Hastings Old Town restaurant re-launches with new name

It also means that the restaurant won’t be one hundred percent vegan as before but has introduced some vegetarian dishes.

The move has angered some of the local vegan community but owner Dan Wiltshire explained the change and said: “The changes are limited to three vegetarian options with paneer curry, egg curry and lassi drinks added – everything else is 100 percent vegan.

"We will only be using oat milk in our hot drinks, no dairy cheese on our burgers, vegan burger buns, vegan cheesecakes etc.

“Most other restaurants, some which are small businesses and others major corporations, have very limited vegan options but are frequented, supported and even promoted by vegans.

"We have found it very difficult to trade being 100 percent vegan to a very limited market that often eats elsewhere.

"With 40 percent of India being vegetarian and our menu being largely Indian influenced, it seems like a natural progression to offer limited vegetarian options. We hope to keep 99 percent of our menu vegan and hope the vegan community will continue to support us.”

The restaurant was the first in Hastings to offer vegan fish and chips. This is still on the menu along with its popular vegan Sunday roasts, which make a return this weekend.

Dan added: After our recent burglary, when a huge amount of our hemp products were stolen, we feel this is a good time to re-brand the restaurant, turning a negative into a positive. It is a new era, especially as we now have a really talented award winning Head Chef Lakshmi and new management, offering a huge array of Indian food on the menu.”

A Taste of Vitality will be officially opened by the Hastings Mayor on Sunday October 2 at 1.30pm and people are invited to come along for vegan roast lunch.

The Hempist, is situated on the seafront at Marine parade, in Hastings Old Town. It first opened in early 2019 and was forced to close due to the Coronavirus lockdown. It has developed a reputation for continually coming up with new vegan dishes and styles.

Have you read? St Leonards pub sold at auction