We're BACK with BITE! Two delicious festivals celebrating the very best of Sussex and Brighton food and drink beginning in September 2021. In the meantime, dive into some of the gastronomic highlights of the coming weeks as the doors of hospitality begin to reopen.
COVID-19: Outdoor hospitality reopens in England from Monday 12 April 2021
Up to six people OR two households can meet to enjoy a meal or drink.
To support the Test and Trace scheme, venues are legally required to collect the contact details of all diners over the age of 16 and hold that information for 21 days.
Venues are not legally required to ask for your Covid status certification (ie as to whether you have or haven't had an immunisation jab).
If ordering alcohol, you must be seated at a table and your order will be brought to you.
If you are only ordering food, then venues may require you to place your order at the bar and collect it yourself from a serving station.
Other than when you are eating, please be considerate to those around you and wear a face mask and maintain social distancing rules.
Please follow the guidance and instructions of your server to ensure the safety of yourself and other diners. Whilst ensuring you have a great hospitality experience, their job is also to keep you, other guests and colleagues safe.
As always, we recommend you contact the venue directly to book ahead to ensure availability.
Some businesses are currently unable to offer outdoor dining spaces but continue to offer click-and-collect and home delivery.
Subject to Covid infections and hospitalisations continuing to fall, the government's aim is to relax indoor dining rules and allow hotel accommodation to reopen on Monday 17 May 2021.
Book now for tasting menus at etch. by Steven Edwards, Hove, from 18 May
etch. by Steven Edwards reopens from Tuesday 18 May. Open from Wednesday to Saturday for dinner and Thursday to Sunday lunch the philosophy behind etch. is to celebrate local and British produce using monthly changing tasting menus. Their 7-course tasting menu uses two main ingredients per dish to showcase the fantastic produce provided by our suppliers. Unusually no spice is used (not even pepper) and flavour is increased by reducing and enhancing ingredients to get a purity of taste.
Virtual cocktail masterclasses delivered by Mixology Group, Hove
Mixology Group have been delivering Cocktail Masterclasses since 2010 and now we are running them directly to your computer, giving you the chance to still have a drink with family, friends and colleagues.
You have 3 options to choose from.
Live Stream: Twice a month we run a live class for up to 50 people to take part in. The classes are £45 and include a cocktail box with a 3 piece shaker and all the ingredients you need, sent out to you in the post.
Private class option: If there are 8 or more of you then you could choose a private class option. There are a choice of cocktail boxes starting at £35 per box and you get to pick your own date and time.
Cocktails and a Class in a Box option: These are great as a gift or if you want to learn how to create cocktail in your own time. Each box comes with all the ingredients needed for 3 cocktails plus the QR codes on the recipe cards will take you to our YouTube lessons.
Dinner, bed & breakfast packages at Alexander House Hotel from £299 per room
Indulge in a gastronomic escape, with £35 per person to spend towards supper in either the 3-AA rosette restaurant AGs, or their 2-AA rosette brasserie, Reflections. Retire for the night to your luxury room and enjoy a full English breakfast for two the following morning.
Package includes:
Overnight stay in a stylish room or suite
£35 per person to spend on food in one of the restaurants
Full English breakfast
Vineyard tours return from May at Stopham Estate, Pulborough
The Isaac At kitchen team reveal their secret to making the perfect roast carrots
Raise a glass of Sussex at Isaac At
The talented team at Isaac At have been at the forefront of local food and drink since their inception, including their exclusively Sussex wine list. In an all-new video, front of house manager and head sommelier Alex Preston gives the lowdown on why Albourne Estate is one of his personal favourites.
Click to YouTube or visit the Isaac At website for re-opening dates and recipes
Enjoy boutique stays for less in Brighton at Blanch House, Brighton
Blanch House is Brighton’s original boutique hotel. A Grade II listed town house, they are situated in a Georgian terrace just off the seafront in bohemian Kemp Town in Brighton. Check out their range of offers including a one night Romantic Break with complimentary Champagne in your room from £165.
The south coast's favourite Mexican restaurant reopens for outdoor dining
With the opening of outdoor dining again, La Choza will be offering snug Mexican rugs to keep diners warm on their busy street terrace. Enjoy Brighton's best margaritas, authentic Mexican food and a touch of 'la vida loca' on Gloucester Road this April!
The best of Sussex under one roof
Shelter Hall is Brighton’s all-new seafront food market featuring seven unique kitchens led by Sussex chefs, a craft beer, wine and cocktail bar, and a weekly line-up of live music.
Book your table for outdoor dining from 26th April.
Bite into the fascinating history of Gingerbread with Sussex food writer and historian Sam Bilton
Gingerbread is a lovely, squidgy treat which has played a part in almost everyone’s childhood. But do you know what gingerbread was made of when it first arrived on our plates? Sussex-based food writer and historian (and mighty fine chef, even if we do say so ourselves) Sam Bilton reveals more in her new book: 'First Catch Your Gingerbread'.
Stay at My Brighton Hotel this summer and enjoy a trip to the seaside with extra treats
This summer, book 2 nights or more with the code STAYCAY and enjoy a refreshing alcoholic sparkling drink from Arrowtown, as well as an old-school Brighton sweet and reusable water bottle to keep you hydrated in the sun. They’ll also give you a reusable tote bag to take all of your treats to the beach!
Not only that, you’ll also receive £10 minibar credit and 15% off in Small Batch Coffee if you book direct! They also have exclusive offers with neighbouring business around the city which they’ll share with you.
Crabshack in Worthing is open for takeaway and reveals exciting news for seafood lovers in Brighton
Since opening on Worthing beach in summer 2015, the fresh seafood menu of Crabshack has made waves nationally with glowing reviews and endorsements in the likes of the Guardian. Spectator, Sunday Times and Time Out. They are currently running a collection service from Worthing, and have recently announced they are opening their second kitchen – Caught by Crabshack – at Brighton's new Shelter Hall food market.
Brighton Gin gift sets
Shop Brighton Gin's collection of gifts for gin lovers. The best selling Brighton Gin Gift Set comes with two gin glasses and the gin wedding favours of gin miniatures allows everyone to raise a toast.
Redroaster Coffee delivered directly to your door on the same day
Redroaster have been roasting fresh coffee beans in the heart of Brighton for over 20 years. For local orders, they deliver fresh coffee – beans or ground – straight to your door on the SAME DAY! Nationally they ship via Fedex and Royal Mail.
They have a gorgeous range of organics, blends and single estates; sourced directly from the farms and giving back to farmers and their communities.
Outdoor dining reopens at Jeremy's Restaurant and Café Elvira at Borde Hill: “The world on your plate in the heart of Sussex"
We've missed lazy lunches at Jeremy's Restaurant but thankfully the garden terrace is open again for lunches every Thursday to Sunday from 15 April. Takeaway dishes are also still available.
Fourth & Church announce the reopening date of their kitchen
Food and wine lovers of Hove rejoice! Sam and Paul have announced they'll be reopening their restaurant offering on Wednesday 19 May, serving up inspiring and flavoursome plates perfectly matched to their huge range of wines, vermouths, sherries and spirits.
In the meantime, the deli is currently open from Wednesday to Saturday, 12.00-18.00 for wines, cheeses and charcuterie.
Gift hampers from Metrodeco, Brighton
Bring the Metrodeco experience to your own home with their selection of gift hampers.
Each comes beautifully presented in a black weaved basket, wrapped in cellophane so makes an ideal gift, or the perfect treat for yourself.
You can choose from either the Cream Tea Hamper, Crumpets and Tea Hamper or Tea Time Treat Hamper... and why not make it extra special by adding on their homemade tray bakes or a bottle of Chapel Down English Sparkling wine?
Pocketful of Stones virtual distillery tour and tasting with Worthing's Bottle & Jug Dept.
Bottle & Jug Dept have teamed up with Pocketful of Stones distillery in Cornwall to bring you a virtual distillery tour and gin tasting. Take a trip around the distillery and find out how they craft their award-winning spirits inspired by their Cornish surroundings.
Then delve into a tasting of four delicious gins with the distillers who will take you through their botanicals and the journey in creating the end product.
Brighton Palace Pier re-opens
The iconic Brighton Palace Pier reopens on Monday 12 April. For funfair thrills you can book your wristbands online and if you build up an appetite, then there will be takeaway food and drink outlets open including traditional fish and chips.
Enjoy the Great British Charcuterie at home... or via their store at Brighton Marina and Curds & Whey on Western Road in Hove
The Great British Charcuterie is a family-owned Sussex business that showcases the ever-growing number of quality cured meat producers in the UK, alongside artisanal English cheeses. Visit their Brighton outlets or click the their website for online orders and monthly meaty subscriptions!
COMING SOON: 'Sussex Surprise' cocktail competition
We've always seen our consumer events and business-to-business networking as two sides of the same local food and drink coin. In conjunction with our friends at Mixology Group and My Brighton hotel, we are currently planning a virtual cocktail competition to connect our Bite Sussex distillery partners – Brighton Gin, Brooksteed Gin, Madame Jennifer distillery and Slake Spirits – with bartenders and hospitality buyers across the county. More details of this trade event – and how professional bartenders can enter – will be announced in early May.
Stay tuned as we’ll be announcing our launch BITE Sussex and BITE Brighton partner line-up later this month
We'll be planning our events programme for the Bite Brighton food and drink festival shortly so keep an eye on our Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and website.
The information contained here is correct at the time of issue and subject to operational changes. Please check with our partners for full details, to avoid disappointment.