TASTEMAKER: Where To Eat & Drink In Brighton Right Now

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Brighton is a city built for slow starts, leisurely lunches and long weekends – trust me, I’ve lived here for almost 13 years. While the sea air and swims are obvious draws, it’s often new restaurants and old boozers that get my friends and family most excited when they visit. Like the city itself, the hospitality scene is proudly independent – you’ll find fewer chains than most places this size, and the most successful restaurants and bars are often brilliant local spots that aren’t astronomically expensive. From standout coffee shops to my favourite restaurants and some of the best pubs in the land, here’s the list I send to anyone who asks for it. Don’t forget to save it for your next trip…

CAFFEINE FIXES

You’ve braved Southern Rail (or worse, the ironing board-style seats so thoughtfully conceived by Thameslink). If you’re anything like me, you’ll be craving your second or third coffee of the day. If the need is great, the best of the spots close to the station are Bond Street Coffee, the eye-catchingly pink Loam, and Pelicano, which are all in and around the Laines – perfect if you’re shopping afterwards.

On the seafront, lovely Lou looks after Milkbar, a tiny coffee booth wedged between the Volks Miniature Railway station and pirate-themed crazy golf course. On nice days, she’ll get a handful of tables and chairs out, and pop small vases of flowers on them. She makes the best coffee on the beach – and sells excellent homemade cakes and toasties. The generously-buttered orange-rind hot cross buns she made at Easter were the best I’ve ever tried.

In Kemptown, where I live, Marmalade is a treasure trove of lovely – if pricey – food and drink: think those £33 tins of Spanish olive oil crisps, chocolate sardines, and jars of White Mausu black bean rayu (my vice). It’s the kind of place where you’ll grab a box of six chocolate ‘seagull eggs’ then realise they’re £12.50 at the till (this happened to me: I was too embarrassed to put them back, but they were bloody good). All that said, I think it’s one of the best places in Brighton for a late breakfast and coffee, and not just because it’s around the corner from my flat. The scrambled eggs on toast are always exceptional and the sandwiches, vegan cakes and piled-high salads that rival Ottolenghi’s are worth every pound.

FRESH ON THE SCENE

The most exciting opening of the year is The Set. Originally part of the Artist Residence hotel on Regency Square, last month the trio behind it opened their first permanent, fully independent restaurant, largely thanks to a community fundraiser. Following a stint at Patio (a Klein-blue wine bar near the station that’s becoming something of an incubator space for pop-up restaurants) at the start of the year, The Set is now up and running near Preston Park. I booked a table for Wednesday night as part of its MAD (midweek affordable dinner) option, where £45pp got us seven exceptional courses. Up at the counter (where 10 of its 12 seats are), we chatted to chef Dan Kenny as he plated up the likes of salt beef on toast with ranch dressing, a refined satay spin on prawn toast, plus a piece of pollock with a beautiful bisque that had been reducing all day. I still think about a malt dessert Dan made about ten years ago, it was that good. My other old favourite was a pud that tasted of sugary cereal milk, complete with homemade rice crispies. It’s back on the menu and as nostalgic as ever. I’ll be back for the full 15-course experience soon. It’s so good to have The Set back.

Preston Street in the Brighton and Hove borderlands has long been filled with great restaurants (Goemon Ramen Bar, izakaya Bincho Yakitori and old-school China Garden are up there for me). Now it’s also home to No No Please, a brilliant south-east Asian-inspired hotspot. Behind its café curtains, the 70s-styled restaurant serves small-batch cocktails and pleasing small plates that span crab and mango noodles to larb rolls and its signature ‘Egg & soldiers’ riff on prawn toast. I loved its simple solo pud – two torched giant marshmallows, coated in pine syrup.

Voya opened on North Street last year. We got window seats during Pride weekend, watching the festivities unfold as we chased masala clams around a bowl with paratha, then happily ate merguez sausages with anchovy mustard, skate wing with black bean sauce and a perfect pud that reminded me of the centre of a Rolo yogurt. The experience was enhanced by a vinyl-only soundtrack and a couple of refined cocktails. I’ve since been back with friends, when – between five of us – we ordered every dish on the menu (and one of those chocolate pots each).

Brusco is another great spot for people watching. In Montpelier, which is home to some of Brighton’s most beautiful houses, this small vermouth bar also serves a neat list of small plates, such as giant meatballs and fat anchovies in lemon olive oil, alongside its glasses of rare Camparis and chilled lambruscos. It’s a cosy little spot for a quick dinner and a marmalade negroni. I also loved its low-key decor details: tiny oil paintings of popes, dripping church candles and monochrome photographs of nuns.

LOCAL HIGHLIGHTS

One of my very favourite places on this list is O’shio. It’s run by Min, who spent years honing his skills in Korea, Japan and London before launching this casual spot close to the station in 2016. Fusing the purity of Japanese ingredients with the heat of Korean cuisine, this is an atmospheric spot for revelling in Asian flavours. There’s a Korean menu, serving Min’s wife’s homemade kimchi, bibimbap and soju, and a Japanese menu focused on udon, sashimi and tempura. You can, and should, order from both.

Palmito on the Brighton-Hove border is another indie restaurant that fuses multiple influences to great effect. Ecuadorian owner Diego has lived and travelled in Latin America, southern Europe and Asia, and reflects this in his eclectic, spice-driven menu. Dishes on his Michelin-approved menu could include scallops with cauliflower, dulse seaweed and ancho chilli butter, or Colombian white crab rice with lime leaf mayo and sweet plantain.

Somewhere doing more traditional South American food wonderfully is Kusikuy. A hidden-away restaurant on the seafront, it’s run by Peruvian chef Néstor. I’ve visited both before and after my trip to Peru last year, and it lives up to the Lima classics I loved. The bar team make a mean pisco sour, while the kitchen turns out ceviche with whatever day-boat fish has been caught that morning. The ‘Pollito Andino’ (chicken, Huacatay sauce and hand-cut chips) is a showstopper.

Plateau is a long-time favourite with locals that hits the mark whether you’re after a few snacks to accompany a glass of wine or a full-on feast. It focuses on natural wine and features a daily-changing chalkboard menu based on what is available from boats, butchers and foragers (think: burnt aubergine with smoked chilli, walnut and yoghurt; and barbecued mackerel with roasted peach, Nutbourne tomatoes and agretti).

PROPER PIZZAS

I could write an essay about how much I love Wild Flour. It’s out in the village of Ovingdean, so is typically my go-to delivery (I once had a takeaway ticket saying I was a ‘VIP regular’ – I didn’t know whether to be proud or ashamed). The Sussex-sourced toppings are what make its pizzas so special: imagine tomato, mozzarella, aromatic lamb, fresh chillies, red onion, tahini mayonnaise and sumac; or tomato, mozzarella, ’nduja, pepperoni, crispy onions and rosemary. They travel well too.

Closer to home, the excellently named Pizzaface has been keeping Kemptown residents happy for years with its creative toppings (its ‘Jakub’ – chorizo, pork and wild boar salami, caramelised onion, mascarpone, dried chilli flakes and oregano – is a banger) and gluten-free/vegan/wholemeal base options. Formerly called Nanninella, Ventisei on Preston Street is run by a family from Naples and is always reassuringly full of Italians, so this is the place to head to if Neapolitan pizza is your thing. The pizza topped with mozzarella, smoked mozzarella, Italian sausage, friarielli greens and parmesan is exceptional.

Finally, I’m so pleased Original Tony’s is back in town. Its parm-crusted pizzas were a bit of a lockdown hero in my house (it used to be called Original Toby’s), and after a couple of years away, it’s returned with a permanent home on Trafalgar Street. I’ve still not visited, but have ordered delivery heaps of times on Fridays when I’ve lost the will to cook. Even the dull-sounding New York Plain Cheese pizza, which comes with double mozz, is an absolute winner (and even better fresh from the fridge the next day).

PINTS + COCKTAILS

If I went on Mastermind, my specialist subject might be Brighton pubs. The Hand in Hand is my local. It’s run by Jen, a force for good in the Kemptown community who single-handedly looked out for all the pub’s older regulars during the pandemic. Now life is back to normal, the Hand continues to draw in regulars with its own beers (mine’s a Shaka), wine tastings, the occasional sea shanty session and claims to Brighton’s original toad table. Other proper boozers I love include The Basketmakers Arms in the Laines (it serves good food too, but you’ll need to book) and The Hole in the Wall near the seafront, which also has a toad table, pours an inspired Buckfast negroni, and has the best crisp selection in town.

Elsewhere, The Pond near the train station is an indie pub that also serves excellent Taiwanese bao and satay fries alongside its signature Pond Water pale ale; and Bison Beach Bar is a rambling, multi-deck space that welcomes dogs and kids alongside drinkers and Dry Robe-clad regulars. Attached to Bison, Fika creates next-level sandwiches (think milk subs filled with pickled jalapeños, fried leeks, cream cheese, red leicester and hot honey) and cardamom buns along with cracking coffee – all with a view over the Sea Lanes beach swimming pool.

For cocktails, The Black Dove on St James’s Street is an atmospheric, candlelit spot with great guest vinyl DJ slots. And I adore Alphabet Bar, a gorgeous wood-panelled hi-fi bar in the centre of town. We’ve taken friends who used to live in Brighton, and they were gutted it wasn’t around when they were. On Burns Night this year, the bar was churning out Jäger-Brus, but its regular cocktails are just as fun.

AND FINALLY, BECAUSE YOU’RE AT THE SEASIDE…

A trip to the coast isn’t complete without fish and chips – and an ice-cream. I grew up in the fishing town of Grimsby, so I have opinions when it comes to fish and chips. And for my money, the only chippy that comes close to home is Little Jack Fullers. It’s a friendly, family-run spot that might be a couple of streets back from the seafront, but I’d always choose grabbing a newspaper-bundled haddock and chips to enjoy down by the sea over one of the beachside options. Alternatively, grab a hot buttered roll filled with day-boat mackerel or crab at Jack & Linda’s, next to the Brighton Fishing Museum.

Finally, Marrocco’s is the place for gelato. An ice-cream parlour and trattoria that’s been open next to Hove Lawns since the 1960s, it serves flavours such as apple crumble and sour cherry cheesecake. Come summer, there is always a long queue. Everyone always questions joining it. But it’s worth it. Promise.

Coming soon on Crisp Packet: July’s Multipack, some actual crisps-related content, plus kitchen staples & new ingredients I’m enjoying cooking with right now.