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The Observer - Caroline Stacey

Good Food Guide 2006 - edited by Andrew Turvil

Business Edge - James Sharpe

The last time I dined in this building was late one winter night in 1998. Half cut and feeling worse for wear, I recall consuming a burger of indeterminate origin. Barely warm and greasy to the touch, it came laden down with a piece of lifeless lettuce that looked like it had just returned from a fortnight on a Mediterranean beach and some French fries that had about as much bite as a marshmallow. Mind you, the Diet Coke really excellent.

I should mention that back the, 1 Buckingham Place was actually a Burger King. Five years on, though, it is now home to Sevendials restaurant, a much-needed attempt to inject some real style into the city’s restaurant scene. While much is made of Brighton’s status as London-by-Sea, it’s an inescapable fact that while there is an abundance of low and mid-range restaurants on offer, there are precious few that can justifiably compare themselves to any of the top eateries in the capital. Look at Havana on Duke Street. Great location and tasteful interior, but once waited fully two hours for a starter, and then walked out just as they brought it to the table.

After spells at some of London’s blue-ribbon restaurants, owner/chef Sam Metcalfe has now brought his own take on modern British cuisine to Brighton and created a dining experience unlike any other in the city. The menu is eclectic and innovative, the presentation exceptional and the service friendly and faultless. Moreover, there’s a host of little touches that set it apart from the rest of the crowd, like the free Shallot and Mushroom soup that took us by surprise when it arrived before our starters.

Make no mistake, though, the location of Sevendials isn’t great and the views from the terrace aren’t exactly the Serengeti at sunset, but at least you do get a ringside seat to watch motorists slugging it out on the seven dials roundabout. Once inside, though, it has style in abundance and the food, well, that is nothing short of remarkable. Take my seared tuna steak (from the two courses for £19.50 a la carte menu). Served with a rocket salad and truffle oil, it was as pink and tender as an albino in the height of summer and was utter perfection.

My partner’s cod with pea puree (part of the super value two courses for a tenner set menu), meanwhile, was also above and beyond anything I’ve eaten in this city before.

Throw in a super bottle of Sancerre (£20) – which given that Mrs Sharpe is six months pregnant and I, therefore, am now drinking for two, I felt duty bound to consume in its entirety – a sumptuous caramelised lemon tart with a tangy raspberry coulis and a couple of cappuccinos and you have almost the perfect dining experience.

The price for such luxury, incidentally, was a dwarf’s pinkie over £70 (including service) and was worth each and every penny. Now, had we endured a similar meal at one of Brighton’s more pretentious eateries, it doubtless would have topped the £100 mark and, moreover, we would probably still be waiting for our starters.

Absolute Brighton - Mo Shine

My lunch partner is Mike Rogers, who owns and runs a successful business with three premises in Sussex. For eight years, Design Interiors traded in Hanningtons, and in the five years since the store shut (yes, five years!), Mike found the perfect spot on Western Road in Hove for his first shop. Since then he has opened in Haywards Heath and last spring, the third shop opened in Horsham. The company offers a huge range of fitted furniture for kitchens and bathrooms, working with the customer and covering all tastes from rich traditional styles to the latest contemporary sleek options.

Mike has already dined at Sevendials Restaurant. He prefers an unpretentious menu and takes great pleasure in excellent surroundings, so feels at home in this lovely relaxed atmosphere. We chose from the day’s lunch menu, and I started with tomato and lentil soup. I often wonder when having soup if it’s going to be a wet and watery experience, but not in this case! Just the right texture and flavour. Mike chose roasted figs wrapped in Parma ham and filled with Mascarpone, toasted sunflower seeds and wild rocket salad! He wasn’t surprised that it lived up to expectations.

Sam Metcalfe, chef and owner of Sevendials Restaurant, lives with his new wife in a flat above the restaurant. He and his family bought the premises in 2001 from a burger chain, and transformed the place into what it is today, a far cry from its fast food days. A gallery of lovely black and white photos of the Metcalfe family adorn the walls.

Recently opened is the Summer Terrace, where food and drinks are served all day, weather permitting. A snack menu is available in the afternoon The heated garden is sheltered from the world outside and is like an oasis at the roundabout. A thriving herb garden provides fresh herbs for all the dishes served.

Mike and I then had the pleasure of an extra course of fois gras. Not having tried this delicacy before, I was unaware that it was duck liver, a far more delicate taste than expected. My main course of wild mushroom risotto was topped with white truffle oil. I love olive oil and this was even better. Mike chose char grilled salmon salad with roasted peppers and tartar sauce – he wasn’t too keen on having the peppers, Sam was happy to oblige with some alternative ingredients, not something that happens easily in all establishments. The meal is complimented by lovely home baked bread, freshly made every morning.

I asked Mike about how the fluctuations in the housing market affect business. In actually fact, the movements seems to balance out – when the market is buoyant, those buying are often unhappy with the interiors that come with their new home and want a change. Conversely, when the market is stagnant, and buying slows down, many consider a change in their current home instead of a move. A percentage of work comes from developers, who invite Design Interiors to do the fittings to a specification for a group of dwellings. This work is different in that there is no contact with those who will be living in and using the dwellings. Furniture is sourced from such varied places as Germany and Italy, which indicates the range of styling, and when working with a customer on an individual kitchen, hand drawn designs are drawn up and, working together, the ideal environment can be created. This of course goes for bedrooms as well, and also studies, another area that Design Interiors specialize in.

Time for dessert, and I chose the wonderful chocolate mousse with a praline cream, red wine and vanilla sauce, from the a la carte menu. More an experience than a dessert! Don’t miss it! Trouble is, all the desserts look too good to miss. The a la carte menu is changed every six weeks to ensure that the season’s best produce is used, and the latest dishes can be found on the excellent website, updated daily. Some of the tempting course on the a la carte menu currently are Pyranees pot-roasted milk-fed lamb stew, roasted guinea fowl breast and monkfish. Of course vegetarian customers are catered for. The daily changing lunch menu is an amazing £10 per head. (£15 for three courses), and the a la carte is £21.50 (£25.50 for three courses). One of the things I particularly appreciate when dining out (apart from excellent food, of course) is good service. The staff at Sevendials are friendly and helpful and the service was impeccable. This was not just for us – I could see the other diners were getting the same smiling and efficient attention.

Mike and I felt really relaxed, and as we both usually take a snatched lunch, it was lovely to spend some time in the day at such a charming place. Mike goes skiing every year with his wife and two children, to get away from the relentless pressure of work. A break can work wonders, even a couple of hours in a fine restaurant. Try it – taking a few hours out of a busy week can relieve the pressure.

One of the many special features of Sevendials is the Vault, now free of banknotes and available to hire for small functions of about 20 guests. Mike has attended one such function here, and was impressed with the quality of the food served, not reduced in quality because of catering for a large group of people. Both the restaurant and the Vault have been granted licenses to hold marriages, commitment and naming ceremonies.

A very unusual and brilliant service offered by Sam is an Open Kitchen. For #50 (including lunch) you can spend the day in the kitchen, preparing and cooking and sampling the life of a chef. Sam showed me a letter from someone who had spent a day in his kitchen, and he described the experience as memorable. He was impressed with Sam’s dedication and high standards, suggesting that Sam would make a first class TV chef!. So stop wondering, and try it! You might find you have missed your vocation!

Sam has had over 20 years experience and has spent much of that in great restaurants in London including the Groucho Club, 192 Kensington and The Belvedere in Holland Park (where he was head chef at the age of 21). When he returned to his home soil on the south coast, he wanted to fulfil his ambition to create exquisite food with fresh produce served by attentive staff in stylish welcoming surroundings. I would say he has more that succeeded in that ambition.

The Insight - Brad Levyy

Brad Levy is served three courses fit for a king a Seven Dials

Seven Dials restaurant is housed in a building that was once a bank and then later a branch of a corporate burger joint. The owners have firmly laid to rest the ghosts of the former occupants with tasteful decoration, good music, attentive, friendly staff and some of the best food that I have ever tasted.

Run by Sam Metcalfe, who learned his trade in many top London eateries, Seven Dials is a family business which aims to provide solid modern European cooking utilising the best and freshest ingredients around. Additional flavouring is achieved with herbs taken from their own herb garden (which made my window box look very poor in comparison).

We started the evening with a bottle of Rioja Crianza Marques de Arienzo 1998 at £17.00. Now I don’t know much about wine but I do know that I like a good Rioja and believe me, this was a very good choice. Sweet black cherry and berry fruits with vanilla spice it said on the list and by god, they were right.

When eating out I think you should eat something that you wouldn’t normally have at home so I ordered the Chef’s salad. Nothing unusual there, but this salad consisted of grilled black pudding (flown in from Paris), poached free range eggs and bacon on a bed of salad leaves with dressing. Not very PC but very yummy all the same. Bretton went for an equally naughty Foie Gras Parfait with toasted brioche, red onion marmalade and sauterne jelly (which I obviously had to taste in the interest of a fully rounded review and it was delightful).

Main course was pan roasted, grass fed, Rib-eye of Beef with pesto stuffed plum tomatoes and lyonnaise potatoes which I had to eat half of before I could see the plate. Bretton had an attack of the guilt’s after his starter and so opted for an Asparagus and Grilled Golden Cross Goat Cheese Risotto with roasted wild garlic which was light and fluffy with great flavours.

Pudding was always going to be a struggle after such a feast but between us we thought we should at least try one. So armed with to spoons we proceeded to devour a Raspberry Crème Brulee. I wish we’d had one each now.

The whole meal was extremely good value with an all-in-one price of £23.50 for three courses (or £19.50 for two). The lunch menu costs £10 for two courses or £12.50 for three and the lunchtime menu changes every week (dinner changes every five weeks).

Sam has gone to great lengths to create an overall eating experience which the people of Brighton and Hove should be very grateful for. The fact that the restaurant was only a quarter full on a Thursday evening should make you hang your head in shame. However, with the Brighton food festival around the corner and summer returning rapidly, their outdoor terrace will re-open as of May 1st form 10.30 for breakfasts, lunch and dinner. So you should make amends as soon as possible and pay them a visit.

This is Brighton - Katya Mira

Since it opened in 2002, this award-winning gourmet restaurant has been considered one of the best places to get top-notch food in the city.

With a main restaurant, private room, summer terrace and contemporary surroundings, there's enough to put a smile on your face before you even get to the food.