Brighton, British, Modern Restaurant Guide

“Still the most sought-after seats in town (although less mobbed than it was)” – this modern small-plates operation from Pamela & Ben McKellar’s Gingerman group is predominantly counter-seating with an open kitchen, so “it’s always interesting to sit and watch the chefs at work”. “There’s a nice roof terrace for summer days” and “they’ve introduced a proper Sunday roast, which is wonderful”. Top Menu Tip – “irresistible blue cheese crumpets, or the sweetcorn fritters”.

For “classic fish/seafood amid traditional décor”, you can’t beat this long-running oyster bar (est. 2006), in a prime location on the buzzing Lanes – just ask fan Gordon Ramsay, who has sung its praises on TikTok! The “imaginative menu” includes “amazing” market fish of the day, and there’s also “great seafood risotto and tempura prawns to keep the younger members of the party happy”. If you’d like your catch with a view, see also their newer branch, located right above Brighton beach.

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”.

“Delightful and surprising” small plates of “delicious Middle-Eastern-influenced food”, most of it cooked over fire, is matched with tasty cocktails and “fairly-priced wines” (“we had an excellent bottle from Turkey”) in this “lovely setting” close to the Brighton seafront from Razak Helalat’s Black Rock group (alongside Coal Shed, The Salt Room, Tutto). Open until 10pm for meals (9pm on Sundays) and even later for drinks (“great fun at the bar”), it is tipped by several reporters as “a new favourite”.

“Raz (Helalat, of the Black Rock Restaurants group) does it again!” with this open-flame specialist, reborn in “deliberately flash” new city-centre premises, on North Street, in late 2024, and now sprawling over five distinct dining areas and a dedicated cocktail bar. By all accounts the new venue is “fabulous in every way”: “the beef (28-day Irish steaks cooked over hot coals) remains of the highest quality, but there is now a bigger menu with plenty of fish and vegetarian choices” to go with it, and the high stakes relocation has “real atmosphere” too (“almost like a London restaurant”).

2023 Review: Isaac Bartlett-Copeland’s ambitious and ultra-local operation in Brighton’s boho North Laine is “so original and never the same twice”, with its ‘taste of Sussex’ menus and an all-English list of wines. The “NYC vibe” goes too far for some tastes (“well-meaning front of house told us everything, and I mean absolutely everything, about every dish…”)

“Excellent fish cookery” showcased in a “very atmospheric dining room” which is “one of the surprisingly rare places with sea views in Brighton” – “the quality here is unwavering and the menu always evolves slightly”. Even one local who considers it “a tiny-bit-less superb than the Coal Shed and Burnt Orange” (its stablemates in local restaurateur Raz Helalat’s Black Rock group), feels that “when it’s good, it’s very good”.

“Still Brighton’s best for a straightforward, beautifully cooked but unpretentious meal” (albeit “at a price”), Ben & Pamela McKellar’s “little gem tucked down a side street off the seafront” is “as good as ever” after 25 years in business and “lovely for date night”. Even those who feel they’ve “clearly decided to go for something ‘finer’” of late (“the bread has become extremely fancy, as have the canapés”) don’t regret that upward turn, praising the “superb” food and service (“especially the Sunday lunch”).

The founder/owners “never put a foot wrong” at this British bistro in Hove, providing “outstanding food and service in attractive and comfortable surroundings”. Local hospitality trio Faye & James Thompson and Rob Maynard launched the venue in 2019 and it “has gone from strength to strength”, with innovations like the monthly ‘Sunday Lunch Club’, showcasing ingredients at their peak. Last summer American actor Kyle MacLachlan – Dale Cooper in cult classic ‘Twin Peaks’ – was a surprise visitor, as a thank-you to James for putting his Pursued by Bear wine on Wild Flor’s list!

“Creative but delicious unfussy food and excellent wines” set the tone at this wine bar/restaurant opposite Hove Town Hall from industry veterans Paul Morgan and Sam Pryor, which has developed steadily over the past decade. About 30 bottles (including sparkling wines and sherries) usually available by the glass, along with a wide range produced nearby in Sussex. Top Tip – “Sunday sessions, set menus with wine tasting, are a particularly good way to spend an afternoon here”.

“Definitely worth the trip to the seaside for this cool place” – Stephen Edwards “seems to have thought through the all-round experience” at this converted former bank in Hove, which he opened in 2017: “from the wait staff, to the feeling in the room and of course the food and drink” it is “hard to put your finger on exactly why, but it all just felt effortless and satisfying” and it’s one of the most commented-on destinations in our annual diners’ poll. The food offering revolves around a five-course menu for £55 per person: “refined dishes with a number of options to play with” and “with clear (and justifiable) pride in the food coming out of the kitchen”. There’s also “a comprehensive and far-flung wine list”. Top Menu Tip – “The Marmite bread is worth the hype”.

“There is no better place in Hove to have a lovely long lunch” than this elevated boozer, with a “changing and appealing menu” of supercharged British pub classics. If you want more ginger, its three local siblings are equally fun places to be (and if you want to overnight in one of their quirky rooms or self-catering mews houses, you can do that too).

“Everything looks and tastes wonderful” at this rural pub with views of the South Downs, where “the menu is a little bit different” and “friendly service with a smile just adds to the enjoyment”. The country cousin in Brighton’s Gingerman group, it focuses on “high-quality” ingredients from within Sussex, including local ales and wine from the Ridgeview estate a couple of miles away.

“A lovely setting overlooking the gardens towards the South Downs” helps set up a “top-class experience” at this Elizabethan country house spa-hotel: “decor… ambience… service… food all are first rate”. Mind you, “there‘s nothing flash/super-creative about any of this: they know their market and it’s just really well executed”.

This former religious hostel on the banks of the Cuckmere River is considerably less humble than in days of yore, having been given the Olga Polizzi treatment (Bloomsbury Set artworks, fancy Elizabethan-style floor, plush bedrooms) a few years back. While some baulk at the “very expensive” price tag, for most it’s justified by the “very good” British cooking and, if you overnight – perhaps after a trip to Glyndebourne or a stroll on The Downs – “it should be mentioned that the breakfasts are particularly good”.

“In a delightful village”, this “scenic” gastroboozer-with-rooms continues to please, two years after longtime owners the Pullan family handed the keys to the Young’s group; the “best atmosphere is in the bar” (as opposed to the annexe), though the “great garden” remains the standout here, offering lovely views of the Ouse countryside.

“It’s such good fun to watch the kitchen in action” at this boutique hotel, set in 93 acres with views on the South Downs, where the dining room is named for the open kitchen, an approach to fine dining which it helped pioneer when it first opened in 2008. Ben Wilkinson is at the pass nowadays with his team, and provides an ambitious seven-course tasting menu for £150 per person. It’s won the venue many accolades, and such feedback as we have is very positive, if not quite as prolific as you might expect for somewhere with a Michelin star and 4 AA rosettes.