Last November—almost a year to the day after my final, ill-fated visit to the place—I noticed that the Sanctuary Café had changed its sandwich board at the end of a nearby street: in place of a pink sign with a winged coffee cup, there was a sophisticated-looking brown sign with a new typeface. And there at the top of the sign, in slender red letters, were the magic and unexpected words: “Wi-Fi available”.

It stopped me in my tracks. How could it be that the once staunchly anti-computer establishment was actually advertising Internet access? A quick bit of Googling when I got home revealed that the former proprietor hadn’t been just blustering when she said she was planning to sell the place: the Sanctuary was under new ownership, and clearly the new owner didn’t have the same technological hang-ups as the previous one.

I was delighted to read this, because it meant that I could break my difficult year-long boycott of the place. I hadn’t so much as stepped foot inside since my last uncomfortable experience (though I did once inadvertently drink a take-away coffee from there), and I was looking forward to having another café option open to me again.

I didn’t wind up trying out the new and improved Sanctuary Café until today, when Jeremy and I nipped over for a late lunch (with our laptops in tow). Decoratively speaking, things have certainly changed for the better inside: the hippy-dippy pink and purple walls and psychedelic imagery have been replaced by tasteful beige and brown panelling, eclectic black-and-white photos and prints, and big, comfy olive-green leather chairs and sofas upstairs.

The clientele appeared to be the same as before (a mixture of hipsters and hippies young and old), and the menu was the same as well, i.e., heavy on the chickpeas and gluten-free cakes. The food was always quite hit and miss at the old Sanctuary, but we didn’t have any complaints today. Jeremy had a butternut squash and lentil soup that was lovely and gingery, and my Moroccan-style chickpea tagine was rich with tomatoes and spices and tasted quite like something I’d make at home (which is a good thing).

As for that WiFi: we had to ask for the password, and the connection was pretty flaky once we got on the network, but at least I didn’t feel like a pariah taking out my laptop. The signal might be stronger downstairs; I think I’ll go back on a quiet weekday afternoon and check it out.

As it turns out, though, the Sanctuary is for sale yet again; the current owner apparently received a job offer in New York that she couldn’t refuse. On a side note, this seems to be sadly typical in Brighton of late: back in October, the wonderful One Paston Place shut its doors so that the chef could take a job in London. Clearly, all the charms of Brighton just aren’t enough to keep people here when the big city comes calling. Well, One Paston Place has been taken over by the chef of Sevendials, and hopefully the Sanctuary will be taken over by someone else who appreciates the value of offering good food, a comfortable atmosphere and free WiFi to the denizens of Brighton and Hove.

Hmm, I always have been intrigued by the thought of running a café…