Aberdeen Seafood on Brighton's creative Kings Road has a clear point of difference to anywhere else in the city: a connection to Hong Kong’s coastal food culture. The name itself comes from Aberdeen, a harbour district known for floating seafood markets and a busy, late-night dining scene. For the team behind the restaurant, it's not just a concept but more of a homage to their childhood, having grown up in the British colonies of Hong Kong where names like Queen's Road were very familiar - funny now, that this restaurant now sits on such a similar sounding street.
Settle in and this concept stays true to mixing both British and Asian cuisines. For breakfast, diners can enjoy a full English fry up alongside satay beef noodles. While evening meals mix both smaller and larger plates, with mostly Chinese nods. For example, starters might look like Thai tom yum seafood soup, packed with prawns, squid and mussels, or a simple miso soup with tofu and spring onion. Garlic pork belly arrives chilled with a strong hit of garlic, while hot small plates might be Sichuan chili oil dumplings or Golden Salted egg chicken wings with crunchy mushrooms in a tangy, garlicky dressing.
As for larger plates, think crispy garlic chilli baked oysters - which the team say are divine, crisp on top and juicy inside, baked and then crowned with golden garlic, fiery chilli, and a crunch. There's also stir fried mussels in garlic and chilli, juicy scallops and a whole load of signature dishes, too.
Foe the chef's favourites, recipes are closely linked to those floating fishing villages mentioned earlier, with plates like lobster and seafood crispy rice paired with a hot broth poured over the rice and shellfish at the table. Singapore chilli crab is another centrepiece, served in a sweet and spicy sauce that’s unapologetically messy. Alongside these, stir-fried beef flat rice noodles offer a more familiar Cantonese staple. And, for groups, the vermicelli platters are designed to be shared, bringing together steamed lobster, prawns, mussels, clams and scallops over a base of garlic-soaked noodles.