Hardens Guide to the Best Restaurants in Seaford
Hardens guides have spent 33 years compiling reviews of the best Seaford restaurants. On Hardens.com you'll find details and reviews of 60 restaurants in Seaford and our unique survey based approach to rating and reviewing Seaford restaurants gives you the best insight into the top restaurants in every area and of every type of cuisine.
Featured Seaford Restaurants
1. English’s
Fish & seafood restaurant in Brighton
29-31 East St - BN1
“The terrace is fabulous on a sunny day at this traditional seafood operation” – a feature of the Lanes since the 1890s and owned by the Leigh-Jones family since 1945 (and as such, one of the UK’s most venerable restaurants). Diners differ, though, on its overall performance although even fans concede tables are “squeezed in”. To its biggest fans its straightforward menu of oysters, crab, caviar lobster and other fish and seafood (plus items like steak and a handful of non-fish dishes) is “not the cheapest, but provides the best value in Brighton as it’s always reliable and doesn’t try to do too much”. Sceptics “expected more from this long-term fish specialist”, either judging it “plain and old fashioned” or even an “(expensive) tourist trap”. Perhaps the best overall verdict is that “quality varies and it’s best to stick to the standards”. Top Menu Tips – “fish pie is still the star for me…”; “love it for its very fresh oysters”.
2. The Chilli Pickle
Indian restaurant in Brighton
17 Jubilee St - BN1
“A favourite Indian restaurant in Brighton” – “although its modern Indian street-food based cooking and bright flavours are now widely copied, it’s still one of the best specimens”. “The decor is bright and friendly, but there’s no disguising the canteen-like vibe of the huge dining room so it’s not the place for a long and relaxed or romantic meal”. “Consistently good quality food” though means more reporters “love this place!” (“despite increasing local competition”). After 14 years as part of the MyHotel, owners Dawn & Alun Sperring have announced their intention to move premises after the summer is over: no news as yet on the new site.
3. Terre à Terre
Vegetarian restaurant in Brighton
71 East St - BN1
“Simply the best vegetarian food for miles around”, say fans of this “charmingly staffed” veteran of the Lanes whose reputation extends beyond Brighton to the capital and beyond: “with food like this you really don’t miss meat or fish”, thanks to the “creative dishes that you just can’t get anywhere else”. “Only slightly negative: is the menu smaller than it used to be?”
4. The Tasting Room, Rathfinny Wine Estate
British, Modern restaurant in Alfriston
Rathfinny Wine Estate - BN26
Opened in 2018, the same year owners Mark & Sarah Driver launched the first vintages of their English sparkling wines, this seasonal dining room has a “stunning location” overlooking the vineyards and South Downs. Chef Chris Bailey’s two- or three-course lunches and tasting menu dinners are strong on local ingredients, with “superb wines” from the estate a given. Those who took advantage of their al-fresco summer dinner parties, ‘Dine in the Vines’, found the “food and wine delightful and the company good”; the grounds also host the more casual Flint Barn dining room and wine bar The Hut at Rathfinny.
5. The Set
British, Modern restaurant in Brighton
50 Preston Road - BN1
“An absolutely stunning concept (14-16 mini plates) with great creativity and execution” – Dan Kenny aims to provide ‘a tasting menu of big-flavoured, umami- and fat-led food’ at his 12-16 cover venue, not far from Preston Park and underneath the viaduct: an experience you are advised to allow about two and half hours for. All who comment are fans, although it can appear “interesting but expensive”. On the plus side, one fan notes: “I have recommended it to everyone I know, and everyone who has been so far has always booked again”.
6. The Star
British, Modern restaurant in Alfriston
High Street - BN26
There’s no doubting the “great” setting of this former religious hostel, which lies at the foot of the Sussex Downs on the banks of the Cuckmere River; having been acquired by hospitality whizz Olga Polizzi in 2021, it’s now an “upmarket country hotel” replete with Bloomsbury set artworks and (in the dining room) a gorgeous Elizabethan-esque floor. With River Café alum Tim Kensett having moved on to his Scottish wild-dining concept Inverlonan Dining, head chef Vincenzo Petrocco is currently at the helm; the “food is mainstream Anglo-French with good fish and meat options” and while “not inexpensive” (“you can eat in the best London restaurants at their prices”) and described by sceptics as “good but fairly ordinary”, more positive reporters believe the “quality cooking and service justify the bill”.
7. Ram Inn
restaurant in Firle
The Street - BN8
2022 Review: At the heart of a picture-perfect village in the South Downs National Park which was beloved by Virginia Woolf in her day, this rambling brick and flint pub-with-rooms has a “great garden, or more like field” (!) offering views over the Sussex countryside. Inside offers an “intimate” and “romantic” backdrop to “modern and fresh” food of a “reliable” bent.
8. The Mirabelle, The Grand Hotel
British, Modern restaurant in Eastbourne
King Edwards Parade - BN21
“Still the only ‘fine-dining’ restaurant in Eastbourne”, the “lovely” and “smart” dining room of iconic seafront establishment the Grand Hotel is “five-star all the way”, say fans; on the service front, “the mostly long-serving team continue to deliver”, while chef Alex Burtenshaw, who joined the line-up in 2023, turns out modern European cooking that is “now never less than acceptable, and sometimes excellent”. That’s the upbeat view anyway. But a minority of diners find the whole performance “very, very disappointing”, and this view was more to the fore this year: they say “it’s very expensive”, that “the only pluspoint is the very large dining room”, and that “this place could only ever survive in Eastbourne”. Top Tip – for a cheaper option, the hotel’s other restaurant (the Garden Grill) is said to do “an excellent Sunday lunch” – and looks far swankier than one might expect from it being the hotel’s more casual option.
9. The Ginger Dog
British, Modern restaurant in Brighton
12 College Pl - BN2
2021 Review: “More ‘pubby’ than The Gingerman” – the namesake group’s original site and flagship, opened in 1998 – “but more relaxing” too, this dog-friendly Kemptown spot is a solid performer which “cannot be beaten for family get-togethers”; the newest ginger, The Flint House, mixing tapas, cocktails and a roof terrace, opened in central Brighton in spring 2019.
10. Amarillo at Drakes
restaurant in Brighton
Drakes, 43 - 44 Marine Parade - BN2
2022 Review: Occupying the basement Kempton site of the eponymous Drakes of Brighton, the new restaurant at this boutique hotel is headed up by chef Ian Swainson (previously at The Pass). It started as a pop-up in 2019 and went permanent in 2020. Our limited feedback said the food is very good, but was too limited for a rating. But the word on the street is that his food is some of the more interesting to be had in the town.
11. Kindling
British, Modern restaurant in Brighton
69 East Street - BN1
2022 Review: Opened just before Christmas 2019, a brightly decorated establishment where everything is cooked over open fire in the central open kitchen. It’s from the Food for Friends team with chefs Holly Taylor and Toby Geneen. Limited initial feedback, but ratings are strong and reports are of a “carnivore’s delight”.
12. Indian Summer
Indian restaurant in Brighton
70 East Street - BN1
2022 Review: “Creative and delicious” – this pleasing Lanes spot, say fans, “takes Indian food to new heights”. One or two reporters this year, though, craved more spice here.
13. Plateau
British, Modern restaurant in Brighton
1 Bartholomews - BN1
2021 Review: “A shabby-chic bistro with pleasant staff and interesting small plates” – fish-centric – plus “natural wines to complement the seasonal organic food”.
14. Basketmakers Arms
British, Traditional restaurant in Brighton
12 Gloucester Rd - BN1
2023 Review: This “little” Victorian boozer on a North Laine corner is “a bit away from the centre but not far from the station, so perfect when arriving at lunchtime” – “the menu’s not massive, which is usually a good sign, and you’ll find Sunday roast, fish ’n’ chips, and classic pub dishes”.
15. MEATLiquor
Burgers, etc restaurant in Brighton
22-23 York Place - BN1
“Ambience is not key when you just want to stuff your face!” – you “just get a great dirty burger” at these tongue-in-cheek diners, whose signature offering is the ‘Dead Hippie’. Founded 16 years ago from the back of a truck by Scott Collins and Yianni Papoutsis, at the time a technician with the English National Ballet, it now has 15 London outlets and a national delivery operation.
16. Burger Brothers
Burgers, etc restaurant in Brighton
97 North Rd - BN1
2023 Review: “Not a restaurant… rather a tiny room with some bar stools along the wall”. Fans say “it’s a ‘must-try’ experience for all lovers of honest, tasty cuisine! The burgers are juicy, and full of flavour from the quality of the meat to the seasonings”.
17. Isaac@
British, Modern restaurant in Brighton
2 Gloucester Street - BN1
2023 Review: Isaac Bartlett-Copeland’s ambitious and ultra-local operation in Brighton’s boho North Laine is “so original and never the same twice”, with its ‘taste of Sussex’ menus and an all-English list of wines. The “NYC vibe” goes too far for some tastes (“well-meaning front of house told us everything, and I mean absolutely everything, about every dish…”)
18. Donatello
Italian restaurant in Brighton
1-3 Brighton Pl - BN1
2023 Review: “A bustling Italian pizzeria with huge helpings of food like Mama makes” in the heart of the Lanes. “Comforting and joyous” – it provides “value-for-money pastas and pizzas and is ideal for outings with young family members”.
19. Flint House
British, Modern restaurant in Brighton
13 Hannington’s Lane - BN1
“Brighton’s most popular restaurant” (our survey agrees – it’s the most commented-on in town): “small plates rule – and the choices are definitely out-of-the-ordinary” – at Pamela & Ben McKellar’s venue in the Lanes, where “most of the seating is counter-style, which is great but arguably limits its appeal (you have to be very lucky to get one of the tables if you want a six, for example)”. For £50 per person, you can avoid having to choose and go for the chef’s short tasting menu, which is “really good, and a good representation of the kitchen”. Notwithstanding its popularity and virtues, though, ratings overall here are only in the middle ground and one or two more sceptical reporters “expected more given its reputation… I’m not sure exactly what it is attempting”.
20. Food for Friends
Vegetarian restaurant in Brighton
17-18 Prince Albert St - BN1
This Lanes institution of almost 45 years’ standing has a national reputation for its “creative” vegetarian and vegan cooking, which is both “good quality” and “very good value for money”. There’s a “wide choice of dishes” inspired by European and Asian cuisines – and a dessert menu that pulls no punches. These days it has an offshoot in Hove, Botanique.
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