The Sussex Exchange - Hastings

I chose to celebrate my 21st birthday at Sussex Exchange, and I truly wish I hadn’t! The area where we were seated was freezing, so I had to keep my coat on the entire time, or else I was shivering. The wait between being seated and having our order taken was far too long, which prompted us to order our drinks, appetizers, and main courses all at once, hoping it would lead to a more timely meal. How wrong we were! Given that this was meant to be a special celebration for my 21st birthday, I was extremely disappointed. I wouldn’t be exaggerating to say that it really put a damper on the entire day.

I had a fantastic evening celebrating my birthday; everything was perfect! A special thanks to Matt, our waiter, who went above and beyond for us. Everyone enjoyed it! :-D Food: 5, Service: 5, Atmosphere: 5.

I ordered a chicken burger, and when it arrived, I was disappointed to find only a tiny dollop of sauce inside and wilted lettuce, as if it had been under a heat lamp for too long. One of our burgers contained a hair, prompting the guest to stop eating immediately. We flagged down our waitress, who was genuinely apologetic and said she would inform her manager. A few minutes later, the manager came over but told us she couldn’t do anything since the burger was mostly eaten. How could we identify a hair without taking a few bites? We insisted on speaking with the manager, and the waitress volunteered to take one of our guests to her. Eventually, the manager arrived, inspected the plate, and bombarded us with questions like “Where is the hair?” and “How long was it?” She then took the plate to the kitchen for better light. About 5 to 10 minutes later, a man in a white shirt approached us—likely a manager or security guard. He also asked questions but soon became rude and dismissive when we tried to explain. He insisted that everyone in the kitchen had short hair and wore hats and hairnets. Throughout this ordeal, we remained polite, responding to their inquiries honestly. After some back-and-forth, where they suggested we might be faking the incident, we pointed out that a camera near our table could provide evidence of the incident. He walked away without any further communication and did not return. The way this situation was handled was completely unacceptable and soured what was meant to be a special birthday meal, for which we traveled over an hour. After finishing our meal, another waiter approached us and simply asked “Amount?” which caught us off guard, as we hadn’t even received a bill yet. Following the hair incident, we noticed security peering around the corner, making us feel as though we were under suspicion. On a positive note, our waitress was lovely and very apologetic about the whole situation, consistently checking to ensure we had what we needed throughout the evening. However, for a £500 bill, I expected significantly better service.

Had a catch up with the girls really nice setting the food was ok I had a vegetarian burger although it was nice the person that brought it to the table didn't seem to know if is was definitely vegetarian that made me a bit worried . My friend asked for sweet potato fries and got normal Fries they did swap them for her.staff were friendly but service was slow . Was a little disappointed as it was our first time here in a few years. Dietary restrictions: I was asked about dietary requirements I was happy about that as I'm lactose intolerant.

Appalling!!! Arrived early on a Sunday for our table, told we weren’t allowed to order a drink because we were 20 minutes early. Also told we couldn’t order from the bar. Not told how to order or see the menu. 50% of the food was sold out but considering it was a 12:30 booking. Service was very very very slow and almost non existent. We have been here an hour and ten minutes and still no food! Told us the steak could only be cooked well done. 3 steaks on the menu, only one option not sold out and they only had one of those which HAD to be well done. We nearly walked out numerous times. The worst restaurant I have visited in years.