

Nick and Jane made the tables themselves with help from family and friends. “We wanted to create something fun and interesting and the upstairs tables have given the place a lovely atmosphere – everyone who comes here seems to be really friendly and people talk to other,” says Jane.

She and her partner Nick are both professional musicians whose aim was to open an eatery where they could perform together. They will play downstairs once a month or so.

Nick is a well known multi-instrumentalist, and Jane plays harmonium. For ten years she has been performing with wonderfully bizarre mechanical hats, each representing a different song. “I make a new hat each year but this year, we opened Bom-Bane’s, which has turned into one giant hat,” she says.

A spiral staircase leads to the basement, which, although slightly more formal, is still beautifully off-kilter. Full of nooks and crannies, you can sit in the back seat of a vintage car or at a communal monastery table, handmade by a local carpenter. Jane’s harmonium sits in the corner, surrounded by her hat boxes.

A collection of Nick’s stringed instruments hang from the walls, along with interesting work from local artists.