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Brighton's best restaurants: 10 of the best, from vegan to waste-free food

The city has become somewhat of a hotspot for food in recent years

Andy Lynes
Tuesday 27 June 2017 13:03 BST
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Food For Friends is a Brighton institution
Food For Friends is a Brighton institution

With landmarks like the Palace Pier, the Royal Pavilion and the new i360 observation tower, Brighton is an obvious choice for a seaside break this summer. But even without those famous tourist attractions, the city is worth visiting for its increasingly dynamic restaurant scene alone. Over the last five years, Brighton and Hove has emerged as one of the most exciting and varied dining destinations in the country, with everything from the finest and freshest seafood to innovative and delicious vegetarian and vegan offerings. Throw in casual fine dining, Japanese gastropub grub and creative small plates and you’ve got all the ingredients of a distinctive and memorable culinary awayday.

64 Degrees has room for just 20 diners

64 Degrees

With just 20 seats, you’ll need to book ahead to experience chef Michael Bremner’s daily changing list of imaginative small plates. Ask for a seat at the counter overlooking the open kitchen where a talented team put together beautifully balanced dishes such as asparagus with brown butter foam, grapefruit and hazelnuts. Sister restaurant Murmur is due to open in July on Brighton’s seafront serving family friendly food all day in relaxed surroundings.

53 Meeting House Lane. 01273 770115; 64degrees.co.uk

Bincho Yakitori is Brighton’s foremost Japanese gastropub

Bincho Yakitori

No one ever dines at this small, rustic izakaya (Japanese gastropub) just once. Signature items like sweet and crunchy kara fried chicken, meltingly tender pork belly and chicken skin skewers are so addictive you’ll be planning your next visit as you eat. Chef and owner David Miney spent three years cooking in Tokyo and whenever the restaurant is open he is behind the counter expertly manning the charcoal grill. Check the blackboard for the latest imported Japanese craft beers and don’t miss the list of high-quality sakes.

63 Preston St. 01273 779021; binchoyakitori.com

Etch is the brainchild of ‘Masterchef: The Professionals’ winner Steven Edwards

Etch

Masterchef: The Professionals winner Steven Edwards opened Etch earlier this year, bringing his take on relaxed multi-course fine dining to the city. The substantial corner site in Hove (previously an Indian restaurant) has been impressively refurbished with roomy green leather booths, polished wood tables and lots of natural light from a series of arched windows. Choose between four and eight courses of tersely described dishes such as “salmon onion” that appear on the plate as carefully composed works of culinary art.

216 Church Road. 01273 227485; etchfood.co.uk

Kids under 11 eat free at Fatto a Mano

Fatto a Mano

If you’re heading to Brighton with kids in tow, make sure you keep the address of one of the two Fatto a Mano restaurants in your back pocket. The high-quality pizzas, which include a gluten-free option, are made with 24-hour-fermented dough and San Marzano tomatoes and are great value as well as tasty; even better, children under the age of 11 eat for free. Look out for the daily specials that often feature local produce. The terrace at the Hove branch is a great spot to kick back with a beer or two on a sunny day.

77 London Road. 01273 600621; fattoamanopizza.com

Many of the dishes at Food for Friends are vegan and gluten-free (Food for Friends)

Food for Friends

This casual vegetarian restaurant in the Lanes is a true Brighton landmark. They’ve been serving a globally inspired menu since 1981 and a recent refurbishment and menu overhaul has breathed new life into the place. Many of the dishes, such as tofu pockets stuffed with stir-fried shiitake, spring onions and brown rice, served with marinated pak choi and gochujang sauce, are vegan and gluten-free too.

17-18 Prince Albert Street. 01273 202 310; foodforfriends.com

The Ginger Pig has added stylish rooms and a conservatory

The Ginger Pig

Part of local celebrity chef Ben McKellar’s acclaimed Gingerman group (which also includes The Ginger Dog in the bohemian Kemptown neighbourhood, The Ginger Fox in the South Downs and the flagship Gingerman in central Brighton), The Ginger Pig was one of Brighton’s first gastropubs. A decade on, they’ve just added 11 stylish rooms and a conservatory that doubles as a breakfast area and private dining room. The food is better than ever, with a sophisticated yet approachable menu of local and seasonal produce – think citrus-cured salmon with beetroot, apple and samphire. Sherry lovers will appreciate the list carefully curated by bar manager Rob Maynard.

3 Hove Street, Hove. 01273 736123; thegingerpigpub.com

Seafood doesn’t get any fresher than at Little Fish Market

Little Fish Market

Former Fat Duck chef Duncan Ray orders fish from local day boats that’s delivered, cooked and served on the day it’s caught; the only way to get fresher seafood is to catch it and cook it yourself. But you’re unlikely to have the sort of technical skills displayed across the five-course set menu at Little Fish Market, which might kick off with a superb Carlingford oyster served with elderflower granita and Jersey cream and continue with turbot with morels, chicken wings, leek and cabbage. The restaurant’s dedicated two-man team is completed by Rob Smith who runs the 22-seat dining room with unmatched charm, making a meal here a relaxed delight.

10 Upper Market Street, Hove. 01273 722213; thelittlefishmarket.co.uk

Pike & Pine transforms from hip cafe to upscale restaurant each evening

Pike & Pine

This glamorous Kemptown newcomer has a split personality. During the day, it’s the Red Roaster café serving own-brand coffee and a wide-ranging menu that encompasses breakfast staples like bacon and egg butties and more sophisticated offerings including local crab in shellfish brioche with yuzu curd and puffed pumpkin seeds. At 6.30pm, the beautiful dining room with its impressive marble counter, abundant foliage and open kitchen becomes fine-dining destination Pike & Pine. Overseeing both operations is former Michelin-starred chef Matt Gillan, who creates intricate plates from daring combinations of ingredients such as duck with banana and cashews, and trout with beetroot and chocolate.

1d St James’s Street. 01273 686668; pikeandpine.co.uk

Silo is the UK’s first zero-waste restaurant (Xavier D Buendia)

Silo

Located in a converted Victorian warehouse in the fashionable North Laine neighbourhood, Silo is billed as the UK’s first zero-waste restaurant with upcycled furniture and a sustainable food-sourcing policy. Chef Douglas McMaster has worked at St John and Noma and combines the nose-to-tail approach of the former with the local-and-sustainable ethos of the latter in dishes like huss with cauliflower and samphire. Later this month a cocktail bar will open within the restaurant, with drinks created by Mr Lyan of Dandelyan fame. A list of zero-waste drinks will include a “sourdough sour” made with the restaurant’s leftover bread.

39 Upper Gardner Street. 01273 674 259; silobrighton.com

Terre à Terre is one of the UK’s leading vegetarian restaurants (Terre à Terre)

Terre à Terre

For more than two decades, Terre à Terre has been one of the country’s leading vegetarian restaurants. The large, contemporary dining room attracts regulars like Jonathan Ross, who come for bizarrely named but always delicious dishes such as chimchimney soufflé and sooty tops (pastry wrapped blue cheese soufflé with a potato cake) and the selection of signature potato rostis. In good weather, ask for a table in the rear courtyard.

71 East Street. 01273 729051; terreaterre.co.uk

Andy Lynes is the editor of ‘Brighton’s Best Cookbook: Recipes from the Top 20 Restaurants

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