Due South
our comments
Mother’s Day lunch is perhaps not the ideal day to try a restaurant (but not as bad as Valentine’s Day). We got their early to secure one of the few window seats, because eating at the back is a bit like eating under a railway arch, although I’m sure its not so gloomy at night. Unfortunately the usual main course grilled fish of the day, at a reasonable £12.50 had been replaced with a whole Dover sole at £25 a pop. A shame. Potted shrimp starter was a bit heavy on the butter and the shrimps didn’t have the strength to fight through. If I’d had my eyes shut, I would not have been convinced they were there at all and thought I was just munching my way through a pot of Lurpak. The bread had been toasted to a severe crispness; it could have done with a soft centre. Quite impossible to spread the potted shrimp onto without a shattering crash and fragments going everywhere. A plate of home made feta with the increasingly trendy Puy lentils was far better, the feta far less salty than the stuff beloved of Greek restaurants and the lentils cooked just right. A plate of oysters, priced singly so that you could order as many or as few as liked was a nice touch, and benefited from a spicy dressing. It being lunch and Mother’s Day the two mothers I was with, one mine the other my wife, both had roasts –lamb and beef. My mother raved about her tender beef and it was indeed very good. Even the roast potatoes got approval. The locally sourced lamb made a good roast too, although the red cabbage was wickedly acidic. My lamb’s liver with a garlicky mash benefited from a splash of strong green kale, an underused vegetable that, like Swiss Chard, earns its place in the English vegetable plot by being virtually indestructible. So full marks for good use of British produce and thankfully not a tasteless Kenyan green bean in sight. Good as my liver was, I do wish I’d had the fish soup which looked gorgeous. I suppose the thought of soup as a main course put me off; maybe they should call it stew because it certainly looked more like one when I saw one going past. Puds were fine, a nice honey tart had a decadent splash of Calvados cutting through the sweetness and some smooth ice cream topping it off. Due South has all the right attitude to its menu and sourcing policy and its prices are reasonable. Recommended.NH - March 2005
your comments review this restaurant
We had very good food (starter, main and dessert) with good wine for £40 per head and considered the value to be reasonable. The view over the moonlit sea was fantastic - those who are lucky enough to get a seat by the window are fortunate. The starters we both had were not all that impressive, my crab on a bed of salad was extremely economical with the crab and my partner's terrine was a bit over salty. However, the main course of belly pork was really excellent and my partner's partridge was very good as well. The desserts were both very nice, I had home made strawberry ice cream which was delicious and my partner had a chocolate cake of some sort which was also delicious. The staff were very pleasant. If you can get the window seat and order the belly pork you will be very happy.
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Tim
Sunday, September 23, 2007
Don't listen to any hype you may hear surrounding 'Due South', I think at some point it must have been a good deal better but no more.
The menu is not bad but lacking imagination, our mains took quiet a while to arrive and when they did they were luke warm
The desserts were pleasent enough but again a little dull... chocolate brownie? I think the world has moved on a little by now.
Most of the dishes were a little over priced and only really understandable for the fish courses.
Dissapointing as we were looking forward to the hype.
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Friday, September 07, 2007
I went here for my birthday when Due South opened and had a lovely meal so was looking forward to returning with my parents for lunch on the Bank Holiday.
The food was lovely, except my parents main course which came out cold. The staff then got confused because a waitress had just started her shift and she was not particularly great at sorting out the problem, eventually we did get the mains sent back to the kitchen to be re-heated. Half the table were waiting to eat and the other half were eating so it was a disappointing that Due South couldn't get this right. We requested that they take the service charge off the bill which they did.
The food when served properly was lovely, it was a shame that silly mistakes like this happen.
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Tuesday, August 28, 2007
It's amazing to see so many different reviews of the restaurant. Like so many others, I was looking forward to a meal here as I'd heard so many good things about it. We had great service on arrival ... and lousy service once seated. The tables are cramped, service is slow, food is great but pricey but there is a major flaw with the restaurant (in my opinion) that nobody else seems to be concerned about. THE SMELL. For £140 meal for two I don't expect to feel and smell like I've ben working in a kitchen for the evening. I definitely won't be going back for that reason alone.
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James Roose
Monday, August 27, 2007
another overpriced and disappointing new restaurant ( even after 3 visits).there are much better places to go in Brighton
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Monday, July 30, 2007
A lot of hype preceeded my first visit to Due South. My adopted scepticism was ill-founded and wavered with the complimentary amuse bouche and study of the menu. I spoke to staff to nourish my curiosity about the cherished and reputed Due South trinity of "seasonal-local-organic". Staff were very convincing and positive about their ethos.
My Ditchling lamb was outstanding. My final conversion came with the most scrumptious and succulent brownie ever.
A very gratifying experience.
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Adrian Collins
Monday, July 23, 2007
Since we moved to Brighton from London a few months ago, we've had some very depressing dining experiences. Due South wasn't one of them- quite the opposite: really quality cooking, an interesting wine list, friendly, attentive staff and a wonderful location- very nice to drink organic beer by the sea too!
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Tuesday, July 03, 2007
Whilst the food is interesting the staff and management are more wrapped-up in themselves than the business of serving customers and making them want to return. Something I won't be doing.
L.P.Hove
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Tuesday, June 26, 2007
We visited Due South for dinner the other evening and it was superb. We ate exquisite local asparagus with an unusual sauce (can't remember the name!). Then I went for a delicious mushroom dish with a fennel cream sauce that was absolutely lovely- just the right balance of creamy richness. My partner ate a lamb stew which he said was the nicest lamb he'd ever eaten. I'd heard this was a Due South speciality and this verdict seems to bear that out. We shared an amazing cheesecake and a couple of bottles of a lovely, light biodynamic wine- so easy on the hangover the next day! We were celebrating and the staff, the food and the ambience all combined to make this a very special evening. Highly recommended.
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Mary R
Friday, May 18, 2007
Great location , but is very up and down. Sometimes will give you the meal of your life and sometimes is such a dissapointment , theres no point talking of it. A little consistency goes a long way, hey.
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lina
Sunday, April 15, 2007
