Recently Shira and I took a long weekend to Brighton, which is located along the southern coast of England about 1 1/2 hours (by train) from London. Brighton has been a tourist destination for a long time. It offers a pebbly beach, marina, pier with amusements, high street and alternative type shopping and food, Glorious Food!
We stayed at the Drakes Hotel, located along the seafront. Drakes is a well known boutique hotel with it's luxuries including ocean views, stylish bar, acclaimed restaurant (The Gingerman), great service, and not to mention the stand-alone bathtubs in the room with space for two. I would highly recommend this place especially for a weekend getaway. As with all of our trips that we take, I spent some time researching the local culinary scene and I was not disappointed with the offerings at hand.
Our first meal in Brighton was at a longstanding local favorite, English's of Brighton. Food has been served at that location for 400 years and the current owner have been there since 1945. As expected Seafood is what it is known for. We started out with some local oysters served with the classic condiments: lemon, Tabasco, Mignonette sauce and others. Then we shared a seafood chowder, full of at least three varieties done in the Manhattan style, simple and very tasty. Our mains were fish cakes for Shira and dressed crab for me, washed down with a bottle of chilled Champagne. Everything was as you expected, fresh down the way you would expect from such an institution.
Dinner that night was at Terre a Terre, a vegetarian restaurant. Probably not what you would expect in a seaside town but Brighton's food scene tends on the more socially and environmental conscious side. This is very apparent by "The Taste of Sussex" food festival (which happened to be going on the weekend that we were there), which showcases the local restaurants and food vendors along with many of the restaurants in town that feature local produce and other foods. Needless to say Terrre a Terre doesn't disappoint with an array of tasty options, large portions and creativity in there dishes (even if they lost our ticket and we had to wait for about 30-40 minutes for or mains, we were comped though).
Last up was our final dinner in Brighton, Due South. Right on the beach front this restaurant is well known for it's showcasing of local organic foods. I had actually made a mistake on my reservation, but they were able to fit us in at there outdoor section (lucky for us the weather was just as accommodating as they were). Shira went for 2 and I had 3 courses for the night. I had the "Nose to Tail" of pork tortellini with black pudding and pea to start. It was a very tasty well executed dish that delights both in appearance and taste. I've never has black pudding before but I must say that it was quite good. Shira had the Local wild mushrooms on toasted brioche, got to love the local fungi! For mains I had the Roast Turbot with a smoked cepe risotto and Shira had the Beetroot linguine, chili, garlic crumbs and courgette. Another two well thought out dishes that did nothing to disappoint. My risotto was actually made from barley which I found to be a nice twist (and healthy too). For dessert I had there Carrot Panacotta with white chocolate and pepper sauce. This was an excellent dessert that somehow found itself to be both rich and light at the same time, amazing. I would have never thought as carrot as a flavor for panacotta. Due South is definitely worth making the reservation for and maybe even the trip to Brighton.
All in all Brighton is a great place to visit with a lot to do. If you are a couple looking for a romantic weekend away, family out for some fun with the kids, the girls out for some shopping or a 'Hen Party', or just someone looking to get some fresh seafood, Brighton is your place.
