Restaurant 2016

[Westdene Seagull]

Visits to a couple of places this week :

Carluccios for lunch. Yes it's a chain but the food is well done. Particularly liked the brucesta (sp?) with peas and ricotta. Had the butterflied chicken for main which was also very good. Lunch time specials are decent value. 7/10

Semolina - wanted to try this for a while although the name has put me off ! Very small but nice restaurant. Menu is limited so if you're fussy probably not the place for you. Crab cakes were very good and the rack of lamb with pesto was excellent. Service was top notch. Highly recommended - 8/10.

 

[Since1982]

Foodie Eshe is a great blog and @RosiePosieBTN is also a great follow.

 

[McTavish]

64.44444 degrees C, not according to my local.

They've obviously rounded down for a catchier name.

 

[Beach Hut]

Burgers & Cocktails, family trip plus 2 x Derby County STHs

Excellent meal and good company

 

[CHAPPERS]

The Sportsman - Seasalter
Part owned the Midfield General of Skint fame, this place recently was gastropub of the year and not hard to see why. odd location just outside of Whitstable but the food and service were excellent. 7 course tasting menu for 60 quid including a remarkably cooked piece of venison and a crab dish which was so subtle is almost hurt. Great selection of wines with a picpoul at 19 quid and Malbec at 22 which is more than fair pricing. Recommended if you are out that way, though there is a 3 month waiting list for a table on Saturday evening.

 

[Machiavelli]

The Sportsman - Seasalter
Part owned the Midfield General of Skint fame, this place recently was gastropub of the year and not hard to see why. odd location just outside of Whitstable but the food and service were excellent. 7 course tasting menu for 60 quid including a remarkably cooked piece of venison and a crab dish which was so subtle is almost hurt. Great selection of wines with a picpoul at 19 quid and Malbec at 22 which is more than fair pricing. Recommended if you are out that way, though there is a 3 month waiting list for a table on Saturday evening.

Glad you liked it. When I went, we had about 12 courses, although some of those were quite small, and I'm including the bread in that too -- I'm not so sure I'd do that at other places, but it certainly deserves to be conceived as such there.

 

[Foodie Eshe]

Huevos Benedictos at Moksha

Foodie Eshe is a great blog and @RosiePosieBTN is also a great follow.

Thanks Since1982

Had a great brunch at Moksha on York Place last Sunday, if you fancy something a bit different from the usual English Breakfast I recommend the Huevos Benedictos there:

Pics and review in my new post on the blog: http://foodieeshe.com/moksha-caffe-brighton-review/

Fingers crossed for a win today!

 

[Since1982]

Thanks Since1982

Had a great brunch at Moksha on York Place last Sunday, if you fancy something a bit different from the usual English Breakfast I recommend the Huevos Benedictos there:

Pics and review in my new post on the blog: http://foodieeshe.com/moksha-caffe-brighton-review/

Fingers crossed for a win today!

And fingers crossed for somewhere decent to eat in Hassocks sometime soon!

 

[Foodie Eshe]

Oh my god yes! Hassocks is dire... glad I'm moving back to Hove soon. Is there anywhere to get a good Indian there?

There's one good spot. The Purple Carrot by Hassocks station. They do wine tasting evenings with lots of lovely nibbles. Try there.

 

[Goldstone1976]

Kitchen Table (@ Bubbledogs), 1* - Charlotte St, W1; chef: James Knappett (Ledbury, Per Se, Noma)

Full disclosure: I have a small investment in this restaurant - not enough for you to get exercised about whether I'm impartial.

Bubbledogs is a hot dog and champagne bar - try it some time, it goes better than you'd think.

Kitchen table is the restaurant behind a curtain at the back of Bubbledogs. 19 seats on three sides of the kitchen. The chefs do finishing touches and plating right in front of you. James is very passionate & intense but also charming, informative and fun. Sandia (his wife) runs front of house and owns the wine list - she was sommelier at Per Se, so she really knows her stuff. There is only one seating (staggered, with 9 arriving at 6pm and 10 at 7:30) - the placings are not turned. It's a set menu of, typically, 14 courses (£90) with an extra 2 or 3 thrown in.

James has a focus on British ingredients and, generally, British cooking. Last night, James did a seafood menu (£140) - he does the occasional special menu, taking British ingredients still, but cooking them in styles from around the world.

Turbot sashimi, Lemon zest, green almonds, 3 oils
Steamed Scottish langoustines, garlic mayo
Steamed cob crab claw (huge!), ginger vinegar
Raw Orkney hand dived scallop, enoki mushrooms, citrus oil, soy enriched with reduced lobster stock
Po Boy - breaded and fried oyster, bun, dill pickle, mustard
Cuttlefish - lightly pan fried on fettuccine dyed with ink
Clams - steamed in a mariniere sauce
Mussels, wild garlic sauce, brioche
Vietnamese summer roll with crab
Roasted whole lobster tail with a vindaloo paste, pickled cucumber, fragrant rice
Milk icecream, strawberry reduction
Deconstructed banana split

2008 Leclapart L'Artiste Champagne
2010 Kreydenweiss GC Riesling
Niigata junmai daiginjo sake
1969 Dupont Calvados
A homemade vodka-based digestif (we were beyond noting things by this point)

As ever, a truly excellent meal.

 

[CHAPPERS]

The Independent - Queen's Park Road

This place is ALRIGHT. Suped up pub grub basically. Food all local and sustainable and all that jazz. I had a steak as I find that's a decent enough test of a chef and was eer so lslightly underwhelmed by it, why are some kitchens afraid of throwing salt at food? The mixed berry and vanilla cream millefeuille was decent. Kudos for his use of Sussex/Kent based farms and local bakeries for the bread (Westdene Buthcer provides the bangers) and all that. If I lived locally I'd spend a fair chunk of time here as a pub as the drink selection is good (nice wine list) and with the food reasonably priced I'd probably eat here a couple of times a month as it doesn't break the bank by any means for good clean cooking. But SALT. SALT YOUR MEAT. No point having good ingrediants and not seasoning them. Maybe I'm bengin harsh.

7/10

Looking forward to a visit to La Choza tomorrow as it's been AGES. **** Wahaca!

 

[CHAPPERS]

La Choza

Another decent meal at La Choza last night. We had calamari, hot shots, chorizo quesadilla, burrito bowl, pork quesadilla, three margaritas, two beers and a large class of wine for 72 quid which is excellent value IMO. All their food is responsibly sourced and free range and the service is ten times what is used to be. Never been let down there before, whereas I was told that Wahaca managed to run out of limes the other night.

8/10

 

[CHAPPERS]

Went to Indian Summer last night.

It was GOOD. I had the Bhel Puri to start which was nice but NOWHERE NEAR the standard of the Bhel Puri at Brighton best Indian, Planet India. The Goan Prawn Masaledar was very impressive indeed.

The issue that I'm struggling with about the whole meal is that the best thing I tasted was the yoghurt that came with the popadoms.

Two courses for 25 quid is as much as I want to pay for a curry but the service is excellent and the wine selection is competitive.

A solid 7 out of 10

 

[Takeaway Boy]

If anyone is thinking of ordering takeaway for delivery from Edendum, Brighton's new Italian, I would have a read of my review first. I have heard dining in is much better but this was really poor. Read all my other takeaway reviews around Brighton & Hove here to.

http://foodieeshe.com/edendum-review/

Takeaway Boy - I still believe, we are just giving Wednesday a fighting chance, sing loud on Monday.

 

[Bozza]

If anyone is thinking of ordering takeaway for delivery from Edendum, Brighton's new Italian, I would have a read of my review first. I have heard dining in is much better but this was really poor. Read all my other takeaway reviews around Brighton & Hove here to.

http://foodieeshe.com/edendum-review/

Takeaway Boy - I still believe, we are just giving Wednesday a fighting chance, sing loud on Monday.

Disappointing. At least a couple of us, including me, had decent meals in there.

Edendum - great little Italian. Really decent steak and a very good seafood pasta. Service is typically Italian so expect it to be very friendly but make sure you allow enough time for your meal. 8/10

Last night: Edendum in East Street. They've moved into Indian Summer's old premises who have moved next door.

Spotted them in "10 new Brighton eateries to check out this November" and, fancying a decent pizza ahead of seeing Chvrches at The Dome, we gave it a try.

The Wow247 write-up says pretty much all I would: "Although we are not short of Anglo-Italian pizza/pasta menus in the city, Brighton has been lacking an authentic, regional Italian restaurant for what seems a forever. Enter Edendum, a smart, modern restaurant run by the Cacciolatti family from Piedmont. You won’t find red and white checked tablecloths but a menu of dishes largely undiscovered in the UK, full of great quality ingredients. They also have one of the best kid’s menus in Brighton."

It is very unlike every other Italian in Brighton that I've been to being bright and modern in decor and the menu has some favourites and a fair few different things too. As it was a quiet Monday night, the manager (and, I assume, at least part owner) spent a fair bit of time with us talking through, in a very strong Italian accent, all aspects of the food and how they make it.

The olives were the biggest I have ever seen and the assortment of home made breads were great (and is there anything finer than good warm bread with olive oil and balsamic?). My pizza was as good as I had hoped for and I'm told the risotto was also very decent. I wasn't going to have dessert, but I couldn't resist the tiramisu. This, for me, was the only slight disappointment. It was wonderfully creamy and rich, but I like mine with a glut of booze and they make theirs without. The Bounet, a dessert from North West Italy I'm told, was very much enjoyed.

All in all, very good indeed, with lovely people running it. We'll be back.

http://www.edendum.co.uk/home/

 

[Bigtomfu]

Used to love the place but the service and food has gone down and down in recent years.

That's because I'm no longer a chef there! (Was there 06-07)

 

[MattBackHome]

[MENTION=13]CHAPPERS[/MENTION] I like your reviewing style.

I went to UNITHAI yesterday and had a very authentic duck curry for 7 quid. Highly recommended.

 

[Westdene Seagull]

If anyone is thinking of ordering takeaway for delivery from Edendum, Brighton's new Italian, I would have a read of my review first. I have heard dining in is much better but this was really poor. Read all my other takeaway reviews around Brighton & Hove here to.

http://foodieeshe.com/edendum-review/

Takeaway Boy - I still believe, we are just giving Wednesday a fighting chance, sing loud on Monday.

Personally, if I want a takeaway I use a proper takeaway - restaurants such as Edendum should only be used if you want fresh, there and now food. You would expect food from a Michelin star restaurant to survive a journey so why you you expect food from a place that uses fresh ingredients to have food to do so ? You want takeaway then stick to the golden arches, pizza hut etc.

 

[Half Time Pies]

Has anyone got a recommendation for somewhere to take my wife for a birthday dinner? One of us is a vegetarian so I am looking for somewhere with a good vegetarian selection. We have been to Terre a Terre before and liked that but thought about trying somewhere new.

Looking at the reviews on here I was thinking maybe 'the set' however the menus on their website don't actually look that inspiring if I am honest.

 

[Bozza]

Has anyone got a recommendation for somewhere to take my wife for a birthday dinner? One of us is a vegetarian so I am looking for somewhere with a good vegetarian selection. We have been to Terre a Terre before and liked that but thought about trying somewhere new.

Looking at the reviews on here I was thinking maybe 'the set' however the menus on their website don't actually look that inspiring if I am honest.

We ate at The Set not too long ago. I'm a veggie, my partner eats fish. It was very, very good indeed and I'd recommend it.