The Needlemaker Cafe in Lewes

Lovely meal, really interesting ideas in a small but perfectly formed menu - 3 pasta dishes, 3 mains. The antipasti were large enough to share and the house wine was good. Excellent dessert. Wine a tad slow to arrive but the service was very friendly.

Lovely cafe in the Needlemakers. Pleasant staff with a little touch that went beyond our expectations. Well worth a visit.

We were pleasantly surprised by the change to the Needlemakers cafe. Now a trendy Italian, with homemade pasta, gnocchi and great salads. We pretty much had everything and loved it all. Squisito is the refreshing and great eatery that Lewes needs in such a unique space. Also, a very interestingly wine list.

The Needlemakers restaurant is exceptional. Had a lunch there today and felt the food was really wonderful and the service welcoming. 1st Class. 💫☀️

The most amazing night, with superb food, atmosphere and wonderful staff. This really should be everyone's go-to place - any time of the day. The most incredible cherry and chocolate brownie I've EVER tasted = and the dishes on the supper menu were inventive and absolutely delicious. A must-visit!.

Poor very salty food served in an uncomfortable environment but pleasant staff. The coffee and cakes are average There is not a great more that I can say about it.

Nice cafe and welcoming staff, interesting menu. We chose the soup as the table next to us had ordered it and it looked large and delicious. Ours arrived and was a much smaller so left feeling hungry.

First time visit here, and not disappointed! Great tasty food cake and coffee, with top friendly service from the staff, thank you!

The moment you step in you know you’re in for a treat! The cafe is lovely with a good selection of drinks, cakes, sandwiches and the Buddha Bowl I had for lunch, was to die for. The coffee was excellent too. It’s a little on the pricey side but I found it was worth it as the quality of the food was really good. The only negative thing to say were the staff could have been a tad friendlier and paid a bit more attention to their customers. No wifi. I will definitely try this place again and the shops in the building are worth a visit.

Amazing vegan Mac and cheese! The people were lovely and the atmosphere was cute and warm. The white wine wasn’t great but not bad enough to not go there again. They have a bar so perhaps could offer more than 1 white? I breastfed in there and felt really comfortable doing so. The waitress even complemented me on it which meant a lot. Will be back again next week!

We arrived at 4 pm, and informed they closed at 5. We were going inside but told that closed at 4 and only the covered courtyard was open until 5. Asked for Earl Grey tea an American coffee and a cake. Told they had one slice of chocolate cake and 2 mince pies left. Ordered one mince pie. A gnat wouldn't have been proud of the tea, so another tea bag was put in the pot. No dairy milk available so we had oat, the oat curdled in my friend's coffee although he was told that was the only alternative that didn't. At 4 30 the Henry vacuum cleaner came out and the tables and chairs were being stacked. During this time at least a dozen prospective customers were turned away.

Popped in whilst on Jury service and it seems a lot better run than previously. I then realised it was now a vegan/vegetarian restaurant. I had coffee with oat milk and a almond croissant- which I think is the nicest I have ever eaten. This restaurant is also dog friendly which is a real plus.

Wow what flavours ,can't wait to go again for the buddha bowl. Very friendly atmosphere and great food.

Great place. We needed somewhere that was completely gluten and dairy free. Safe place to eat your Buddha bowl and cake 👍

Great food, attentive and smiley service, sunny spot outside and dog friendly. Amazing food - we had a Buddha Bowl and an all day full English - both large portions and both absolutely delicious. The best vegan brekkie I’ve had in 5 years! A cracking Bloody Mary too! Some lovely sustainable shops to browse in the same building.

Cannot fault the gorgeous, flavourful vegan food and coffee on offer. Beautiful location, retailers ranging from pet paraphernalia to vintage biscuit tins, silver workshops and house plants.... Everything all in one! Highly recommend

The Needlemakers is an eclectic group of shops in an interesting building. You can spend quite a bit of time just wandering around and looking through the windows. There is also an extremely good cafe which is reasonably priced with friendly, helpful staff. And, and added bonus, it's dog friendly.

The Needlemakers-Roundhill has been transformed with innovative decoration and delicious vegan and gluten free food. Such a delicious gf vegan breakfast. Will be the first of many !!

This building is architecturally interesting and it is filled with a number of quite unique shops over two floors. There is a very good bookshop downstairs as well as a shop that sells reasonably priced jewelry that he makes himself. The cafe is very good too.

Excellent tasty food, great eclectic music, lovely atmosphere, old and young, dogs. Simple but hits the spot !

Great music but it’s on too loud which makes it difficult to relax and chat. Asked for it to be turned down just a little but request was ignored. Food was average.

Good atmosphere but also plenty of outdoor seating if you prefer, good vegan cake and old school teapots!

In Lewes on route to watch Brighton against the mighty Norwich City. Weather atrocious so popped in here as it was close to the car park. Had really excellent 'New York deli-style' sandwich and coffee (both reasonably priced for the quality). Place very busy so a bit of a wait but allowed us to dry off and chill out. Would return again.

Gluten free options on offer, yet no bread. Salad (broccoli and feta) or scrambled egg. Poor for such a place

Two teas and a piece of cake.........how difficult is that? Cake about five minutes to arrive at table, the tea about another ten to fifteen, with cake already scoffed. Tea was very nice but was advised table service only so could not carry it ourselves. Incredible with four staff at least in evidence but this seems to be a common Lewes problem......too laid back

Always consistently good, fresh food. Interesting menu with unusual and delicious combinations. Small kitchen so some things disappear quickly. Efficient service. Be ready to share tables.

What a lovely place to visit and eat in. Lovely food and great ambience. Thoroughly recommend a visit.👍

I enjoyed a very fine pastrami, gherkin and cheese ciabatta at his busy cafe in the Needlemakers which is a sort of indoors market. Everything was freshly prepared and the portion size was very generous. I would certainly come here again. Prices seemed quite reasonable.

We visit Lewes once a year and have taken to lunching in the Back Space Cafe at The Needlemakers. Their salads are fresh and the dressings delicious.

Great little cafe, buzzing with atmosphere Excellent range of ciabatta sandwiches and toasties, fantastic mixed salads. Also breakfast options and cakes. Recommend

Rarely do I visit Lewes without a visit to this local delight. In how many places can you buy a meal, have cloths mended and buy antiques. Don’t forget to go downstairs.

We decided on a visit to the needlemakers on the way home from a lovely weekend away, however on arriving here were extremely disappointed to find the majority of shops closed due to it being a Sunday , a fact they omit to tell you in their advertisements sunday is the only time a lot of people can visit therefore if you aren't t opening all the shops tell people to save them wasted journeys very unprofessional.

We went here for brunch and had the best garlic mushrooms I have ever had. Staff were polite and friendly.

We called in for tea and coffees. I’ve been here numerous times over the years. The drinks were fine, but the people serving weren’t friendly - except to people they knew.

Asked for two rounds of toast at £2.95. each which is a little expensive but sour dough bread costs more than the norm.

Anyone who knows Lewes will recognise that a decent breakfast is required the day after bonfire. They'll also know that getting into places can be tough!

I regularly visit the Backyard Cafe at the Needlemakers. But I don’t think I’ll ever go again. Today I watched as the main chap who does the cooking (red hair and beard) wiped his running nose on the back of his hand, the side of his hand and his index finger numerous times (well over ten in 30 mins I was there) and he did not wash his hands once and even worse the whole time he carried on handling food, at one point immersing his hands in a big bowl of food! He sneezed a couple of times into his t-shirt so obviously had a cold.

I had to say that we both had a really lovely lunch here last week.

Really enjoyed a filling lunch is this cafe. Excellent breads including olive and foccacia and locally sourced products such as ham and smoked cheese.

It was 1.20 p.m. when we went in for food, and were told they were closing soon. Turned out they wanted to close at 2.00. So we thought we had plenty of time. Only it took ages for the food to come and I had to send mine back so I ended up eating when everyone else had finished and stuffing it down so we could get out before we were thrown out at 2.00.

great cake, also vegan if you fancy, cheery staff and cosy interior make it a worth while place to stop off in between flea markets!!

I like the coffee here and I enjoy a big bowl of soup for lunch every time I'm in Lewes. Lovely little place to stop and take a break.

This looked so promising but what a let down. No bacon, no oat milk (both available according to blackboard)..... alternatives were ordered and eventually the drinks arrived. 30 minutes later my ‘toasted’ banana bread arrived with strawberries not blueberries as advertised and then an apology was given that the rest of our order,a toasted ciabatta was not toasted because the toaster had broken. A second cup of tea never did arrive and the ladies loo was disgusting. Couldn’t wait to get out.

Previously I have attended in brief to Back Yard Cafe but only for a coffee and out the door again...today I had the privilege of eating a meal!

Oh, the cakes in this place! I had a lovely raspberry and polenta and pistachio number which was to die for. Great food and great space.

Hidden away in "The Needlemakers" but close to the town centre, it's a nice café for brunch or lunch, during any visit to Lewes. A friendly atmosphere, very tasty food and delicious coffee from small batch sections of beans

We had coffee and cake in this unusual cafe. It is very comfortable and relaxed and kind of sprawls a little through this historic building. Both the coffee and cake were excellent quality and you can see the chef at work as the kitchen is located behind the counter.

We were passing through Lewes and looking for somewhere for lunch and happily found the Needlemakers where we could combine looking around the various shops and workshops in the building with a very good vegetarian lunch, there was almost too much for us to eat A brilliant find!

This could be lovely. There are home made quiches, and other baked goods. The salads were warm and limp. At £9.95 for a small quiche and 3 dollops of salad it's dear and not good quality-wise

The title was my greeting by a staff member at 09:50, a mere ten minutes before they opened. Now, I'd wandered in through the open door from the car park and seen no closed signs or opening times so an easy mistake to make.

3 bored teens on duty. Music extremely loud. Fortunately several places to sit away from main area.

From looking at the past reviews I am shocked how this lovely place has scored so poorly.

Very disappointing. Slow service, much reduced menu from a couple of years ago and staff who don’t seem to know what they’re doing or care about providing decent service. Six staff giving each other back rubs and faffing around behind the counter while customers waited ages for basic (but rather expensive) toasted sandwiches and a few scraps of salad. Two groups of customers walked out after waiting 25 minutes to be served. Another customer complained only for a member of staff (who kept eating the food he was preparing) to shrug his shoulders and – in full earshot of other customers in the café – start slagging the man off. Only one variety of soup on offer and yet the guy serving was unable to remember whether it was vegetarian and couldn’t be bothered to find out.

El café ha cambiado de manos y asiduos esperaban para ser revitalizado y recuperará su alto nivel de comida y servicio. Hasta ahora nos ha decepcionado, el servicio no es futura, el café es sólo pasable, y el menú es limitado.

Tuvimos un tazón de sopa entre los dos de ayer, y había un montón de pan. Muy buena relación calidad-precio. El lugar es muy informal y algo peculiar, con mesas comunes y gente de paso a visitar otras tiendas en las instalaciones, pero si no te importa eso, nos pareció excelente.

Hemos comido aquí varias veces y tengo que decir que, en mi opinión, es ido cuesta abajo. Nuestros desayunos, mientras que bueno, llegó tibia y los huevos revueltos un poco quemados. También ya no sirven el pan pan de masa fermentada en lugar encantador pero en rodajas - parece que recortar en gastos. No estoy seguro de que volveremos, otros buenos lugares para comer en Lewes.

Yo aparcado en el garaje detrás de este café en un día muy concurrido en verano, y pensé que podría probarlo después de pasear. El café helado se sirve en uno de los tarros de mermelada que yo odio de vidrio. . . Simplemente algo personal. Pedí la tortilla vegetal que tardaron años en aparecer. De hecho otros dos conjuntos de personas que vinieron después me dieron sus comidas antes de mí. Por el tiempo que en realidad era servido con mi comida, yo diría casi borrachos mi café y no había excusa.

Un café perfecto que nos tropezamos, mientras que con la familia y nuestro perro en Lewes. Estábamos todos recibieron y eligió un asiento donde nuestro labrador podría instalarse cómodamente entre la pared y nuestra mesa. Nos contenta que ella podría entrar en un café de moda, tales que me recordaba de bares ruinas en Budapest, con su suelo de piedra y mesas sencillas. La siguiente emoción fue el vegetariano desayuno durante todo el día, que ni siquiera la comen carne entre nosotros pedimos. Una gran opción en el menú para todos, seguido de buena calidad, la comida deliciosa. Terminamos nuestra visita al comprar algunos frescos, pan casero. Volveremos

Nos fuimos a este café en un día con dos de los nietos. Es un muy peculiar pero cafetería popular. El chico tomando las órdenes era apresurado fuera de sus pies, pero su servicio es excelente. Tengo que decir que el chef/propietario necesita ser consciente de el tamaño de las porciones, ya que todas las comidas eran bastante grandes.

Encontramos el Café Needlemakers por casualidad cuando buscando un espacio de aparcamiento. Bastante peculiar sosegado típico de lo que cabe esperar en Lewes. Opción de sopa y sándwiches y ensaladas flanes con detalle interesante y buena selección de tartas caseras y bebidas. Personal amable y servicial. Poco caro pero el resto de Lewes. Parecía muy popular entre los lugareños.

Cara a £6. 50, el Sándwich de vegetales asados y humous, que contiene una porción de asado frío parsnip, un trocito de berenjena viscoso, un frotis de humous cubiertas con las partes de lechuga que la mayoría de la gente sin descartar era horrible. La vajilla y cubiertos estaban sucios, desgastados y viejos, y no me refiero a vintage. Pero el servicio era bueno.

Llame una taza de café mientras relativamente rápido mostrando amigos alrededor de Lewes. El café era muy bueno pero podría haber disfrutado de un asiento más suave. El personal y el servicio eran excelentes.

Popped in for a quick lunch after finding this hidden spot, food and drinks ordered quickly and easily, service was reasonably quick and the food delivered was excellent, we had cake to follow which was also good. Will I visit again? definitely!

We were looking for a cafe serving veggie food in Lewes and were struggling to do so (listed Ines were shut) but came across this pleasant cafe. We ordered tomato courgette and lentil soup which was excellent followed by quiche of the day based on goats cheese; served with plenty of salad and very tasty too. The surroundings and atmosphere were comfortable and friendly. Prices good value. A much better option than resorting to Caffè Nero on the High Street!

We had lunch here but have also had the excellent breakfast (being Lewes the vegetarian breakfast is better than the excellent full English!). Clearly cooked on-site and with interesting drinks to accompany the meal it feels really good. Not sure what it would be like on a cold day as it is in an open covered space, but I'm sure they deal with it well

ルイスの街の真ん中（駅からすぐ）のところにある、注射針工場レンガ造りのビルが丸ごとショップやカフェの入った施設になっていて、その１Ｆにカフェがあります。オープンカフェで、トイレを借りるためだけに仕方なく紅茶1杯、みたいな使い方も気兼ねなくできる雰囲気ですが、スイーツも美味しそうでした。紅茶はカップとソーサーがばらばらで出てきて、これがかわいいというかセンスいいというか。ソーサーはアンティークでした。紅茶も美味しかった。ルイス散策時に、疲れたときに一休みするのにお勧めのカフェです。ニードルメイカー内は、他にもかわいいお店がたくさんありました。

I don't want to do this, I know the place well and Lewes is a small town so we all know each other. However.....Something has gone terribly wrong here. It used to be "the go to place' for quick simple good food. Not any more. I went for breakfast around 9am, and was the only person with my guest, in there. I ordered Eggs Benedict. It took ages to arrive and when it did, it was terrible. The eggs, way underdone were raw in the middle. The toast, was barely warmed bread. The holandaise... stone cold. There were no other customers. I hate sending food back, I hate complaining (there may be genuine reasons why things were not good), but I had no choice but to walk out. I wouldn't mind so much but this is the second consecutive time it has happened. There is clearly a problem producing consistent and hot food in the tiny kitchen. I popped in to 'Fillers' where they made me a piping hot fresh bacon sandwich. Delicious. I cant say I will give The Needlemakers cafe another chance. I want to, because we need to support local independent places in the face of the chains onslaught, but they are not doing themselves and favours at the moment.

We've been here a couple of times now for breakfast. The food is superb, very healthy and varied. The service was excellent and the decor is just right. Relaxing place to stop for good food.

Great atmosphere, nice coffee and super cakes - had to go back on the next day off our tour for more.Next to a Car Park, usually a few spaces. Top of the hill, easy flat walk around. Surrounded by interesting little quality shops.

Have been on three or four occasions for breakfast and lunch - this place never disappoints! Two days ago I had their sausage hash and by god was it good. Well worth £8.50 - great sausages, lovely salad and spuds. The coffee is good too!

I went here and I didn't like it. Overpriced houmous and vegetable sandwich on sourdough at £6.30 that contained what looked like it had been assembled by a foot and placed on a plate by a wrecking ball. The roast vegetables were flabby and reminiscent of a bad dream. Entirely tasteless and could have passed for a soup, as this sandwich had to be eaten with utensils. Staff were disinterested and the whole place looked grubby. Many tables had much uneaten food left on them. I heard the waiter say that for some reason they weren't serving poached eggs either; maybe they'd run out of water. Sadly, too much time and effort invested in trying to be hipster with its 'smashed avo' than actually serving decent food and having a clean up.

A quirky but warm, welcoming place. Excellent home made and freshly made food. Also a great range of sweet stuff.

What a shame. Been going to this cafe for years. Has great coffee and good food. Unfortunately over the last few months the service is just so poor and so very slow! It gets worse every time I go. Last time only people with an order for food in and we waited 1/2 hr for toast!

We stopped in for a light lunch but 3 of us chose smoked salmon from the menu but were told they had run out. As a result we moved on. Credit to the young waiter, he recommended two other places, thanked us for stopping by and wished us a good day. That's customer service for you. Certainly will return.

This place is OK for a quick bite - menu isn't terribly exciting and a bit odd in some respects but for a quick drink and a sandwich/cake it is OK.

We stopped here twice to get away from the crowds -- once for cake and later for lunch. Friendly and affordable. Very causal dining. Food good. We're glad we ventured into the Needlemaker building and found this hidden gem.

When you enter this looks like a nice place to eat, with lots of choice and reasonable prices. The problems start when you want to order something. We went to the till to order just a drink, but as we wanted to drink them in, we had to find a table and await a member of staff. 15 minutes later... The staff member finally turned up to take our order, 2 cans! of drink and 2 glasses of tap water. 20 minutes later.. They finally arrived! Absolutely terrible Service, staff not organised and standing around chatting. If it hadn't been a very hot day we would have gone elsewhere. Only a handful of tables taken, and approximately 5 staff members, so no excuse. Great concept, poor execution. Avoid.

Good food at reasonable prices in a great venue.It was doing exceptional business on the day we visited but they staff kept up with the demand with a smile.The restaurant section adjoins various craft shops within the same building.Overall, a very pleasing experience and we will visit again on our next rip to Lewes.

I have visited this cafe a number of times over the years but no more. We called in for breakfast, waited ages, were given the wrong order but so hungry by then, started to eat it. Not great, poached eggs solid, left most of it. Coffee undrinkable! The people on the next table sent their breakfasts back as they were cold. Chatting to them afterwards and they agreed that the cafe food had deteriorated, they had to eat a reheated breakfast, not very appetising. At one point the cook was seen to put on his coat, grab his haversack and leave. We were told he was "going to the shops". The lads serving meant well and were polite enough but didn't seem to have any common sense/organisational skills. Annoyed with myself for paying for the meal!!!!!

We found this little coffee shop.the flat whites are excellent with a lovely coffee bean being used. Coffee was on point and the cakes are good as well.Worth a visit happy polite staff as well always a good thing.

Delicious cakes, biscuits and tarts with a huge variety of teas, this place is a great find to give your weary legs a break from all the hilly streets to be climbed in Lewes.Staff, young and not in-your-face but efficient and helpful.One to keep up your sleeve!

What a treasure. We stumbled across this little restaurant. Excellent food, hidden away, absolutely perfect.

Quirky café great cake. Coffee on the bitter side. Interesting place to chill with nice big tables. Certainly different.

Great coffee, amazing brunches. The scrambled eggs, the bacon, the bread, the eggs Benedict, all perfect. If only they were open in the evening....

Best coffee I've had in Lewes , had a beautifully crafted flats white with my full English (great value, really good sausages especially). Lovely single origin espresso to wash it all down, very satisfied. Service was good and friendly also, don't know why others have complained, must have caught them on a bad day!

Nice crafts and antiques centre with a very good cafe. Fairly full and table service so had to wait a while to be served. Homemade cakes, good choices. Staff ok but looked a bit sullen, it was late on Saturday so maybe they had a long day. Didn't leave a tip as slightly unfriendly service but I would go back.

After naming my lad on his name day, came to Needlemakers.It's a nice setting, a bit Harry Potterish/ Pike Market.Staff are nice and friendly. Eggs benedict is really good.Happy days.

I went here for lunch with a friend and it was a lovely busy little place. A nice menu and the staff were friendly.The food was nothing special tho I was disappointed when it arrived at it was not cheap. We just had a mezze plate to share and I wasn't even given a plate to eat from but my friend was and when I asked for one . It was like I was being rude? It was a shameI wouldn't go there again

It's rare to find somewhere with a vegetarian option that doesn't leave me almost missing meat! A lot of places seem to offer veggie options as an afterthought, but I found my all day vegetarian breakfast to be really well thought out (as much as an all day breakfast can be, anyway!) I was stuffed, and that's a rarity for me! An informal atmosphere with staff who take your order at your table completed the experience. Overall the staff were friendly and approachable, though I did feel rushed when our order was taken despite it not being very busy at the time. This was a minor niggle however; We will definitely be back.

A quirky cafe with excellent home-cooked food, lovely helpful staff and good atmosphere. A lovely experience will definitely return

If you need to recharge your batteries this is one of Lewes's hidden gems. Always have great service here and I wish I was a cake eater as my friends always look very happy eating it. Good toys for the kids to play with - a tad grubby would be my only complaint but then so is my child.

There is a good choice of food at reasonable prices. As well as the regular menu there are always specials. Staff are friendly and don't rush you. It's also a good place for morning coffee/afternoon tea and cake. It can get busy so best to get there early.

Had to wait 30 minutes for the breakfast to turn up, they gave my daughter brown bread instead of white, and my egg was fried instead of poached. Service was very slow although they were friendly enough, very expensive, nearly £3 for a tiny latte. Will not be going back!!

Visited the Needlemaker Cafe for a quick bite to eat at lunchtime on Saturday. The cafe itself has a nice quirky atmosphere with long pine tables. The food was tasty but a bit pricey - £6.60 for a BLT and £7.95 for a slice of quiche and a salad. But the service was so slow. It was 20 minutes before we managed to get someone to take our order and then a further 20 minutes before the food came out. The cafe was busy but by no means full. Avoid unless you have plenty of time your hands.

Wonderfully chilled atmosphere offering friendly and super duper tasty everything!Must visit if you value cake and good homely food, fresh herbal teas and divine feelings of mmmmmm.

The natural thing to do after browsing the gorgeous artisan indie shops is to pop in here for a pit stop. All upcycled/vintage with a great brick floor so has a lovely quirky feel that immediately lures you in. It was extremely busy and the cakes all looked very inviting. Just felt something was missing. Read someone else on TA describe the staff as 'disinterested' and I think that's an excellent description: they weren't rude or offhand, just 'not that into you'. And we had quite a wait for a bowl of soup though I do appreciate that everything is homemade and fresh so important to take that into account. However, when it did arrive the homemade Winter soup with accompanying sour dough bread was hot, plentiful and delicious. Masala chai tea was served in a teapot so plenty of cupfuls giving good value for money. Partner said the coffee was great too.

When in Lewes, meeting up with friends, the Needlemakers is a convenient place to meet. although you often have to get there early to get a table.Food is reasonably priced and portion size is plenty. For lunch I had bruschetta, with stilton, field mushrooms and tapenade with a couscous and green salad on the side - cost £6.60. It was very good. My friend had the soup of the day and bread for £4.95.The cafe has a good atmosphere, service is prompt and all in all, worth visiting.

Coffee here is consistently great. They use a soya milk for those so inclined that works really well. Lots don't. The food here is delicious but a wee bit pricey for me. Always good quality though. It is always very busy at peak times. One can get trapped quite easily in a nest of buggies. But the Brownie. ... soft, luxurious, delicious. Buy two. Or three.

Love this quaint, unusually situated cafe. Always a great menu and the food never disappoints.The specials and cakes are always a treat.

A quick lunch was the order of the day, and we weren't disappointed. As soon as we were seated, water was placed on the table and shortly after orders taken. The food was wholesome, ample and quickly prepared. Cost wise is was medium priced and very tatsty.