A la Colthard/ Grand Eastbourne and The Jetty
The Grand at Eastbourne is one of the,well, grandest hotels on the South coast. With its wide stucco facade like a wedding cake and its gracious salons it very much an old fashioned hotel of style and luxury. Claude Debusssy came to stay after his marriage packed up. Having said all of this I have always found its garden restaurant a disappointment and this did not change when we dined there over the weekend.
We started the day at the Towner Gallery to see an exhibition called Towards Night . This was a themed exhibition on the subject of dark nocturnall light. There were some notable artists’ works on show – Marc Chagall, Edvard Munch, Turner, Lowry and Howard Hodgkin to name five , but not one of their highest quality. One felt – or Alice Mansfield did – that collections and museums were reluctant to lend their best for security reasons. Feeling underwhelmed we went to the Grand for a restorative glass of champagne. At £18 per glass this must be amongst the most expensive I’ve ordered for what tasted like house champagne. The menu was £24 for two courses but the dishes on the right hand of the menu were all supplemental so we paid another £7.50 for a watery pea soup. The slow cooked lamb lacked tenderness. The sommelier suggested a Beaujoliais at £39 – well he would wouldn’t he!!! – but it lacked a mellow fruitiness. To complete a distinctly average meal I had a bland panna cotta. True it’s a beautiful dining room and the service was exemplary but I’ve eaten food at the Cote chain for half of the price of the Grand which was just over £50 per head. Two other concerns were they neglected to bring Bob Tickler’s hat (he detests leaving anything in a cloakroom) and the taxi took ages to arrive.
We did better at the Jetty. This is my new fave at Brighton. Still, it was not quite as good as before. The lobster arrived without tools or water to rinse the hands: the Irish coffee was lukewarm and my veal Milanese could have been hotter.
Again there was a taxi problem but the after taste in terms of food, drink, price was much more satisfying. Of the two hotels, The Jetty is the restaurant of the Brighton Harbour Group, I know where I would prefer a dirty weekend – The Grand would insist my lover wears a tie at all times!!!!
