Brewing Brothers Courtyard — Restaurant in Hastings

Sunday Times AA GILL Entry, Brewing Brothers pasta bar and taproom

My lunch companion has five alarms a day. Clive, like most spaniels seeks; breakfast, a morning walk, a longer walk, supper and bedtime. The latter signalled by the 10 o’clock news, when he scrambles off the sofa and sits squarely in front of the television staring at either my wife and I until he is in his kitchen.

It was to a different kitchen we walked along Hastings shingle breakwater to Brewing Brothers Pasta Bar and Tap Room. On the Promenade, adjacent to Hastings Pier and White Rock Theatre, lies a sunken former public baths opened in the late Victorian era, which has been in and out of dereliction ever since. This resourceful space, between coast road and beach, is now lightly converted into food halls. Clive and I plunge down a newly installed shallow steel staircase, with each step giving greater shelter from the wind. Once on the ground again, amongst stillness and cellar warmth, we went through modern gun metal framed doors, into greater warmth and lovely smells. In a large oblong space stood; a bar with booth table to my right hand side, and to my left a u-shaped white marble oyster bar, arranged 8 high stalls with leather tobacco backs and seats on gold tubular frames. I took the nearest one below a green pendant light with gold interior, so no glaring bulb was seen but offered a pool of light that revealed a Bottene pasta machine, beyond nests of fresh tagliatelle pasta. Behind the marble oyster bar was  Chef Dan, A Northern Italian from Turin, who makes the fresh pasta each morning. The special today is rabbit Ragu, (£8) I plug for this and watch in my ringside seat as my choice is made. As chefs will tell you, you start with the last and finish with the first. So Chef Dan ladles the Ragu into an oiled pan, and a little liquor from the rolling boil. Then placing the pasta into a long handled cylindrical colander, that is then plunged into the rolling boil. A little more pasta liquor into the ragu, shortly followed by the cooked pasta, stirred and tonged into a blue rimmed enamelled plate. Topped with fresh thyme sprigs, and basil olive oil, and then passed, not walked, to my place. It’s a total journey from machine to place, in no more than 8 feet. The ingredients come from slightly further, the flour from Shipton Mill, Gloucestershire, the eggs from the Brewing Brothers Brewery to the North of Hastings, having sensibly fenced off a warm wall and concrete parking space to make a light industrial chicken refuge. The dish just melted, the Ragu offering the most resistance, as the pasta gave away, much as a great focaccia leaves only it’s filling, of say; tomato, mozzarella and ham, so too did the pasta disappear in my mouth. My choice was also helped by a glass of red Montepulciano wine (£5.50 for 175ml glass or £21 for the bottle) So good, it led to another glass. As I settled down my eyes wandered to a black board painted extraction unit, listing 14 different beers, including the revered offering from Swedish Brewers Omnipollo, a third of a pint for £7, dancing juice at 8.5%. I was tempted by a pudding, chilli chocolate mousse with Chantilly cream, white chocolate and cherries at only £4.50, but Clive was getting itchy and I had to stumble over the shingle back to the car. The whole lunch was eating not gaining, and when you’re on the downward slope of life, calories tend to cling. If I had to sum up the Brewing Brothers Pasta Bar bar and Tap Room at Source Park it was; warm, welcoming, secure, interesting and just so, a sort of...

Brewing Brothers at the Hastings Courtyard is a new establishment, just a few months old. A modern style craft beer bar that clearly caters to the young urban hipster-ish crowd with deep pockets, it nonetheless offers a wide variety of craft cask & keg beers that you won't find anywhere, including a few beers made by the company. And deep pockets you'll need if you want to give more than a couple of the IPAs, ales and stouts a try. It's situated in a prime, picturesque location close to Hastings pier, in a well-designed "hole in the ground" called The Courtyard, which itself is rather new. Apart from Brewing Brothers you'll find an eatery, a barber(!) and a shop for BMX bikes on the same premises. It doesn't get any more hipster-ish than that, does it? Still, it's a nice, clean, modern location, with great outside seating, and the staff are both friendly and knowledgeable. Cash and card...

While it’s a shame to see the pasta bar go, the renovation of the bar has created such a nice atmosphere. The cocktails are innovative and there’s always something new to try thanks to Robs creations, such as the strawberry and thyme daiquiri and the frozen margaritas. The friendly staff make all the syrups fresh and from scratch and it’s fun to watch them and ask questions while they’re cooking up their next creation. The smoking area and actual courtyard bit is sheltered from the rain so it’s nice to feel like you’re outside but protected from the weather! I would highly recommend for drinking with friends, or even a date night. If you’re passionate about cocktails and want to learn more the staff are so informative and passionate about what they do and they’ll happily teach you...