Brighton and Hove’s food scene is one of the best in the UK. In fact, there are so many exciting restaurants in Brighton nowadays, compared to a few years ago, I actually look forward to being asked for tips. Keeping up what Brighton’s restaurants are doing means I’ve always a great recommendation to hand.
I’ve already written about the city’s most romantic, photogenic, cheapest, as well as my all-time favourites. But this list of secret restaurants in Brighton is a little bit different; a roundup of Brighton’s best with unique settings that are fun to find and serve incredible food, of course.
So, without any further delays, here are nine secret restaurants in Brighton I highly recommend. They work for all occasions, from your next weekend by the seaside, catch up with friends and family or date night, all of them tried and tested by me several times over.
This list has been updated since its original and will be continuously updated as we discover more secret Brighton foodie hotspots, well-established or brand new.
9 secret restaurants in Brighton
1. Pearly Cow, a funky underground seafront restaurant
This stylish and buzzy new addition to Brighton’s restaurant scene lies underneath the city’s latest hotel, Guesthouse Brighton, which occupies a trio of beautifully revamped Regency seafront townhouses opposite the West Pier. Its entrance can be found at the bottom of a set of funky pink-checkerboard steps to the right of the hotel entrance. The darkened door offers no clue of the inviting space that awaits behind it; a welcome sight when I visited on a windswept and stormy late November evening.
The decor is a fun riot of colour, pattern and texture with low-slung banquet seats scattered with cushions lending a bohemian feel. It’s a fun Brighton restaurant, the kind of place you want to get settled into for the night. It’s great for all occasions: girly get-togethers, date nights, festive work drinks, or birthday celebrations, you name. it. Food-wise, it’s mostly all about steak and seafood, alongside a few veggie options like beetroot carpaccio (pictured). You can order a few small plates to share, or go traditional with a starter and main course. I recommend settling in with a lobster taco, or two, and a glass of local Sussex Ridgeview fizz to enjoy while you wait for your perfectly cooked ribeye to emerge from the open kitchen.
Find Pearly Cow at 123 Kings Road, Brighton BN1 2FY
2. TunTuns cafe, incredible Bangladeshi street food near Hanover
Rich, flavourful homemade curries made with love – the best in Brighton many say – are what you come to this no-frills high-street spot on the fringes of Hanover for. This heartwarming family-run Bangladeshi spot is just one in an eclectic patchwork of local independent shops, businesses and coffee shops on Lewes Road. The dining room is brightly coloured and homely; the kind of place where the quality of the food matters more than having the latest décor, tableware and impeccably presented dishes, displayed on a pristine social media feed.
For a little bit of everything, the thalis come up top. A round silver tray comes filled with several little silver bowls of rice, dahl, a curry of your choice, a samosa, bhaji and bread, served with a smile, and all for only £15. There are vegan and gluten-free options, too, and mega thalis to share with friends from £50. Before you dive in, make sure to order one of the snacks to start, like bhelpuri, a Bangladeshi street food of crispy puffed rice tossed with sweet tamarind chutney, spicy green chutney and hot garlic.
Find Tuntuns Cafe at 150 Lewes Road, Brighton BN2 3LG
3. Med Restaurant, for hearty small plates on a side street in the Lanes
The small plates dining trend, particularly in Brighton, shows no sign of abating. You’ll find some of the best in the city at med., a fairly new restaurant along a side street in the Lanes, a two-minute walk from the seafront. Although it’s been open four years and on the best-restaurant lists, somehow it flies under the radar. The vibe is relaxed, the dining room dark and sultry, playlist cool and funky and the food served on chintzy crockery.
Shareable dishes follow the seasons and for small plates, they’re substantial. You definitely won’t leave hungry after a night at med. If you’re anything like me, after reading the tempting descriptions, you may end up over ordering: burrata, truffle honey and walnut; fried chicken, fish sauce caramel and melon salad; crispy potatoes and red pepper ketchup. Yum. Cocktails are punchy concoctions, too, like the Brooklyn 99: Lot 40 rye, cherry, amaro Montenegro, Cocchi Torino. The wine list, with over 60 to choose from, is extensive.
Find med. Brighton at 2-3 Little East Street, Brighton BN1 1HT
4. Unithai, tasty no-frills Thai food in a hove supermarket
It might look like an ordinary Thai supermarket, but the Unithai Oriental Market along Western Road near Brunswick Town hides a secret no-frills Thai restaurant. Head through the supermarket and you’ll find it out the back. It feels like you’ve walked into someone’s home in Thailand.
The service is fast and no-nonsense and the food is absolutely delicious (my favourites are the pad Thai, chicken with ginger and mushrooms, massaman curry and morning glory stir-fried in garlic, er basically everything!). It’s also BYO so come prepared with your favourite cheap wine or maybe even a Brighton Gin!
Find Unithai at 10 Church Road, Hove BN3 2FL
5. The gallery, ‘Fine dining’ in a North Laine college restaurant
This could well be Brighton’s best-kept secret restaurant – seriously, I only just found out about it despite living here for 15 years! Hidden inside the Greater Brighton Metropolitan College on the fringes of the eclectic North Laine area is the The Gallery restaurant. It serves modern European bistro dishes for lunch and creative fine dining-level dishes for dinner. The unique part is that it’s all cooked and served by students training at the college to be chefs and learning the front-of-house ropes.
Find The Gallery inside Greater Brighton Metropolitan College, Whitecross Street, Brighton BN1 4FA
6. Little Fish Market, a fancy seafood spot hidden on a hove mews
Tucked behind the Hove end of Western Road in a chic area known as Brunswick Town is this exceptional little restaurant. It’s one to bookmark for a fancy splurge, serving several-course tasting menus for dinner worthy of a Michelin star. Menus change with the seasons and each dish is an exceptional work of art and bursting with fresh, seasonal flavours. I’ve been a few times, usually to celebrate a birthday, and it’s always a treat.
Candlelit tables fill the tiny, simply decorated dining room with whitewashed walls and a wooden floor lending a Scandi feel. Even though it looks casual, the dining experience here manages to feel formal and special but definitely not stuffy. Dishes are simply described, think: crab on toast, wasabi, apple and fennel or whole seabream with orange and rosemary butter, leaving an element of surprise when they arrive. If you’re feeling super fancy, 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
7. Happy Maki, vegan sushi lunches above an oriental market in the north laine
It’s easy to miss the doorway to this Japanese restaurant above the Yum Yum Oriental Market on Sydney Street in the North Laine. Go in and head up the stairs and you’ll find a spacious canteen-style dining room and open kitchen. It’s open from lunchtime until 8pm each day. Find the doorway – it’s easy to miss – and head up the stairs into the calm, canteen-style space.
Nab a window seat, to gaze down at shoppers mingling, while tucking into a vegan sushi treat from the healthy menu. Everything is good, made fresh to order. Firm fan favourites include the spicy popcorn cauliflower, the generous burrito-sized sushi rolls and hearty bowls packed with a satisfying rainbow of bright ingredients, from carrots to edamame beans.
Find Happy Maki above Yum Yum Supermarket at 22-23 Sydney Street, Brighton BN1 4EN
8. Cellar bar and dining room, a secret venue in a smugglers’ tunnel underneath Brighton’s oldest Hotel
Hidden underneath Brighton’s oldest hotel, The Old Ship, is the setting for a clandestine cocktail party, wine-tasting session or candlelit dinner. Known as the Cellar Bar and Dining Room, this subterranean venue is located in what is thought to have once been used by a smugglers’ tunnel. It’s mostly used for private events but occasionally opens to the public as the Cellar Cocktail Bar, details of which are usually posted on its Facebook page.
Find the Cellar Cocktail Bar underneath the Old Ship Hotel at 32-38 Kings Rd, Brighton BN1 1NR
9. Botanique, Clandestine vegan fine dining in a former home design shop in hove
People used to come to Brighton just to visit the iGiGi General Store, a design shop with French farmhouse vibes filled with rustic curios that closed during the Pandemic. The atmosphere is still the same, but nowadays it’s home to a exceptional vegan fine-dining restaurant called Botanique. It’s brought to us from the people behind Food for Friends in The Lanes. Having dinner here really does feel like you’re ating in a home design shop, and it’s so pretty bathed in candlelight come evening. Many of the shops original old features can still be seen like the stripped front door and beautiful winding stairs. But let’s not forget the food which is as exceptional as the setting.
Botanique is another Brighton restaurant where the menu is designed around the seasons. They offer four- and six-course tasting menus depending on whether you visit for lunch or dinner, and plenty of la carte choices. Dishes are based around a specific vegetable, like Celeriac: nori, apple and celeriac, caper and lemon remoulade or Aubergine: sweet potato, truffle, pumpkin, courgette, dukkah, for example, and dainty works of art, especially the desserts, some of which come decorated with edible flowers.
Find Botanique at 31a Western Road, Hove BN3 1AF
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