English's of Brighton

My wife and I have been to English's twice over the years (she is Portuguese and knows a thing or two about properly fresh fish and how to cook it) and have not had one meal that comes even close to what we could call even OK, let alone good. Perhaps we've just been unlucky. Considering the food we have been served we found the prices are high, too.
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Alan P
Overall rating
Food 4 | Service 2 | Atmosphere 2 | Value for money 1
Monday, April 22, 2013

Had dinner in English's Saturday and was not disappointed at all. Slightly old & quirky the restaurant has a charm of its own. Delicious oysters followed by crab spaghetti that did not wow me but was perfectly OK then a sublime Whisky parfait desert. Service initially a little slow but then absolutely spot on. Excellent value for money as well. I will be back!
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Sam Melton
Overall rating
Food 8 | Service 8 | Atmosphere 8 | Value for money 8
Monday, December 12, 2011

I ate at English's on October 22 2011. The service, ambiance and especially the food were all excellent. I can't awit to go back
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Beth Jones
Overall rating
Food 10 | Service 10 | Atmosphere 10 | Value for money 10
Wednesday, October 26, 2011

After a fairly disappointing meal the previous evening at the London Unity "curry" pub we decided to head into the heart of Brighton and play it safe last Saturday night with an old school restaurant experience.

We rolled up around 6pm, hungry after an afternoon spent strolling along the prom, and English's was already packing them in - my advice would be to book well in advance at the weekend.

We were offered the choice of a table in the ground floor dining room, there are few rooms where you can take your supper, or a table on the terrace which forms part of a busy, bustling square. Although the weather was quite nice the hordes of stag and hen do's roaming about were already getting a little noisy so we decided to dine inside. However, on a sunny afternoon the terrace would be my first choice.

The downstairs dining room is very cosy and most of the tables will only accommodate a couple sitting side by side. The decor was probably quite trendy, in a "French" romantic type of style, when it was done in the 70's or early 80's - now it's just quaint and very retro.

We kicked off our meal with a nicely chilled glass of Tio Pepe and half a dozen Carlingford oysters. These were just lovely - fresh, slightly creamy and a big mouthful of sea-like goodness. God's own food.

After much debate we decided to go with the set menu which offers plenty of choice and great value for the centre of Brighton (during the week you get 2 courses for a tenner which is a couple of pounds less than the fish and chips in my local pub!!). B started with the lemon sole goujons and I went for the scallop with roasted squash and harissa; both were very tasty and skilfully executed.

Trying to get rid of the memory of my dodgy curry from the night before I went for the fish and chips in the hope of restoring my faith in classic ""British" cooking; thankfully this was most certainly a proper job. A tasty, thin crispy batter, fresh haddock and a well fried chunky chips. B was being a little more daring with her choice of the Indian spiced sea bream, which looked and smelled very good. It lasted no more than 10 minutes on the plate which tells its own story.

On the wine front there is a decent selection but you will struggle to find much worth drinking under £20 - we decided on a Voignier which was fine and went well with the fish.

Part of the pleasure of dining in this restaurant is the people watching and you will find plenty of folk to keep you entertained should the conversation flag. On our visit we had a bunch of highly amusing toffs on our right, an orange looking Northern lass and her lad on a weekend mini break to the left, a few coffin dodgers dotted around the room and a couple of seriously overweight, picture postcard, ladies to the fore. Blighty in all its late summer, seaside glory.
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Nunhead Neil
Overall rating
Food 7 | Service 7 | Atmosphere 7 | Value for money 8
Sunday, September 11, 2011

The food was excellent from the two course set menu at £14.95 each. Service was good. It was our first time here and were seated in the GF red room which was far too crammed. It was like dining with other couples the tables were ridiculously close to each other, and if it wasnt for the two people directly opposite us leaving, I would have left. Intrusive is an understatement. I would go back though, maybe choosing to sit outdoors!
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R Morse
Overall rating
Food 9 | Service 9 | Atmosphere 6 | Value for money 7
Saturday, July 09, 2011

A nice looking restaurant with very attentive staff. Extremely helpful when my daughter only wanted something light and they prepared some griddled prawns which were delicious. The lobster thermidor was delicious but the porcini risotto which was badly presented just wasn`t needed and overwhelmed the delicate taste of the lobster. My husband`s crab Americaine was very nice but the rosti was burnt. For dessert my daughter had the crepe which was extremely thick and more like shoe leather. Real shame, expensive meal but did not live up to its reputation. I won`t be visiting again.
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Claire - View all reviews by this user
Overall rating
Food 4 | Service 8 | Atmosphere 5 | Value for money 4
Friday, February 25, 2011

What a great find! Absolutely delicious fish and the steak was fantastic. Great service. We would definitely return if back in town!
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Overall rating
Food 10 | Service 9 | Atmosphere 8 | Value for money 8
Thursday, September 30, 2010

Very disappointing. The evening did not start well when we discovered they had forgotten my reservation. They then tried to seat us at a very poor table, but we got up and searched the building for a table we liked. To be fair the atmosphere was very pleasant in the upstairs room, but elsewhere was crowded and outside was too noisy. The food was very average and I thought expensive. Service was good. I will not be coming again.
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Stuart
Overall rating
Food 4 | Service 7 | Atmosphere 7 | Value for money 3
Thursday, September 23, 2010

Attentive, friendly service, excellent food and enchanting atmosphere. A little expensive, but worth it.
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El Tel
Overall rating
Food 8 | Service 9 | Atmosphere 9 | Value for money 8
Friday, August 06, 2010