A la Colthard / The Jetty, Brighton Harbour Hotel
Too many restaurant critics confine their review to openings. A restaurant then is on its best behaviour and it may take a bit of time to bed in. Also regular diners tend to have their favourites and are not normally so adventurous as to try a new one. Add to this, the PR company of a new restaurant will be working hard and extending freebees to get the reviewers there.
Last year the Jetty formed after opening a most favourable impression on me. It’s situated in the Brighton Harbour hotel, part of the Harbour Group that has restaurants along the South Coast. They are rivals to the Hotel du Vin boutique concept rather than taking on the more traditional grander sea front conference hotels.
Yesterday I returned to the Jetty for the first time this year. Readers will know that I am fussy over my greeting. So when I arrived and was kept standing as the greeter showed 2 diners their table I was less than impressed. The restaurant was 80% full so another extra greeter should have been deputed.
I then had to wait a good 15 minutes for my gin and tonic. I was rapidly forming the impression that the kitchen and bar could not cope. The waiter was the wrong side of friendly telling us too much about his waiting experience in Barcelona.
I chose a cheese soufflé with haddock which I had before and it had a delicious creamy texture -full marks here. The veal Holstein, a veal escalope breaded and served with fried egg and anchovy on top was disappointing. The meat was too hard and chewy, the breadcrumb too crusty. The best of this dish I have eaten was at Fischers and this was poor by comparison.
The restaurant has too many levels so you can easily slip and I don’t care for unisex toilets. My conclusions was that it had successfully established itself in Brighton but on marks out of ten I would downgrade it from 8 to 6.5.
The price for 3 courses, oysters, soufflé and mains and rose by glass and a bottle was about £60 per head which is reasonable enough and the level at which a Brighton diner will pay.
Perhaps a more negative assessment was informed by endless rain. There are few more depressing places then a rain swept empty British sea front in the summer. Accosting to one Lothario restaurant reviewer I know the only worst thing is a huge bill for two delivered at 11-30 pm when you knew your first date companion is not the slightest bit interested in you and wants to be elsewhere !!! I have also been on the receiving end in my time!!!
