The Saint

My partner and I went on spec on a Tuesday night without reservations. We were surprised that the restaurant was fully booked (always a good sign for a restaurant to be full).

Despite not having booked a table was found for us - and I was very pleased it was.

The service was perfection itself, attentive but never over attentative, olives and bread while considering the menu, and a pair of toothsome cocktails whilst we considered what to have.

My partner turned out to be overjoyed when her first choice of starter (the goat's cheese) was no longer available, as she had her second choice, parsnip fritters which were sublime, and not something she would usually have considered.

My starter of cuttelfish and chorizo was equally wonderful. the cuttlefish was pan fried to perfection, meaty but not rubbery, and the chorizo was clearly of sound provenance, imparting a depth of colour and flavour that complemented the cuttlefish.

An amuse bouche of cassoulet was ideal and amused the bouche well.

Slow cooked Romney Marsh lamb was both of our choice and a good one it was. The lamb literally fell apart and could have been carved wiht a spoon. An unctoius sauce lightly spiced accompanied it, the flavour coming in the main from the slow cooked lamb - and what a flavour.

The choice of greens as one of the accompanying vegatable was brave and rewarded. A simple, bitter edge to complement the lamb, and a portion of mashed potatoe that had at least half a pound of best butter in and was none the worse for it.

The puddings were of equally high standards, chocolate tart for my partner, and a baked peach with ginger and thyme ice cream. Good though they were, the did suffer slightly only as a consequence of how good the first two courses had been.

The atmosphere of the restaurant was as good as the food, and as I say above the service too was beyond any criticism.

Whilst not a cheap meal, given the quality of the food and service, the value for money was also superlative.
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John
Overall rating
Food 10 | Service 10 | Atmosphere 10 | Value for money 10
Friday, October 03, 2008

We came across The Saint restaurant about 2 years ago. We live in Southampton but we love Brighton! We have gone to The Saint four times and the food is absolutely brilliant! We got married in Brighton last month, and on the Saturday night we took 10 people there. They all loved it! I would definately try the salt fish croquettes, and the pork belly-amazing! The staff are all really lovely and will help you with the menu. Never met the chef but we love him!!
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Melanie May (was Aubert)
Overall rating
Food 10 | Service 10 | Atmosphere 10 | Value for money 9
Sunday, September 21, 2008

We visited The Saint at the end of August this year. What a fantastic restuarant! The food was equal to any top London restaurant, with a varied and sexy menu - I thought I'd died and gone to heaven when I had the Creme Brulee for dessert! The decor and ambiance was welcoming and stylish; the wine list was impressive and the price was unexpectedly relatively inexpensive. The staff were friendly and efficient and the restuarant is well situated. The Saint is an absolute must for any discerning diner visiting Brighton. We'll definately be going back there!
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Denise Herman
Overall rating
Food 10 | Service 10 | Atmosphere 10 | Value for money 10
Thursday, September 11, 2008

As we are not from Brighton we initially found The Saint by accident last year (Aug 2007) and absolutely loved the food and the whole experience. When we came back to Brighton this year we had to ensure that we went again and it lived up to expectations and more the second time around.

Delicious food and a fantastic atmosphere and service, it really made our trip perfect. A must eat place for everyone!
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Rowena and Dave
Thursday, August 21, 2008

We've never had much luck eating in Brighton to be honest, and for my birthday meal this year on a visit from Bristol, we'd been unable to decide between The Saint and Due South down on the seafront. Sadly, we chose the latter, and massively regretted it.

So, the next night, we decided to try the Saint, and we have to say the experience was truly superb. The service was outstanding and the food was exceptional.

In contrast to our previous night's experience, the welcome was both genuine and proficient. We stuck with the house red, but found it to be an extremely interesting spicy and earthy number, well worth its money.

Our evening's enjoyment was kick started with some exceedingly tasty olives and slices of walnut bread with butter and a sprinkling of sea salt. We were also pleasantly surprised when some amuse gueles appeared as well, shredded pork and gherkin on thin rounds of soft toasts.

For starters we both plumped for the morcilla sausage with crispy sage, and were delighted by the tenderness of the sausage and how it was carefully balanced by a rich yet piquant sauce.

We branched out for the mains, one having the duck confit and the other Romney Marsh lamb (it's all genuinely locally sourced as can be here). The duck confit was exceptional, barely salted pre simmering it seemed, which was an interesting touch (and one we'll be taking home for our own purposes), but as perfectly cooked as it was presented. Accompanied excellently by some greens, carrots and mashed potatoes, which the staff were proud to boast had been picked only that morning. They certainly tasted that way.All in all, undoubtedly the best confit we've found this side of the channel by far.

The lamb was tender and brought together perfectly with a delicate medley of spices, which pleasingly never overpowered either each other or the quality of the meat itself. Again, the seasonal veg alongside the meat were a perfect accompaniment.

By now our ever attentive maitress d had joined in our culinary excitement and was seemingly a little disappointed with our choice of vanilla creme brulee with shortbread and flourless chocolate cake with white chocolate mousse, so brought us a taste of the ginger and thyme ice cream. We immediately saw her point. The creme brulee was also exceptional, rich, deep and flavoursome, with a crust bruleed to perfection and not a second beyond.

We decided not to order any further, having had an elegant sufficiency already, but were given a taste of the 30 year old sherry, which was amazing, rich, creamy, dark and fruity, another indication of a restaurant that sees how overall perfection comes from acute attention to every detail.

A description of the food alone does little to sum up the atmosphere of this friendly relaxed venue. The staff were clearly as proud of their food as they were excited by it, and shared that passion with their customers in the most engaging way.

Most surprising of all, this was one of the cheaper meals we've ever had in an otherwise expensive Brighton, and went far beyond good value for money. We intend to return many times to this lovely little restaurant, and, as visitors from the west country, it's enough to make you consider moving cities....
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Gez - View all reviews by this user
Sunday, August 03, 2008

It is some months since I have eaten here, but have done so several times before. Food is good, but portions can be mean. I ordered a cassoulet - delicious and absolutely no complaints about quality, flavour etc, but the portion was very mean. I was sorry I hadn't ordered the roast beef which my fellow diners had, much more substantial.

Service friendly.

Resent paying good prices for a meal that leaves me feeling hungry.

Robert - Kemp Town
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Tuesday, March 18, 2008

I have eaten here on approx 3-4 occassions and it is easily one of the best culinary experoences that Brighton has to offer. The wine list is strong, the service friendly & accomodating, the food is very solid indeed and the extra touches like olives and bread for the table are well thought out.

My parents loved the sunday roast here and with seasonal and inventive dishes gracing the menu I see this place going from strength to strength and building on its already very big fan-base.

All in all, a very good restaurant.

david b
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david berg
Saturday, March 15, 2008

Thank you to The Saint for a wonderful meal which really contributed to making our weekend away very special. The welcome, service and food were just top class! The Saint is an absolute find! Thank you.

10/10 !!
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sharman pope
Friday, February 15, 2008

After forgetting to book a table for my partners birthday (a saturday evening), I rang the Saint, they said they were fully booked, I explained my impending misfortune. The asked me to ring back in 10 minutes. "we may be able to help"

I rang them back... they had physicaly moved some tables around to accomodate us and booked us in for that evening! How Saintly???

The staff were fantastic, very attentative, the food was 1st class and all local organic produce. Such an enjoyable evening. The cost is very reasonable (for such a good meal).

The restuarant is small, with a very pleasent atmosphere.

We have since been back three times in four months and enjoyed it just as much each time. A firm favourite
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Michael Thorn
Friday, January 18, 2008

Went for a meal with my girlfriend and we were first hit by the size of the place, small but cozy. The food was excellent, staff polite the only dissapointment with the meal we felt was the pudding which seemed quite average.

Definetly worth checking out the meal with a bottle of wine came to about £85 which we felt was good value for money.
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Friday, December 28, 2007