18 best restaurants in Brighton

Brighton’s restaurant scene has always had a bit of a thing for performance. From the Prince Regent’s blowout banquets at the Royal Pavilion to today’s chefs doing hot things on open flames, this city knows how to put on a show – and never takes itself too seriously while doing it. The energy right now? Inventive, irreverent and always hungry.

Forget the tired clichés about Brighton being good for veggie cafés and bad for service (though yes, the tofu is still excellent). Things here are bubbling. Menus sparkle with ferments, globetrotting fusion flavours and a healthy splash of chilli oil (many white t-shirts were sacrificed in the writing of this list). Open-fire cooking shows no sign of cooling off (thank Embers and Kindling for that). And, as you’d expect in the UK’s first Green Party city, sustainability is more table stakes than tickbox. You’ll often find ingredients locally grown, raised, picked, pickled and preserved – Sussex beef tartare on one menu and koji-roasted carrots on the next.

Brighton’s best areas for food (and why it’s not all about The Lanes)

Sure, The Lanes will always be a big draw for small plates and people-watching. And a mooch away, North Laine dishes out all the bao buns, brunches and natural wine bars-come-coffee shops you can stomach. But Brighton’s most coveted tables aren’t all about the central postcode. In Hove, things lean grown-up with bougie bistros and bottleshops, while on the other end of town unassuming Baker Street is rising in interest – home to Bonsai Plant Kitchen (recently crowned the city’s best vegan restaurant of 2025), Amari (the best newcomer restaurant) and Bardsley’s checkerboard-fronted chippy which has been serving the best fish and chips in Brighton since 1826.

Who are the Brighton chefs and restaurants right now?

If we’re talking awards, 2025 has been a golden year for Furna, who bagged Best Restaurant and Best Chef (Dave Mothersill) at Brighton’s Best awards 2025. But for us, the buzziest names have to be Amari, Anakuma and Halisco – sibling spots serving Spanish, Asian-Mexican fusion and straight-up Mexican, respectively. Amari and Anakuma are new. And while Halisco opened doors back in 2017, it recently spawned a Margarita Bar (featured in our best bars in Brighton edit), which is drawing good-time-havers with smoky mezcal, mole croquettes and the kind of playlist that makes you say “one more round?”.

Like many of Brighton’s treasures, Pearly Cow has washed up on the seafront – in one of our favourite new hotels: No 124 GuestHouse – serving Flintstones-sized steaks, flame-licked seafood and a cracking crème brûlée. But for a more low-key affair, pocket-sized Curio has become our morning-to-night go-to for good coffee, great doorstopper sandwiches, and, later on, gossiping over an oily plate of anchovies and a pét-nat. (The Duke of York’s cinema – one of our favourite things to do in Brighton – is just across the road for an after-dinner flick.)

In short? Brighton’s appetite is as big as its personality. Curious, creative, a little chaotic – and still one of the most exciting places to eat in the UK right now.

How we choose the best restaurants in Brighton

Every restaurant on this list has been selected independently by our editors and written by a Condé Nast Traveller journalist who knows the destination and has eaten at that restaurant. When choosing restaurants, our editors consider both high end and affordable eateries that offer an authentic and insider experience of a destination. We’re always looking for stand-out dishes, a great location and warm service – as well as serious sustainability credentials. We update this list regularly as new restaurants open and existing ones evolve.