Last night, Permit Room in the Lanes opened its doors to Brighton and Hove’s food scene where a happy crowd celebrated the annual Brighton’s Best Restaurants‘ awards.
Founded in 2016 and run by food journalists Andy Lynes and Patrick McGuigan, and restaurant PR/copywriter Suzanne Lindfors, and voted for by local experts, from food writers to gourmands and prolific Brighton diners, it’s one of the foodie events of the year.
“Our independent restaurants play a huge role in making Brighton the vibrant place it is, and every year, we throw these awards to amplify the good stuff that’s happening in the local dining scene,” said co-organiser Lindfors.
“While we do name winners and compile a Top 30 list, we take our hats off to everyone working in hospitality right now who is grafting hard to stay afloat in the face of some big industry challenges. Supporting all independent businesses across the city is so important right now. We really want to keep Brighton unique and exciting for residents and visitors alike,” she added.
Hear hear! So which are the best restaurants to eat at in Brighton and Hove this year?
Best Restaurant
Here we go… Dave Mothersill’s relaxed fine-dining restaurant Furna snared 2025’s Best Restaurant award. This won’t come as a surprise to anyone who’s eaten there as Furna consistently delivers dishes that taste as exquisite as they look.
And the restaurant is more accessible than ever as they now offer a la carte and set lunch menus, as well as their stunning tasting menu.
Mothersill (pictured far left above) also won this year’s Best Chef award – for the second time in a row, no less – and his restaurant also won Best Fine-Dining. Triple threat indeed!
Best Fine Dining
As we said, Furna came out on top here. Runners-up were The Little Fish Market (technically brilliant modern seafood is the order of the day in this intimate relaxed restaurant), The Set (expect the unexpected with a set menu of dishes that never fail to delight), Dilsk (inventive dishes shine here, with the laminated brioche being particularly swoon-worthy) and Etch (cutting-edge seasonal tasting menus and a very cool basement bar).
Best New Opening
Cosy Spanish restaurant Amari (from the Halisco boys and Amarillo’s Ian Swainson) took the gold. We’re not surprised – after all, they got a mention in the Michelin guide after being open for just nine weeks. Stylish lounge-bar with a South-East Asian menu No No Please and super-chic newcomer Pearly Cow, where Brighton’s Andrew MacKenzie heads up the kitchen were worthy runners-up.
Best Chef
Furna’s Dave Mothersill took the top spot here, with Duncan Ray of the Little Fish Market and The Set’s Dan Kenny runners-up.
Best Small Plates
Stylish Hove wine bar, restaurant and shop Fourth and Church took first place (they also won Best Drinks List). No No Please (again!), The Flint House, Med, and Voya were runners-up in this category. We’re spoilt for excellent small plates in Brighton!
Best Sunday Lunch
Alberta’s at The Windmill (proving that deep-frying an entire chicken really does make for an incredible sharing roast) won this hotly contended category. Embers (can you finish the four-beast feast?) and The Coal Shed (luxury Sunday roasts in gorgeous surroundings) were runners-up.
Best International Dining
This category sees Preston Street’s budget-friendly Japanese BBQ specialist Bincho Yakitori take the gold. No doubt making it harder than ever to get a table. Modern Indian brasserie (now in a beautiful new Lanes site) The Chilli Pickle, tiny buzzing South American restaurant Palmito, Amari (again!), and East African-Indian small plates restaurant Kitgum were all runners-up.
Best OctoberBest Menu
No No Please only opened in spring 2024, but they went all out with last year’s brilliantly memorable OctoberBest offering – booking ‘passengers’ onto a ‘flight’ on No No Air, complete with food, drinks and entertainment by ‘pilot’ (ie owner and one of the founding members of Brighton’s Best Restaurants) Euan Macdonald. Smart, memorable and, importantly, tasty.
Got dinner plans to make? Well then, here’s the full list of winners below (in alphabetical order rather than order of merit) for your perusal. It’s the perfect illustration of the ever-expanding depth and breadth of the city’s dining scene.
In a change from previous years, the Brighton’s Best Restaurants’ gang are no longer revealing the order in which restaurants are placed in the top 30.
We challenge you to work your way through all of them before the end of 2025! As ever, everyone in the top 30 (plus a few wild card invitations) will be invited to take part in the incredible OctoberBest later this year. Keep an eye out for the chance to enjoy specially created, great-value menus from them all. Bon appétit!
2025 Brighton’s Top Restaurants (in alphabetical order)
1. 64 Degrees
2. Amari
3. Anakuma
4. Bincho Yakitori
5. Bonsai Plant Kitchen
6. Burnt Orange
7. The Chilli Pickle
8. The Coal Shed
9. Dilsk
10. Embers
11. Etch
12. Fatto a Mano
13. The Flint House
14. Fourth and Church
15. Furna
16. Halisco
17. Kitgum
18. The Little Fish Market
19. Mange Tout
20. Med
21. Namo at The Eagle
22. No No Please
23. Palmito
24. Permit Room
25. Riddle & Finns
26. The Set
27. The Spice Circuit Kitchen
28. Tutto
29. Voya
30. Wild Flor
