Pubs, clubs, boho boutiques and a great beach (if you don’t mind pebbles) – Brighton has all the ingredients for a perfect (dirty) weekend away. But its reputation as ‘London by the sea’ was long undermined by too many middle-of the-road restaurants, happy to rely on the tourist pound.
Thankfully, all that has changed with a spate of openings that have put the city firmly on the foodie map. Leading the charge was 64 Degrees (above) with its avant garde small plates, served from the open kitchen to diners perched at the pass – the format and the food winning the hearts and stomachs of national newspaper critics.
The baton was picked up earlier this year by the seafront The Salt Room (above), which has rightly been feted for its contemporary fish dishes, cutting-edge cocktails and stylish interior.
Other new restaurants that are causing tongues to wag include The Set (above), which offers inventive seasonal tasting menus at the Artist Residence hotel, and SILO, billed as Britain’s first no-waste restaurant. Set up by former St John chef Douglas McMaster, SILO makes its own beer, flour and cheese on site, and serves ultra-local dishes on plates made from recycled plastic bags (they’re nicer than they sound).
Brighton’s burger and craft beer scene is also flourishing, with patties and pints to rival anything you can find in the capital. Try the dirty burger at The New Club and a glass of South Coast IPA at the Brighton Beer Dispensary.
The burgeoning of new openings looks set to continue: the paint is barely dry on Hove local The Better Half (above), and on laid-back bistro Kooks (below), the latter recently set up by DJ Tim Healey.
Finally, don’t overlook long-standing favourites such as the newly refurbed The Gingerman, vegetarian trailblazer Terre à Terre and contemporary Indian The Chilli Pickle. Without them, Brighton’s restaurant scene wouldn’t rock quite as much as it does today.
This article was published 22 May 2015