Having chosen the incredible venue of Firle Place for our wedding, we were faced with the daunting task of choosing caterers who would not only create the dining experience we were looking for, for our guests but were able to bring everything to the venue. An entire kitchen with a creative crew, every table, every teaspoon, napkin a comprehensive bar and of course a Front of House team to charm the pants off our guests.We worked our way through the list of venue approved suppliers and it was The Secret Restaurant which got our imagination racing. My husband and I are not what you would call foodies, we stay very safely within our comfort zones but we were very aware that our guests have more varied and adventurous tastes than us.The Secret Restaurant website was immediately accessible and very exciting, even for safe fellas like us. The photographs and descriptions of delicious food, exciting flavour combinations really got our imaginations going. We knew very quickly that we had found our people.We decided on BBQ sharing food, seasonal, local and flavoursome. We created a spreadsheet and asked our grooms squad to indicate their choices, enabling us to combine their favourites and draw up a list for a tasting session with Nicola.At the tasting, we were totally blown away, our comfort zones had been pushed in the very best way. Boy we had made the right decision, and if there was only one thing we could be sure of come the big day, the food was going to be incredible!Post ceremony canapés to accompany bubbles were a big hit as were the mains of slow cooked maple and whiskey ribs, Cajun chicken and bbq tuna to die for. The flavours were all so good and the accompaniments that went with them were too. This continued into the evening with festival food brought out on trays around 9pm.In the run up to the wedding we talked with Nicola about the dietary requirements of some guests. Nothing was an issue, she made adjustments or she created delicious alternatives, every guest had the same delicious culinary experience, every guest was very happy.The Front Of House team, run by Sally did a great job, they were friendly, polite and worked so hard to make sure our guests had the best time. Glasses were full when they needed to be, no tables were left waiting, they knew who was having alternative dishes before being asked, they were in short a class act.Our experience with The Secret Restaurant was far better than we could have ever imagined or hoped for. We would highly recommend them to anyone planning an event.
Sarah Findlay
Nicola and her team catered for my wedding this weekend and the food was delicious and ABUNDANT! My partner and I went for a tasting a few months ago where we selected the dishes we wanted for the big day, which was great fun and super useful. All of our guests have been raving about the food, as often wedding food is too formal and everyone's left a bit hungry. The team also did 'late night food' (we chose pulled pork and halloumi burgers) which could not have gone down better. The service was seamless and Nicola is wonderful to work with. Highly recommend for any event!
Caroline Halvatzis
Lovely tasting food for sons wedding in May everything was great
Claire Hollywood
We used the secret restaurant for our wedding last week and we cannot be happier. From the start of the planning process Nicola and Heather have been fantastic. They take everything in their stride and are so calm about any changes we wanted to make, which really helped. You can see their expertise and knowledge and we just knew we were in safe hands. The food on the day was amazing. We have received so many compliments about it and All the free from and vegan food was amazing. The aubergine in particular was fantastic!The evening sandwich have been talked about non stop since the day and I’m just sorry I didn’t get try them both. Thank you for doing such an amazing job with the bar! I know our guest were full of life, we appreciate how much you did to keep everything going smoothly! Thank you for your amazing service and I would use you again in heartbeat!
Vicky
We could not recommend the Secret Restaurant more as a wedding caterer. For the entirety of our emails, from initial contact, through my many questions, the amazing tasting and the completely outstanding service on the wedding day, Nicola, Heather and the team were absolutely brilliant. The food was by far the best I've had at a wedding (which was echoed by our guests), food was served speedily and efficiently, and the team went above and beyond to assist with every element of the day, including helping us set up the tables, serve our home made cocktails at the bar and ensure all random guest needs and dietary requirements were met. They truly made our day as successful as it was, and we are so grateful for how smoothly they made everything run, enabling us to relax and enjoy the day without any hassle. Thank you Nicola and all for your amazing service!!
Ruth
Happily for us, our wedding finally went ahead following 2 postponements due to COVID rules, which were handled well by Nicola. The food was outstanding...what an amazing catering team. The management on the day was professional and efficient, and the food was beyond all our expectations. Our guests were so impressed - many saying it was the best food they'd ever had at a wedding...or ever! We chose the BBQ option - there was plenty to go around, lots of variety and everything was cooked to perfection. Thank you Secret Restaurant!
Andrew Winnard
We couldn't be happier or more positive about The Secret Restaurant in Lewes. We had a table buffet catering service for a wedding at the Royal Pavllion, but we organised our wedding remotely due to living far away. The service and communication from Nicola and her team are excellent, profession and rapid. Every question and email was answered extremely rapidly and in a friendly, customer focussed manner. We always felt we knew what was going on, the details and were able to always see the updated prices instantly. There were never any hidden costs, so you feel very informed and in control every step of the way. One of the most useful services provided was a full event plan that included every detail and all the timings for our day that was put together by one the team. The event plan was so thorough and well put together we used it as our master planning document ourselves too. On the wedding day everything ran perfectly, was exactly as planned and the food was excellent quality. All our wedding guests felt very well looked after by the catering team and we had a lot of positive comments from our guests including some saying it was the best wedding food they had ever had! There were some lovely personal touches such as the catering team talking one to one with each guest that had dietary requirements making sure they felt safe and happy and also packing cake up for a guest who had to leave earlier to take on the train!If you are looking for a fantastic catering experience for your event, you can feel very confident going with The Secret Restaurant.
Alex Kenny
We've just had our wedding catered by The Secret Restaurant and we couldn't be happier. Throughout the whole mess caused by Covid they remained responsive and as flexible as could be expected. Everyone involved was friendly and professional at all times and helped make our day extra special.They were great when it came to a handful of dietary requirements as well as a few last minute changes.As to the food, every bit was wonderful and there was no chance of anyone going home hungry. Everyone there, including a friend who owns their own restaurant, loved it and my only regret is that I couldn't eat even more.I will happily recommend The Secret Restaurant to anyone needing a fantastic caterer!
Mark Passfield
Nicola and her team were simply incredible! In the most challenging of circumstances they delivered the most amazing wedding for us. The team were so attending and the food was the talk of the wedding. We honestly cannot recommend these guys enough!
Ricky Thomas
Literally EVERYONE at the wedding commented on the food, and trust us, it was all positive. Both quantity and quality was absolutely perfect and the service was better than we’ve had in a lot of restaurants!Everything exceeded our expectations by a VERY long way; not the food and service on the day, but also the support and advice in the period before the event. The emails, zoom calls and the tasting were just what we needed to be assured that everything was on track and that the day was going to be a success, but we just underestimated how big a success!Would recommend TSR for any event - photo courtesy of our photographer’s Instagram - we were too busy enjoying the food to take pictures! ?
We couldn't be happier or more positive about The Secret Restaurant in Lewes. We had a table buffet catering service for a wedding at the Royal Pavllion, but we organised our wedding remotely due to living far away. The service and communication from Nicola and her team are excellent, profession and rapid. Every question and email was answered extremely rapidly and in a friendly, customer focussed manner. We always felt we knew what was going on, the details and were able to always see the updated prices instantly. There were never any hidden costs, so you feel very informed and in control every step of the way. One of the most useful services provided was a full event plan that included every detail and all the timings for our day that was put together by one the team. The event plan was so thorough and well put together we used it as our master planning document ourselves too. On the wedding day everything ran perfectly, was exactly as planned and the food was excellent quality. All our wedding guests felt very well looked after by the catering team and we had a lot of positive comments from our guests including some saying it was the best wedding food they had ever had! There were some lovely personal touches such as the catering team talking one to one with each guest that had dietary requirements making sure they felt safe and happy and also packing cake up for a guest who had to leave earlier to take on the train!If you are looking for a fantastic catering experience for your event, you can feel very confident going with The Secret Restaurant.
Justine Cornelli
Nicola and her wonderful team catered our 120+ wedding in September last year and every detail was nothing short of exceptional. The food was outstanding, (seconded by many of our guests) the staff were polite and very attentive, and the correspondence, planning and advice was friendly, thorough, helpful and reassuring. In essence they are everything you need in an events caterer- don’t under estimate these qualities in a supplier, it is just as important as the food! I wouldn’t hesitate to recommend them for a second, a huge thank you from us!
Emily
I used these guys nearly 5 years ago now for my wedding and they were truly fantastic, I couldn’t recommend them enough.When I see friends now they still comment on how it was the best wedding food they’ve ever had and I totally agree, it was amazing and was a huge part of the day.They also went above and beyond with their service, nothing was too much trouble- they independently called our marquee company to advise on some things that weren’t right, they arranged heavy straw bales for us, lit candles, came up with some creative cocktails at the bar with the alcohol that we had supplied and much more. They catered for unexpected food requirements on the day, without notice, I could go on...They are honestly the best example of how a company should be run, so professional, enthusiastic and hardworking. Do not hesitate to book them!Why has it taken me 4 and a half years to write a review- I was reminiscing about my wedding day and felt compelled to search for the Secret Restaurant just to check that they’re still trading, despite such disruption right now. I’m happy to see that they’re coping- keep going guys! You were brilliant!
Eleanor Sanderson-Nash
These caterers were supposed to be catering my wedding in September 2020, which inevitably was cancelled due to Covid-19. Despite the circumstances being out of our control, and the owner admitting herself she didn't think they'd be able to cater our wedding in Sept she has held on to 50% of our deposit equating £800.They claimed to have spent £800 on our wedding already despite it being 5 months away at the time. When we asked for an itemised breakdown, one of the items was EMAILS (!!!) charged at £296. 15 mins per email and 79 (pre-COVID) emails. Firstly, we'd actually only exchanged 39 emails, but surely this is besides the point. Business running costs are absorbed in the final quote and I am beyond gobsmacked that Nicola included this in her breakdown. We also had minutes spent on the phone, but apparently these are not chargeable according to this ludicrous breakdown.Avoid the Secret Restaurant if you are looking for an understanding caterer to preside over the most important and expensive day of your life.
Having chosen the incredible venue of Firle Place for our wedding, we were faced with the daunting task of choosing caterers who would not only create the dining experience we were looking for, for our guests but were able to bring everything to the venue. An entire kitchen with a creative crew, every table, every teaspoon, napkin a comprehensive bar and of course a Front of House team to charm the pants off our guests.We worked our way through the list of venue approved suppliers and it was The Secret Restaurant which got our imagination racing. My husband and I are not what you would call foodies, we stay very safely within our comfort zones but we were very aware that our guests have more varied and adventurous tastes than us.The Secret Restaurant website was immediately accessible and very exciting, even for safe fellas like us. The photographs and descriptions of delicious food, exciting flavour combinations really got our imaginations going. We knew very quickly that we had found our people.We decided on BBQ sharing food, seasonal, local and flavoursome. We created a spreadsheet and asked our grooms squad to indicate their choices, enabling us to combine their favourites and draw up a list for a tasting session with Nicola.At the tasting, we were totally blown away, our comfort zones had been pushed in the very best way. Boy we had made the right decision, and if there was only one thing we could be sure of come the big day, the food was going to be incredible!Post ceremony canapés to accompany bubbles were a big hit as were the mains of slow cooked maple and whiskey ribs, Cajun chicken and bbq tuna to die for. The flavours were all so good and the accompaniments that went with them were too. This continued into the evening with festival food brought out on trays around 9pm.In the run up to the wedding we talked with Nicola about the dietary requirements of some guests. Nothing was an issue, she made adjustments or she created delicious alternatives, every guest had the same delicious culinary experience, every guest was very happy.The Front Of House team, run by Sally did a great job, they were friendly, polite and worked so hard to make sure our guests had the best time. Glasses were full when they needed to be, no tables were left waiting, they knew who was having alternative dishes before being asked, they were in short a class act.Our experience with The Secret Restaurant was far better than we could have ever imagined or hoped for. We would highly recommend them to anyone planning an event.
Nicola and her team catered for my wedding this weekend and the food was delicious and ABUNDANT! My partner and I went for a tasting a few months ago where we selected the dishes we wanted for the big day, which was great fun and super useful. All of our guests have been raving about the food, as often wedding food is too formal and everyone's left a bit hungry. The team also did 'late night food' (we chose pulled pork and halloumi burgers) which could not have gone down better. The service was seamless and Nicola is wonderful to work with. Highly recommend for any event!
Lovely tasting food for sons wedding in May everything was great
We used the secret restaurant for our wedding last week and we cannot be happier. From the start of the planning process Nicola and Heather have been fantastic. They take everything in their stride and are so calm about any changes we wanted to make, which really helped. You can see their expertise and knowledge and we just knew we were in safe hands. The food on the day was amazing. We have received so many compliments about it and All the free from and vegan food was amazing. The aubergine in particular was fantastic!The evening sandwich have been talked about non stop since the day and I’m just sorry I didn’t get try them both. Thank you for doing such an amazing job with the bar! I know our guest were full of life, we appreciate how much you did to keep everything going smoothly! Thank you for your amazing service and I would use you again in heartbeat!
We could not recommend the Secret Restaurant more as a wedding caterer. For the entirety of our emails, from initial contact, through my many questions, the amazing tasting and the completely outstanding service on the wedding day, Nicola, Heather and the team were absolutely brilliant. The food was by far the best I've had at a wedding (which was echoed by our guests), food was served speedily and efficiently, and the team went above and beyond to assist with every element of the day, including helping us set up the tables, serve our home made cocktails at the bar and ensure all random guest needs and dietary requirements were met. They truly made our day as successful as it was, and we are so grateful for how smoothly they made everything run, enabling us to relax and enjoy the day without any hassle. Thank you Nicola and all for your amazing service!!
Happily for us, our wedding finally went ahead following 2 postponements due to COVID rules, which were handled well by Nicola. The food was outstanding...what an amazing catering team. The management on the day was professional and efficient, and the food was beyond all our expectations. Our guests were so impressed - many saying it was the best food they'd ever had at a wedding...or ever! We chose the BBQ option - there was plenty to go around, lots of variety and everything was cooked to perfection. Thank you Secret Restaurant!
We couldn't be happier or more positive about The Secret Restaurant in Lewes. We had a table buffet catering service for a wedding at the Royal Pavllion, but we organised our wedding remotely due to living far away. The service and communication from Nicola and her team are excellent, profession and rapid. Every question and email was answered extremely rapidly and in a friendly, customer focussed manner. We always felt we knew what was going on, the details and were able to always see the updated prices instantly. There were never any hidden costs, so you feel very informed and in control every step of the way. One of the most useful services provided was a full event plan that included every detail and all the timings for our day that was put together by one the team. The event plan was so thorough and well put together we used it as our master planning document ourselves too. On the wedding day everything ran perfectly, was exactly as planned and the food was excellent quality. All our wedding guests felt very well looked after by the catering team and we had a lot of positive comments from our guests including some saying it was the best wedding food they had ever had! There were some lovely personal touches such as the catering team talking one to one with each guest that had dietary requirements making sure they felt safe and happy and also packing cake up for a guest who had to leave earlier to take on the train!If you are looking for a fantastic catering experience for your event, you can feel very confident going with The Secret Restaurant.
We've just had our wedding catered by The Secret Restaurant and we couldn't be happier. Throughout the whole mess caused by Covid they remained responsive and as flexible as could be expected. Everyone involved was friendly and professional at all times and helped make our day extra special.They were great when it came to a handful of dietary requirements as well as a few last minute changes.As to the food, every bit was wonderful and there was no chance of anyone going home hungry. Everyone there, including a friend who owns their own restaurant, loved it and my only regret is that I couldn't eat even more.I will happily recommend The Secret Restaurant to anyone needing a fantastic caterer!
Nicola and her team were simply incredible! In the most challenging of circumstances they delivered the most amazing wedding for us. The team were so attending and the food was the talk of the wedding. We honestly cannot recommend these guys enough!
Literally EVERYONE at the wedding commented on the food, and trust us, it was all positive. Both quantity and quality was absolutely perfect and the service was better than we’ve had in a lot of restaurants!Everything exceeded our expectations by a VERY long way; not the food and service on the day, but also the support and advice in the period before the event. The emails, zoom calls and the tasting were just what we needed to be assured that everything was on track and that the day was going to be a success, but we just underestimated how big a success!Would recommend TSR for any event - photo courtesy of our photographer’s Instagram - we were too busy enjoying the food to take pictures! ?
Restaurantji Recommends
There was some amazing food to eat ?
We couldn't be happier or more positive about The Secret Restaurant in Lewes. We had a table buffet catering service for a wedding at the Royal Pavllion, but we organised our wedding remotely due to living far away. The service and communication from Nicola and her team are excellent, profession and rapid. Every question and email was answered extremely rapidly and in a friendly, customer focussed manner. We always felt we knew what was going on, the details and were able to always see the updated prices instantly. There were never any hidden costs, so you feel very informed and in control every step of the way. One of the most useful services provided was a full event plan that included every detail and all the timings for our day that was put together by one the team. The event plan was so thorough and well put together we used it as our master planning document ourselves too. On the wedding day everything ran perfectly, was exactly as planned and the food was excellent quality. All our wedding guests felt very well looked after by the catering team and we had a lot of positive comments from our guests including some saying it was the best wedding food they had ever had! There were some lovely personal touches such as the catering team talking one to one with each guest that had dietary requirements making sure they felt safe and happy and also packing cake up for a guest who had to leave earlier to take on the train!If you are looking for a fantastic catering experience for your event, you can feel very confident going with The Secret Restaurant.
Nicola and her wonderful team catered our 120+ wedding in September last year and every detail was nothing short of exceptional. The food was outstanding, (seconded by many of our guests) the staff were polite and very attentive, and the correspondence, planning and advice was friendly, thorough, helpful and reassuring. In essence they are everything you need in an events caterer- don’t under estimate these qualities in a supplier, it is just as important as the food! I wouldn’t hesitate to recommend them for a second, a huge thank you from us!
I used these guys nearly 5 years ago now for my wedding and they were truly fantastic, I couldn’t recommend them enough.When I see friends now they still comment on how it was the best wedding food they’ve ever had and I totally agree, it was amazing and was a huge part of the day.They also went above and beyond with their service, nothing was too much trouble- they independently called our marquee company to advise on some things that weren’t right, they arranged heavy straw bales for us, lit candles, came up with some creative cocktails at the bar with the alcohol that we had supplied and much more. They catered for unexpected food requirements on the day, without notice, I could go on...They are honestly the best example of how a company should be run, so professional, enthusiastic and hardworking. Do not hesitate to book them!Why has it taken me 4 and a half years to write a review- I was reminiscing about my wedding day and felt compelled to search for the Secret Restaurant just to check that they’re still trading, despite such disruption right now. I’m happy to see that they’re coping- keep going guys! You were brilliant!
These caterers were supposed to be catering my wedding in September 2020, which inevitably was cancelled due to Covid-19. Despite the circumstances being out of our control, and the owner admitting herself she didn't think they'd be able to cater our wedding in Sept she has held on to 50% of our deposit equating £800.They claimed to have spent £800 on our wedding already despite it being 5 months away at the time. When we asked for an itemised breakdown, one of the items was EMAILS (!!!) charged at £296. 15 mins per email and 79 (pre-COVID) emails. Firstly, we'd actually only exchanged 39 emails, but surely this is besides the point. Business running costs are absorbed in the final quote and I am beyond gobsmacked that Nicola included this in her breakdown. We also had minutes spent on the phone, but apparently these are not chargeable according to this ludicrous breakdown.Avoid the Secret Restaurant if you are looking for an understanding caterer to preside over the most important and expensive day of your life.