New Finds in Brighton: Shopping & Food

I love living in Brighton. I’m born and bred down here and I can’t really imagine living anywhere else (although anytime I visit L.A I get kinda tempted – mainly due to the constant sun and close vicinity to good sushi). It’s home. We have friends down here, family down here and the sea breeze and views don’t go a miss either. Whenever I’m asked about what I miss about living in London, aside from the obvious answer of not living near Lily and being close for work commitments, I say ‘the shops and the food‘. We lived a 10 minute drive from Westfield Stratford and so every shopping need was quite dangerously just a stones-throw away. We were also linked up by the central line which meant that all the good foodie spots like Shoreditch, Spitalfields and Soho were within easy reach without even having to swap lines. It was awesome. And although I’m sure we could have made more use of these links, I think we gave it a pretty good go. I mean, I could find my way around the labyrinth that was Westfield with my eyes closed by the end of our time there.

Brighton isn’t lacking in the food and shopping stakes though, by any stretch of the imagination. I’ve already done a little ’24 Hours in Brighton’ guide last year on my blog, but since then I’ve found a few more shops and spots to add to the list. Here’s where else you need to visit next time you head down to the seaside for the weekend…

OK let’s talk food first, because I’m hungry and I can’t stop thinking about the fried courgette, onion and pesto pizza that I had at Fatto a Mano last night (it already features on the previously mentioned post!), which was vegan and actually really damn tasty. If I had to pick one restaurant though that I’d say that you have to visit during your time here, it’s 64º. It’s small and gets booked up, so you have to book weeks, if not months in advance here, especially if you’re looking for a table on a Friday night or the weekend, but it’s well worth the wait. There are always murmurings locally that it’s well on the way to getting a Michelin Star and it was hand on my heart some of the best food I’ve ever eaten. We ate there for Mark’s birthday and devoured pretty much the whole menu. It’s small-plate style, often served to you by the chef (get the seats at the bar if you can) and the menu constantly changes as they use seasonal and local produce. My tip would be to see if you can get three other people to accompany you here. Each section of the menu – meat, fish and veg – features four dishes so that way you can order the whole thing if you each order something different. Sharing is caring, right?

Another place that Mark and I tried recently was Cin Cin. It’s nestled into the heart of the North Laines, is again pretty small and so well worth booking if you can. The set-up is around a large bar too, but there’s no additional table seating, so it’s probably worth going as a two. It makes for a good date night spot. They serve up some of the best Italian food I’ve had outside of Italy and Italian food is my favourite kind of food. What’s not to love? We had focaccia and burrata to start – oh god, now I’m getting really hungry – and we shared a meat ragu pasta and a butternut squat ravioli for mains. Both were equally delicious. Mark vouched that the wine was good, oh and we had dessert too. It’s safe to say we did an extremely slow walk back to the car. It’s pretty close to the station, so a good restaurant to head to before you catch your train home. Just be prepared for a major food baby.

Right – onto shopping and this one will come as no surprise if you’re a watcher of my Instagram Stories as I stop by this place practically every time I go into town. It’s called Workshop and it’s a homeware shop that’s basically an Instagram-dream. The guys that run it are absolute babes, who are always around for a chat and to tell you what’s new. They do a bit of everything from candles to watches and kitchenware to plants. Make sure you check upstairs too because they’ve recently started to stock fashion and the t-shirts they have there are top of mine and Mark’s shopping lists. They stock pieces that are basically impossible to find elsewhere in the UK and really finish off rooms. I often use their pieces in blog pictures and Instagrams and their Scent of Home Melbourne Candles are seriously delicious (grab the Fig Tree one if they have it in stock!).

Gourmet feasts, pasta babies and candle hauls – yeah I quite like living down here.

Photos by Lauren Shipley