CJ’s Deli

The exterior may be unprepossessing, facing the traffic-​laden Warren Road, but once inside, all is clean, calm and comfortable.
The menu plants both feet firmly in the British camp: sausage, eggs, bacon; black pudding; bubble and squeak plus jacket potato with the quintessentially English filling Chicken Tikka.
If you are in the mood for escapism you might allow the photographs of rustic French scenes to persuade you that you’re closer to Cap Ferrat than the community centre but whether you seek time to dream or a quick pit-​stop, this place does the job.
Oh, and if you’re wondering why it’s called CJ’s it’s named after Carwyn Jeffries, the friendly Welsh guy who runs the place. Now you know.

I found CJ’s deli today because, I’m not going to lie about it, I was lost. I’d just finished a practice with my band and made a wrong turn on the way home for lunch. A mistake, like so many in history, that led to a great discovery. While blating through Woodingdean on my motorbike wondering how to get home, I saw CJ’s at the side of the road.
Cj’s stood out initially because it seemed to be the only shop on that stretch of road that has had its’ front fitted in some time in the last decade and was also the only shop that actually sold anything. I pulled up out the front of the Deli with an expectant stomach and a terrified wallet and popped inside the seemingly deserted CJ’s to see if they could help. Oh how they helped, the selection of food in CJ’s is hard to comprehend. As you stare at the huge black board behind the counter the decision making process can be a tad on the difficult side with all the choices seemingly the perfect breakfast or lunch choice and all at ludicrously low prices. It was like stepping back in time to the 1990s but with a range of food that went from the spruced up staples like Aberdeen Angus burger and chips to light, healthy salad baguettes and hot paninis.
As I sat eating my baguette outside in the April sun it seemed like I had found the perfect little metropolitan lunch spot, but then I remembered that I was in the wilds of Woodingdean and not central Brighton. Still driven by this new find I decided to take a look around while I was there, sadly with the exception of a fantastic aquarium shop my initial perception of this street and in fact this suburb seemed to hold true. What an awesome deli though!