Restaurant 2017

[CHAPPERS]

Is the lunch offering at Chilli Pickle the best in town? Possibly.

The concept is fantastic. You basically order a curry (you get about 8 choices, two of which are vergetarian) and everyone has a selection of bits and bobs including a brilliant dhal, pickles, yoghurts, breads and a weird soup thing and rice. 13 quid all in, some meats a quid more. Service is great and the Christmas decorations are really smart.

Drinks aren't cheap but on a level with most other restaurants, 20 quid of a bottle of the house white.

Three of us ate, with three desserts and a drink each for 77 quid including tip.

Highly recommended.

9/10

 

[Cowfold Seagull]

Is the lunch offering at Chilli Pickle the best in town? Possibly.

The concept is fantastic. You basically order a curry (you get about 8 choices, two of which are vergetarian) and everyone has a selection of bits and bobs including a brilliant dhal, pickles, yoghurts, breads and a weird soup thing and rice. 13 quid all in, some meats a quid more. Service is great and the Christmas decorations are really smart.

Drinks aren't cheap but on a level with most other restaurants, 20 quid of a bottle of the house white.

Three of us ate, with three desserts and a drink each for 77 quid including tip.

Highly recommended.

9/10

Still to try this establishment, (although it's long been on my list). The trouble is, as much as l love a good curry, I have a curry house of reasonable quality right on my doorstep. Puts me off getting into a car and driving nearly 20 miles to Brighton, and then having to worry about drink driving etc.

 

[Tricky Dicky]

I went to "Slate" recently, a new restaurant in Shoreham, opposite Southlands hospital.

Pretty good, enjoyed by all I think. I guess you'd call it "modern British" - probably not quite "Fine Dining". Not particularly cheap, but would go back quite happily (also, it's only 5 mins walk from home, which is nice)

 

[empire]

Aqua worthing 2nd visit,very nice tempura seafood starter,and braised p�� cheeks for main,desert was a mixed selection,fig tart,tirimsu and couple of others,a former spoon pub,very nice atmosphere

 

[dazzer6666]

Casa Brasil in the Marina - average at best. Poor imitation of the real thing sadly.
Service slow throughout despite place being half empty. Had to ask for drinks, mains, desserts and the bill.
Drinks good - great cocktails
Buffet - poor. Most of the hot stuff was lukewarm
Meat - some very good, but they definitely try to fill you up with cheaper stuff first (chicken, sausages) before bringing the better steak skewers over. Be choosy with what they offer
Free desserts (choice of 3) - all reasonable
Bill £170 for 5. Not great value.

 

[Beach Hut]

Cheeky Mockney Restaurant near Victoria Station.

Been several times and quite like his food but you pay a lot for not much.

House red, with had starters of pate which was minimalist, Mrs had rabbit I had crab spaghetti.

7 out of 10

 

[Beach Hut]

I went to "Slate" recently, a new restaurant in Shoreham, opposite Southlands hospital.

Pretty good, enjoyed by all I think. I guess you'd call it "modern British" - probably not quite "Fine Dining". Not particularly cheap, but would go back quite happily (also, it's only 5 mins walk from home, which is nice)

We've been as well, tables too close together, added things to the bill we never bought however not actually that bad food wise

 

[Herr Tubthumper]

Finally got to Etch on Wednesday night for a birthday meal.

I love the dining room, the cooking was mostly good to great and the wines were excellent. However there were a number of small annoyances that I didn't get at 64 Degress.

Restaurants Brighton are doing a promotion code at the moment for 20% off in some local restaurants and Etch were taking part. RB said to just quote their discount code when you booked but Etch wouldn't take it, meaning we had to mention it again when we arrived. This got us a really sniffy look but it didn't help, since when the bill came they'd "forgotten" to apply the discount. It's not like I'm some homeless guy. It only applied to the 8 courses with wine flight so we still dropped well over £200.

I do like that they cook things I wouldn't normally eat in an interesting and fantastically tasty way. I'm not really a fan of celeriac or beetroot and yet the celeriac starter was devine, rich with truffle and full of seasoning and the beetroot with horseradish ice-cream was also excellent. However, they also managed to take pork and rhubarb - two things I absolutely love - and mess them up. The promised crispy pork belly wasn't, the dish was too large for the end of an 8 course meal and the way they did the crackling doesn't work. The rhubarb was too sharp and went uneaten. It needs a little sugar.

The two best dishes were the pigeon and scallop. Both were beautifully designed, perfectly cooked and out of this world tasty. And both were only available on the 8 course menu.

It feels like I'm moaning and I'm not - it was a solid 7.5 out of 10 and I preferred it to Isaacs but there's room for improvement. I'd go back though.

Went to Etch on Friday with a couple of ST friends. It’s a straight-up fine-dining experience and, like you, I feel there’s a couple of angles where the can improve. Against my usual 5 to 6 course preference we opted for the 8 course menu as it included two stand out items, scallop and pork, which we all wanted. In short the 8 course menu wasn’t just two extra courses....we felt more than that due to the dishes omitted from the 6. We felt these dropped dishes made us choose the 8 course to avoid disappointment.

I also opted for the wine pairing, the others didn’t. I had a Nyetimber sparkling English wine as an aperitif, very good. The food was fine, especially the salmon and onion dish, but very quickly I was playing catch up on the wine front. I’ve had plenty of menus with wine-pairing and have never felt under pressure to finish my glass before. And on a couple of occasions I had to chug quite a few mouthfuls from a glass as the next one was already lined up.

This said, both my issues can be addressed with two easy tweaks and it was a nice evening with two good friends.

I also popped into Hickson Green for a couple more glasses of bubbly which is a passable addition to the area.

As an aside, Cin Cin is now my pre-match lunch restaurant of choice. Fantastic, like really fantastic, Italian food, nice buzzy lunch time vibe, nice staff, pleasant clientele and a short stroll from the 25 or the taxi rank. The missus enjoyed it as well; happy wife happy life.

Polpo tonight.

 

[Herr Tubthumper]

So, Polpo last night. Polpo is based on Venetian style food and having recently been to Venice and followed a food guide written by the owner I was keen to try this restaurant out. It’s small sharing plates with some faithful reproductions of dishes I had on the island, the most notable being the sweet and sour sardines and the meat balls which came in various styles. The addition of a personal pizza section of the menu was odd but I guess they have tried to broaden their appeal. And yes I drank Prosecco. Service was quick and the prices good. I’d go back if I was with a group but if it’s just myself or the missus wanting Italian I’d go elsewhere I think (like Cin Cin)

Oh, and we wanted to have another drink but had to leave as a large table behind me we’re getting more and more pissed and the women were screatching at each other towards the end.

 

[Herr Tubthumper]

I have a number of favourite restaurants and one is El Vaso de Oro, although it’s more a bar with great tapas. This is my favourite dish of theirs called solomillo con foie which is steak, foie liver pate, onions and salt. I had a side of blood pudding and tomatoe to go with it. They brew their own pilsner to wash it down with. If you’re in Barcelona check it out.

 

[maffew]

I have a number of favourite restaurants and one is El Vaso de Oro, although it’s more a bar with great tapas. This is my favourite dish of theirs called solomillo con foie which is steak, foie liver pate, onions and salt. I had a side of blood pudding and tomatoe to go with it. They brew their own pilsner to wash it down with. If you’re in Barcelona check it out.

I am sure your picture doesnt do it justice as it sounds great but doesnt look so

 

[Herr Tubthumper]

I am sure your picture doesnt do it justice as it sounds great but doesnt look so

It was great tasting. And I agree, Lichfield I am not.

 

[Herr Tubthumper]

Have a number of UK trips before the end of the year so I have booked myself into St John not once but twice. Thinking that I’m way too focused on this particular place I’ve decided to cast my net a little wider and am also planning to visit http://blackaxemangal.com. Anyone been?

 

[Beach Hut]

Have a number of UK trips before the end of the year so I have booked myself into St John not once but twice. Thinking that I’m way too focused on this particular place I’ve decided to cast my net a little wider and am also planning to visit http://blackaxemangal.com. Anyone been?

Groundhog day ?

This is 2017 thread