Worthing town centre's newest café has unique feel with quality of upmarket London restaurants

Cafe Caesar has opened at 12 South Street this month, offering coffee, breakfast and lunch. The business is owned and run by Tekin Fidan and Cagdas Nizam Oglu, who have spent 20 years in the hospitality industry – including high end London restaurants such as in Selfridges and Hilton.

Upon entering the café looking for a bite to eat on a Thursday afternoon, I was immediately struck by the café’s unique feel. It was a charming place, with beautiful artwork. I was greeted by very friendly and attentive waiting staff.

I had a difficult choice picking from the typical British café staples on offer, such as meatballs, chicken and lasagne, with the side options of rice or mashed potato, completed with fresh salad.

All the food is homemade on the day, and cooked in front of the customers. There are plenty of vegan alternatives available, with the meatless lasagne very popular.

I opted for the meatballs with a side of rice and salad – all part of a £7.50 meal deal offer and full of delicious flavours which complement each other perfectly. I also had a taste of the vegan lasagne. There was, of course, a noticable difference to the real thing but it was tasty nonetheless and I would definitely recommend it to people who avoid meat.

“We make everyday fresh homemade food and salad,” Tekin told me. “We don’t buy anything from the outside.

"People can see what we do. We cook in front of them. We make the food fresh in front of the people and we don’t go with high prices.

“I can see a lot of the coffee shops here are the same but this one is different.”

I will be sure to return to the eatery for breakfast. My mouth watered at the description of the homemade hash brown, which Tekin said was enough to fill you up.

“We offer breakfasts of high quality,” he added. “Homemade hash brown, big size.

"We can offer eggs for vegetarians but no sausage option.”

The café was reasonably busy for a Thursday afternoon and I can imagine it will become more popular as word spreads of its opening.

Tekin said: “Everywhere is quiet but I’m sure we will get busy. I can see people are happy and they say they will be back again.

"If people are happy we are happy.

"I try to do the best for the customers. Customers are giving good feedback, saying they would recommend us to others. Some people say there are too many coffee shops in Worthing but we are different.

“We won’t take money from customers if they don’t enjoy. They have to leave happy when they come here.”

The opening of another independent business is a real boost to the high street and it’s great to see another vacant site put to good use. I, for one, will definitely grab some food from Cafe Caesar again in the near future.

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