Conquerors March — Restaurant in Hastings

We enjoyed the 40% off mains offer and tucked in to a hit and miss lunch. My ex-chef dad spoke very highly of the steak pie with Malbec wine, and was very impressed by how hot the plates and dishes were as this is often undervalued by both customers and restaurant, yet it keeps the food warmer for far longer. My wife enjoyed the ham hock and leek pie while my daughter thought the chicken schnitzel very good. It looked great.

My son's lamb shanks with lamb mini pie were said to be lacking in flavour while mum's lasagna was said to be nothing earth shattering. I struggled with my 8oz steak. I'd ordered medium rare. However when served it was grey, lifeless looking and warm not hot, more like something from a mortuary than anything appetising. Wish I'd taken a photo now to show you.

The peppercorn sauce was mediocre, the peppercorns not being of sufficient number or freshness to give it that oomph that balances nicely with the cream. The sauce is as important as the steak so it's worth restaurants investing money and effort in it, not settling for what could have been a run of the mill catering sachet.

Cutting into the steak I discovered it was more like 25% than 50% cooked. Not being tender but muscly it was a struggle to get through. At around £20 for this main, such poor quality steak is taking a liberty as you can get two similar size but far more tender medallion steaks from Lidl for a fiver, so the restaurant could source similar steaks for less than £2.50 or 10% of the meal charge, which is not taking much more out of the meal profit.

After 4 discreet 'coughs' of unchewable mouthfuls into my napkin, feeing like I was Mr Bean and wondering where to put half chewed mouthfuls next, I spoke to the waitress. She was very understanding, admitting it was far underdone and offering to replace it. She did indeed, complete with more of the great thrice-cooked chips, veg and sauce.

However, while seared this time on the outside and looking far more appetising, it was over seared, with bitter black parts. It was also only mildly better cooked inside and still quite chewy. It seems the cook had thrown it under the grill at high heat when a slower cook through to break down the sinews followed by searing was required. I believe a mallet, cornstarch or marinade in mildly saline solution would help tenderise such steaks. Otherwise, like I've said, buy in better steaks or recommend above medium rare for such steaks.

It seems there is some serious fault in the kitchen staff, steak-wise. If they have a steak chef fire him. When fixing such a problem you need to make great effort to get it right the second time. Big fail.

So, overall I'd say the food at the Conquerors March is hit and miss. There's excellence there, but also disappointing dishes. It's best to check reviews for feedback on individual dishes or ask waiting staff or other customers what's most liked. Personally, I'd say go for pies, fish or chicken dishes and avoid the steaks, lamb and lasagna.

We just had mains. No drinks, starters, desserts or coffee. Pure...

Stayed at a site located around the corner from this place and happened upon it by taking a wrong turn. The week was a bit of a washout and one evening after a long day, decided to eat out and took our chances last minute just turning up. It was packed with restaurant goers. We were greeted by Izzy, who promised that she would do her absolute best to find space for us in the extremely busy dining area and to take a seat in the bar area. Five minutes later off we went, a more isolated section of the restaurant amongst some booked tables but a table nonetheless. I said I'd be happy to order at the bar but Izzy assured that she would serve our table. We were mildly concerned after experiences elsewhere that we'd be forgotten about, but served our table was. Izzy played hostess and waitress while imitating a whirlwind around the restaurant, along with the other staff, darting around, taking and bringing orders with expediency I've only ever seen in top flight restaurants. This place felt like the staff were well and truly on the ball. The menu was reasonably priced and to say the place was so busy, at no point did we feel left to the wayside or kept hanging. Drinks, two minutes later, at the table. "How's your food, have you got everything you need", we were well looked after and it felt that way even though we were away from the hustle bustle area of the restaurant. The food was fantastic with flair and heaps of love poured into the mix. It'd be hard to not find something you want off the menu. It's got a touch of everything. It does pub/restaurant hybrid to perfection. For a place so packed, I think we only waited about 15 minutes for our food to arrive.

Aesthetically from the outside to in, there's a very comfortable feel that's hard to put your finger on. It feels like you've been in a thousand of these restaurants. Theres a bar area, an outdoor play section on wood chips and a dining area, the owner clearly cares about quality though and you can feel it manifested in the team that's been assembled and the quality of the food.

Loads of parking and electric car charging points too.

Particular shout to our hostess/waitress Izzy. She put a cherry on top of an evening that was a roll of the dice. So much so that we ended up visiting again the following night, this time with a booking. She is a credit to the restaurant and sets a new high bar as far as our future...

This would be the fourth visit I’ve made to the conquers march in Hastings. The first two occasions when the business first opened left me feeling a bit disappointed. Staff seemed clueless, menus dirty, food luke warm. However I gave the place another chance in September during COVID lockdown. I found that the place had been given a new lease of life. Staff we friendly, menu choice good, the whole place appeared cleaner and better run. From the good experience I went again in October where I found that although the staff and food were good, the service lacked a little. I started with some nachos. The male server was great, couldn’t fault him in anyway. Food came quickly and was hot, along with drinks. The place seemed fairly busy so was happy. Once starter was finished I expected to have another visit to take it away but no one came. The next thing I have is my main arriving. The waiter didn’t seem worried about the starters still being on the table. In my book, I’m afraid this is a massive no no. The plates were cleared and the dinner hot and good. No complaints about the food. I was hoping a quick visit from the server would mean another drink, but no one came. You weren’t permitted to approach the bar so had to sit and wait. Eventually the server returned where I got my new drink. So overall, a marked improvement from the start but a little more attention would’ve got them 5...