A la Colthard: two new, two old
When a new restaurant opens in my adopted city it’s something of an event.
Here I am reviewing two: Burnt Orange in Middle Street and Taste in Brighton Marina.
That any restaurant is opening whilst we are in pandemic mode is itself significant.
Middle Street is one of the more interesting streets in central Brighton. It connects the sea front to the Lanes.
The oldest synagogue in Europe no longer in service is there, nor the old Hippodrome Music Hall which a group have long been seeking to renovate and reopen.
At the seafront end is the old SS Sport Arena – now the Odeon – where the mighty Brighton Tigers once played.
Burnt Orange is the latest creation of Razat Helelat who already owns the Coal Shed and the Salt Room which I have visited and praised.
The Coal Shed majors on well-cooked coal fired steaks, the Salt Room – which gives life to the rather cavernous conference sea front hotel that is the Hilton Metropole – sea food.
Raz (as he is universally known) is a talented restaurateur and in Burnt Orange the theme is flamed food with interesting middle eastern ingredients.
It’s shared platters, which is fine by me.
As with most Brighton restaurants, they have a bar and offer cocktails. The barman doing a St Vitus dance as he shakes a cocktail is very much a feature of Brighton restaurant life.
As I was initially concerned the online reservation required a credit card, I did not proceed with this, but the telephone and actual greeting was warm and friendly.
I was offered a table in their charming courtyard which I accepted.
This led to a commonplace conversation on the present weather but I was assured they had a canopy for all eventualities.
In ordering I was influenced by an enthusiastic review in The Guardian by Jay Rayner.
I chose the calamari with a citric aioli sauce and a wise choice too.
The batter on the calimari was fine and flowery and the sauce yummy.
For mains, as it is my practice to prefer dishes I do not make at Chez Daffers, I plumped for Galician Octopus with sweetened roast potatoes.
There was not too much flambé in either dish but both were highly flavoursome.
My only critique – a familiar one – would be the price of wine by the glass (£7-10).
Cocktails are around £10, so I had a whisky sour and their trademark “Untwisted” a concoction of Grand Marnier with a morello cherry.
At £60 I thought this all good value.
The service was so good – twice the waitress cleaned the table and was always more helpful than familiar – that I added a tenner to the discretionary service charge.
Always an indicator she was happy there, well-treated, though she worked a 12 hour shift.
Brighton restaurants suffer in early midweek but I reckon this was 75% full. I predict Burnt Orange will do well
I wish I could be as complimentary of Taste in Brighton Marina.
When it opened as an independent I hoped it would offer something different to the fast food outlets designed for families with kids visiting the cinema or bowling, but hopefully not the casino.
The restaurants are big units which normally only brands like Five Guys or T.J. Friday can afford.
Burnt Orange could teach Taste how to cook calamari.
Here they were cooked in thick batter with a large sprinkling of cayenne pepper. I had a job finishing them.
The wagyu burger was so inundated with sauce cheese and bacon that I was unsure what meat it was.
The Irish Coffee was the sourest I have ever tasted.
At £47 I decided I’m unlikely to revisit.
I have been spending quite a bit of my staycation at West Wittering in West Sussex.
Nicknamed “God’s Pocket” in a promontory south of Chichester facing the Isle of Wight, it’s the home of Keith Richard and Kate Winslett.
It also has one of the finest sandy beaches on the South coast.
Here I have found two excellent restaurants.
The first is Crouchers Hotel once called Crouchers Bottom – and by the late father of a colleague on the Rust – “Croucher’s Arse”.
It has a delightful garden and good service.
The first time I had the brunch, the second (recently) a gazpacho and Caesar salad.
The food at the Crab and Lobster, which I visited last week, is more interesting. Fish-based, I had crab bisque and divine seafood paella with saffron rice.
Here they have a set menu for £23 which is good value and a pleasant patio in the picturesque village of Sidlesham.
One word of warning: there is not much signage and the initiated with little sense of direction should follow the directions on the website.