Strada, New Road, Brighton

3 generations of us went here after the ballet on Christmas Eve. I had a slightly undercooked fiorentina pizza, others had spag bol, children's spag bol a chicken salad. Slightly better quality than Pizza Express, good service (crackers included), floor a bit dirty. Good value. 3/5.

The Spotted Dog, Middle Street, Brighton

A group of 8 40 and 50ish cycling chums had our winterval meal here last week. Although the manager doesn't normally reserve tables she made a special exception for us and she even provided crackers. We had a right old mix of pies, burgers, steaks etc and everyone was pleased with the food - its definitely as good as the Snowdrop (licenced by the same people - Dom and Tony). There were 6 well kept ales on and, although it was a little disappointing that there was neither Harveys Best nor Dark Star Hophead, the substitutes were spot on. Jenny, the manager, also brought us taster 'shots' of a lovely aniseedy mild that she had just put on.
9/10

Chilli Pickle revisited, Jubilee Square, Brighton

Aargh, if there was ever an example of a good restaurant getting too big for its boots and spoiling itself, this is it. After moving to a larger premises in the new bit of central Brighton near the library, the Chilli Pickle's standard of food has suffered and its become too poncey for its own good. Its more about the presentation (metal vesels) than quality or quantity. We chose virtually the same dishes as when we went to the old CP restaurant a few years ago and they just weren't as good. Navigating your way to and from the toilets can be tricky as well because of the full length mirrors and confusing doors to the next door hotel. The only bright spot was the Meantime IPA in bottles but that was steep at £11 a pop.
2/5 http://www.thechillipickle.com/

The Spotted Dog, Middle Street, Brighton

The licensees of this pub also run the superlative Snowdrop in Lewes. Despite it being owned by Greene King there's an excellent range of real ales (5 when I was there) and a real cider as well. Dark Star and Harveys feature heavily and they are all well kept and served.
Apparently its a 'chop house' but I didn't eat there.
5/5
http://www.facebook.com/TheSpottedDog

A Taste of Sahara, Western Road, Brighton

This is on the little Middle East bit of Western Road, on the Brighton / Hove border. I went there on my wedding anniversary (with my wife) and I have to say I was very impressed. The waiter was charming and very friendly without being obsequious. We shared a mezze starter which was good. I had the best barbecued fish I've had in a British restaurant - trout that was crispy on the outside and translucent in the middle. My wife had a kebab which she liked. Its a BYO so we had excellent wine. There was a party on in the backroom so there was a lively atmosphere. About £40 for 2. Brilliant value. 5/5.

Tookta's Cafe, Spring Street, Brighton

This is a cafe more than a restaurant, with an extremely friendly owner who puts a lot of care into her food. We had a mixed starter, spicy squid, seafood Green Curry, beef noodles with dark soy sauce and an extremely hot chicken curry. And a few bottleso f boring Thai lager. £19 each (inc tip). Not bad value. After the meal we tested the owner's knowledge of Thai regional cuisine and she said she'd cook 'off-piste' dishes to order with a nights warning. Cash only.
3.5/5
http://sites.google.com/site/tooktascafe/

The Pump House, Lanes, Brighton

Its years since I visited this place and as its south of North Street its in the zone normally avoided on weekend evenings. Drunken trouts and aggressive oiks are not my kind of scene. Anyway, I was early for a party elsewhere so popped into this based on the good reports of its ale. They had 4 on tap - Harveys BB, Doom Bar (I think), Barnsley Gold and an old. The prices were really keen - under £3 with one exception and well kept. The descriptions on the pump clips weren't very helpful but I'm not complaining about that. The list of upcoming ales was very encouraging and eclectic. The decor (light wood panelling and old Brighton prints) was tasteful for a town centre pub. Definitely worth a visit although probably not on a Friday or Saturday.
5/5

Murano, Queen St, London W1

I went here the night after a Harvester visit. A more extreme contrast is difficult to contemplate. Its got Michelin stars and does absolutely top class Italian nosh. Its a swanky part of London, the service is impeccable - helpful but not pushy, the cooking is sublime, wine excellent etc etc. There is a £60 for 3 course menu which offered plenty of meat and fish choice (although irritatingly the fish often comes with a bit of pork about it - I fail to understand why chefs fee this to be necessary) and a veggie menu as well. We started with aperitifs and I had scallops with a quince jus and grain mustard vinaigrette for starters, an excellent monkfish main and vanilla pannecotte for puds. Others had oxtail risotto, lamb, beef etc. 7 of us shared 3 bottles of wine and we all had coffees (I think they were about £45 a pop) and the whole thing cost £106 per head. This is about double my record and a result of the expensive wine. I feel duty bound to ask the same question as the previous night at the Harvester - was it good value? Yes - for a special occasion, this is a special place.
5/5

The Harvester, anywhere

This was the first in a bizarre couple of nights eating out at either end of the spectrum of British eateries. I went with my 77 year old mum (her treat) and my 5 year old daughter. The Ruislip Harvester is a big old 1930s roadhouse pub which actually was the first place I ever bought alcohol (half a bottle of scotch to drink in the park when I was 15 or 16. I was sick as a dog and have never drunk the stuff since). It was only about 5.45 but was packed with families tucking into their early bird specials. We joined them. The menu is very meat heavy with few veggie choices and only a few fish. I had a stodgy and pretty tasteless penne with tomato sauce. The garlic bread was the best bit. My mum expressed herself happy with her chicken and meat concoction and my daughter ate most of her fish and chips. I tried her fish and had one chip. both were pretty tasteless. There was also the free salad bar which was nondescript, although I wonder why pineapple features We had soft drinks and the bill was £21.86.

There was no real ale on offer. The decor was very tired and the floor was filthy with dropped food. Is this good value? I can see if you're going out with a family it probably is but the quality of the food was pretty awful.
1/5

The Open House, Springfield Road, Brighton

What a difference a year makes.
I've been twice recently and they really need to clean out the beer lines. The ale is foul.
1/5

Stanmer Park 'Tavern', Ditchling Road

This pub has a certain reputation for extreme violence. I was in a car once at the traffic lights outside the pub and saw an altercation which included a punter biting the nose off a bouncer. I think I just read the most amusing review of a pub ever: http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=230583989946&ssPageName=STRK:MESELX:IT (7th May 2009). However, I did recently pluck up the courage to go and watch a football game there. It was slightly surreal - I've never been in a pub with so many tellies. One corner had lots of people with cool glasses on. Arsenal fans I thought until I noticed they were watching 3D Sky.
Ale is pretty appalling - I had a passable pint of Gr***e King and a truly awful pint of something else.