A night of Cocktails & a meal at one of the best Fine Dining restaurants in Brighton

We spent a rare night alone, kid free whilst in Brighton.

There was only one thing for it: Cocktails at the Plotting Parlour and a fine dining taster menu at one of our favourite fine dining restaurants in Brighton : Isaac At in Sunny Brighton.

Champagne, champagne for everyone

Brighton is really starting to become a hot foodie destination and there are a number of fine dining restaurants in brighton, as well as a with a wide variety - from fine dining to street food. There’s a somewhere good to eat on almost every corner. Here's a review of our meal at Isaac At fine dining restaurant

• Why you should go

• What to expect

• A look at the menu

These are our pick of the best fine dining restaurants in Brighton that you must visit:

(we'll blog about each one in a separate post):

• Isaac At Fine Dining Restaurant (Michelin Guide)

• The Saltroom (Michelin guide)

• Petite Pois

• Etch (Michelin Guide)

• Amarillo (Michelin Guide)

• The Ivy

On our most recent trips we took advantage of this and booked a mini holiday, within a mini holiday… A bit of us time, we went on a date woohoo. A few weeks beforehand, Clare’s birthday meal was cancelled at the last minute as right before we were about to set off for a local restaurant, our daughter decided that she didn’t feel well and we had to cancel.

So to make up for this, we asked my Brother and his partner to babysit for the night, I booked us a hotel and we headed out for a night of cocktails and fine dining in Brighton.

This was a rare treat and we hadn’t had much time together in what felt like ages. As much as I love my kids, it does get hard when you don’t get any time together. As we work together too, it seems like we spend most of our lives being Business owners, discussing stock, financials and plans etc, we then go home and be Mum and Dad, with not much time for anything else. It’s hard to loose yourselves, we just needed the be Clare and Si, Boyfriend and girlfriend for a bit. Enjoy each others company, reconnect and have a bit of romance maybe.

So, plans were set in motion.

After a lot of research, I had a shortlist of restaurants all of which looked amazing. The fine dining scene in Brighton and Hove is really blowing up but I managed to narrow it down to three. The choice was between Etch, run by winner of Masterchef the Professionals winner, Steven Edwards. The Little Fish Market, by Duncan Ray and Isaac at. It was a bit last minute and after trying to book, we were struggling for a Saturday booking. We were on waiting lists and the first to call us with space after a cancellation, was Isaac at, so that was decision made. The other two are defo on our list, so if my Brother reads this…. Just let me know when you can babysit again ;o) We really want to try the other two so will make a point next time we get chance.

Again, due to the last minute nature of the night out the choice of hotels was a little limited, Summer in Brighton is a very busy time. I managed to get us in at the Mercure Brighton sea front. Which is the former Norfolk hotel, in a grand old building overlooking the prom, with a great sea view and not to far from the centre of town. The room was nice, clean and spacious. So I took the chance to have a shower in peace. Something which is a rare treat as the kids have an amazing sixth sense, they know as soon as I get in the shower and magically need the toilet, appearing in the bathroom without making a sound…. Like some kind of pissy ninja.

Hello hotel..... Goodby kids

So there we were, Clare had a slinky red dress on, high heels and curls in her hair (looking amazing, if I do say so), I had a flouncy silk shirt on, minimal buttoning in evidence and we headed out into the still hot evening sun. Straight in the Uber and down to a little cocktail spot I had hunted out. The Plotting Parlour.

Cool interior spaces at The Plotting Parlour

The Plotting Parlour is a cool little place, on Stein street. It’s just set back from the front near the Sea Life centre, so it’s a central, but it is on a little back street, so not somewhere you would usually stumble on. We headed inside, it’s a dark, almost gothic feeling interior, with lots of dark wood and matte grey décor. We loved it. We settled down for a couple of drinks, choosing from the cocktail menu, which is pretty impressive, a fine selection of classics, some with a distinctly modern twist and all made using the best ingredients. This would chill us out before dinner. I had an ale to quench my thirst, Clare went for a vodka and tomato juice and I had the Ginger and Chilli Margherita, which was amazing. We both love Tequila and I in particular like ginger so this was a bit of a no brainer. They went down very well, so we both moved onto these and had a couple more before we had a (very) relaxed walk to the restaurant, feeling fine.

Ginger Chilli Margherita. Warning. They go down well

We arrived at Isaac at, which is on Gloucester street, not to far from the Laines area. We were feeling super chilled after the tequilas, but were certainly ready to eat. The restaurant describes itself as “Serving Sussex on a plate, sourcing all of it’s ingredients from Sussex and the surrounding area”. A lot of restaurants make a locally sourced claim, but Isaac at takes this to the next level. Their knowledge and passion for local suppliers and produce really shines through. We really love to be told all about our meal and the story behind it, so hearing this is always welcome. The restaurant is small, simply decorated and spaced perfectly. It has an open kitchen, so you can see the chefs at work. It holds two AA rosettes and is featured in numerous good food guides.

Laid back, stylish vibes at one of our fave fine dining restaurants in brighton - Isaac at restaurant

We had booked the tasting menu, with wine pairing. We really do love doing this so much and it was a treat, so we wanted to go mental. Each course was amazing and really well cooked, balanced food. First up was a tomato and basil dish, which was simple and just let the good quality ingredients do the talking. The following courgette and Waldorf salad was equally good. Fish course was a Lemon sole and sea herbs. I really liked this, I do find that I like my fish cooked a little more than what is the norm, but this was just right. My favourite dish was next up, the Trenchmore beef was amazingly good. We finished off with the cheese board, a Bramley apple sorbet, yoghurt molasses and finally a millionaires shortbread. This was all paired with really well selected local wines. It was really good to try British wines and the sommelier Alex is v. informative. We do like to ask a lot of questions and he was always on hand to answer them. As we were in the final sitting we had a good chat afterwards over a double espresso about the restaurant and how they had been coping with the recent lockdowns, cancellations and wearing a mask, in a hot kitchen on a summers day.

A fine selection of dining

Overall the meal and ambience was really good, relaxed and not too formal at all, which we like. I’m not a huge fan of super formal dining and I like to feel relaxed as I eat and this place hit that spot well. We like it so much that we bought a gift voucher for the same experience for my brother and his other half, as a combined thank you-Birthday-Christmas present treat. So it must have made an impression.

Feeling full of fine food and also full of beans after a post meal double espresso, we weren’t quite ready for bed, so we headed back to the Plotting Parlour for a few more cocktails. A fair few Chilli Margheritas each and we thought it wise to walk, just a little zig-zaggedy back and clear our heads before we got to the hotel. The evening was still warm with a pleasant sea breeze so this was a thoroughly enjoyable wander. It was still busy, even after midnight, which made it all feel a bit like holiday. There were lots of groups still on the beach, drinking, chatting and listening to music. It was all pretty good natured, but we were glad to get back in and sink into a comfy bed, with lots of pillows and crisp white sheets.

It's not a bad spot that Lucky Beach have bagged in Brighton

We woke up feeling pretty bleary eyed the next morning, but a coffee in the room and a cold shower soon sorted that. We headed out into the already warm morning, a short hop down the beach was Lucky Beach café. Set right on the beach, we bagged a table on the pebbles. The sun was already pretty fierce so we took a bit of shade. We do love a good breakfast/brunch. After a few drinks the night before the Fresh Crab Benedict really hit the spot. The crab made it all a little unusual, set on avocado, sourdough bread and just the right amount of hollandaise sauce this was doing good things to us.

You probably don't know you need a crab Benedict in your life.... But, you do

We were even picked up by my Brother and whisked back as well as being dropped off the night before, so we felt like proper celebs, being ferried to and from our hotel all weekend. It was such a joy to actually spend time together and we were so glad we made the effort. It really made us realise how important it is to take time out to be a couple and actually talk to each other and just spend some QT together… So take this a little bit of life advice. Take the time out to be boyfriend and girlfriend, husband and wife, girlfriend and girlfriend, boyfriend and boyfriend, whatever you are, just be together.

The morning after. Thank god for sunglasses is all I'm sayin'