Hotel du Vin & Bistro

A place with a pleasant atmosphere and professional staff, although at times a bit too arrogant. My partner and I used to enjoy their dishes a lot. However our last dinner was rather disappointing and didn't seem special at all to us. During our meal we were saying that our home-cooking would have been by far more satisfying. I had a soup as a starter which was good and my husband decided for a ceasar salad. The salad was soft and the edges were brown. As a main dish he had pork belly, which was mainly comprised just of fat, which was I think deep fried rather than pan fried. I decided to go for a salmon as there wasn't much choice for a pregnant woman.
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Christin
Thursday, October 11, 2007

positives: attentive, very professional and pleasant staff, nice atmosphere, timing between courses spot on. Excellent selection of wines to suit all pockets and palates.

negatives:

1.Can only go by our experience with fish (perhaps the meat is better) - its pretty good but not very good. The starter of place goujons was tasty but tiny. Two minute and very thin pieces of fish each perhaps slightly bigger than a 50p piece came with the barest minimum of trimmings. My main course of salmon was reasonably well presented and of a decent size, but overcooked and the accompanying tagliatelle was far from being al dente. Desserts were fine.

2. No air conditioning

My thoughts are that the clientele a hotel and restaurant like this attracts would probably prefer to pay a little more for better food.
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Monday, October 08, 2007

We went there for a business lunch. The table was set behind the till - which is a bit disappointing if you book for a party of 8. The menu seemed boring - lots of Salmon, smoked haddock and steak, but the chef might want to spend more time thinking of the menue. The linguine were OK, but a bit bland and we had to suck them in a messy way as no spoons were provided. The duck was OK, but seemed to have spent a long time in the oven. It was fine all in all, but the service was most disappointing. We had to order water three times before we finally had some, and we topped up the wine ourselves - nobody seemed to notice. All in all, a good place to eat with a fantastic setting, but they could spend a bit more imagination and pride in their menue and service. And I always thought the French were good at making coffee?!
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anonymous
Thursday, September 27, 2007

Lunch started badly when we ordered drinks at the bar and asked for the menu and wine list, and had them delivered with bad grace. we were then told that we had to order our meal at the table, this despite explaining that we had ordered from the bar on previous occasions. When we were being seated by the head waitress we complained at not being able to order in the bar only to be rudely informed that they had never taken orders outside the restaurant. The staff are efficient but insufferable. The food is generally good but expensive. Our liquers were served in oversize tumblers! Value for money? not with such condescending staff.
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Friday, May 25, 2007

I have eaten here a few times and have always had a very pleasant experience. Most recently celebrated my partners 30th with her family. From the front of house through to the sommelier and waiting staff you are treated with both friendliness and professionalism. They know the menu and know how to be attentive without being intrusive the decor is spot on, not too formal or informal but does feel a bit special and different to anything else in Brighton. The food is great, plentiful, hot (why do so many restaurants struggle with this?) and most importantly very tasty indeed. They try and source locally and seasonally and though the menu is not crazy in its invention you will certainly have plenty to chose from and enjoy. The sides are a bit steep in price but to fair you could very easily share a side between two, as these are also plentiful. I had a cracking slow cooked lamb shank that beat “Due South’s” equivalent hands down with the others all opting for various fish dishes, all of which were perfectly cooked, the turbot a particular highlight. I would wholly recommend a visit be it for a special occasion or if you are feeling a bit flush.
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John
Friday, May 18, 2007

By far my favourite restaurant in Brighton. The food is excellent, but relatively modestly priced. The drinks are more expensive, but their winelist is exceptional. Have never had a bad wine there. The staff is attentive and knowledgeable without being overly intrusive. This is one of the smartest establishments in Brighton, and a breath of fresh air from the myriad of riff raff restaurants otherwise available in Brighton. Every penny spent in Hotel du Vin is well spent. Great atmosphere too.
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Mona
Friday, December 15, 2006

I love this place and have been many times. The food is great, the service really good. The menu does not change that often, but that is what I like consistency. I have eaten at most places listed on this web side and for me the Hotel Du Vin is great. Expense really depends on how much wine you drink.
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Richard
Monday, December 04, 2006

Fariborz - perhaps if you don't even know how to spell saLmon you shouldn't be eating here. ;-)
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- View all reviews by this user
Sunday, November 26, 2006

Out of this world! Food was gorgeous, service was great, very helpful and friendly. Wine list was impressive but then again so was the bill! We were the first in and the last out and I think that tells a tale in itself. Really sumptuous surroundings, busy and bustling and thoroughly enjoyable.
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Claire - View all reviews by this user
Tuesday, October 10, 2006

Suppose you are some of the first people coming to the restaurant at around 7pm. You expect to receive whatever you order, but what a surprise when you hear that it is finished and can be replaced but something which is cheaper! 4 of us ordered SAMON (from a group of 6), they had no comments about it initially when take the orders, after 15 minutes, the waitress came back and told that unfortunately all SAMON were gone! Would you like COD instead!? WHAT? Gone?! while it is still 7 and the restaurant is half empty! Not even one!?

I think they save Samons for paid customers (as we had vouchers) and probably some other reasons I don’t know.

The quality of the food in general was fine but to be honest not enough as a main course for an average size man like me. Also dishes were served with as minimum garnishing as possible. Not a great experience!
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Fariborz
Tuesday, August 22, 2006