The ‘North Laine’ in Brighton should not be confused with ‘The Lanes’ on the south side of Brighton. These lanes (away from the sea) are more bohemian, more quirky and more individual. You won’t find many chains in this part of Brighton but you will find lots of fantastic inde food retailers and restaurants. Some of my North Laine favourites include Cin Cin Italian Bar & Restaurant, Isaac At for seasonal, fine dining and Silo for a zero-waste tasty brunch. The VIB Brighton Food Tour also begins here and is well worth trying if you’re new to the city. Check all my restaurant reviews within the North Laine area below.
It’s a year since Isaac At went from a popup to permanent restaurant and to celebrate the milestone I was invited to try the restaurant’s new South Coast Tasting Menu.
Italy is one of the few countries I’ve visited more than once. Four times in fact, with a trip to Tuscany last year most recently. The reason I return? Always for the food… Thankfully I can now get a little slice of Italy right in the heart of Brighton’s North Laine for those breaks between trips, at Cin Cin.
Brighton has a reputation for being a hub for conscious-minded businesses and Silo, the UK’s first and only zero-waste restaurant, bakery and coffee house, is one of the city’s great food successes. It’s tucked away in the Bohemian North Laine area and easily recognised by the huge No. 39 painted on the exterior wall.
My family are originally from Portland in Jamaica and good, well-seasoned food, is as important as breathing to them. So much so, the day before they come to visit they’ll cook up a feast, seasoned within an inch of its life, and bring it with them to ensure a pleasant journey.
I can count on one hand the number of outstanding meals I’ve eaten and the first time I dined at Isaac At, in the North Laine, is one of them. 12 months after that visit the restaurant has had a refurb and gone from pop-up to permanent. On its re-opening night, I went along to see what had changed and whether the food still impressed.
Stroll down from Brighton Station and you’ll come to Mange Tout, an Independent Parisian Bistro that’s the sister to Plateau, one of Brighton’s top 20 restaurants. It’s menu, as the name roughly translates, makes you want to ‘eat everything’.
A new food joint has just landed in the heart of the North Laines – 1847 Brighton – specialising in high quality, locally produced vegetarian, vegan and gluten-free dining. But why 1847? Because that’s the year The Vegetarian Society was formed… smart.
Back in October I was invited to a ‘Meet the Brewer’ evening at the North Laine Brewhouse. Being that I’m not a beer drinker myself, I enlisted a couple of beer-loving-boys (Tom and Duncan) and my friend Hannah to help me review the experience.
Coffeetzar has only been open one week and it’s just finding its way in the city, trying to carve itself a niche to stand out amongst the other 400-or-so food joints that Brighton has to offer.
This was up there with one of the best meals I’ve ever eaten. Each course brought you something new and unexpected and I delighted in the fact that I was eating foods in unusual combinations.