Breakfast in Brighton
Claudia Dowell enjoys a foodie’s tour of Brighton’s best bistros and bars
I WAS EXCITED. A visit to Brighton in the autumn would take me back to my student days. Back then, returning to Brighton after long summers spent elsewhere always gave me a thrill of anticipation.
The low light on the iron-grey sea would dazzle, and in the early evening, thousands of starlings would take to the sky in fluid murmurations above the dark silhouettes of the piers. The cool air felt edgy and I felt really energised. But would things be the same a lifetime later?
These days, my nephew Ben feels the same as I did all those years ago about this city by the sea. He has been living there for 15 years or more, so can lay claim to it being his city now. I’ve passed on the baton – although I visit annually in the spring for the Brighton festival fringe event of the Artists’ Open Houses, I rarely venture into central Brighton.
A foodie reputation
A lot remains the same about this vibrant place, but a generation on, many things have changed; not least that Brighton has gained itself a reputation as a food and drink capital, with a plethora of cafés, restaurants, pubs, bakeries, wineries and distilleries to enjoy.
For 15 years, the Brighton Food and
Drink Festival has been at the heart of the city’s food and drink revolution, but clearly the organisers feel that their work is done, because last year’s festival was the final one. Now the city’s reputation is sustained by other means for visitors to enjoy.
For example, Brighton Food Tours (www.brightonfoodtours.com) offers four different guided walking tours, which cover street vendors, beer and food pairings, microbreweries, home-grown spirits and English wines.
It’s a great way to explore the interesting nooks and crannies of the city and meet the people injecting it with life. My plan, though, was to meet up with Ben and use him as my guide. I reckoned after 15 years he had pretty much sorted out the best spots for breakfast and lunch – and where to go for an early evening cocktail.
A site for the sights
Less than three miles from the Royal Pavilion, George IV’S exquisite summer palace, is the Brighton Caravan and Motorhome Club Site. From here, it takes 10 to 15 minutes to get into the city by car, or 30 minutes by bus, which includes a walk to the bus station or the marina, depending on your bus route.
And that’s the great advantage, because parking in the centre is expensive – £9 for four hours in Trafalgar Street car park, which was cheaper than parking on the street, at £3.50 per hour.
It was going to be a real treat to leave the car behind and bus it into town for a leisurely brunch, some sightseeing and shopping, and a cocktail and dinner, before getting the bus back to the site.
Let breakfast begin!
I began with Joe’s Café, just off Dyke Road, and reputed to be one of the best places in Brighton for breakfast – clearly one of those hidden gems only known by locals.
I travelled by bus, number 7 to the Old Steine and then 27 along Dyke Road, getting off at Port Hall Road.
Joe’s is a modest-looking place, but my breakfast of crushed avocado on sourdough bread, topped with two of the best-tasting (and best-presented) poached eggs I have ever had, and scattered with chili and spring onions, was absolutely delicious.
Another customer was tucking into his daily nosebag of Lucy’s Healthy Brunch, which comprised smoked salmon, poached eggs, avocado and mushrooms.
Further along Dyke Road is the Booth Museum of Natural History, a Brighton curiosity that began life as a Victorian gentleman’s private collection of
‘Brighton has gained itself a reputation as a food and drink capital’
birds, butterflies, fossils and bones, is well worth a look. If you’ve sought out Joe’s by car, then drive further along Dyke Road up into the South Downs and Devil’s Dyke.
From here, you can watch hang gliders or walk the eight miles along the South Downs Way to Ditchling Beacon, to admire the spectacular 360-degree views of the surrounding National Park.
Some you win…
The number 7 bus route, which runs near the Club site, will also get you to Brighton’s main shopping area on Western Road, not far from another breakfast hub hidden away from the main drag.
Walk along Western Road to Hampton Place on the right. Two intersections up, on the corner with Upper North Street, you’ll find Billie’s Café, famous for its hash breakfasts and generous portions. It was 4pm when I was there in search of tea and cake, and I was, sadly, too late. However, looking south, I could see the sea and the British Airways i360 tower, and I remembered that another of Ben’s café gems was on the seafront.
I headed downhill to the beach, which has been developed beyond recognition from my time here. A paved promenade holding back the shingle offers pubs, shops, artists’ studios, the i360 tower and – a new one for me – the Upside Down House, which opened in May 2019.
Inside, everything is inverted and for the £5 entry fee, you can take crazy photos that give the appearance you have been walking on the ceiling.
I was heading for the Flour Pot Kitchen, set within the many arches supporting the A259 coast road, where you can get a delicious breakfast pizza. The Flour Pot Bakery is a fairly recent Brighton success story, opening seven outlets around the city in just five years. The bakery offers fresh artisan products and coffee in each outlet, and the one on the beach, in an area now known as the Piazza, is the only one with a chef producing breakfasts and lunches, and serving wine.
What a fabulous venue! You could sit here all day over your breakfast pizza, watching the city’s eclectic population go by. Some of the iron legs of the derelict West Pier have been relocated on the Piazza as a permanent art installation.
The skeleton of the pier’s concert hall still stands out to sea, managing to look elegant, desolate and beyond repair.
Over my cuppa and some really delicious orange and polenta cake, I decided the pier probably never looked more beautiful, with the sea crashing around its remaining legs.
From here, I walked along the beach to the Palace Pier and Volk’s Electric Railway, to get back to the campsite.