Brighton Up Your Life | 64 Degrees, 53 Meeting House Lane, Brighton
With 2016 so full of doom and gloom – particularly heavy on the death front, we decided to make 2017 about having a bit more fun and going to more places (especially places that serve food.) We planned to commence with lunch at The Sportsman in Whitstable but they were full (as always) so our backup choice was 64 Degrees – hidden away in The Lanes of our beloved Brighton.
Fork it, let’s have scallops…
Being that weird time between Christmas and new year, 64 Degrees had loads of availability and because of this, we managed to bag front row seats at the counter. We’re suckers for counter seats (check out our gushing Palomar post) so were in our absolute element. Well, that was until a bunch of lads sat next to us having a ‘who can brag the loudest’ contest. Part of us were pleased they’d chosen to go to a decent restaurant especially as they looked (and behaved) more suited to a Wetherspoons, the other part wished they’d just shut the hell up. Anyway, we tried to drown them out by immersing ourselves in what the chefs were doing right in front of us and sank into a state of hypnosis whilst watching them.
Being so wrapped up in the theatre of the kitchen, we forgot what drinks we ordered… Rookie error!
There are three sections to the menu – fish, veg and meat. We chose two from each section although we’d happily have ordered the whole lot. Thankfully, we were bought one dish at a time. We liked this plan, it allowed us time to fully enjoy it without rushing to get through a tonne of small plates all served at once. We loved the Gyoza with dashi and sauerkraut (£10) filled with a mixture of lamb and pork – so bold, so addictive.
Cod, almond and brown butter (£11) sitting in a stunning yellow pool was so succulent, we did our best to make it last. The Gurnard, red pepper and clementine (£10) was cooked equally as well, the orange adding a nice little seasonal touch. So simple but the Beetroot, hazelnut and apple (£6) totally hit the spot – three wonderful ingredients working magically together.
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- Gyoza, dashi, sauerkraut
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- Gurnard, red pepper, clementine
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- Pork secreto, kimchi, cucumber
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- January King, hollandaise, truffle
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- Cod, almond, brown butter
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- Beetroot, hazelnut, apple
We were told the star of the show was the January King, Hollandaise and truffle (£12) – the veg itself sounded great but I’m not a huge fan of hollandaise (or truffle.) Ade hates to let waiting staff down so insisted that we ordered it. I didn’t hate it after all, in fact it was really, really good. Everything was great in fact – some more simple than others but all fresh, simple and cooked with great care (well they had to, we were sat right there watching.)
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- Sticky Toffee Pudding
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- Rum bear
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- The chocolate monster…
Desserts were no exception, plus they do a brilliant thing – the Rum Bear (£3) – a oversized gummy bear made from rum jelly and finished off with a generous dusting of sour sherbet. I hate to use the word ‘fun’ but that’s exactly what it added (and a massive sugar hit.)
We couldn’t survive on just half a Rum Bear each so we ordered another couple of desserts. The STP (£8) – that’s sticky toffee pudding to you and I. Plus a magnificent chocolate monster (it wasn’t called that by the way). Chocolate, caramel, honeycomb (£8.50) – salted caramel mousse, chocolate, meringue, honeycomb, basically everything you need to construct an epic dessert.
We chatted to the chefs whilst we paid up and gathered our belongings, they even asked for our feedback which simply added to the intimacy of our lunch. More often than not, the kitchen staff are hidden away never to be spoken to, let alone seen, sometimes in basements where you might catch a glance of them as you visit the loo. We much prefer the 64 Degrees way, open kitchens add a whole new level of enjoyment and involvement – we can’t get enough of them.
64degrees.co.uk
53 Meeting House Lane, Brighton, BN1 1HB
Email: info@64degrees.co.uk
Tel: 01273 770115
Opening hours: Monday to Sunday: Lunch: 12pm-3pm & Dinner 6pm-9.45pm
Book a table online
Nearest station: Brighton (10 mins walk)
