We’re not often one to direct you to a chain restaurant, but Bill’s began life here in 2001 as a greengrocer run by Bill Collinson and, in the years since, a rustic-styled café and delicatessen have been added, cementing this place as a local’s favourite for brunch, pizza, tartlets and other bougie snacks. Just remember to get here early when meal times roll around; it can get very busy. Prime people-watching territory.

Namechecked among the UK’s best breadmakers, this subway-tiled café is a go-to for brunch and lunch, and a great pit-stop on the high street. Chase a panzanella salad with a sugar-crusted cinnamon bun (best enjoyed in the sun-trap outdoor seating area) and pick up a rosemary and sea-salt sourdough loaf and bag of housemade Hobnobs for the trip home.

The young, cool kid on the Lewes restaurant block, this indie caff is a go-to for naturally sweetened cakes washed down with single-origin coffee or fat veggie burgers paired with craft beers in riotous tins (though you could opt for the house kombucha). Our order? A locally baked vegan brioche (gluten-free buns are also available) with a beetroot patty, kimchi and all the trimmings.

Lewes has a well-populated calendar of markets. Our favourite is the outdoor farmers’ market, held on the first and third Saturday of each month. Locally grown and crafted produce – High Weald cheeses, Hook & Sons milk, Ashurst organic veg, Generation Gin, Sussex Fair chutneys – are accompanied by ready-to-eat nibbles. We love chowing down a Mamoosh pitta while ambling around town or fashioning a picnic and heading to the Downs.

Sustainable, locally sourced produce populates the no-frills menu at the understated Limetree Kitchen, where plates are designed for sharing, waste is minimal (these guys are fans of the nose-to-tail philosophy) and a dedicated Gin Kitchen ensures you’ll linger a little longer than planned. If that’s the case, check in to its beautifully styled Room upstairs – ask nicely and they might let you take your drunken affogato up too.

This Thai restaurant is perhaps an unlikely hotspot in a town so rooted in English history, and one that is something of a well-kept secret among locals. Pull up a bench in the small, BYO bistro clad in rough-hewn wood and tuck into dishes that balance authentic flavours and contemporary preparation. Sweet, spicy, salty and sour, the jungle curry is our favourite dish – just make sure your dining partner orders the spicy basil noodles so you can steal a few bites. Lunchtime specials are great value. For more Asian flavours, try Chaula’s (Indian) or Pestle & Mortar, a family-run Asian grocers, noodle bar and café.