Pick up a salt pot and you’ll be serenaded by 27 chimes. Peer into the glass table and you’ll see a mini pier, complete with moving rides.

This Kemp Town cafe-restaurant is a haven for those who like things quirky.

Owners Jane Bom-Bane and Nick Pynn let their imaginations run amok, installing each table with a nifty little gadget and giving it a name.

At the Aesop’s Table, you can watch black and white cartoons inspired by Aesop’s Fables; the Water Table has the intricate model of the pier inside; the 27 Chimes Table does just that and the prism-like Tablerone is made from reflective mirrors.

Both professional musicians, Jane and Nick’s aim was to open an eatery where they could perform together, and they play downstairs once or twice a month.

Nick is a well-known multi-instrumentalist, and Jane plays harmonium. For ten years, she has performed with wonderfully bizarre mechanical hats, each representing a different song. “I make a new hat each year but this year, we opened Bom-Bane’s, which has turned into one giant hat,” she says.

A spiral staircase leads to the basement, which, although slightly more formal, is still beautifully off-kilter. Full of nooks and crannies, you can sit in the back seat of a vintage car or at a communal monastery table, handmade by a local carpenter.

But don’t let the weird and wonderful surroundings take the attention away from the food. Chefs Jonny Martin and Kaja Pretzer have created a day and evening menu (the cafe opens late three nights a week and on music nights), comprising wholesome dishes inspired by European flavours with a Belgian slant.

For lunch, try a steak sandwich, marinated chicken with red pepper and almond sauce on a warm ciabatta, or goats’ cheese tartine with tapenade and pan-fried walnuts.

Diners can also enjoy salads, home-made stews and Belgian waffles hot off the iron with fresh fruit and all the trimmings (from £2).

Evening meals can include dishes such as sausages and stoemp (Belgian mash and fresh, seasonal vegetables) with caramelized onions and Belgian beer gravy, or Bom-Bane’s plate (houmous, red pepper and almond pesto, tapenade, marinated feta cheese, olives, tomatoes and crusty bread). Tapas, Bom-Banas, is also available early evening on Thursdays and Fridays. There is a special three-course menu for £12 every Thursday.

Meat and cheese are from local suppliers and the cafe is committed to animal welfare and full traceability. Fish is from sustainable stock and the aim is to maintain a seasonal menu.