Jasper Gerard reviews

Friday, March 12, 2010 - I begin with porcini, celery heart and mascarpone risotto; my guest with gnocchi and braised oxtail. It all looks lovely, particularly the oxtail garlanded around the bowl. The delicious gnocchi is light and fluffy thanks to semolina (and lashings of butter) in place of potato. This is finished under the grill with a slice of gruyere. My risotto is creamy but firm, full of aromatic parsley and coriander...This is an impressive, thoughtful restaurant, though not quite the celebration of British rustic cooking I expected.

Monday, August 03, 2009 - I'm soon eating my grumbling words along with my burger. The wholegrain bap is excellent, as si the salad. The 'burger' is full of tasty beans and the cheese isn't bad. My only quibble is with the 'rasher', which is rather like eating solid air. Overall, though, this is a prejudice-challenging and enjoyable dish. I swill it down with a glass of Fairtrade rose...My wife is not enamoured of her 'fish' burger, which contains a pair of what look like fish fingers, just not as flavoursome. We have been warned about the vegan ice cream, so finish with a couple of cakes and, despite the cow milk substitute, these are pretty good.

Friday, September 26, 2008 - A pioneer of the Lewes Pound is Bill's Produce Store, which uses fruit and veg from farms in the region. And this is not the only particular in which Bill's hints at national possibilities. A stake in this store and fabulous café has been snapped up by Richard Caring, who owns Le Caprice and The Ivy: he wants to spread the Bill's model across the country. It's quite some achievement for Bill Collison, who started selling veg from a nearby stall...