insideSUSSEX Magazine Issue 20 - October 2016 | Page 52

FOOD+DRINK

GLORIOUS
SEAFOOD, AN
UNBEATABLE
SETTING, AND
SUPERLATIVE
STAFF. THE JETTY,
BRIGHTON,
HAS IT ALL.
The most recent addition to the city’s thriving food scene, Brighton’s latest seafood eatery, The
Jetty, threw open its doors in August this year and has already garnered lots of attention for
all of the right reasons. Part of the brand new Brighton Harbour Hotel and Spa, a very stylish
79-bedroom hotel located right on Brighton’s iconic seafront (reviewed on p88), the restaurant
promises exceptional food in relaxed surroundings and delivers on all counts. B Y P O L L Y H U M P H R I S

The scene couldn’t have been better set for my
visit to The Jetty: it was a warm, late summer
evening; Brighton was abuzz with the multitude
of people that always seem to mill its busy
streets; and I was hungry. Given the fact that
the restaurant’s soft launch had only taken place
barely a month previously, I had considered
getting a snack on the way, assuming
inevitable teething problems would mean an
understandable bit of background confusion.
How wrong I was. Walking into The Jetty doors wide open and welcoming - was like
walking into a well-oiled machine. 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 and a beautiful plate of dainty
‘Jetty Bites’ in front of me before you could say
“service please”.
The ‘Catch of the Day’ menu, with a really
reasonable price tag of £18.50 for three
courses, is available at lunchtime from Monday
to Saturday and between 6pm and 7pm,
Monday to Friday, and is a selection of seafood
according to what’s fresh and available locally.
Inventive dishes include things like torched
mackerel with beetroot, clementine and
watercress; shrimp-crusted hake, with shellfish
velouté, samphire and English peas; and a
Merlot-poached pear with pistachio brittle and
a rich, dark chocolate sauce.

We opted for the main menu though, diving into
‘pork and prawns’– a perfectly balanced blend
of slow-cooked pork belly served with plump,
grilled prawns and doused in a lime and ginger
sauce; soft shell crab – a melt-in-your-mouth
light tempura of soft crab served with a spicy,
Asian-inspired sauce; and the Jetty’s eponymous
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. 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 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.
For the main event, what I really wanted was an
entire lobster, simply split, cracked and served
cold with mayonnaise, which is an option I
usually can’t resist (especially paired with piping
hot chips) but instead I compromised and opted
for the ‘fruits de mer’, a generous plate of fresh
prawns, mussels, squid, crab, scallop and
oysters, topped with half a lobster. Presented like
a shining find on some sort of amazing, gastro
shipwreck, my piscine picnic was delivered in
a huge seashell; a brilliant touch and a faultless
dish. Make sure you find room for dessert
too – to decline the choice to finish an already
exceptional meal with an espresso martini
sabayon with stracciatella ice cream and almond
biscotti equates to only one thing: utter madness.

52

Besides the food, which is, unsurprisingly,
cooked by acclaimed head chef, Lee Redman,
and really reasonably priced for a hotel
restaurant, the 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. I recognised restaurant manager,
Michael, immediately; he’s calm and collected
much like the rest of the staff, all of whom have
clearly been specially selected for their skill.
In terms of both food and staffing, The Jetty has
clearly sourced the best in town and it absolutely
shows. An expertly made copa gin and tonic
at the adjoining and very cool, HarBAR will
complete your night at a sophisticated and fun
restaurant that’s set to soar.
The Jetty @ Brighton Harbour Hotel
64 King’s Rd
Brighton
East Sussex
BN1 1NA
01273 323221
www.brighton-harbour-hotel.co.uk
@JettyBrighton
/thejettybrighton