Taking its name from a local seabird – the kittiwake – Kitti’s will trade from the former site of WhiteCliffs, a prominent seafront café on Marine Drive that closed its doors earlier this year.
Tom Barlow and chef James McIlveen say that their latest East Sussex project will bring ‘a renewed sense of purpose to this much-loved site’ and will have ‘a clear brand identity and structured service model that delivers consistency, warmth and charm’.
Trading all day from morning coffee to early evening meals, Kitti’s will serve a menu of ‘clean, seasonal’ dishes that are ‘rooted in the rhythms of the South Coast’.
The space has been refitted with a coastal palette and natural materials.
The project will also comprise a terrace space called The Kiosk Saltdean, which is billed as more café-like, offering soft serve, snacks and coffee to go from 8am.
McIlveen’s cooking CV includes London restaurant Silo, the Goring Hotel and Brighton natural wine bar and restaurant Plateau.
“Kitti’s is about bringing something thoughtful and lasting to Saltdean,” Barlow says. “We’ve created a space that feels rooted in its surroundings but also raises the bar for what daytime dining on this stretch of shoreline can be.”
McIlveen says: “The food is direct and unpretentious. We let the ingredients speak, cook with focus, and serve it all with a quiet confidence that reflects the setting.”