The Who singer says he loves La Bella Vista, on Grand Parade, because of the great atmosphere and the food. “I love restaurants and I love taking people out to dinner,” he says. “There is a wonderful little Italian restaurant in Hastings called La Bella Vista – I am a huge fan of the city. There is something funky and down to earth that suits me. Eating at the restaurant with the jokes, the laughing people, the bonhomie – it’s wonderful!

La Bella Vista specializes in contemporary Italian dishes and is run by Aldo Esposito, his wife Deborah and his brother Franco. The family have owned it since 2015, and say it has “evolved considerably” since then, both in “food and experience”.

They use fresh, local and seasonal ingredients, including fish landed by the fishing fleet launched on Hastings Beach. They have a wide variety of Italian a la carte options and a weekday lunch menu from noon to 4 p.m. (£ 12.95 for one course or £ 16.95 for two courses). Antipasti dishes include choices like the Neapolitan pasta frittatina, containing ham, cheese, peas and bechamel sauce. The second includes dishes like aglio e olio – spaghetti with garlic, chili, lemon zest, breadcrumbs and parsley.

Daltrey, 77, is a regular visitor, but says that at home he tends to eat very simply. The only exception is on Sundays when he and his wife cook roast lamb for their grandchildren. “I can’t make very spicy food,” he told Waitrose Food magazine. “I swallowed a nail when I was four years old, so my guts are a bit cut. But I do not suffer from iron deficiency!

The rock star says he spent lockdown setting up a microbrewery on his farm in Sussex. “At first I was talking to my son and my two sons-in-law: neither of us knew how long this was going to last, and we were all trying to think of a cyclical thing we could do on our farm. Sussex is a famous region for growing hops, so we started a microbrewery – it’s called Lakedown Brewing Company. We will use water from a spring there, and the grain that we use in the brewing process will then be fed to the cattle. And it’s really good beer! I’m not even much of a beer drinker but I think it’s fabulous.

:: La Bella Vista is open seven days a week. Hours of service are noon to 9 pm.