Founded in 2018, Skylark is the brainchild of Craig and Erina, inspired by their love of the local South Downs area and all its beauty. The pair met whilst working together many moons ago, and gathered up the courage to take the leap and open their own business. The pair are passionate about supporting local businesses and suppliers, and so are committed to choosing the very best suppliers – from butchers, fishmongers, bakers, coffee roasters, winemakers and more.
The restaurant serves brunch and lunch with seasonal menu options, along with grazing boards in the summer months. On a Sunday, the lunch is a classic roast dinner, which is cooked from scratch and served with all the trimmings. Dinner is served a la carte style by candlelight, and features dishes with local organic produce, along with daily catch options, and an impressive wine list.
Brunch begins with cocktails, of course, and includes a fresh orange juice Mimosa, a Passion Fruit Bellini and Espresso Martini with a double shout and Kahlua. The full English option includes Deans butchers Sussex pork sausages, smoked back bacon, Heinz beans, roasted Portobello mushroom, roasted plum tomato, fried free range eggs and Poppyseed Bakery toast. There are sweet options, too, including the triple stack buttermilk pancakes with blueberry compote, dark chocolate ganache and cinnamon mascarpone.
For dinner, begin with some chargrilled sourdough with whipped butter and flash fried padron peppers to share amongst the table, before enjoying gin-cured Chalk Stream trout with caper berries, dill emulsion and radish, and the chargrilled local asparagus with crispy hen's egg, extra virgin oil mayonnaise and Twineham Grange 'parmesan. The main dishes include the pan-roasted free range Sussex chicken supreme with truffled mash, garlic-buttered spring greens, and a wild mushroom and madeira sauce, along with the whole roasted lemon sole a la meuniere, and a veggie mezze board.