The Winkle review: “A fantastic addition to the seafront’s dining scene”

PJ Doran and Owen Pickrell at The Winkle in Brighton

You can’t beat a lazy lunch on Brighton seafront, writes Nick Mosley. With blue skies and a gentle breeze – and a chilled glass of wine in hand – its sublime, although always be aware of the winged Brighton chip thieves circling above you.

After a busy morning of meetings the other week, I headed to the recently opened The Winkle with my tourism colleague Little Miss Greedy Guts to check out their new dining offering. Located in the Kings Road Arches in the one-time Due South site, The Winkle’s terrace is perfectly positioned to sit back and watch the meanderings of Brighton visitors and locals.

Hugely affable owners PJ and Owen have made quite a leap of faith in opening the venue as they’ve no background in the hospitality industry having worked in the NHS and as a computer programmer.  That said, if they hadn’t spilled the beans, then I would’ve thought they’d had years of experience under their belts with their warm welcome; and as our lunch progressed nothing seemed to fluster them despite having close to a full house inside and out. I don’t think they need to worry about their step count anytime soon.

Miss GG and I pulled up a chair on the terrace for a pre-lunch aperitif cocktail. My expresso martini was superb; deep and rich roasted coffee and – thankfully – not overly sweet which is my personal bête noire.

The Winkle’s menu is pretty flexible so you can choose to graze on an eclectic selection of small plates and bites, head straight for a hearty main or simply enjoy drinks. The offering is a decent spread of bistro dishes, so nothing particularly ‘out-there’ but definitely serves up something for every taste whether Spanish chorizo in red wine or a more straight-forward wild mushrooms on toast. The mains are particularly good value – certainly for the seafront – with everything at the £14-16 price point apart from the rump steak which is still a very reasonable £22.50. It’s very easy to get stung at venues on the beach but the boys are delivering great quality at a really good price.

Crab crumpet at The Winkle in Brighton

For me, the crab crumpet to start. In 2025, the humble comforting English crumpet has suddenly become very on-trend and – now I’ve put it in your mind – you’ll start seeing them everywhere whether restaurant menus or gourmet offerings on supermarket shelves. I’ve had an aversion to crab for about a decade as when I was working on a food project in the Channel Islands, I gorged on so much of the stuff that my body screamed nooooooo more! Thankfully, with time, I can now indulge once again and this was a beautifully built and very generous dish that was piled high with fresh crab meat. Technically a small plate, at £11 this could easily be a lunch in its own right.

Little Miss GG chose the smoked mackerel pâté which sure had all the flavour you’d want but we both agreed it lacked texture. The beauty of homemade mackerel pâté is that its a bit chunky so I’d like to see a more rustic version on my next visit.

For mains, I got very excited about the chicken schnitzel. As gluten isn’t my friend any more, I was really impressed that pretty much every single dish on the menu could be prepared gluten free. The kitchen is very allergen aware so don’t be afraid to ask if you have any dietaries. To have perfectly crisp, deep fried chicken without the fear of contaminated oil is literally my idea of heaven. With a good old dollop of Sriracha hot sauce, whilst being simple, its definitely on my top ten Brighton dishes of the year so far.

Sea bream in spicy mussel and potato broth at The Winkle In Brighton

Miss GG went for pan-fried sea bream in a curried potato and mussel broth. To be honest, I think this was a bit of a confusing dish as both the fish and the broth could be standalone dishes in their own right. I’d have preferred as a separate soup and then a simple grilled fish with potatoes, lemon and samphire. There’s nothing wrong with the execution, but the concept is unnecessary overkill. Sometimes, less is more; but this is easily rectifiable and no real criticism of the ingredients nor cooking.

The wine list is short but then again a bistro-style venue doesn’t need to offer a wide selection as long as what’s on offer is good. With bottles at the £30 mark it certainly won’t break the bank.

The Winkle is undoubtably a fantastic addition to the central seafront’s dining scene. I really enjoyed the laidback vibe, incredibly friendly service and the well priced, accessible menu. It certainly tinkled my winkle.

The Winkle, 139 Kings Road Arches, Brighton BN1 2FN

www.thewinkle.co.uk