First In Last Out in Hastings

Amazing food, great, friendly service at a reasonable price - definitely going to be a regular haunt!

Dropped in for lunch today and had probably the best meal I’ve ever eaten in a pub. Pan fried fish, cooked to perfection, with sweet pea puree, salty pancetta and small fluffy potatoes, all in perfect balance. It was delicious. Friendly service too. Highly recommended.

Nice tapas style food. Bit odd wine experience..asked for pinot grigio and was given rose and told it was the same. I do know there is a PG blush..but don't like being treated like an idiot by bar staff as they've run out of what I asked...apart from that a good evening out

Haven’t been to this place for 30 years, went there for Sunday lunch with few friends, on arrival the bartender greeted us and very politely The roast beef was delicious and very tasty and rest of the party also enjoyed the meal Definitely recommend and will return soon

Get past the shabby looks outside and this a little gem of a boozer. Lovely old world interior and a great selection of beers. I'll definitely be back next time I'm in Hastings. Update: I went back and the food was great.A massive piece of fish, lots of chunky chips and a lovely side salad.

Staff are nice and the atmosphere pretty good. Brought our two dogs and got a decent pint!

I had an excellent roast dinner in a traditional pub with friendly staff in a relaxed atmosphere. There is a good selection of local beer, reasonably priced.

Very friendly staff. Excellent service. Delicious well presented food. I had the seabass which was cooked to perfection and my friend had the goats cheese tart. Will definitely be back.

The FILO never fails to bring a happy smile. Good beer. Love the seating and in winter the log fire is an entrancing joy. It is a vintage inn, glad it's not been changed.

Well we had a fantastic lunch at this pub today. Food was great, beer was great. The team is very friendly and very welcoming. Doggie friendly too! I can honestly say one of the best lunches we have had in a few years. We both had mains and dessert - Gert Lush!

Fantastic roast dinners and really lovely staff. Thoroughly recommend and would definitely visit again.

On our trip to the UK, my husband and I went to a lot of different restaurants and pubs but the one that he can’t still forget was this one. He ordered a sandwich here and sometimes he misses sleep thinking about it.. apparently it was the most delicious sandwich he’s ever tasted.

Very unassuming local pub, serving great food and dog friendly too.

A lovely pub in what some would say off the beaten track, this place is a hidden gem that the locals probably keep to their selves .😂😂 We came here for the Sunday roast on recommendation of a friend and it didn’t disappoint either!!! We had the leg of lamb and what a meal, also I will add if you have room for dessert, that was also out standing, we had the Pear tarte- tatin . (Sorry I didn’t get a photo of the desert )

Comfortable pub with fairly basic decor but the food was outstanding and definitely worth the visit. Massive portions cooked to perfection. Great value for money too.

We were in the dining room at the back of the pub which was a lovely space with a great atmosphere. Very friendly attentive staff and the tapas and puddings were fantastic!

After visiting filo on many occasions we were disappointed with the food on this occasion, the burger was tasteless and dry. The pie was ok but nothing special. Not sure what’s changed since our last visit and I hope the food improves

Excellently kept real ale. Good food.A real local oub atmosphere

A traditional old fashioned pub with own brewed real ales. And pleasant staff.

A great pub at the back of Hastings. The landlord was very good. Beer choice was excellent.

Great beer and great atmosphere. The landlord could not have been friendlier.

Delicious food - probably the best sticky toffee pudding ever!

Highly recommend the Sunday roast.

Great food and customer service every time.

Very good food at a reasonable price. The wait for the food was quite lengthy but well worth it. I had a tasty liver, bacon and mash with cabbage and tenderstem broccoli together with a delightful jus. This was followed by a vanilla creme brulée. Friends had a pork snitzel served with salad and duchess potatoes followed by pear tart and creme fraiche. All enjoyed it. A relaxing atmosphere with laid back staff so no rush to finish.

Although I didn't come for food on this visit, I have eaten here before and found what comes from their kitchen to always be excellent. Drinks-wise though, the First In Last Out (FILO), has its own brewery, and they sell a fair old selection of ales, 5 of their own, and usually Harvey's Sussex Best as a guest ale. On my last visit I drank their own 4.0% 'Hop Cat' pale bitter, which was very refreshing, and I was told it will be replaced in the coming months with a pale bitter collaboration with another East Sussex brewery, Only With Love. I always receive a friendly welcome, and went away very happy, many thanks.

This pub is a hidden gem, very warm welcome on arrival Great bar staff Alfie was a very nice chap. The food looked great and regretted we had already eaten elsewhere. Highly recommend if your in the old town.

Very good local pub with excellent home brewed beers. Excellent salt beef sandwich but the fish finger sandwich was not to the same standard. Well worth seeking this pub out as it’s not on the obvious touristy routes.

Food was absolutely amazing would recommend

Great selection of beers, fair prices.

A pub a bit away from the crowded seafront of Old Town Hastings, its large choice of craft ales - especially those coming from their own brewery - are really worth the little walk up there. Feel free to visit the place, you won't regret it. Thanks

A wonderful pub with a great selection of ales and an atmosphere that money can't buy. Down to earth, lively, unspoilt and full of great characters. Hastings is blessed with many really great pubs and this is up there with the best.

Very well run Pub ,not tried the food yet ,but heard it is excellent ,bravo

Their own brewed beers are particularly nice and because they are not transported they happen to be vegan.

Didn't eat this time ,look forward to going back

Great food and beer , very friendly staff would use again

Such a lovely friendly welcome . Best Roast dinner ,we have had out 👌🏻🥰 such great flavours, Red cabbage ,(full of orange , caraway seeds with the lovely fennel Aniseed flavour ) Cauliflower cheese ( tastes of a good cheese & &ooh so crispy top ) that’s included in the price presented beautifully ( great attention to detail ). Great wine to complement food. Wonderful desserts . Would 100% recommend

Lovely meal, great service, cosy and welcoming pub

Fabulous dog friendly pub restaurant in Hastings Old Town with delicious food and amazingly friendly service. FILO is a bit out past the Old Town but is well worth the extra walk. The bar which was cozy with an open wood fire was packed but thankfully the restaurant was nice and quiet. The lady who served us was amazingly attentive and a real credit to the place. Food was fresh and really good quality. I had the calamari followed by the roasted duck. Vegan options were a bit limited tho but overall definitely a place to check out.

Delicious food. Great beers. Wonderful place relaxing. Never fails to let you down..

Fabulous Sunday Lunch. Make sure you book as very busy. Great value and lovely roast

Best pub in Hastings for congeniality and atmosphere

Have never eaten here before - I remember the pub from back in the day when it had a small beer garden out back. Happy to say the food was excellent, lovely service and (most importantly) they still serve Hoegaarden on tap in a proper frosted ice cold glass!

First time here, lovely old pub with centre fireplace, varied menu all of which looked great, I had the locally caught fish&chips which was excellent, my friend had lambs liver and bacon which also was excellent, all in all a fantastic place to be on a cold wet day.

Had a superb Sunday roast here, I had the lamb and my partner had the beef, portions were generous. Highly recommend this pub. We booked our table in advance as the pub is very popular.

Popped in for a birthday lunch. A man at the bar had a spaniel that kept jumping up, whining and barking so we left without having a drink let alone lunch. Who wants drooling dogs around when you are eating? Totally unhygienic and disgusting.

Had a gorgeous roast at this lovely, tucked away, pub. Super friendly staff and lovely atmosphere. Would definitely recommend.

Best pub on the planet. Full stop.

Decided to go back again for lunch today, also to have the salt beef sandwich with gherkins & mustard on the side again. Can’t go wrong with this, was delicious!

In my humble opinion this is the best winter pub (big central open fire) in Hastings. In truth I've not tried them all but so far FILO is leading the race.

Nice friendly pub, with good food

Had some really nice real ales and some special largers. Such a lovely pub small but just right. They have a beautiful fire place that makes the place so cosy.

What a fabulous little pub. Old tradition English pub with a real fire that serves delicious food. Monday is tapas night - the best in town. Staff or lovely

5* all round!!!what a treat, great vibes, lovely staff, foods amazing!!!had the roast (meat and vegi option)best roast I've ever had in Hastings!!!everything was so tasty and beautifully cooked!dessert was stick toffee pud....again, the best one I've ever had!you must try this place, but pre book as it's very popular!!!!

Great food and service was friendly and quick. Restaurant could have been a little warmer, but it was a very cold night. Would go again.

The food and service were great as always. Such a good little pub and restaurant.

The best cosiest pub in old town. Thali on a Thursday is the absolute best. very friendly staff.

Top pub, good range of drinks and good atmosphere. And you can't go wrong with a live fire can you!

Food was amazing, service was great too.

This is the best winter pub I have ever been to. The staff are friendly and welcoming. The atmosphere is homely and the food is amazing. The main draw of this pub is the awesome open fire at the centre of the bar and is regularly tended to by the pyromaniac bar staff. The overall atmosphere is very relaxed and friendly and I can’t think of a better place to spend a cold winters afternoon. If you haven’t been here, why not !

Would have liked the chance to ask for afters. Staff seemed busy

Simply the best roast I’ve ever had. Thoroughly looked after when we arrived and the portions were perfect, no scrimping on the gravy and a lovely atmosphere in the pub as well!

This pub although not trendy is certainly expanding its clientele recently. The Sunday roast is great. Have eaten a few times on a Saturday, equally as good. Traditional beers served but also has its own range of brewed beers. It also has a fantastic fire which is lit every winter. Lovely cosy pub.

A family lunch spoiled. Fish and chips was small, wet and undercooked. Batter was awful. Both children left most of theirs. Liver was the opposite, overcooked and tough. Dauphinoise potatoes were a slab of goodness knows what. Long wait for food after order (35 minutes). Average dish price £19. We love puddings but abandoned ship and left very disappointed.

My wife's good friends - true locals - suggested FILO for our first night's initiation in Hastings. Great choice as FILO is as genuine pub-ish as you will find. Jolly atmosphere, blazing wood burning fireplace right in the center of it all, and cold (✔️ American standards) beer. A++ experience.

Chapter 2 (of 3) of our British trip found us in Hastings, where my wife's good friends suggested FILO for our first night's initiation. A more genuine Pub could not be discovered anywhere. Jolly holiday ambience and wood burning fire-place front and center. Cozy booth and beer served at USA preferred (nicely cold) temperature. FILO gets a definite P(ub)+++.

My husband and I think the food at the FILO is the best in Hastings and St Leonards. If you don’t believe us come and find out for yourselves. The food, service and atmosphere are excellent, whether you come on a Monday for the exquisite Tapas or Saturday gourmet menu, it is all excellent. We’re looking forward to trying out the Tali on a Thursday night which we have also heard rave reviews about. Well done to the chefs and staff for doing a brilliant job that we can clearly see you love. It is much appreciated ❤️. Thank you 🙏🏼😍.

This is a jewel of a pub. Warm and welcoming. Very friendly bar staff. Lovely cental open fire place. Even though we didn't eat the food we saw coming from the kitchen looked delicious. Also it's not an expensive place to eat or drink. Can't recommend this place enough.

The best kept secret in Hastings spectacular salt beef sandwiches.

Превъзходно място! Невероятна атмосфера и прекрасно обслужване Брилянтно!

I had the Thali which was excellent. The staff are very friendly and helpful and there is a good choice of beer.

Lovely super fresh and well-conditioned cask beer. Nice to have one with some ginger infused (at least I think it was!). Limited safe keg. Pub a bit tired. Great if you go for the traditional feel in an old fashioned sort of way.

Always great food and beers. Lovely to enjoy a real pub with friendly staff.

On Thursday nights they serve great Indian Thalis at a reasonable price ( c. £20 a head including a beer). My companion and I both enjoyed the different Thalis we ordered. The waitress was also charming and welcoming and gave us first-class service. We ate in the restaurant area but food is also served, I believed, in the pub area. Recommended.

Great back street boozer in Old Hastings.The "FILO" A pub popular with the locals of all ages. Historic unspoilt building and bar. Serves three local ales including Harvey's as well as Leffe on draught. Bar staff very friendly. Despite being busy managed to get a seat Friday and Saturday night. Away from the bustle of the sea front.

Great pub, great service, great beers, and wonderful food. One of the best in Hastings, and that's saying something

Great cosy dining room with an excellent level of service. Food was all tasty and well cooked. Would definitely recommend.

Super-friendly local in the middle of Old Town Hastings with decent beer selection including a selection of their own brews. We stopped in on a whim while staying nearby and managed to squeeze a place at their weekly "Tapas Night" - amazing food and an incredible value at £5 a plate. Staff were extremely accomodating to us tourists on what was a busy night for them.

The food at FILO is excellent and reasonably priced. The atmosphere is warm and welcoming and the staff are friendly and efficient. There are other restaurants in Hastings with fancier reputations (and prices!) but for us, FILO is THE go-to place to eat.

This must be the best pub in Hastings. We regular visit Hastings from the north of England and always try to get to pub for the good food and excellent range of real ales.

Eaten there many times now. Monday is Tapas night. Delicious- great service and great value for money. Do book a table in advance as it’s very popular. Very friendly staff. In winter they have a roaring log fire - very cosy. Highly recommend

A pub that takes its name from its position at the top of the High Street of the Old Town section of Hastings in that it was the first pub you came to back in the day when you approached the settlement of Hastings from the north and therefore subsequently the last one before you left. A bit out of the was at the top of the old town high street, with its historic houses, quaint shops and very good pubs, of which the FILO is the best and possibly the best pub in Hastings. I certainly didn’t find a better one. Primarily a single room pub, although there is an additional function room / seating area for dining off the corridor to the back, but most of the action takes place in the bar room, with its period décor, comfortable booths and interesting fireplace. I cannot comment on the food because I was here to try the FILO house brewery beers and in that respect all six ale pumps on the bar were in operation for our visit, with the ubiquitous for these parts Harvey’s Sussex Best on one and the FILO Brewery products on the other five. These were Crofters Best Bitter, Old Town Tom Craft Beer, Cardinal Sussex Porter, Gold Premium ale and Churches Pale Ale. We tried the Old Town Tom and The Cardinal Porter and they were both in good condition. As mentioned if there is a better traditional pub in Hastings I didn’t find it (although the Mermaid did run it close), or could not visit it (as the Jolly Fisherman doesn’t open on a Monday or Tuesday.)

Found it hard to find a Sunday roast in Hastings and felt lucky we managed to book a table here. We had high hopes for our meal here as we were told the food was good. Unfortunately one thing was drastically wrong with our lunch. The beef was almost inedible as it was so tough. It looked ok on the plate nice and pink how I like it but it was almost impossible to cut with a knife. I don't mind a good chew so I ploughed on still knowing it wasn't right and my wife didn't want to cause a fuss so pushed it about the plate till the meal was over and it was too late to redeem. As for the rest the potatoes were burnt on the edges and that didn't produce a good taste. The other veg were OK the best being the cauliflower cheese which was actually very nice. We will never be back as we live far away but theres a couple of tips for the chef there. But probably more dissapointing was the reaction from the staff member that we mentioned this to. No real apology, and definately no effort to compensate us for the poor quality of meal.

Lovely Sunday lunch. Amazing vegan food. Great taste and quality. No boring vegan burgers in sight and a wonderful vegan pudding. Would highly recommend.

Todays was one of the best. It’s my local and always good but today was particularly good. Excellent service from Kiran and Elina

Visited today (Tuesday) for lunch and was surprised to see it was v. busy. Tables had been reserved in the front bar, so we went out the back, with the dog. The food was very good, one had fried cod (they had run out of plaice) and chips served with mint pea sauce (mushy peas?) with salad. Another had pan fried sea bass served with a potato & onion mash with a mustard dill sauce and green beans wrapped in courgette slice i.e. v. well presented (see photos). We had time for coffees served with a biscuit each. Time was limited as we had parked earlier, gone for a walk up East Cliff then returned for a quick lunch. We returned to the car with seconds to spare thanks to Adam and his team.

Following a walk up East Cliff (the lift should be open in September 2023) we had the fish and chips and pan fried sea bass as we're in Hastings. The pub is up the top end of the High Street and is somewhat unassuming but turned out to be very popular midweek. Dog friendly and staff are very efficient (thanks Adam)

Hidden gem, shouldn’t be telling anyone…. Amazing food, friendly service. #yum

Simply Fabulous Wedding visitors to Hastings we looked to TA for advice.We have eaten Tapas all over the world and this was truly spectacular. Every dish was perfectly prepared and presented. Traditional pub atmosphere and attentive staff. Brilliant

Amazing choices of home brewed beers. Must try the Old Town Tom 🍻

Great beer!! Good olde worlde pub 🍻

I've been visiting this wonderful pub, when in the area, for the last ten years but strangely have never eaten, thus the missing section on the review. Hastings is blessed with a great many fine pubs and this is definitely in the top percentile - Ten years and not one, even slightly dodgy pint is why I gave it 5 stars. (Also the Romanian Pinot we had last week was lovely!) Please visit and enjoy.

Sunday lunch .. absolutely delicious Sunday roast yesterday .. with the most lovely welcome service from the girls

If you ever want to go to a original English pub, go to "First in, last out!" A pub like you imagine originally English pubs should be! Very nice staff, very good wine and beer.

Really lovely traditional pub. The staff are always lovely. In winter they have a large open fire in the centre. We went for tapas (Monday evenings). Not many restaurants are open Monday nights in Hastings and St Leonards. The bar tender was really friendly and welcoming. The food, excellent value and great quality. Personally, I think it’s the best tapas in Hastings and St Leonards.

Friendly, cosy pub atmosphere. Very good food.

Only popped in for a quick pint but will definitely make my next trip longer! The selection of beer was impressive (about half seemed to be from their own brewery) and the atmosphere was very welcoming; there were clearly plenty of regulars. The central fireplace looked like an incredible relic from yesteryear - this place would make an ideal, cosy destination for a winter pint.

It's nice place, a bit isolated from the old town, we were nearby quite a lot, but it was our first visit, we have tried several local beer, which were delicious, we will back again for sure

Being a regular (60 miles away) visitor hence about every 5 years over the last 35 you would expect to see great change . Since my last visit the restaurant has taken off and serves tasty reasonably priced unpretentious food. The pub is still true to its micro brewery traditions. The staff are real and the service genuine and friendly

Delicious food - really good fish and chips and the caramelised pear tart tatin was one of the best puddings I’ve ever had