Belonging
Opposite the carousel which whirls around all day (gadzooks galore!) on Worthing’s fun filled esplanade is one of the south coast’s coolest places for tapas. Vegetarian and vegan tapas at that. Crispy fried tofu, halloumi fries, tempera asparagus, tomato bruschetta, vegetable spring rolls and salted caramel cake… a roll call of gastronomic goodness. Protestant sects such as the Shakers were among the first to view eating plants as a route to prelapsarian grace. The writer George Bernard Shaw was an early adapter of vegetarianism.
Owner Fergus de Witt (add an ‘e’ and he could be a relation of Charlotte the world’s best DJ) is a wine connoisseur as well as restaurateur extraordinaire. His latest venture Wine and Reason occupies the ground floor of a bow windowed Regency building. The area in front has recently been pedestrianised, allowing dining tables to spill outside for angled views of the sea. Feeling bibulous, Baron de Baussac Voignier goes down a treat. “There is life after Chardonnay and Merlot!” Francisco Seresina of Villa Sostaga said at the Boutique Hotel Awards Gala Dinner in Merchant Taylors’ Hall, London. He’s another fan of the grape. A reddish sunset silhouettes the Victorian lampposts lining the promenade. The carousel has fallen silent.
