[Food] Restaurant thread 2021

[Cowfold Seagull]

That's exactly right. I prefer the Salt Room. I cook and buy meat pretty well myself (nowhere near as good as the Coal Shed of course) whereas my fish and seafood cooking at home is pretty basic. Therefore I absolutely love fish and seafood when I go out, hence my love of Salt Room and Little Fish Market. As [MENTION=12901]CheeseRolls[/MENTION] says it comes down to personal taste.

Burnt Orange looks excellent......

Unintentionally perhaps, you have just sent another recommendation my way, the Little Fish Market. I very much enjoy the fruits of the sea too.

I'll make a reservation for my wife's birthday next month, and let you know how l got on.

 

[Guinness Boy]

Unintentionally perhaps, you have just sent another recommendation my way, the Little Fish Market. I very much enjoy the fruits of the sea too.

I'll make a reservation for my wife's birthday next month, and let you know how l got on.

The cooking and presentation is faultless in my opinion but just be warned that it isn't cheap. The deserts are incredible. Duncan, the chef, worked on the pastry section at The Fat Duck. It will be a set menu (unless changed post lockdown) but make sure you have room for the pudding course.

 

[Cowfold Seagull]

The cooking and presentation is faultless in my opinion but just be warned that it isn't cheap. The deserts are incredible. Duncan, the chef, worked on the pastry section at The Fat Duck. It will be a set menu (unless changed post lockdown) but make sure you have room for the pudding course.

Well she's worth it . . . just! lol

 

[Guinness Boy]

Just back from Bincho Yakitori. Every bit as good as before the lockdowns. My word I missed it.

I am now full of salt and umami and meat and saki.

 

[BrightonCottager]

Went to Semolina last night for the first time in nearly a year. Brilliant as usual. Great fish, anglet steak and wine. Friendly service.

 

[Guinness Boy]

The Urchin, Hove

My first ever visit to The Urchin and I'm going to do something quite controversial for NSC. Not as bad as that time I criticised the staying up tracker but still - there were lots of things I liked but there were things I didn't.

The things I liked vastly outweighed the things I didn't, so don't blacklist me. And let's start there. Great seafood, very well cooked. We ordered a few dishes and the hot seafood platter which we shared among a party of four and nearly everything was well done. The sauces and mayos excellent, the seafood carefully treated by the chef (even the pickled cockle bar snacks are great, far better than those things you get on the pier) and most of the sides were sympathetic.

The booze is excellent too, A great range of their own beers. Most of us had wine though and the list is short and apparently changes often but the Loire Valley Sauvignon we had was not only excellent but very reasonably priced.

But......

Firstly, if you are going to limit table time to two hours then you need to serve faster. An hour and quarter in and the mains still hadn't arrived, meaning that eating the vast majority of the meal was done in the last third of the allotted time, making it a rushed experience rather than a relaxing one. I get that places need to make back money after covid and turning tables is an obvious way of doing so, but achieving it is down to the kitchen, not the diner. We had a similar experience at 64 Degrees before the pandemic and never went back. Compare it to LFM where you can linger over a brilliant desert and more wine.

Secondly the squid starter came with a fennel and chilli salad that should have come with a health warning. I can eat a naga curry and spent a couple of years in Taipei eating fiery red bowls of beef and chilli soup with the locals, and this was on the edge of my tolerance. It overpowered the squid, killed the wine and seared my guts. This morning my toilet thinks I had a vindaloo.

Thirdly, it's not really a pub, is it?

 

[Cowfold Seagull]

The Urchin, Hove

My first ever visit to The Urchin and I'm going to do something quite controversial for NSC. Not as bad as that time I criticised the staying up tracker but still - there were lots of things I liked but there were things I didn't.

The things I liked vastly outweighed the things I didn't, so don't blacklist me. And let's start there. Great seafood, very well cooked. We ordered a few dishes and the hot seafood platter which we shared among a party of four and nearly everything was well done. The sauces and mayos excellent, the seafood carefully treated by the chef (even the pickled cockle bar snacks are great, far better than those things you get on the pier) and most of the sides were sympathetic.

The booze is excellent too, A great range of their own beers. Most of us had wine though and the list is short and apparently changes often but the Loire Valley Sauvignon we had was not only excellent but very reasonably priced.

But......

Firstly, if you are going to limit table time to two hours then you need to serve faster. An hour and quarter in and the mains still hadn't arrived, meaning that eating the vast majority of the meal was done in the last third of the allotted time, making it a rushed experience rather than a relaxing one. I get that places need to make back money after covid and turning tables is an obvious way of doing so, but achieving it is down to the kitchen, not the diner. We had a similar experience at 64 Degrees before the pandemic and never went back. Compare it to LFM where you can linger over a brilliant desert and more wine.

Secondly the squid starter came with a fennel and chilli salad that should have come with a health warning. I can eat a naga curry and spent a couple of years in Taipei eating fiery red bowls of beef and chilli soup with the locals, and this was on the edge of my tolerance. It overpowered the squid, killed the wine and seared my guts. This morning my toilet thinks I had a vindaloo.

Thirdly, it's not really a pub, is it?

Well to be quite honest . . .

For me, however good the hard product of a restaurant might be, e.g. the quality of the food and drink, excellence of service etc., all that is deemed irrelevant if one is rushed when trying to enjoy it.

It sounds like they shot themselves in the foot somewhat. What a shame.

 

[Cowfold Seagull]

Last night, Mrs. C, myself and a couple of good friends made one of our occasional culinary visits tgo the bright lights of the big city, (well big to us village dwellers anyway).

With everything planned meticulously well in advance, booking tables, arranging buses, taxis etc, so no one had to drink and drive, we set off.

Our first stop was at the Bees Mouth, a bit of a drinking den on the Western Road, where we all planned to down a pre supper cocktail or two. All of the booths at the front were occupied, so we were directed through to a rather shabby area at the back, and a couple of very old sagging sofas, into which we collapsed, only to then be informed that cocktails were off the menu for the immediate future, due to Covid. No idea why and they couldn't really expalin their reasoning, so we then swiftly exited into the Beat Bar a few doors along. Settling down and ordering cocktails, the waitress then explained that their one card reader had broken down, so we would have to pay by cash! It wasn't going well was it!

So, still cocktail-less we decided to cross the road to the Archipelagos for our meal, a Greek restaurant that we all know quite well, however . . . the restaurant is very small, there are no windows to open to allow air in, and the door was kept very firmly closed, and when we entered the heaiting seemed to be on full blast! One of our party, a Covid nurse was alarmed, and refused to eat in what she called Covid City, so we moved on.

Saturday night, just after 8pm and without a table reservation anywhere, we roamed the streets, being turned down for a table at a number of restaurants which were all fully booked. Finally we stumbled on Mekan, a Turkish/Cypriot establishment on Palmeira Square, where we obtained a table, and actually managed to enjoy a pretty good meal. I'm not at all sure that the proprietors of the Achipelagos would have been impressed with us entering a Turkish establishment though!

So, a couple of rather nice Turkish coffees, and then into a taxi and home before midnight. Strange how sometimes evernings that don't work out as planned, can work out really well.

 

[Herr Tubthumper]

Good article by Mr Rayner about the price of eating out——>

The*best way to eat out to help out? Pay a fairer price for your*meal https://www.theguardian.com/food/20...help-out-fairer-price-meal-hospitality-crisis

Can’t argue with this.

 

[Simgull]

Went to Gingerman on Friday - a place that despite being one of the first places to step up the Brighton restaurant scene, rarely seems to get a mention on this thread.

Lovely atmosphere - probably the most comfortable seating/lighting/acoustics all round place I can think of-good service and short well balanced menu (4 choices/course) with a choice of taster/a la carte.

Really excellent all round. White asparagus/Parma ham/morel mushroom/ egg starter was my favourite course but also followed up with great pork dish and chocolate dessert. Even managed to avoid hearing the football score so I could watch it when we got home (somewhat spoiling the evening!).

Felt like they’d taken a good long look at Etch and F&C since the last time I’d visited and all the better for it.

 

[Springal]

The Urchin, Hove

My first ever visit to The Urchin and I'm going to do something quite controversial for NSC. Not as bad as that time I criticised the staying up tracker but still - there were lots of things I liked but there were things I didn't.

The things I liked vastly outweighed the things I didn't, so don't blacklist me. And let's start there. Great seafood, very well cooked. We ordered a few dishes and the hot seafood platter which we shared among a party of four and nearly everything was well done. The sauces and mayos excellent, the seafood carefully treated by the chef (even the pickled cockle bar snacks are great, far better than those things you get on the pier) and most of the sides were sympathetic.

The booze is excellent too, A great range of their own beers. Most of us had wine though and the list is short and apparently changes often but the Loire Valley Sauvignon we had was not only excellent but very reasonably priced.

But......

Firstly, if you are going to limit table time to two hours then you need to serve faster. An hour and quarter in and the mains still hadn't arrived, meaning that eating the vast majority of the meal was done in the last third of the allotted time, making it a rushed experience rather than a relaxing one. I get that places need to make back money after covid and turning tables is an obvious way of doing so, but achieving it is down to the kitchen, not the diner. We had a similar experience at 64 Degrees before the pandemic and never went back. Compare it to LFM where you can linger over a brilliant desert and more wine.

Secondly the squid starter came with a fennel and chilli salad that should have come with a health warning. I can eat a naga curry and spent a couple of years in Taipei eating fiery red bowls of beef and chilli soup with the locals, and this was on the edge of my tolerance. It overpowered the squid, killed the wine and seared my guts. This morning my toilet thinks I had a vindaloo.

Thirdly, it's not really a pub, is it?

I used to love The Urchin and went fairly heavily when it opened up to 2-3 years ago and not been since, not really sure why. I think they were moving a bit away from that pub with food vibe to restaurant which changed it a bit, but could just be my perceptions. Agreed on the service, we had something like at Highdown in Worthing. It got a bit awkward as I stood my ground a bit that you can't take an order for coffee and dessert 30 minutes before kick out, put them down 15 minutes later while also telling us you need the table back in 5-10 minutes....


Anyone been to The Sets new place ? Off there in a few weeks and looking forward to it

 

[albionalbino]

I went to Burnt Orange last weekend, it's the same owner as Salt Room and Coal Shed and located where the Coach House was. It's a restaurant / cocktail bar
and the food was delicious. I can see this doing very well.

 

[MattBackHome]

Tlaloc

Been meaning to go for a while so glad to have made it. They'd run out of octopus which was annoying, and their version of Tres Leches was a bit too 'British Summertime at Henley/Wimbledon' for my liking - and their other dessert was rank. But the meal was saved by some absolutely spectacular prawns, a really soft, gelatinous pork belly and a cracking lamb dish. Cocktails were very nice (though not as nice as the ones we had beforehand at the Golden Pineapple). And it wasn't cheap; I'm still not 100% sure if it offered decent VFM.

So I'd recommend, but go earlier in the evening and swerve the puddings.

 

[CHAPPERS]

So I went to Burnt Orange last week, the new venture from the owners of The Coal Shed and The Sal Room. It's a got a completely different VIBE to both of those places, indeed it apparently switches up into a bar later in the evening. It's sharing plates/mmall plates/whatever you want to call it. You can see what they are going for and it will definitely be popular as the cooking is SOLID. I wasn't blown away by any of it, but the raw beef and polenta was really good and I enjoyed it all, I just was not overly sold on the place. The drinks were decent and nothing is too expensive (180 quid all in for 3 people in including three cocktails, a bottle of wine and a large glass of wine plus 12.5% tip) but I'm not going to rush back, as I just didn't like to style of the place. Too 'busy' inside and the outside bit looks fine but I'm not a fan of dining Al Fresco unless I'm on my holibobs.

Service okay and the place was packed on a Monday which was good to see. However, if I want this style I'll go to Flint House.

6/10 (possibly harsh). There's the review.

Edit: Oh yeah it's in the old Coach House premises FYI.

 

[Westdene Seagull]

Had completely forgotten about this thread ..... probably because of lockdown.

So been doing the rounds recently - brief reviews I'm afraid :

Sundial at Herstmonceux - great place. Sat outside because of Covid stuff but the meal was great and very reasonably priced. 8/10

Fourth and Church - fantastic as always .... and they have a version of the cauliflower dish back !!!! 10/10

The Plough at Pyecombe - I have to say I've never had a bad meal here. Yes it's a pub and yes some of the menu is basic but the menu is huge and can't wait for them to re-introduce their specials. 8/10

Issac@ - hmmm, emperors new clothes ! The service is brilliant but the food less so. I paid, under objection, a £30 per head reservation charge ( goes against the meal charge I will admit ) which seems excessive. The tasting menu looks good value until you add in two dishes that come with supplements - three slices of cheese and a few crackers for £9 as an example. Most the food is very over salted - the Pork 2 dish for example ( the Pork 1 dish was basically pulled pork - and very little at that - covered in what looked like puke ). They seem to think if they chuck micro-herbs over every dish then it will be a decent meal. Wine selection is great though. Just shy of £300 and not a patch on LFM or Etch who they seem to be attempting to emulate. Won't ever be going back. Avoid. 1/10

Etch - like the Sportsman in Kent ? Go here - fantastic dishes and exactly how a tasting menu should be done. Only down was the lamb was clearly cooked in a water bath and not then crisped up in a pan so it was very spongey. 9/10

 

[Springal]

I was going to give Burnt Orange a go but their emails are wanky (the subjects are a bit cringey) and the above review has made me reconsider. Annoyingly had to cancel The Set this week due to self-isolating!

 

[Guinness Boy]

Had completely forgotten about this thread ..... probably because of lockdown.

So been doing the rounds recently - brief reviews I'm afraid :

Sundial at Herstmonceux - great place. Sat outside because of Covid stuff but the meal was great and very reasonably priced. 8/10

Fourth and Church - fantastic as always .... and they have a version of the cauliflower dish back !!!! 10/10

The Plough at Pyecombe - I have to say I've never had a bad meal here. Yes it's a pub and yes some of the menu is basic but the menu is huge and can't wait for them to re-introduce their specials. 8/10

Issac@ - hmmm, emperors new clothes ! The service is brilliant but the food less so. I paid, under objection, a £30 per head reservation charge ( goes against the meal charge I will admit ) which seems excessive. The tasting menu looks good value until you add in two dishes that come with supplements - three slices of cheese and a few crackers for £9 as an example. Most the food is very over salted - the Pork 2 dish for example ( the Pork 1 dish was basically pulled pork - and very little at that - covered in what looked like puke ). They seem to think if they chuck micro-herbs over every dish then it will be a decent meal. Wine selection is great though. Just shy of £300 and not a patch on LFM or Etch who they seem to be attempting to emulate. Won't ever be going back. Avoid. 1/10

Etch - like the Sportsman in Kent ? Go here - fantastic dishes and exactly how a tasting menu should be done. Only down was the lamb was clearly cooked in a water bath and not then crisped up in a pan so it was very spongey. 9/10

I hated Isaac but mostly because the food was under seasoned and the wine terrible

 

[CHAPPERS]

Had completely forgotten about this thread ..... probably because of lockdown.

So been doing the rounds recently - brief reviews I'm afraid :

Sundial at Herstmonceux - great place. Sat outside because of Covid stuff but the meal was great and very reasonably priced. 8/10

Fourth and Church - fantastic as always .... and they have a version of the cauliflower dish back !!!! 10/10

The Plough at Pyecombe - I have to say I've never had a bad meal here. Yes it's a pub and yes some of the menu is basic but the menu is huge and can't wait for them to re-introduce their specials. 8/10

Issac@ - hmmm, emperors new clothes ! The service is brilliant but the food less so. I paid, under objection, a £30 per head reservation charge ( goes against the meal charge I will admit ) which seems excessive. The tasting menu looks good value until you add in two dishes that come with supplements - three slices of cheese and a few crackers for £9 as an example. Most the food is very over salted - the Pork 2 dish for example ( the Pork 1 dish was basically pulled pork - and very little at that - covered in what looked like puke ). They seem to think if they chuck micro-herbs over every dish then it will be a decent meal. Wine selection is great though. Just shy of £300 and not a patch on LFM or Etch who they seem to be attempting to emulate. Won't ever be going back. Avoid. 1/10

Etch - like the Sportsman in Kent ? Go here - fantastic dishes and exactly how a tasting menu should be done. Only down was the lamb was clearly cooked in a water bath and not then crisped up in a pan so it was very spongey. 9/10

Three hundred quid?

 

[Westdene Seagull]

Three hundred quid?

£60 a head ( two people ), wine £80, supplements £32, service 10%, taxis ( Mrs WS has broken her leg so needs taxis ) - about £280 - I'll accept the taxi charge isn't Issac@'s fault !

 

[Guinness Boy]

I had also forgotten this thread.

So, last Friday we found ourselves in FANOOS Persian restaurant. Spoiler, if you are "west side" this is well worth a visit for a good value family meal.

Situated on the South bit of Station Road and with a big, covered, outdoor area this is very much like that place you go to when you are on holiday that does salads, olives and absolutely fantastic meat or veg with rice or chips. The next night you say you'll find somewhere different but end up there again and repeat for the rest of the stay.

Arriving it was encouraging that olives were put straight on the table and were some of the best I've had in a UK restaurant. The starters are mostly salads or breads with hummous but you won't need one of those because the mains are MASSIVE. They have Persian specials which are meats, rice and veg cooked in together, lamb ribs, spicy chicken, chicken breast in pomegranate sauce but I went for the more UK Fusion sounding "mixed grill". Delicious marinated chicken wings, falling off the bone, well spiced lamb kebab and a chicken marinated heavily with garlic and lots of lemon that was my favourite. The chips are thin, hot, perfectly crisp and well seasoned. The salad is fresh but, quite possibly superfluous. The rice fluffy.

It's BYO with no corkage and a meal that was more than we could finish for a family of two adults, a younger child and a 14 year old boy who eats more than me was under £60.

It's great to see what's happening to that particular bit of Boundary Road / Station Rd now. With the Foghorn, Brazilian butchers, Fanoos, Madam Eat and the Thai at the Blue Anchor there's something good for everyone and it's like there's an invisible fence that stops the chavalanche at New Church Road.

7/10