The Hempist Vegan cafe lounge bar in Hastings

We went to this restaurant, now Taste of Vitality, as the chef had a great reputation for Indian food. The menu was fabulous however one hour later we were still waiting for our food. Not a poppadoms in sight! We managed to drink our bottle of wine. People before us were just about to leave as they had to wait an hour for their food and we’re over charged. We were eventually served with food that was not ours and they took it back to take to the other party. There were only 3 tables occupied in the restaurant! We paid for our wine and left.

Came to Hastings and Googled vegan cafes. We walked 10 minutes to the Hempist as the reviews seemed good. We were disappointed and won't be going again. I would like to make it clear that the food was amazing but it was like Fawlty Towers. They said it was their first proper night being open so I would expect some teething problems but it just went too far. I'm assuming it has new owners but they haven't updated the name. I think it's now Vitality. We went in and sat upstairs, it's styled like a shack. Big oil drums with wooden discs on top for tables. Far too high to be comfortable to eat and the chairs were bar stools. Must have been from the previous owner as the stools still had the Hempist logo and sign on the wall. None of us were comfortable sitting so high up but we were hungry so stayed. The first 2 meals my partner asked for weren't in stock, fine, okay, he ordered something else. My friend ordered a drink and the stafff came back upstairs to say they didn't have the ingredients so substituted one. Okay that's fine too. Again... first night teething problems. My partner put his beer on the table and it went down a hole under the tablecloth. He caught it as it tipped sideways. We found 3 holes and let the staff know. He almost spilt it again. We had to put a menu over the holes. They said it would be a half hour wait. That was fine, 3 people were ahead of us... but we waited over an hour. The table next to us had a dish forgotten and one of them wasn't given a plate so he couldn't serve his food from the dishes laid out. We had discussed paying for our drinks and leaving and were just about to stand up and go when we heard footsteps on the stairs and our food had finally arrived. I didn't get the flavoured rice I had ordered so was given plain instead. They had other options that I had been told about earlier but I wasnt given the chance to request one of those instead. The cocktail was £12 and served in a wine glass, quite expensive we thought. The young 2 members of staff were in no way rude at all, but also were not of the demeanour front of house staff usually are. No smiles, no chit chat. The music, oh the music! It was truly awful. It was like a young child was trying out all the different sound settings on a keyboard and adding some robotic button effects on top. It was piercing, repetitive and downright terrible! This is petty on my part... the wooden board with coat hooks just was not in keeping with the decor. It looked very out of place. It was like something you get in pound land. It's a real shame as the food was absolutely full of flavour and good portion sizes and price (othrr than the cocktail) If they see this I hope they make some changes. If they do then it would be a lovely little place. As it is at the moment it's dull, cramped, uncomfortable and boring

I love this cute little place. It's all cuddly and comfy. I don't eat dead animals so it's perfect for me. Hempist is Highly recommended.

Good location, nice view from the table in the middle upstairs, alright food and sweets, nice variety on the menu, mid-range prices, polite servers, and clean toilets.

Excellent service excellent food. Very difficult to find but once you do a real amazing experience. Award-winning Indian cuisine chef.

FAntstic find, a vegan gem on the South Coast. We had a marvellous meal in this gem of a restaurant. Wonderful flavours cooked with love Welcoming and friendly staff a must go to vegan delight. we will now be regular visitors. Fabulous cocktails too. Garry & Manouche

A restaurant with an eclectic range of plant food and then, to top it all, the best curry in Hastings. There are plenty of places to eat generic curry with a few beers but authentic and beautifully cooked Indian dishes this good are rare. The menu is small but ideal and I managed to try a few plates. The dosas are filling and make for a tasty budget small meal and the cauliflower wings I had on a previous occasion were perfect and affordable. I used to eat Tamil Nadu food in Tooting and the regional subtleties of spicing are perfected here, simply as good as it gets. The chef is outstanding. I had great service as they made every effort to accommodate my requests. Really fantastic place.

The Hempist is a vegan specialist Indian restaurant. My sister and I came across this place on a walk in the Old Town. The outside of the restaurant looks very bohemian and the inside doesn't disappoint either. There's an upstairs which boasts corrugated walls, oil drum table bases and real solid wood table tops. You could be forgiven if you thought you were in India...so authentic! The front of house, Chelsea, 19, is a very conscientious young lady She made us feel so welcome. She went through each of the dishes and helped us to choose. I've never met anyone quite like her. She is warm and friendly. She is an asset and worth more than her weight in gold . There was a positive, friendly atmosphere. She made sure we were satisfied with our choices. As a young mum, Chelsea is on the ball with portion sizes and the cost of living for families with young children and tried to assist families make appropriate food options. The menu is a vegan's mouth-watering paradise. .I ordered the aubergine and spinach curry with coriander rice, my sister ordered the elephant yam curry. The food was amazing and so tasty. Definitely come here again and thoroughly recommend this place.

This is the only 100% vegan restaurant in the area which is pretty exciting! Chelsey was our waitress and she was patient with us as we pawed over the menu for a while with so many good things to choose from, we took a while.. We ordered the elephant yam curry and the aubergine and spinach with coriander rice. Really lovely flavours in both dishes, we made the right choice! Chelsey was really on the ball when taking the other customer's (with children) orders and she answered all the questions she was asked about the food and portion sizes! Definitely worth coming back while on holiday in Hastings :-)

Carneval day in Hastings, and resto open 11 til 9. Quite a tight fit inside., tho we did not see upstairs seating. Service friendly, and seemed a little understaffed with mucho multi-tasking. Vegan food. And alcohol served (tho the House White had run out, Prosecco chosen as substitute). Main concern is that after good experience, mainly chilled, it was quite tricky to reward staff. Service is not included in the bill, and if paying with plastic/contactless, not really clear if a gratuity would be immediately passed back to waiting staff. Given ambiguity, we rummaged around for right amount to put in to the Tips Jar. Well worth supporting, this enterprise.

Nice vegan bar/restaurant with a fairly decent menu. Three of us went and ordered the curry dish that had 4 curries as we couldn’t decide which ones to get. We also got popadoms and Bombay potato’s. The 4 curry dish option was not enough food to feed 3 people, I would say it would feed two people comfortably. The food was tasty however I think it’s pretty expensive and that would probably put me off going back there too often. Would love to see some healthy salads on the menu too.

Myself and husband decided to eat here on Monday evening after a long day of travelling from Norfolk. Upon entering, the cafe looked inviting, and didn't appear to be busy. We were seated by a young girl that promptly took our order. That's when it went downhill! After 20 minutes of waiting, I had to ask where our drinks were, to which the young girl apologised and gave us our water and ginger beer. Then, when food arrived another 10 minutes later, I was missing part of my order, so when I asked where the pakoras were, I was told there wasn't any because the usual chef wasn't available to make them even though I ordered them originally and this wasn't mentioned? Then, even more concerning, was not only the fact I had to go back to ask for cutlery, the fork was dirty! I was actually quite angry at that point and said that was unacceptable, to which the young girl/waitress just looked frustrated and said she was sorry but she was too busy (and I counted 4 tables between the top and ground floor, which in all honesty is not BUSY for a restaurant service!) My husbands burger was pitiful. Cheap, tasteless vegan alternative that I could make better at home for a fraction of the cost. Fries, advertised as masala, but came out barely seasoned for £4.50! I was so appalled by the whole experience I went down to the kitchen to find the 'chef' and was greeted by a very unwelcome woman that said I shouldn't be down there irrespective of my issues, to pass it on to the waitress. So, with such a poor attitude, poor quality food and service, I refused to pay. This was only the 2nd time in my life at 39 yrs old I have had to walk out without paying due to so many errors and terrible food quality. The next 2 nights in Hastings we ate at Shish Turkish restaurant and Monellis Sourdough which was absolutely superb, well worth the money and tip. The Hempist could be an amazing venue if they took pride in their customer service and food quality. One of the worst dining experiences I've ever had. Such a shame because the building and decor is lovely, and in a perfect position for the beach and old town.

Amazing Indian curry - best curry in Hastings!!! this was great love it want more!!! I really enjoyed my experience here it was great!

Really delicious food and great service to boot. The waiter was friendly snd there was a really nice atmosphere. I really recommmend it

Popped into The Hempist on my holiday as I fancied trying something new and it looked cool. I am not a vegan but the food here is for everyone, you cannot tell its vegan and it tastes amazing. The staff are friendly welcoming and the food was served quickly. I would definitely recommend a visit.