Eat your way around Hove on a new food trail

We’re spoilt for choice when it comes to foodie fun in the city, but this is something new – the first ever Hove Food Trail, a gastronomic tour of some of Hove’s finest dining destinations.

Set up by Cin Cin owner David Toscano and city councillor Chris Henry and backed by Hove rental community Moda Living, the trail celebrates Hove’s vibrant food and drink scene and supports local charities at the same time. Sounds good, right?

So how does it work? Essentially, you snap up a pass for £15 (proceeds go to charity Off The Fence who tackle homelessness locally) and that gives you access to buy exclusive specials – more on those below – at the ten fantastic participating Hove restaurants.

You can then pick up your pass from any of the participating restaurants, ready for stamping. If you manage to get stamps from all the venues, then you’ll be entered into a draw to win a selection of goodies, plus a £30 voucher for every venue on the trail, that’s £300 worth of epic tastiness.

Each dish costs between £10 and £15 and there’s something to suit most tastes. They will cater to dietary preferences, too, just make sure you mention that when you book your slot with the restaurant as we’ve been told there will be limited alternatives available.

Some walk-ins will be available, too, but to ensure you don’t miss out it’s best to book a slot with each eatery.

Four-legged-friend friends can rejoice too as all of the venues are dog-friendly, just mention it when you book.

On to the food! We got a sneak preview of the first four on the trail (if you’re coming from Brighton) last week and here’s what we had – they were all happy to make adjustments to create veggie versions, too:

cin cin arancino

Cin Cin

Lobster arancino with a parsley and garlic emulsion, served with a limoncello spritz; £15

fatto a mano calzone

Fatto a Mano

Calzoncino fritto (deep-fried mini calzone filled with fennel sausage, Neapolitan broccoli, mozzarella, smoked provola and fresh chilli), served with a negroni sbagliato; £15

wild flor brochette

Wild Flor

‘Beer & kebab’ BBQ mushroom brochette with house sourdough, served with a Picon bière; £15

fourth and church aubergine

Fourth and Church

And our favourite of the night: Roasted aubergine, labneh cheese, cultured blueberries, green harissa, black sesame, served with a manzanilla and mint spritz; £15

And here’s what’s on offer at the other restaurants:

Nostos

Greek gemista, with traditional Greek-stuffed vegetables filled with rice and herbs, then baked with potatoes and tomato sauce; £15

Slam Tacos

Surf ‘n’ Turf tacos, hot smoked Adobo trout with pickled wakame, crispy skin and bones and Toyomansi (soy sauce) cream cheese and barbequed chuck with dripping crumb, chilli vinegar onion rings and pastrami mayo; £10

Fika

Brioche French toast, cardamom butter, lingonberry jam, blueberry, streaked smoky bacon, cinnamon sugar and toasted almond, served with an iced or hot drink of your choice; £12.50

Carne

Tasting plate of tartare with confit yolk, BBQ beef doughnut, 50-day dry-aged sirloin, served with a glass of Albourne Pinot Noir red or white; £14

Ginger Pig

Crispy pig’s head, sauce gribiche and bread and butter pickles, served with a 100ml glass of Eins Zwei Dry Riesling; £12 (no need to book here; only available on Thursday and Friday)

Rockwater

Rockwater burger with cucumber salsa, served with a spritz with Chandon sparkling wine and orange peel liqueur; £13

So whether you eat your way east to west, west to east or screw map convention and dive straight in in the middle, we wish you happy feasting! See you on the trail – we’ll be the ones with our trousers unbuttoned.

Thursday 6th – Saturday 8th July
Various locations in Hove

hovefoodtrail.com