The Purple Carrot in Mid Sussex

Do you struggle to find gluten free and/or vegetarian meals. Purple Carrot is the place to eat. Friendly welcome, good food. Reasonable prices. Coffee taste good too.

Meaty shakshuka was excellent as always, while my wife chose a full monty breakfast with black pudding, sausage, beans mushrooms, hash brown, bacon. With drinks for 3 just over twenty quid was good value.

Some go to quiz night to quiz. We go for the food. This time a brilliant vegetable balti, rice, naan, and lovely NZ white wine. And always good for a morning coffee and cakes....

Our new favourite place to visit! Small and cosy with a lovely garden growing a small selection of home grown fruit, veg and herbs which was mind blowing and fantastic to see! Food was absolutely faultless and what a lovely touch with the purple carrot plates 💜 Staff are friendly and welcoming with a good sense of humour. 10/10 would definately recommend! 🌟

A quick clamber up the steps & you are in the purple carrot, we had a bacon sandwich that was amazing & drinks all round. My wife’s tea & my bacon sarnie arrived at the same time & the owner said he was just popping back in to get the other drinks & my Mums chocolate slice - The other drinks & Mum’s chocolate slice then appeared just as my wife had finished her cuppa so a good 10 mins later which kinda ruined the whole experience. Something went wrong somewhere but based on this 1st experience we will not be rushing back. Shame really :(

No6 breakfast is more than enough to set you up for the day: Good quality bacon, sausage, eggs beans, fried bread... and you can add the usual extras if you want. Shakshuka makes a great alternative. Nice garden space at the back. And the front if you like to watch passing traffic.

The owner of The Purple Carrot is super friendly - I asked him to surprise me with a dish and I was really happy with what he cooked for me! The shakshuka especially added great flavour to this dish. Also there’s outside seating and free parking nearby too so this place was a great find for me!

Lockdown ends and Chris is back with interesting, tasty and good value food. We went to a wine tasting, enjoyed a quiet dinner and quiz night in the last couple of weeks, and the revamped garden is a pleasure eat in. Sussex cheese board is a good choice, but then so is everything.

In March, just before lockdown, we spent two enjoyable nights at the Carrot: wine club tasted even better than the last, Chris excelled with his selection of tasty treats to accompany Giles' wine selections. Still the best value night out. And the last night before lockdown with the monthly quiz where we were beaten by several teams playing online, while we enjoyed dinner at the cafe. The sooner we're back, the better.

This is a small local cafe that offers great food at very reasonable prices. Look out for their special themed nights.

Been here several times now and i can safely say it's the best breakfast place ever! The guys and girls there serve up some seriously good food, are easy on swapping items, and the service is beyond brilliant. The owner offered me some Turmeric to pop in my coffee one day (which was amazing) and then a week later the guy remembers me and turmeric'd up my coffee and presented it with a smile :) Lots of good community links too so safe to say I STRONGLY recommend this place.

I have been here a couple of times now, both times the service has been incredibly slow! 30 minutes for some water, a juice and coffee. The food is fresh and okay but shouldn't take 40 minutes. Won't be returning again.

tuna salad and ginger zinger drink , the salad had wide variety of good things on the plate. The ginger drink that he made himself was fantastic.

This weeks' wine tasting was (appropriately) devoted to Sussex wines, with Giles providing an excellent selection from Albourne Estates, Plumpton and Poynings Grange. Chris as usual laid on excellent food to match and this remains one of the best value nights out around. Also a great place for lunch.

A group of us came into the restaurant for tea and cake . Our orders were varied and cheerfully and quickly served . Cakes good ...teas and coffees hot . Two minutes from station and shops . Not pricey

Thank you for making us so welcome today .So many vegan options , my daughter was delighted .The food was delicious and my daughters loved the complimentary home-made vegan marmalade cake .Great healthy smoothies. Looking forward to seeing you again soon .

Thanks Chris for a wonderful, varied and plentiful spread last night. Enjoyed by all of us once again. Obelix book group.

Liver & Bacon and Panini Went in for lunch I had Liver and Bacon and my other half had a Panini with Chicken, Blue Cheese & Crispy Bacon, The Liver was the best meal I have had in ages, in fact hoping to go and have some more it was that good, Panini was excellent.Will be back

Just went in to get 2 take away paninis. They took over 30 minutes to prepare and when I got them home my bacon, brie and cranberry had no bacon. My chicken, chilli cheese and guacamole had old dry chicken and the cheese wasn't even melted. Then paninis weren't even folded over so the contents was everywhere. If I wasn't in such a rush I would have taken them back. Will never go back.

Chris's latest offer: supper for a fiver, not to be missed. Chicken fajitas so much better than you find at chain tex-mex restaurants for much more. The offer is on Tues-Thurs evenings and great when you're tired after work and don't feel like cooking (or a mediocre takeaway). One of the nice touches is that Chris will vary the dish to suit your tastes..

Popped in for lunch in lunch break. Excellent panini I had bacon and Brighton blue my partner had bacon and Brie. Both had plenty of filling in them and served with crisps or salad great coffee too. Very friendly.

Chris Wilson's Purple Carrot has moved to No. 6 Station Approach East & is so much better for it.

I moved to Hassocks four years ago and saw the Purple Carrot as a potential co-working space when I arrived. It's a little too small inside for that, but it's a nice little place.

Llegamos en cojines para una escapada entre semana de tres días y fuimos a este café encantador para preguntar acerca de rutas ciclistas. No nos decepcionó como Chris estaba a cargo, y ciertamente para ayudar. Hablamos sobre la zona y paseos en él conocía, y después después de un café y una taza de char que nos fuimos. Fabuloso lugar poco.

Defequé en para llevar, pero quería comer real, caseros. No me decepcionó! Sopas estaban siendo realizadas y los productos horneados eran muy tentadoras. Ya que estaba haciendo para llevar compré un pepino, lentejas y sopa de menta, salchichas, queso roll roll 3 y un pan de plátano - todo impresionante! Sin duda regresaré.

Menú muy variado, un poco de todo. V propietario simpático que me han ayudado + bebé cuando tener un poco de emergencia! Gran lugar para reunirse con amigos o cuando va después de salir y como es justo al lado de la estación de tren. A veces tienen noches temáticas con comida y así sucesivamente. Vestuarios para bebés.

Delicious coffee and a super friendly little cafe. Very close to the station if you need to pass some time. A very nice break.

Paramos para tomar un tentempié en nuestro caminar a un molino cercano, gran variedad de tortas y tés de excelente, me dijeron el batido de plátano con crema y malvaviscos es delicioso por mi joven godson, un experto en esas cosas, que disfrutamos de su regalo. Muy amable y el personal y el propietario de un ambiente relajado y agradable en este café de enano.

Las "guerras" noches de degustación de vinos se han convertido en un firme favorito con Giles de bodegas de vinos, proporcionando la southdown y Chris creando una comida excelente a juego. Esta vez, 10 vinos espumosos mostraron a advantage con no sólo interesante, pero dulces una degustación de chocolate. Una gran idea, bien entregado. Por 20 libras, la mejor ganga alrededor.

El domingo nos dio una gran empezar el día con un Shakshuka. pruébalo, no te decepcionará. Tienen un excelente café y una selección de deliciosos pasteles. Hay un montón de otra comida disponible y tienen una buena selección de vinos y cervezas.

Bien, ¿qué puedo decir, pero nuevamente una experiencia encantadora, muy amables y la comida es increíble y recién preparado, volveremos a visitar aquí de nuevo muy pronto

Chris really goes out of his way to make his little cafe a community hub... very personable owner who always does his best to please... lot's of stuff going on here from book club meetings, to wine wars, to quiz nights... to coffee...to some lovely NOT run of the mill food... near the station, it's a good place to grab and go too!

Great omelettes and flapjacks, free wifi and apparently the coffee is good too. Pop quiz is great fun and the comedy nights a great find

Friendly service and a delicious brie and salad filled tostada! There was a great selection of fillings and the owner was cooking up fresh soup which smelt delicious.

Extremely handy for the London-bound commuter in the morning.The owner is a very friendly & chatty guy. The food is fine, but nothing special.Caters for vegetarians more than other local cafes (that I know of).

Stopped off in this quaint cafe for a quick bite before a long country walk...the bagels were delicious, fresh with good array of combinations that kept us going until lunch. The staff were very helpful too!

Only stopped off for a cup of tea & a quick bite to seat on a Friday night after I got off the train on my way to a campsite, but thought it was a lovely cafe, with very friendly owners/staff, and very nice tea.

Really enjoy every visit to the Purple Carrot. No 2 are the same! Great omelettes, cakes - the pop quiz is brilliant and Chris is a great host.

A great little cafe with a very friendly proprietor who greeted us with a big smile. What followed was a real treat when we got a top quality meal also served with a smile and a concern that we should be happy with everything or he wouldn't be. It's also close to the railway station and whilst we were there a few people got take away coffees so very handy.Can't recommend this little gem of a cafe enough and will visit again very soon.

My husband and I stopped here after a rather stressful start to the day. The smiling, jovial welcome with excellent range of teas, coffees and snacks was just the pick me up I needed. We were warmed by our hosts, the tea and delicious purple carrot muffins.Clearly a hub for local art and artists I hope we find our way back here on our next visit to the South Downs. Thank you!

This cafe is spot on! It's got that great combination of lovingly prepared food with fresh and delicious ingredients, served with a friendly smile where nothing is too much trouble. I have been a few times with my young children, who were catered for so well in terms of the food and the welcome. The coffee is definitely the best in Hassocks too!

superb service marvelous milkshakes terrific tea soothing smoothies brilliant bagels spectacular soup definitely better than Costa #downwithcosta

The reviewers are right, this is a brilliant little cafe. We are lucky enough to live 10 minutes walk away, so will be back often.

This is a very friendly off beat café. I have sampled quality light snacks and cappuccino and full delicious meals all of which are exceptionally well cooked with great presentation, highly recommended. So much more fun than eating at a multiple café.

Brilliant food 2nd to none and a wide range of drinks including coffee smoothies and milkshakes I'd say deserves to be above the fig tree

I only found out about the Purple Carrot by accident when meeting someone there recently, I'm glad I went, the owner is a lovely guy, slightly eccentric, but warm, open and inviting as a cafe owner should be. Food service is a little on the slow side, but it's worth waiting on, just give them time.... I had my first ever Mocha and liked it. :-) Thanks for the lovely experience, happy to recommend and visit again.

More than 6 months since the last review, so time for an update. The Carrot has been busy with wine tasting events through the autumn, comparing wines of different countries (including England v Germany). Each time Chris made dishes to complement the evening, and everything was incredibly tasty. Popped in on Saturday for coffee and a cake, and coffee is still the best around. You're definitely better off on the west side of the railway tracks. Nice selection of house wines and real ales by the bottle too. Generally closed on Mondays, but check the website.

Really helpful, nice and light and outside seats. Tea and coffee all good. very nice staff. We were there for a long time but it was no problem. The food and sandwiches are lovely.

This is the best coffee shop in Hassocks or Hurstpierpoint. The proprietor knows his stuff and is a great cook. Sandwiches and bagels are a delight as are the meals. I often pop in before taking the train. It's just the business and if only there were more places like this rather than soulless chains. Licensed too and has some great bottled beers. Love it

I have just spent a very enjoyable evening wine tasting at the Purple Carrot. We were comparing wines from Italy and New Zealand. To complement the wine tasting Chris cooked some fabulous dishes for us to eat. Bacon and egg pie, savory muffins, meatballs to name but a few and all recipes from Italy and New Zealand and all delicious. i couldn't leave without booking the next one. i soo want the recipe for the bacon and egg pie!

If you have a taste for the quirky, like cakes and salads you can't find at a chain cafe, enjoy special events and a great atmosphere, this is the place. Why anyone would step into a Costa when there's a much better option 5 minutes walk away defeats me. Regular film nights, quiz nights and more.