A feast for book lovers

While I'd recommend a visit to any bookshop featured in this blog, there are certain destinations that have achieved – in my mind – legendary status.

The bookshop might have been especially nice to me; or was recommended by a higher than average number of bookshoppers; maybe it stocked a particular title I'd hunted high and low to find; hosts intimate music evenings; had an especially friendly pet; or in the case of this week's subject, was not especially straightforward to visit.

Boulevard books and Thai cafe in Hastings on the south coast used to be a full-time secondhand bookshop, but like many others around the country, it had to diversify to survive. Where some have opened cafes or launched innovative booky experiences, this one became a restaurant.

Yes, you did read that correctly. You go to the bookshop, sit among the shelves and partake in a delicious two or three-course Thai meal. You can also buy a book.

The catch is that this offering has proved to be incredibly popular. Meaning getting a table is not necessarily an easy thing to do: "we had a wonderful meal, booked a month in advance" is a statement I've heard a lot. I'd even tried booking myself, but general disorganisation (phoning the day before) meant I'd had no luck. I'd even walked past and jealously looked through the windows, wondering when my turn would be.

Then, during a spur of the moment trip to Hastings on the last Bank Holiday, we walked past and saw the door open and books laid out on tables in front of the shop. The inside was closed to visitors while the family enjoyed their lunch, but we were told there were tables free if we wanted to return after 6pm. We had a quick look at the books and went to kill time for five hours.*

I'm not sure when the bookshop made the transformation to restaurant, but it's certainly a successful one. We returned at 6.05pm to claim the second table and not long after our arrival the rest of the bookshop had filled up, with yet more diners making the most of the summer evening at tables in front of the shop (the evening was nice, but not nice enough to draw me away from the books).

Our table was next to a corner bookcase stocking the early alphabet fiction, and I was initially confused as to what appealed to me most – the bookshelves or the Thai menu in front of me. The menu temporarily won, while the waiting staff politely told us the restaurant is cash only and we're welcome to pop across the road to buy our own wine. Having been pre-warned neither was a problem, we'd loaded up on cash and were driving. What we hadn't expected to find was that we didn't need to bring nearly as much money as we'd expected: the menu has a set price of £15 for a starter and main course. Which was all we intended to have. Honest.

Prawn crackers started the meal while we browsed the shelves and – very briefly – waited for our starters. My Thai soup was beautifully fresh, while my boyfriend chose a very tasty vermicelli salad which the restaurant helpfully adapted to be vegetarian. For the mains I chose something combining chicken and coconut milk while he went for a beautifully displayed stir fry. Accompanied by boiled rice and cooked to a medium spice level (we resisted trying the Thai extra hot option), everything was delicious and fresh, with portions just the right size that we felt treated but not greedy.

But who cares about the food when there are books?

To avoid intruding on diners the bookshop is only open to those diners, and I made the most of my visit by exploring as many shelves as possible in between courses and tables being refilled. The back room is dedicated to non-fiction and the whole shop is carefully organised to allow every table a certain amount of privacy, but ignoring the tables Boulevard Books and Thai Cafe looks and feels like a secondhand bookshop. Old favourites sit along modern novels, classics, sci-fi, crime and everything else.

It's as though one day the tables and menus simply appeared in the middle of the bookshop and the booksellers transformed into waiting staff. It all fits together perfectly and makes for a marvellous experience.

We were nicely full after dinner but a glimpse of homemade desserts and the opportunity to browse a while longer saw us jump at the chance of another course. Chocolate and caramel tart and a lemon meringue pie may not be traditional Thai dishes but they were certainly as delicious as everything else we'd consumed.

I then rounded off the meal with the purchase of a rather well-loved copy Robert Harris' Enigma for a mere 30p. Which I might have read a page or two of while enjoying my meal...


Boulevard books and Thai cafe
32 George Street, Hastings,
East Sussex TN34 3EA
Tel: 01424 436521

*Not strictly true, the five hours were spent enjoying the rest of Hastings, with me being only slightly distracted by the promise of what was to come.