Lime Kiln Cafe in Rother

A lot of attempted style - very little substance. Over priced food styled on an early 2000s gastro pub staffed by people who are unprofessional and rude. We tried to provide constructive feedback but the "manager" just smirked and dismissed us.

Called in for lunch during a bird watching trip. Not a great choice of lunch items - pasties, packaged sandwiches. I usually go with soup, but none being served. Had a steak pasty was was very good. Plenty of cakes - no complaints here. However, the one star is given for the noise - constant dog barking meant you could not sit and enjoy the meal. This alone outweighs any pros of this cafe and also relegates it to the worst cafe I have visited. A pity that a cafe with such a location and views cannot be enjoyed.

Great spot , but average cafe particularly if you are a coeliac . Being a coeliac is not a choice , there is a medical requirement to have a gluten free diet - gluten free options very disappointing , whereas there were a number of vegan / vegetarian options which is rarely driven by medical necessity but life choice

Well, first of all a great location and the National Trust shop it shares the building with is really interesting and well stocked. But, talk about disorganised ! Two friendly enough ladies flaffing about, both serving drinks and food and feeling that they're being busy but unnecessarily so as their procedure could be streamlined and the queue easily reduced to a more manageable length. One member of staff should focus on drinks, the other puts the order together. Prices seem on a par with most twee places like this. Toilets in the shop area are plentiful and access to the cafe and shop is via a ramp helping accessibility. No litter bin outside - explained by shop staff as litter can be blown by the wind onto the reserve, that works only as long as customers take their cups n plates back to the cafe......

Bank holiday Monday walk and coffee stop, very busy but the queue went down fairly quick, we enjoyed our coffee and cake, very dog friendly.

Called in for a specialty tea and a coffee before going for a walk around the Nature Reserve. Both drinks were freshly made and tasted good. The staff are friendly and helpful. The cafe is both wheelchair and pushchair and dog friendly. Seating both inside and outside, with some of the interior seating giving views across the Nature Reserve.

A great place to drop into for a drink or a snack after, or before going for, a walk round the Rye Harbour Nature Reserve. There's a good choice of snacks and drinks on the menu and the prices are reasonable. The staff are very friendly and there's seating both inside and outside. It's wheelchair and pushchair friendly and some of the interior seating gives very good views across the Nature Reserve.

Great views but inefficient service. Burnt coffee and terribly slow service, took us over 20 minutes to order coffee.

Stopped off after our walk on a wet windy Sunday, we received a warm welcome and enjoyed a tasty cappuccino and hot chocolate with some delicious sweet treats, very dog friendly and Stanley enjoyed his Bonio 🦴 🐾

Called in after a very pleasant, but windy walk from Winchelsea Beach for a hot drink and snack. Very impressed, both with the design of the building, ideal for viewing the reserve. Lots of information on local wildlife. Cafe had a good selection of drinks, hot and cold, and food. Could easily have spent a few hours there. Can imagine at weekend, we visited on a Thursday, and holiday periods could be very busy. Very impressed overall.

A light, airy establishment adjoining the Rye Harbour Discovery Centre. Friendly, helpful staff and a good selection of drinks and snacks. If you are lucky, you may be able to get a seat overlooking Rye Harbour Nature Reserve. An added bonus is that it is dog friendly. Just the place for a drink after walking round the nature reserve.

Having driven, slowly, (no decent roads in this part of England) from Eastbourne, delighted to find this Cafe, and that it was OPEN. Too many customers, not enough staff, so painfully slow. But on holiday, so who cares. No Cortado, but Macciato pretty good. My wife enthused over her Macha. Had both Cheese and Fruit Scones. Acceptable, but not a patch on Driftwood (Emsworth) or Common Grounds (Chichester, see separate reviews). Highlight a Blueberry Smoothie. Not the right name, but mix of Blueberries, Raspberries, Banana et Al. Best part the VIEWS, whether a birder or not. Hayling Seagoon

We have popped in on many occasions. A couple of the staff members are lovely, very friendly and welcoming but there is one member (usually behind the till) who is not very polite or friendly at all. We have tried various things, coffee, hot chocolate and tea all fine, sausage roll, sandwiches both good, cakes all very nice indeed. They use local suppliers which is good. Prices are a little high and service a bit slow and doesn't speed up even when there is a queue. Overall we do really like the cafe for the wonderful views so we will be back again and again.

About 400 metre walk from harbour car park on well made path on flat. More than suitable for everyone . Ramp into cafe. Superb views over marshes. Remember binoculars! Cakes, sandwiches (lunchtime) and drinks. Coffee ok but disappointing date slice and scone not up to standards of NT. Very informative information displays adjoining and the shop had a range of good nature based products.

Popped into Discovery Centre twice during our short stay - the coffee is superb, the scones even better (but get there early before they all run out)!!!! Lovely souvenirs for those unique gifts and very clean toilets - amazing given the amount of traffic and varying footwear!! Will continue to both recommend and visit again - see you in October half term!!

We was greeted by a lovley woman and had a great view after that the experience was less then pleasant, the food was over priced and the service staff should have sued the charm school very rude and clearly did not want to be there, the food was delivered at the speed of a shot put, I would not recommend this place

I saw the reviews on here and not sure if they all hold water as I have not eaten here. I've only ever had coffee here but staff were nice, courteous and hey, that view. Just sitting there with a coffee and an episode of Springwatch going on in front of you is enough for me. So for me it's 5* for staff, coffee and location.

A very sad experience, having often walked past here with our dogs, today I decided to go in for a coffee and a sausage roll to take out. A member of staff came from the back area and offered to take my order, a simple coffee and sausage roll. I placed my order without a single good morning or thank you, I was then given my sausage roll in a bag while the assistant served other customers while I waited for my coffee, I waited and waited for my coffee yet coffee after coffee was made and given to other customers who arrived after myself, I went back to the counter and asked about my coffee and was curtly informed it was coming, two more coffees were made for people that arrived after me, then mine eventually arrived, again no thank you or even the hint of an apology. I went to add sugar and place a lid on the cup only to find the coffee was luke warm. I retuned to the counter and gave them back the coffee and sauage roll. Never again will I visit this location, such shame as a great place to stop for a rest.

Coffee tastes really bad. :( Pastries were not bad. Staff member became rude once heard not a british accent from me while I made order. Started to throw items on tray like I did something wrong :D Wouldn't reccomend for tourists :D june 25th 11:00 am

The centre is lovely, the cafe itself is nicely set out. However, it is overpriced and the staff could do with some lessons on how to give service to the customers with a smile. They all seemed as if they didn't want to be there, not encouraging for a return visit

After walking round the Rye Harbour Nature Reserve, the Lime Kiln Cafe is a very good place to drop into for either a drink or a snack (mainly cakes and toasted sandwiches). The staff are very friendly and helpful but you may have to wait...

Service slow but OK. Food very dull and expensive. Small cake £3.80. Mainly cakes. No sandwiches. O what a pity.

We regularly visit the nature reserve for dog walking, but we've never been into the visitor centre until this weekend. All 3 of us had coffee and a little bit of cake. The café was very busy, so i had to queue for 10 minutes,...

We visited the cafe today and truly loved it. The friendliness and helpfulness was excellent my husband had a coffee with milk one of the staff was collecting used dishes and overheard him say the milk was cold and had made his coffee cold. The...

We popped in for a coffee & snack on a windy day to warm us up. As I'm gluten intolerant, I was pleasantly surprised to find a lovely GF home-made soup, and instead of the usual boring white bread, I was offered a whole packet...

A welcome cafe along the nature reserve walks. The picture windows overlooking the reserve and bench’s with stools allow observation of wildlife, dog walkers and murmurs and individual birds from the welcome warmth of the cafe. The coffee is fantastic and the cheese scone was...

Situated in the same building as the Rye Harbour Discovery Centre, the Lime Kiln Cafe is a good place to drop into for a snack and/or a drink while you are visiting either the Discovery Centre or walking round the nature reserve. There is a...

This was my second visit but what a disappointment. The first time I went I thought the quality was excellent and the variety of snacks good if a bit pricey. This time there was hardly anything to choose for lunch, no Cornish pasties, only one...

Great building but cafe is awful. Waited in line on a quiet lunchtime for 15 mins to be served. Limited choices for lunch and quite expensive. Numerous staff to bring food, next to no one getting it ready. Tables not too clean either. Toastie OK,...

Wow, what a wonderful place! Great visitors centre, shop and coffee shop. Friendly staff. Delicious sausage rolls and coffee. Stunning views over the nature reserve, a really interesting and attractive building.

Great new cafe after a long walk around the nature reserve, dog friendly and wheel chair access, staff we encountered were friendly, the coffee and scones were excellent and with a great view to enjoy… perfect!

A brand new cafe in the new Rye Harbour Discovery Centre which is wheelchair friendly, pushchair friendly and dog friendly. Offering a good selection of snacks and drinks, the Lime Kiln Cafe is Covid safe and has good views over the Rye Harbour Nature Reserve....