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Part of the Whitbread family, Table Table restaurants aim to bring great value tasty pub food to an ever increasing eating-out public who like well prepared and genuine food served by friendly staff in relaxing surroundings. If that sounds too much like a dream come true be assured that at Table Table they also walk the talk, and are pleased to have the chance to prove it.

Their well located restaurants are spread across a wide range of decors and styles, and all of them share a determination to provide comfort, warmth and relaxation. Their buffet menus for special occasions are remarkable value.

In keeping with modern trends they provide dishes to nibble or share as guests consider the spread of options on a menu that could be described as British with welcome incursions. So as you share long Italian flatbread, and dough balls and dips, or a sharing platter with an imaginative range of finger food starting with garlic and breaded mushrooms, it's time to think about the relative merits of aromatic duck parcels, a prawn cocktail, breaded Camembert or sticky chicken goujons to name but a few.

Many an innocent dish from the past has been hi-jacked in the best possible sense into becoming what is now called a 'pub classic'. Wiltshire cure ham with eggs is served with chunky chips and beef, mushroom and ale pie, or chicken and chips are all familiar with British tables, be they in the dining room or the kitchen. Now they have been added to by chicken fajitas, a sweet red pepper, crème fraiche and fennel tart, a leg of duck slowly cooked and served with a Bramley apple and cider sauce, or chilli con carne with basmati rice, sour cream and guacamole and nachos. So is the humble burger with six enticing toppings.

The point is they, and others, are all here at Table Table, well prepared with quality ingredients, and presented in a way that makes you hungry even if you thought you weren't.

Getting down to the more serious side of the table keep an eye open for the seafood pie, a delightful assembly of things fishy including crayfish, red snapper, prawns and clams. Many of their steaks are 28 days matured, including a 7oz fillet. All steaks are served with watercress, roasted cherry tomatoes, a flat mushroom and chunky chips. A choice from 4 sauces adds the final touch of enjoyment.

Pastas and salads embrace some well known and loved names, but for sheer enjoyment the hot smoked salmon salad takes some beating - flakes of hot smoked salmon mixed with a house salad and soy and ginger sauce. A real winner.

Snacks aplenty cover hot baguettes with the like of grilled pork loin and Bramley apple sauce, sandwiches filled with Cheddar cheese, or prawns and Marie Rose sauce, and jacket potatoes with such temptations as chilli con carne. Add a bowl of chips for only a little extra.

A well travelled wine list offers helpful advice for the uninitiated and there's an impressive choice of draught and bottled beers and lagers. All in all it would appear that Table Table are more than achieving their aims, providing the opportunity for people to eat out enjoyably, with excellent value for money. Long may they continue to do so.

For completely up to date information on menu changes and special offers do make a regular check on their lively Website.

The Tapestry Restaurant forms an important part of this deceptive house. Built in 1927, even the perceptive observer would be forgiven for supposing that here was a building of great antiquity, but it is in fact a clever collation of materials brought together from all over England by Lord Moyne. Now part of a private group of hotels it offers excellent up to the minute food in superb surroundings.

This iconic building by Thomas Heatherwick will one day be a listed building, representing as it does a completely new approach to the relationship between a building and its surroundings. They aim to serve food that will be remembered for all the best reasons 365 days a year, through the main three meals of the day. Within are 45 seats, backed up by another 80 on the outside decking, and a take-away kiosk for those who prefer eating in the rough.

The evening menu may have starters of potted shrimp, salt and pepper squid with chilli, or a smoked mackerel, beetroot and cress salad, followed by spaghetti with steamed cockles, olive oil and parsley, or grilled sardines with roasted tomatoes and beetroot. There is always a daily fish special. Well into the traditional with the desserts, and Eton Mess or apricot trifle are both popular. Children's meals offer fish goujons and chips, eggy bread, and fruit jelly with ice cream amongst other dishes. Also to be found are such nostalgic numbers as hot buttered crumpet with marmite, potted crab and Scotch duck's egg.

A wine list leads with a blanc de blancs from Ditchling in West Sussex, and a selection that includes 6 by the glass drawn from a wide spread of experience. Sophie Murray, one of the team, emphasizes that so long as seaside eateries go on serving what they want people to eat rather than the other way round, people will tend to vote with their feet. Given the permutation on offer at East Beach the sound of incoming feet should be heard with increasing volume. Please note that they do not accept bookings by e-mail.

The Silk Road Restaurant was opened in November 2000 by Teresa Haskell who, having managed a successful Turkish restaurant in London for a number of years, decided to return to Sussex and open one for herself. It is somewhere that creates delicious and freshly prepared authentic cuisine from chosen countries along the old Silk Road Caravan Route - a breathtaking backdrop for your taste experience. In the Sultan's Palace Bar Lounge, you may choose an exclusive cocktail, relax and absorb the atmosphere whilst reading the intoxicating menu of mixed delights.

The old Silk Road provided the theme - an ancient network of several thousand miles of trading routes that criss-crossed a dozen countries, bringing silk and spices to the West and taking Christianity to the East. It's this vast canvas that allows the Restaurant to make use of a wide variety of cuisines and types of entertainment, and still be within its theme. The Restaurant is, therefore, best described as Turkish with Mediterranean and Middle Eastern influences.
 
Everything is presented beautifully - a different antique plate for each guest, together with old silver and bone handled cutlery - all laid upon woven table cloths that look like faded Turkish carpets.

Weekend entertainment is just as unique as everything else at The Silk Road - with male and female belly dancers or a six piece Brazilian and Latin jazz band - as examples. Capacity is around 60 seated or 80 buffet style, leaving room for a dance floor!

Altogether The Silk Road Restaurant is a memorable experience and also terrific value for money and whether you are looking for a quiet, romantic dinner for two in the week, or something more lively and exciting at the weekend, this restaurant has to be on your must visit list. They have managed to create quite a reputation in Sussex that is proving very hard to follow.