Robson's

One thing I’ve always liked about Lewes is the number of things that, even if you’ve lived here years, can still take you by surprise. If you’ve never been inside the café at the back of Robson’s, you wouldn’t know what a beautiful, rose-filled garden is behind it, overlooked by the large rear bay window. You can’t sit out there, but it’s lovely to look at it whilst you drink your coffee. A friend joined me there for an early lunch on a wet Monday, and we had a short wait to sit down, because the tables were all taken at 11.30am. The other customers were a varied bunch, but I think it’s fair to say that Robson’s is a café where women often meet friends for coffee, lunch or afternoon tea. They’ve started doing cooked breakfasts, but their staples are the scone, cake and tea-cake range, or the lunch items like sandwiches, soup and baked potatoes. My friend had a cappuccino and two cheese scones, which were tasty, she said, but would have been better had they not been warmed up in a microwave. I had a foccacia roll with turkey, hot crispy bacon, cranberry sauce and mayonnaise, which came with tortilla chips and a pot of salsa. I liked the contrast between the hot bacon and the cold turkey, and the cranberry sauce worked well. Unlike some cafés in Lewes, which when busy, seem a little overwhelming; Robson’s feels calm and tranquil, even when it’s full. A good place for a decent conversation. EC