Coriander

Through my business I hold events regularly at Coriander. David prepares menus especially for us, and I must say I do not recognise the man occasionally vilified below. Yes, he is extremely proud of what he does, but he still goes out of his way to alter his recipes to our often fussy requirements. Furthermore, the execution of his menus, for us at least, has always been spot-on, as befits his 20-odd years' experience in extremely good restaurants all over the world. His food for us has always been authentic, highly original and properly talented.

Having worked extensively in the restaurant trade in London, talking through menus with chefs up to and including Messrs Ramsay and Blumenthal, I can confirm that the passionate ones do tend to get rather shirty and defensive if you drag them out of their kitchens to slaughter their food, regardless of whether or not you are (or think you are) actually right!

I can also confirm that David uses only the best ingredients - in fact, he often uses better than is strictly necessary, which can make his mains seem expensive compared to other neighbourhood restaurants. He could easily recitfy this by charging more for his wine to make up the shortfall, as his wine list is full of underpriced gems (compared to industry standard profit margins). So if you're piling into Coriander's somewhat expensive main courses, make sure you get the payoff through buying some underpriced wine too!

For his staff's front-of-house service, I cannot comment, as we do not use his staff when there, so it may be people are getting bad front-of-house experiences, but for David's cooking itself I can't see a problem at all.
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Thursday, January 10, 2008

We both enjoyed our dishes at this place. The starter was oil and Dukka which I had not eaten before served up on a roof slate! It was a pleasant and unusual starter. Both of the main courses that we had were imagintaive and very tasty. The menu was not extensive but that is probably no bad thing. The decor was not very cosy (more like a continental cafe) but most people would find it pleasant enough. Overall I would recommend this place judging by our one experience there. Unlike many places it seemed that the chef had made an effort to create something original with good quality ingrediants and had taken some trouble over the preparation of it.
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Tim
Tuesday, September 11, 2007

Coriander really seems to be a 'love it or hate it' restaurant. I wonder if the deciding factor is: who's the chef tonight?

I was living quite locally at one point but never ate there because of bad reviews on another website - even though it looks like a really nice restaurant from outside.

Eventually, about 3 months ago, my wife and I decided to test it out and had a really lovely 3 course meal off an imaginative menu. We then bought a few items from next door, too. The service was always speedy and pleasant; although overall the meal may have been slightly over-priced for what it was.

On the previous website I thought perhaps someone was waging a hate campaign against this restaurant. That may still be the case; or it might just be that all the reviews are accurate and it's simply pot-luck.
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Salopiantree
Saturday, August 25, 2007

Totally rubbish. Badly prepared food, bad slow service. Rude staff and horrible decor. The people who 'Have eaten all around the world' who have recommended this dump really should stop lying and start getting a life.
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Joe Simms
Saturday, August 11, 2007

Shockingly bad, rude, arrogant, obnoxious, dangerously undercooked and re-cooked fish.

My wife and young daughter decided to have an early dinner at the Coriander. After waiting some ten minutes for any staff to even acknowledge our presence (we had taken a table in clear view) we finally made an order for their first serving at 6.30pm. My wife's seabass (£16.95) arrived almost totally uncooked. We told the waitress who, without apology, took the plate back to the kitchen. Five minutes later the fish returned, scraped into a microwaved mush in the middle of the plate. She told us'The chef apologises', we went to the kitchen and asked them what they were playing at? The check and owner became immediately agressive, angry amd arrogant and started shouting at my wife. As we walked out the waitress said 'he's the chef and owner, we can't say anything'.

Sorry Coriander, your restaurant, staff, basic manners and overall attitude stinks.
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Mr & Mrs G
Saturday, August 11, 2007

Coriander Is Fantastic ... If you like good food , then Eat here ! small menu - quality not quantity, but good portion sizes. The owner is passionate about food, and it has a great atmosphere, and I dare you not to come out with a bagful of gorgeous food from their adjoining Dehli. great little diamond in Hove, see for yourself.
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A & L
Saturday, July 28, 2007

Bland, overpriced food and the arrogant owner and his staff have no idea about how to treat their customers when they complain. I am a chef and found this restaurant deeply disappointing on every level. I would not recommend this place to anyone.
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Alison
Sunday, June 10, 2007

Totally agree with the last review. I have been eating here since it first opened and it has always been excellent. The food is innovative and brilliantly cooked, the service friendly and knowledgable (especially from the owners who engage with their customers directly), and the atmosphere just right for either lunch or dinner. Last Wednesday's lunch of English Asparagus and New Potatoes with Hollandaise sauce was sublime.
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Natasha Coxen
Friday, May 18, 2007

I ate here about a month ago and it is by no doubt one of the best restarants in Brighton. Igonore previous reviews (I'm a real foody) and I ate some of the best food I've ever had (having dined all over the world in NY, Sydney, L.A etc), the food was fresh, organic and full of flavour. I had the steak (hung for 5 days) which was intensly delicious and cooked to perfecttion. The South African chef and owner was full of enthusiasim, friendly and had a good sense of humour (something which tends to lack in British restaurants..and yes I am British!). The decor of the restarant is carefully hand crafterd with attention to detail...creating a relaxing and sumptious environment. Even the soap in the toilets was fresh and organic! The price of dining was very reasonable and the service very attentive. I really couldn't fault it..so please don't be put off by the previous reviews written by typically moaning, miserable, difficult to please individuals who clearly don't dine out much!
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Anna Carey
Friday, April 20, 2007

I visited this establishment last May. I asked for hummous and pitta from the menu, assuming it would be just that; when it arrived smothered in some sort of dairy product I complained that this was not on the menu description and that I was vegan. The chef's rude and uncalled for grumblings could be clearly heard by all my party. I found the entire visit marred by the attitude of the staff.
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Thursday, April 05, 2007