Vegan Adventures in Eastbourne

I spent a couple of days in Eastbourne this week to visit family and meet my new baby cousin/soon to be Godson. 

Quite a few members of my family live in Polegate, just outside Eastbourne. They have a small High Street with a couple of cafes and recently introduced Costa. My Cousin and I stopped in at Sarah’s Coffee and Cakes and I was pleasantly surprised they had a sign stating they did dairy free cakes on Wednesday and Thursday. I of course was hoping these were also egg free making them vegan and my hopes were confirmed when I saw these.

They also had a savoury vegetable and cheese puff pastry slice which was vegan. I had a piece of cake with a soya latte and thoroughly enjoyed it. If small independents are managing to serve vegan options the big guys like Costa really need to buck their ideas up! (As my friend Olive has been saying for years!)

On Friday we popped into town to meet with some of my other Cousins and stopped in Urban Ground another independent for a drink. I had my fave matcha latte (with soya milk). I also saw they did avocado toast on their menu. Looking at their website they also do dairy free cakes but I didn’t notice these clearly marked when I was there.

We stopped at Oh My Goodness in the Enterprise centre for lunch, which I have previously reviewed here. I went for the quiche and the salad, it was all really great and very filling, although I would have liked the quiche to have been warmed up or at least room temperature rather than refrigerated cold, but i understand that can be difficult to do.

Next door was a makeup store with this sign outside, which lead me to believe it was completely vegan.

However they were only referring to the brand “concrete minerals”. When I spoke to the owner they said they were getting a lot more cruelty free brands in the next couple of weeks, so check it out if you’re in the area. I did however manage to get some E.L.F. eyeliner in Superdrug. I got the cream eyeliner in coffee which comes with a little brush to apply it with. I’m well versed in applying liquid eyeliner but I was after one of the pen type ones but they only had those in black or “very black” and as I’m quite fair I prefer to wear brown. It went on really easily and stayed in place all day. 

We stopped in at Sunny Foods a health food shop and I picked up one of my fave chocolate bars Vivani white nougat crisp and a coffee alternative made from barley and chicory. The store is quite big and if I lived nearby I would definitely had bought more!

I also bought a raw cheesecake in Oh My Goodness but I was way to full from lunch to have it then so I saved it until the evening. It was a lovely treat and I enjoyed pretending I was being saintly! 


Are you a vegan living in the Eastbourne area? Do you have any recommendations for me for my next visit? Let me know in the comments below.

Plumes x

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Vegan Adventures in Eastbourne

Review – South Downs Nurseries

I was visiting my family in Eastbourne this weekend and one of my cousins had arranged for the family to meet up at South Downs Nurseries in Hassocks to celebrate her Husband’s and her 25th wedding anniversary.

I was looking up the menu options expecting to just be able to have a jacket potatoes and beans when, to my surprise I saw this.

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I was really pleased that this independent non-vegan establishment was supporting Veganuary.

When I came to ordering my food rather than the option as described it came with roast potatoes and Yorkshire pudding and was  £9.99. I definitely wasn’t complaining and even double checked with the waiter that the Yorkshire pudding was vegan!

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I was really impressed. The Yorkshire pudding was quite dark but it was lovely and soft rather than crunchy. The Wellington was really tasty and I was well and truly satisfied!

After lunch I looked around the food shop and was impressed by the vegan offerings. There was a wide selection of chocolate including Seed and Bean and Beech’s Chocolates as well as crisps, snacks, cupboard staples and some dairy free alternatives to milk/yogurt etc in the fridge.

This is the only shop I’ve been in that I’ve seen sell the new quinoa vegan cheese puffs! I got a packet of the original and with jalapeño and my Mum got the versions with added kale. I haven’t tried them yet but am so looking forward to them!

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There was so many nice things in the wider shop too, from jewellery to crockery and bags. They even had a little sewing workshop where you could go I  and get help on your projects.

I couldn’t go to a garden centre and not buy a plant so I got a Mother-in-law’s tongue/Snake Plant as it’s supposed to help promote healthy sleep. (I’ll let you know how I get on!)

If you’re ever in the area I would definitely recommend you visit.

Have you been to South Downs Nurseries, to eat or otherwise? What did you think? Let me know in the comments.

Plumes x

Review – South Downs Nurseries

Review – Oh My Goodness!

I first visited Oh My Goodness! in The Enterprise Shopping Centre when I last came down to Eastbourne in December and enjoyed a lovely couple of cakes with my Cousin Katy.

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We went for a chocolate orange cake and a lemon and poppy seed one and had half of each, they were both delicious!

This visit we decided to have some lunch as well. We chose the root vegetable pie which had just come straight out of the oven along with a sweet potato topped with houmous, falafel and salsa. Again we shared both dishes which were both satisfying, the only thing that could have made it better would be if the sweet potato was served warm.

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After our main course we decided to share a chocolate and pistachio brownie rather than get a cake each, (we’re going to Spain in April so thought we’d show willing!) This was very rich and I don’t think I would have managed a whole one (although I would have given it a good try!) It had cherries and raisins in too which helped it stay moist.

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I paired this with an Earl Grey tea with soya milk and Katy had a hot chocolate, Poppy the owner said hot chocolate wasn’t on the menu as they don’t have a steamer and it takes a bit of time but said she’d do one especially for us. It had raw cacao and agave and Katy thoroughly enjoyed it!

Oh My Goodness! also sell some groceries and goodies which you can stock up on when you go in for lunch or a cake and a drink and they offer a take away service too.

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I really enjoyed our visit and it’s great to support small independent businesses. As I visit Eastbourne fairly regularly I’ll be sure to return.

Have you been to Oh My Goodness? What did you think? Have you got any recommendations for eating vegan in Eastbourne and the surrounding area? Let me know in the comments.

Plumes x

Review – Oh My Goodness!