The 10 best brunches in Brighton

Telegraph

17 hours ago

A laid-back lifestyle and an obsession with coffee makes brunch a no-brainer in Brighton. There isn't a neighbourhood in the city that doesn't 'do' brunch, whether it's warm kippers in a bun on the seafront, or a pancake stack in a quirky neighbourhood café. Come the weekend Brightonians are just as likely to be tucking into oats served with baked rhubarb, coconut yoghurt and gingerbread granola; sinking their teeth into a loaded hash; polishing off a 'wrestler's naan' and sipping 'bee-mosas'.
Brighton is a city that likes to live outside, so you won't have to look hard to find a sun-splashed terrace, rooftop view or hidden garden. And in the capital of veggie and vegan dining, chefs and mixologists rise to the challenge. If you're unconvinced about veggie breakfasts or vegan cocktails, now is the time to try.
All our recommendations below have been hand selected and tested by our resident destination expert. Find out more below, or for further Brighton inspiration, see our guides to the city's best hotels, restaurants, shopping, nightlife and things to do.
The Reading Room
Housed in a beautifully restored listed Regency building, the Reading Room has put the western fringes of seafront Kemptown well on the map. Designed around produce that arrives each morning, the daily blackboard menu might include English muffins with watercress and chilli jam, mushrooms on toast with tarragon, spinach and cashew cream, mackerel on rye, or a garlic mushroom, Sussex blue and kale galette.
Order at the counter – good luck resisting the cakes – and find a seat at a flower-topped table under the show-stealing chandeliers, or on the large seafront terrace.
Oeuf
Located on a genteel, tree-lined avenue that runs down to the sea,Ouef is to brunch what Monet was to water lilies. Take a seat in the elegant pistachio-and-pastel-pink dining room, or sit under a parasol in the walled garden, and watch the parade of pretty plates go by. If Emily in Paris were to brunch in Brighton, she would head straight for Oeuf and order a butterfly pea latte or a wildflower martini.
Try its peach melba French toast 'frumpet' stack (or any of the trademark frumpets), the lobster thermidor eggs benedict and the 'hashinator'. Sister bakery Bayon supplies all the breads and pastries.
Permit Room
An intimate bar-café housed in a former cottage in the historic Lanes, Permit Room does breakfast with a capital B. Start with the Irani Café Classic ' bun maska chai ', a fluffy buttery bun (how can a soft buttered bun taste this good?), paired with an aromatic, ginger-pricked chai. Move on to the tandoor-baked breakfast naans wrapped around vegan or peppery pork sausage, runny eggs with saffron, smoked streaky bacon and tomato chilli jam.
At this juncture, you could slip into marmalade mimosa mode or stick with the bottomless chai. Cosy in winter, Permit Room also has tables on a pedestrianised terrace area at the front.
Mange Tout
This bright, modern bistro in North Laine is a short stroll from the railway station and serves brunch until 3pm. The service is slick, the ambience relaxed and the food made with quality local ingredients (the restaurant even makes its own bloody Mary mix). Wrap your chops around the new and popular mighty mange tout: minute steak served with two organic eggs, avocado, chimichurri, mushrooms, wilted spinach and tomato compote.There are veggie and vegan options, and pavement seating.
Nowhere Man
A happy marriage of soft, fluffy pancake stacks and mellow, boho Brighton – think vintage airline seats, eclectic art and mismatched furniture – awaits. Nowhere Man's sweet and savoury pancakes served with jugs of warm maple butter are well worth the wait (expect a queue at weekends).
White chocolate, raspberry and pistachio, and banana and chocolate are staples, and seasonal specials have included toffee apple, peach cobbler and black forest gateau – a heart-palpitating pairing of dark chocolate with sour cherries. There are creatively filled bagels, too, and a bijou patio with a mural at the rear. Gluten-free and vegan available.
Moksha Cafe
Family-run Moksha is so confident about its muscly, homemade hash browns that it offers a money-back guarantee. It also comes loaded – try the zingy zhoug (cilantro sauce), feta and pink onion topping. Owner Oliver is constantly dreaming up mouthwatering breakfast specials and the big menu has plenty for children, vegans and veggies.
Coffee is made with the café's own blend and bottles of Moksha hot sauce are for sale. You'll find it on the fringes of North Laine, not far from Brighton Pavillion.
Hummingbird Café
OK, Hummingbird is not in Brighton, but the opportunity to eat breakfast while watching light planes land and take off at the UK's oldest licensed aerodrome is worth a little detour. Brighton City Airport's first recorded flight was in 1910 and the 1936 terminal building is an art deco delight.
Operated by a local bakery, the Hummingbird Café offers a crowd-pleasing breakfast menu at honest prices and caters to vegans and children. If it's sunny, sit outside for front-row airfield views. The airport is west of Brighton and minutes from the A27.
Lost in the Lanes
At Lost, it's not just granola, it's strawberry and elderflower granola. Egg and soldiers make way for the 'lost soldiers' – four fat potato rosti fingers and a dippy egg-yolk hollandaise. Avocado toast comes with pico de gallo, charred sweetcorn, harissa and blue corn tortilla, and even the humble baked bean gets the Lost treatment.
On the new summer spritz menu is the Lillet (Lillet blanc, orange syrup, fizz and soda water) – a perfect accompaniment to the blood orange and white chocolate layered brioche. There are three outside tables and service is some of the best in Brighton.
Canopy
For elevated brunch food and a relaxed neighbourhood vibe, head to Seven Dials, where this all-day café-cum-restaurant has recently arrived. Sit inside surrounded by blush pink walls and exposed brick or under the spreading fig tree in the garden. Popular already are the fried chicken sandwich garnished with hot honey, the banana French toast and the Canopy hash brown that riffs on fat chips.
Ingredients are thoughtfully sourced (even the 'Sip Sip' lemonade is local) and the dog sausages have proved a winner with local pooches. Drinks expert Tom Surgey's inspired cocktail menu includes mid-strength 'brunch drinks' that put the fun into brunch but let you get on with the day.
Rockwater
For sunrise-to-sunset views and breezy beachside dining, nowhere does it quite like Rockwater. Visit on a sunny weekend when locals are shucking Devon oysters or crispy cuttlefish on the roof terrace or slipping from sea to table, sipping cortados overlooking the pebbles, and you might consider moving. At the chic ground-floor bar and kitchen, which offers a standard brunch menu, the beach pours in through retractable windows.
The roof terrace has a sought-after balcony and a retractable roof (outside seating is on a first-come, first-served basis). While not the cheapest option in town, the location, and the walk here past Hove's beaches and colourful beach huts, makes it well worthwhile.
Apiary
It's not just the hand-carved 'bee-frame' ceiling and wood-panelled walls that cocoon diners at Apiary in a sense of wellbeing, but the ethos behind a clever menu curated by owner-beekeepers Alistair and Noemi. As well their own chestnut, linden and heather honeys, a smoked honey porter, bee pollen and meads are subtly incorporated into drinks and dishes. Try the beautifully presented open-faced savoury crepes, croquettes spiked with a hot mead sauce, cheese paired with honey-roasted figs, and the punchy Viennese coffee or 'biscoffee'.
Apiary had me at the 'Bee-Mosa,' a sparkly blend of beesou (ethically sourced British honey) blended with botanicals, orange juice and sparkling wine. Apiary probably has the biggest mead list in East Sussex and sells honey cider and honey beer to go.
How we choose
Every restaurant in this curated list has been tried and tested by our destination expert, who has visited to provide you with her insider perspective. We cover a range of budgets, from neighbourhood favourites to Michelin-starred restaurants – to best suit every type of traveller's taste – and consider the food, service, best tables, atmosphere and price in our recommendations. We update this list regularly to keep up with the latest openings and provide up-to-date recommendations.
About our expert
Festivals, a thriving music scene, independent shopping and an 'anyone is welcome' vibe are just some of the things Teresa Machan loves about Brighton. If not roller skating into the sunset or scouring vintage shops in North Laine, she'll be in the sea.