Tiny reviews of Brighton food and drink
The long awaited beachside venue. Went along week of hospo reopening and…well. The staff can’t be faulted (they brought Ryan a cupcake when he got sad for spilling his juice) but they are absolutely not geared up for families on the menu. And the space is disappointing; it’s a cacophony that you can’t hear over, and the windows were so fogged/dirty you can’t see the sea which is half of why you’re there. Keen to try the outside sometime.
Verdict: Don’t go
Location: Western Esplanade
Brighton outpost of a respected chain. Had Deliveroo in Covid times. So, the burger was pretty good, and the rosemary fries I did really enjoy. But I’m only giving it Ok because I’d much rather have one of the other burger options in town!
Verdict: Ok
Location: 8 Duke Street
Had Deliveroo of this Lebanese restaurant, and it was really great. The mezze platter was massive and came on a proper separated tray, and my grilled chicken was fresh and flavourful. Not the cheapest for this sort of cuisine but worth it.
Verdict: Awesome
Location: 107 Western Road
Struggled with this one. Brighton outpost of a Vietnamese chain, reasonably priced stuff. Pork spring rolls amazing (because stuffed with pork!) and summer rolls and noodles nice. But my spicy brisket pho was pretty poor – just like spicy oil and little flavour. Probably worth another go.
Verdict: Ok
Location: 12 Black Lion St
Tough one this. Pros: the space is light and airy, the food was generally very tasty (especially calamari). Cons: kitchen screwed up the order so there was a big delay (always hard to decide how to rate that!) and more importantly, it’s like they don’t know what they want to be. Meaning there’s a trendy cocktail bar thing in the middle and they play loud music; not cool enough to be a bar and not relaxed enough to be a restaurant.
Verdict: Ok
Location: 124 Church Road
Had delivery from here although it looks nice enough inside, if simple. The food was really, really good. Crispy spring rolls, a great curry and a great spicy pork belly thing. Yum, would Thai again.
Verdict: Awesome
Location: 56 George Street
https://www.facebook.com/pages/Papaya-Thai-Cafe-Noodle-Bar/322377575257584
Had a Deliveroo of this and really struggled to give a verdict, so might get another go. Fried seaweed rolls really nice, spicy rice cakes nice but not what I expected, and soy sauce fried chicken sweet and delicious. But kimchi udon pretty bland. Edit 2025: Had another visit, enjoyed the fried chicken again but can’t make up my mind on the dumplings, so verdict stays the same.
Verdict: Ok
Location: 30 York Place
Greek place (obviously) that we had lockdown delivery from. We really enjoyed it and the meals are substantial – it is though a cuisine that doesn’t survive delivery the best, so looking forward to dining in sometime.
Verdict: Awesome
Location: 57 London Road
Tried delivery from here during quarantine. They pitch their burgers as fancy and one day I’ll try one in the restaurant, but had takeaway chicken nuggets, chips and cheese bites and while the latter were great, the former were low quality product.
Verdict: Ok
Location: 8 East Street
Specialist steakhouse with lots of options for sauce, sides etc. Comfortable space with a family restaurant feel and nice people; we shared a platter with several different cuts and their “famous” onion loaf, which is delicious. Desserts too. But when I think back to the steak, I’m not excited.
Verdict: Ok
Location: London Road
https://www.millerandcarter.co.uk/restaurants/south-east/millerandcarterbrighton