People often ask me to recommend great local restaurants in Brighton and Hove – especially independent neighbourhood favourites you’re guaranteed a night at to remember for years.

Believe it or not, there used to be a time when Brighton had very few good restaurants to rave about. Now, there are so many great ones that we’re spoiled for choice.

Today, I’m sharing my 10 all-time favourite restaurants in Brighton and Hove which I go back to time and again and I highly recommend for your next seaside adventure, not a chain in sight! It’s a mix of places for weekday eats to the more splurgy. Enjoy!

Don’t miss my other posts on where to eat and drink in Brighton: where to find the most romantic restaurants in Brighton, the most Instagrammable, best places for cheap eats in Brighton, unique and unusual cafes, places for afternoon tea in Brighton including Brighton’s smallest tea room. 

best restaurants in Brighton and hove

1 Palmito, Hove

Teeny Palmito, with its neon sign, has had everyone in Brighton talking since it opened in 2022. So much so, nabbing one of the 20 tables for dinner – or lunch on Saturday – is tricky, but worth the wait. On your visit, leave expectations at the door. Creative risk-raking is their USP, the chefs daring to go where others don’t.

A menu of Ecuadorean, southern Indian and Mexican dishes might seem a baffling mix at first. They’re simply the owner’s favourite foods; a blend that actually works really well and what makes a trip to Palmito exciting.

Every dish is an absolute thrill not to mention an excellent conversation starter. Feel free to stay purist or mix it up with a dish from each country, as I did.

I highly recommend combining grilled sweetcorn with chipotle mayo, parmesan, and lime salt (Mexico), slow braised beef short rib (Ecuador), and Kerala-style grilled mackerel, winter tomato, beetroot, and blood orange (South India).

Find Palmito at 16 Western Road, Hove BN3 1AE

2 Wild Flor, Hove

This is another small neighbourhood gem restaurant, which was the talk of the city when it opened in May 2019. With enthusiasm and creativity, they weathered the Pandemic and they keep getting better.

They’re open for lunch (except Monday and Tuesday) and dinner each night (except Sunday and Monday). There’s a smart, buzzy downstairs dining room, and another upstairs, bathed in candlelight come evening. The window seat up here is a nice spot for date night.

The food is classic and sometimes decadent (pappardelle of glazed pig cheek, peas and aged parmesan; rhubarb and cardamom custard mille feuille), yet light and lively (Cornish crab, pink grapefruit and celery; Saddlescombe lamb, apricot, saffron and lambs lettuce).

The wine list is epic and they now do a £25 set lunch menu of favourite dishes, including their famous Madeleines to finish.

Find Wild Flor at 42 Church Road,  Hove BN3 2FN

3 Bardsley’s Fish and Chips, London Road

Where to get Brighton’s best fish and chips is a hot debate. My favourite place is, hands down, Bardsley’s, a ‘back-street chippy’ for its out-of-town location in Brighton’s overlooked London Road neighbourhood. It’s unique for its quirky dining room filled with old music hall memorabilia.

(Side note: Since I wrote about Bardsley’s, in this post from 2016 and in my book Secret Brighton, it’s been featured in various national newspapers… coincidence?)

The secret is in the freshness. Everything is cooked to order, served crispy, golden and piping hot – and you can order wine! What’s special about it is that it’s been run by the same family since 1926, and the owners are friendly and welcoming you’ll feel relaxed as soon as you walk in.

Find Bardsley’s at 23A Baker Street, Brighton, BN1 4JN 

4  Carlito Burrito, London Road

Another great option to have in mind should you find yourself in the overlooked London Road neighbourhood of Brighton. It’s a ‘dive style’ Mexican street food restaurant with a colourful dining room filled with the sound of Mexican music and chatter. The food is delicious, and the portions are huge.

Don’t miss the fish tacos and burritos. They also do the most amazing hibiscus margaritas. It’s a great cheap, lively date-night spot or place to meet a friend for a fun catch-up dinner. It’s also highly instagrammable!

Find Carlito Burrito at 12 York Place, Brighton BN1 4GU

5 Plateau, The Lanes

This sophisticated French cafe-bistro-wine bar, near this hidden vintage clothing boutique, is all about natural wines and small plates. It has a sleek informal dining room with an industrial-chic look, and a quieter one upstairs.

It’s a great option for a number of occasions – power lunches, laid-back lunches, mid-shopping-spree pitstops, cocktails before a night out, dinner with friends, date night…

The food is modern French. They do little dishes to share, like shishito peppers which pair well with one of their heady cocktails to start. Bigger dishes are on offer too, like seared bavette steak with pomme frites and rocket, which I recommend.

Find Plateau at 1 Bartholomews, Brighton, BN1 1HB

6 Busby and Wilds, Kemptown

Dan and I live in the leafy Fiveways area of Brighton, but we won’t hesitate to bike it across the city for a burger and shoestring fries at Busby and Wilds, a family-run gastro pub in eclectic, historic Kemptown, one of the stops on my hidden walk around the neighbourhood.

It has a relaxed atmosphere, and the food is traditional English with a modern edge (think potted Sussex crab with fennel, apple puree and toast, steak and chunky chips, and sticky toffee pudding). On Thursdays, burgers are only £10!

Insider tip: Their hidden courtyard garden makes the perfect spot for sipping rose wine come summer. Take a peek here.

Find Busby and Wilds at 9 Rock Street, Brighton BN2 1NF

7 Bincho Yakitori, Brighton

This tiny, perma-packed Japanese tapas restaurant transports you to the backstreets of Toyko. It serves delicious and inexpensive small plates made for sharing, cooked as ordered and served when they’re ready.

It also cooks up the world’s best fried chicken IMO which I love to enjoy with a glass of chilled plum wine over ice. The vibe is cosy yet buzzy and fun, and it’s a great place for date night or dinner with friends. Insider tip: Since it won a couple of awards, getting a table here is tricky. Try your luck, here.

Find Bincho Yakitori at 63 Preston Street, Brighton BN1 2HE

8 Unithai, Hove

I like to call this Brighton’s secret Thai restaurant. Since the restaurant is hidden inside a Thai supermarket on Western Road in Hove, you only really discover it by word of mouth, seeing as it’s not obvious from the outside.

Head to the back of the shop and you’ll find a no-frills dining room serving up tasty big platefuls of homemade Thai food. The service is efficient and fast; it’s a good place for a mid-week night dinner. The stir-fried pak choi in garlic is delicious.

Find Unithai restaurant, Brighton’s secret Thai restaurant, inside Unithai Oriental Market at 10 Church Road, Hove BN3 2FL 

9 The Little Fish Market, Hove

This is my favourite place for one of those fancy, splurgy nights out. It serves exceptional five-course creative tasting menus for dinner – I took Dan for his birthday and it was mindblowing.

The dining room is relaxed, quiet and the service is exceptional – you walk in, sit down and immediately feel transported. Even though the menu is chalked up on a blackboard, it’s still a fun surprise when it’s served. You can pay extra to have a different wine with each course.

Find The Little Fish Market at 10 Upper Market Street, Hove BN3 1AS

10 Embers, The Lanes

When one door closes, another opens, as they say. When the folk behind the long-standing experimental restaurant, Isaac At, decided it was time to move on, they opened Embers shortly after, in a wonky characterful building along a historic cobbled street in The Lanes.

Here, it’s all about faultless small plates cooked over fire and cocktails. Even non-tequila fans rave about the Cadillac Jo’ Margarita, made with smoky mezcal, chilli, and citrus. Yum. If you only have two dishes, go for the crispy sprouts and the smoked spatchcocked chicken with honey and mustard mayo. That way, you’ll have room for cheese on toast for afters!

Find Embers at 42 Meeting House Lane, Brighton BN1 1HB

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