A la Colthard/Casa Brasil

The new Marina development which will ultimately comprise 821 apartments, some in a forty storey block, is up running with restaurants along the quayside. It’s quite controversial and certainly expensive with a one bedroom flat costing £461,000, two £530 000 and three nearly £800,000 which is higher than the existing stock. Brighton is a lively city where unlike many coastal towns and cities there is always something  happening – a festival, Pride last weekend that attracted 3300,000 revellers and the new £42 watchtower.

I was having a girlie lunch with Jane Shillingford of the Rust and of the various restaurants chose Casa Brasil. The units are big spaces and no doubts rents and business rates are high which might explain that everyone is a chain. It’s rather sad as in Nice each of the beach bars and restaurants were individually owned and had their own character for that. The formula is a help yourself salad bar which was copious a diverse. Meat is  served at the table by servers circulating with various joints. You can pace the meal by turning a card to red which indicates you want a pause. We had a chicken leg, pork, beef and ham  and each was tasty. I had a Mojito and Cabernet red though ordered a white and Jane a diet coke. The bill came to £60. I would say estimate 90% of dining is not high end but families and singles who want value and can’t or won’t pay high prices. Sadly such restaurants are rarely reviewed . So I would give Casa Brasil the thumbs-up with the added advantage that at the end of the quay it overlooks the waterway leaving the marina.

With  dishy Brazilian waitresses with their olive skin and sultry sex appeal bringing in the Copacabana culture and no doubt Bob Tickler too, there is a district national ambience but it’s also a formulaic menu and format and Jane thought la Daphne was the wrong sex for the smooth male waiters!!!!