With front-row views of Brighton’s Palace Pier and interiors as bold as its cocktails, Harbour Kitchen at Harbour Hotel offers a lively, stylish spot to dine from dawn to dusk. Located directly on the seafront, this is not your average hotel restaurant, instead it’s a destination in its own right. Step inside to a riot of colour: richly teal velvet sofas, red candy-striped lighting, and eclectic artwork set the tone for long, unhurried meals and good conversation. Just what a weekend calls for.
The menu is fresh, generous and full of British seaside soul. We're talking fish and chips done properly, alongside playful, elevated takes on classic comfort food. Begin with small plates made for sharing, like truffle and wild mushroom arancini or soy-glazed pork belly bites served with red cabbage slaw. Seafood fans are well catered for too, with dishes like prawn, crab and langoustine cocktail or pan-seared scallops with sweetcorn purée and black pudding.
For mains, the Harbour Hamburger is a firm favourite, or opt for the seafood linguine, a rich, tomatoey tangle of prawns, squid and mussels. The truffle chicken Milanese, topped with a fried hen’s egg, is the kind of unapologetically indulgent dish best enjoyed with a cocktail in hand, perhaps a whisky sour or a sparkling spritz. Plant-based options are strong too, including a vegetable katsu curry and a zesty summer courgette and lemon risotto.
Harbour Kitchen is as suited to birthday dinners and catch-ups with friends as it is to spontaneous seaside lunches. It’s laid-back but never dull, with vibrant energy that mirrors the buzz of Brighton itself. And when the weather plays nice, the folding doors open out onto a suntrap, which is a total bonus especially when hanging out in the UK's most energic, seaside town.