Before we get started, we just wanted to say a few words. We spend a lot of time shouting about Brighton’s brilliant independent restaurants, bars and cafés, but it’s no secret that it’s a struggle out there. We’re incredibly lucky to have so many of them in the city and we reckon we’d all like to keep it that way.
One of the reasons we’re seeing too many good places disappear is the UK’s 20 percent VAT rate for hospitality businesses, compared with 10 percent or less in many European countries. If you’d like to help, please consider signing the petition calling for hospitality VAT to be cut to 10 percent.
Right. On to this week’s picks. It’s another jam-packed selection of foodie greatness, from filthy sarnies to fiery sake. Here are the ones that caught our eye – bring your appetite and dive in.
Bijou coffee shop Mr Bruce over on Portland Road in Portslade is temporarily turning into a wine bar this Friday and Saturday (4pm – midnight) with a summery takeover by Quaff Wines. Outdoor seating, the chance of some sun and the option to order Greek street food straight to your seat? Summer evening perfection.
Need another reason to head to Hove bar of the moment Tongue and Groove? Probably not, but we’ll give you one anyway: chef Will Dennard (of Med) is cooking up some tasty Basque pintxos (think posh loaded crisps, goat’s cheese-stuffed piquillo peppers, confit tuna and white asparagus, and plenty more delicious bites). Perfect with some of their top-notch wines. Sat & Sun; 3.30pm – 9pm (ish).
Tiramisu-tasting pro George (aka @tiramisugeorge) has turned his hand to the making and teamed up with Pommy’s Pizza on four tiramisu specials this June. We’re into the second week and it’s over to the very tasty cherry and amaretto (trust us, it’s a good ‘un).
Speaking of Pommy’s, they’re rolling into Churchill Square this weekend with a pizza pop-up (Sat & Sun, by Bershka) slinging out their newest pizzas, or should we say pizzette – small round pizzas that you can fold up and eat as you stroll. And yes, they’ll have the tiramisu too.
Whether you’re heading to the Japanese Hanabi festival (it’s sold out with walk-ins only if they have space), sake tasting is always a good idea. Japanese grocery store Kantenya on Fenchurch Walk is holding free tastings between 11.30am and 4pm.
Sarnies but make ’em extra special? You need Fumar de Cozinho’s Portuguese sanduiche pop-up at Patio on Saturday. Happily, the Prego, a garlicky, meaty dream of a sandwich, is on the menu. Because of the planned protest (see above), they’ll be doing takeaways only until things are quieter. Heads up for next week: Lunch, the new project from the Bonsai Plant Kitchen is doing a preview from Wednesday at Patio ahead of their opening in The Open Market.
And Willie’s Phillys, the teeny-weeny home of Brighton’s filthy Philadelphia cheesesteaks, is kicking off breakfast specials this weekend at the very civilised time of 9.30am, with the specials (including veggie option) being dished up until 2pm if you need a proper lie-in. Be warned: they are VERY filthy.
Finally, Brighton’s Best Restaurants want your help in putting together the list of the city’s 30 best restaurants – they want to know your top three spots in the city. Your answers will influence the places that feature in this year’s OctoberBest, so it’s well worth filling in.
