Brighton Restaurant Guide

2022 Review: “Creative and delicious” – this pleasing Lanes spot, say fans, “takes Indian food to new heights”. One or two reporters this year, though, craved more spice here.

“Every dish is packed with flavour” at this “crowd-pleasing”, modern British small plates venue from Pamela & Ben McKellar’s Gingerman group, with a “bright and friendly dining room above the bucolic Lanes of Brighton”: there’s a “really something for everyone”, backed up with “super-friendly service”.

These “lively, colourful” Mexican street-food joints are, say fans, “great for a quick bite” – “the food remains pretty good (if not where it was several years ago)” and “you can’t complain at the prices”. That’s the majority view anyway, although there is a small minority who feel it’s “very average” now (and its ratings risk heading that way). Founded by MasterChef winner Thomasina Miers in 2007, the group hit the buffers during the pandemic and halved in size to 10 sites in London, with Dick Enthoven of Nando’s taking a controlling stake.

2023 Review: “A bustling Italian pizzeria with huge helpings of food like Mama makes” in the heart of the Lanes. “Comforting and joyous” – it provides “value-for-money pastas and pizzas and is ideal for outings with young family members”.

2021 Review: “A shabby-chic bistro with pleasant staff and interesting small plates” – fish-centric – plus “natural wines to complement the seasonal organic food”.

This “cracking hidden gem, tucked away in the Lanes” is “a bit of a Brighton institution now, and rightly so” – an “intimate and romantic” place where “the seafood is fresh, the dishes filling yet light and the service unobtrusive but friendly”. “It provides a great selection of crustacea and everything from mackerel to Dover sole”. There is now also a beachside offshoot in the Rotunda on Brighton’s Promenade.

GBM winner Michael Bremner’s open-kitchen Lanes joint has been one of Brighton’s most interesting culinary venues for years, and remains “sensational” thanks to tasting menus that are “full of surprises” (as much the veggie option as the carnivorous one). Add in “attentive service and a buzzing atmosphere” (“sitting at the pass is a fantastic experience”) and it’s “highly recommended” by its very many fans. (It’s priced for the evening taster menu, but you can also make a meal of individual small plates here for a much more modest cost).

“Highly recommended by locals”, this Lanes veteran of more than 40 years serves up “gorgeous, colourful veggie food” in a “glam and romantic” environment. Juggling “exotic flavours” from various Mediterranean and Asian cuisines, the kitchen sends out dishes that are “great, even for carnivores”. Its younger sibling, Botanique, offers similar options in nearby Hove.

2022 Review: Opened just before Christmas 2019, a brightly decorated establishment where everything is cooked over open fire in the central open kitchen. It’s from the Food for Friends team with chefs Holly Taylor and Toby Geneen. Limited initial feedback, but ratings are strong and reports are of a “carnivore’s delight”.

“So tasty and messy – I love it”, say fans of this 12-year-old London operation who insist it’s the “best burger restaurant in town – others copy but this is consistently the best” “for when you want a full-on dripping burger and to hell with the diet!”. Expansion of the chain has proved difficult in the last year, with the Notting Hill branch shutting up shop just months after its summer 2022 opening.

With a “uniquely buzzing atmosphere” befitting its Lanes location, this little bistro has a winning line in “classic French cooking that’s beautifully executed” and “good quality for the price” as well; the “simple steak frites and fish soup are a must”, and fans are “always interested to see what cheeses are chalked up on the board”.

2023 Review: “Not a restaurant… rather a tiny room with some bar stools along the wall”. Fans say “it’s a ‘must-try’ experience for all lovers of honest, tasty cuisine! The burgers are juicy, and full of flavour from the quality of the meat to the seasonings”.

Brighton success story the Black Rock group’s “packed” two-year-old is a “fun, open, casual restaurant” that doubles as a DJ-fuelled late-night hangout. The Middle Eastern small plates, “centred around wood-fired cooking”, can be “too much on the same theme”, but the majority verdict is that it’s still amongst “the best culinary experiences” in town. Italian fan? The empire (inc. The Salt Room, and The Coal Shed, now with a London spin-off) also spawned Italian haunt Tutto, in a former Brighton banking hall, in autumn 2022.

“A proper meat restaurant!” – Razak Helalat’s popular destination (which has a London sibling near Tower Bridge) is known for its “perfectly done steaks” (although “if you don’t like your steak and red meat, you may feel a bit stuck”); and also wins praise for its “great and attentive service” too. Even those who feel it’s “very good”, though, can also feel it’s “expensive for what it is”.