Tucked at the end of a pretty residential street, close to my favourite cinema on the way in to Brighton, was the tiny authentic Sicilian restaurant called Mediterraneo Deli. It was one of those amazing little neighbourhood gems I hoped would never shut down, which it did a few years after we got acquainted, changing its style and relocating to Portland Road in Hove.

It’s still open for dinner on weekends and now during the day as a cafe but I still miss the old Mediterraneo, which I’d started to call my Brighton date night hideaway. I could never resist snapping a photo of its facade, whenever I was wandering around Brighton’s overlooked London Road neighbourhood.  So today I’m reminiscing on Mediterraneo…

An Ode to Mediterraneo, Brighton’s Secret Sicilian Restaurant

Inside, you could be stepping into what you might imagine a little traditional Sicilian village restaurant, small and cosy, crammed with little tables bathed in candlelight and shelves bursting with wine bottles and local food, but what gave Mediterraneo a personal Brighton flavour were the owner’s paintings decorating the walls…

So as far as Brighton restaurants go, Mediterraneo was as good as it gets in terms of local restaurants. It was one of those perfect places to come to if you wanted a simple date night where you can chat for hours over a bottle of delicious local wine, a family get together, a big birthday party dinner (you can hire the place all to yourself), or even a wedding reception. I pretty much gave this hidden gem a test run for all occasions…

Between the big candlesticks, low lighting, delicate tablecloths and rickety café chairs, Mediterraneo was a quirky, yet sophisticated little place created with love by its husband and wife team, Giorgio and Sonia, unlike so many of the tourist traps in this seaside town. Giorgio worked the floor treating his customers as best friends, while Sonia works magic in the teeny tiny kitchen you can spy from the restaurant.

You could just about see into the teeny tiny kitchen below…

This picture-perfect little venue was not a seaside cliché, the Sicilian kitchen appealing for its delicious yet not heavy traditional food, the stuff they’d eat at home if it was a special occasion.

To start, he had the mini arancini balls which Giorgio tells us are the equivalent of Sicilian ‘fast street food’, while I went for the more ladylike version of grilled aubergine rolls stuffed with mozzarella, tomatoes, parma ham and rocket. So pretty and so divine!

Next, I chose the stuffed pepper, while he had the (a hearty vegetable stew of aubergines, potatoes, mozzarella and breadcrumbs). Both faultless.

To finish off, we shared a Tiramisu and knock backed a limoncello – rude not to. All in all with a good bottle of local wine, our bill came in at just over £30 a head which left us feeling proud we hadn’t paid our money to a chain, instead to a local restaurant created with love by two hard-working, talented owners from the community.

Goodbye old Mediterraneo. You’ll find the new version of Mediterraneo Deli at 164 Portland Road, hove.

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