Judges Bakery

You can get an Eccles cake here which is nice but it’s got a lot of raisins in it and is quite bready. Twee. Watch the ceilings in the tea – the beams are low! Probably would have preferred to take out rather than eat in the tea room.

wenn man Leute in Hastings frägt wo es die besten Scones gibt, dann bekommt man meistens die gleiche Antwort: Judges Bakery, vergessen aber zu erwähnen daß es früher mal so war, und der Besitzer gewechselt hat.
Heute ist es bestenfalls eine schlechte Bäckerei die nur von dem guten Namen der Vorbesitzer lebt.
Preis-​Leistungsverhältnis, Fehlanzeige. Jede Hausfrau bäckt bessere Scones.

When you ask the locals what the best bakery in town in they will say Judges. Confirmation comes in a visit. This venerable Hastings bakery in the Old Town knows how to make artisanal breads and pastries, and organic to boot. I was delighted to see it was open during an early morning stroll. There was already a line at 8 Am, one lady buying an entire basket of breads, rolls etc. Not to be deterred, I waited and stuffed myself with a what was like a raisin sticky bun, fresh and delicate and chock full of butter and I am sure, calories. It was divine. I also ordered a sausage pastie for the bf, a vegetarian pastie and a cheese and sweet onion relish one. The were all in a flaky crust, and substantial. the cheese and onion one was delicious, the onion relish lending an interesting flavor to the
was large enough to be a meal. Did I say I didn’t even try their famous bread? Oh hurt me. So much good food and so little stomach room. That’s what I get for dining on a scone and some peel away shrimp before I get to Judges.
Judges also sells bottled drinks, prepared foods, soups, biscuits etc on the side. It looks more like a small gourmet organic shop that sells baked goods than your standard bakery. Service was with the usual British friendliness and grace. Kudos to Judges for reinvention. From on Old Town bakery to THE IT BAKERY.

Judges Bakery has been in Hastings for donkey’s years but it changed hands a while back and isn’t quite as good as it was before. The prices have gone up and it’s trying to be a bit more trendy now (think organic & vegan options). The cakes still look delicious but if you knew it as it was before, you might be a bit disappointed.

I’ve been a resident in the Old Town for about 18 years, but I moved away before Judges Bakery changed ownership. It used to be a reliable, inexpensive bakery that sold high quality unpretentious food. Since it’s changed hands, it’s become much more expensive, and to be honest the quality of some of the food has gone downhill (for example, the gingerbread men aren’t very tasty, the bread often has massive air bubbles in it and is sometimes singed on the edges). They have started offering a controversial water bottle refill service that seems ridiculous to me — I like the idea of cutting down plastic waste, but surely tap water (or your own filtered tap water) would be a better idea? I like their new range of organic produce, and there is a lot more choice for vegetarians nowadays, but it’s just too dear for me to want to go there regularly.