insideKENT Magazine Issue 67 - October 2017 | Page 129
Speaking of drinks, I’m pretty sure I’ve found
my spiritual home in HarBAR. I’m always a bit
wary of the words ‘cocktail bar’. As any lover
of a quality mixed drink will testify, cheap
spirits and a bit of sickly sweet fruit juice do
not a cocktail make, and there’s a fair few
unwarranted ‘cocktail bars’ in and around
Brighton merely peacocking to unruly hens.
HarBAR is about as far from that as you can
get. It’s slick, but not in an ‘oh god, I’m so
underdressed’ way, and the only thing better
than its design-led interior – think curved
stools, art deco lamps and a beautiful marble-
top bar – is its expert mixologists. I thought
I’d found ‘the one’ in the vodka-based ‘Made
in Chelsea’ from the classics menu until my
wandering eye fell head over heels for the
specialist copa gin and tonics. All of them.
Adjoining the HarBAR is the hotel’s restaurant,
The Jetty, which manages to combine a
breezy atmosphere with absolute
professionalism. On my visit, the tables – bar
two – were full, the staff were impeccably
turned out and ready to recite menu options,
and I had a crisp, cold glass of Section 94
Sauvignon Blanc (recommended) and a piping
hot portion of cockle popcorn in front of me
before you could say “service please”.
Starting with half a dozen classic oysters
mignonette, doused in diced shallot and
vinegar, we opted for the octopus carpaccio
and a ‘simple’ prawn cocktail to start. Thinly
sliced and served with a peppery rocket salad
and a punchy lemon, chilli and chive dressing,
the octopus had a lobster-like texture and was
delicious. Anything but simple in taste, the
prawn cocktail combined fat juicy prawns
with crisp lettuc e and the best Mary Rose
dressing I’ve tasted – the secret, my taste buds
think, is the use of tomato chutney in place
of fresh tomatoes and it works wonders.
For mains, we devoured an entire bream,
cooked precisely and served simply with a
sorrel sauce and buttery crushed new potatoes,
and the sashimi – a plate of delicate sea bass,
tuna wasabi dressing, scallop mizzo and
ginger, salmon and keta, with a crunchy Asian
salad and soy sauce for dipping. I don’t mean
to gush, but, in my opinion, Brighton has been
calling out for a fish restaurant that isn’t afraid
to use bags of flavour, and The Jetty does just
that – the sashimi was my dish of the night
and challenged my taste buds as much as it
excited them with hits of salt, sweet, sour and
spice that all somehow sang in delicious
unison; it was fabulous. Be greedy and opt for
a portion of really tasty truffle and parmesan
fries on the side.
Besides the food, The Jetty’s interior is eye-
catching too. A cool blend of tangerine orange
and royal blue banquette seating, slick marble
surfaces, flashes of gold and quirky, bespoke
lighting, it’s calming and made suitably
nautical by abstract prints and paintings
relating to all things marine.
On that note, they’ve had a bit of luck where
the hotel’s interior is concerned…word on the
street had disclosed some months before the
grand unveiling of the hotel’s spa that, while
building what they thought would be a one-
storey spa with six luxurious treatment rooms,
a mood-lit indoor pool and a modern gym,
the developers found yet another basement-
level floor that they had never known existed.
Incredible and fortuitous? Absolutely. But, how
do you make a basement inviting, relaxing
and in keeping with the rest of the hotel’s
perfectly poised atmosphere?
You don’t. Instead, you fill it with a
hydrotherapy pool, sauna, steam room, two
Scandinavian hot tubs, relaxation room and
exclusive private hire area and let it speak for
itself. Of course it flows beautifully from its
pearly-tiled, lemon-scented upstairs
counterpart, but the basement of an already
atmospheric Georgian building isn’t just any
old basement and this one’s natural features
– exposed brick archways, cosy den-like areas
and floor-to-ceiling wooden shelving – are
all accessed via a polished concrete curved
staircase: a veritable stairway to haven.
Anyone is welcome to visit the spa (whether
they are staying at the hotel or not) for a one-
off treatment, an indulgent spa day, or a spa
break, and there’s an entire catalogue of
wonderful wellness to be had; I’d recommend
a visit wholeheartedly. Slap bang on Brighton’s
buzzing seafront, this weekend away all rolled
into one just oozes, well, cool; in every proper
sense of the word.
Brighton Harbour Hotel & Spa
64 King’s Rd
Brighton
East Sussex
BN1 1NA
01273 323221
[email protected]
www.brighton-harbour-hotel.co.uk
BrightonHHotel
BrightonHarbourHotel
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