Restaurant Review: Food for Friends, Brighton

Food for Friends in Brighton

Food for Friends in Brighton is one of the most famous vegetarian restaurants in the city. Despite living in Brighton for five years, I had yet to visit this award-winning restaurant until recently. I don’t eat meat (although do eat fish) and it’s very easy to find meat-free options in Brighton, with so many vegan and vegetarian eateries. Food for Friends serves high quality global vegetarian cuisine with vegan and gluten free options. I had heard great things about the restaurant and I was keen to experience it myself. Located on Prince Albert Street in the popular South Lanes area in the city centre, Food for Friends is easy to find. It’s a stone’s throw from the seafront and about a ten-minute walk from the station. The ethos of the Food for Friends restaurant is to serve fresh homemade and affordable food and to use local suppliers where possible. The menu oozes creatively with influences from around the world and changes frequently in relation to seasonal produce.

Starter: Inari tofu wraps 

Starter: Croquettes 

We arrived at the restaurant in the evening for dinner. Everything on the menu looks appealing and it was difficult to choose from the options! Starters range from puy lentil, celery and zaatar soup to courgette kofta with roasted carrots, apricot puree, coconut tzatziki and harissa. I eventually chose the Inari tofu wraps. After living in Japan for a year, spending some months in Palestine and growing up travelling to India and Asia frequently, I love food from around the world. There are so many flavours that are absent in English cuisine and I was pleased to see a diverse menu. The Inari tofu wraps consist of brown rice & oyster mushroom, gochujang cream and daikon. I have to say it was absolutely delicious! The different flavours in the dish were perfectly placed together and the consistency and texture were ideal. The sauce was absolutely sumptuous and the contrasting tastes were just right. Starters range in price from £6-8. The Inari tofu wraps are priced at £7.20, higher than I’d usually pay for a starter but well worth it. The dish might not look that big in the photo but it was incredibly filling and I probably could have skipped the main course entirely.

Main course: Portobello Mushrooms with For for Friends vegetarian burger in the background 

However, I was not going to miss out on sampling one of the main courses. I love the influence of global cuisine in this restaurant and whatever type of taste you crave they will have! The main courses include pumpkin & sage arancini, karaei udon, Middle Eastern salad, open ravioli and the Food for Friends vegetarian burger. Again, it was hard to choose but I opted for the portobello mushrooms with Goat’s cheese, black quinoa & sun-dried tomato, with potato gratin, black garlic puree, fine beans and apricot pesto. The meal was beautifully presented and after taking some photos I couldn’t wait to get stuck in. Just like the starter it was a wonderful combination of delicious and contrasting items. The potato gratin was one of my favourite parts of the meal and along with the mushroom it was hugely filling! For £16, I did think it was a tad too expensive but then you’re paying for the finest ingredients which has been carefully and exquisitely crafted onto the plate. It’s evident a lot of thought has gone into the selection of ingredients and food arrangement.

Dessert: Chocolate Fondant

It was difficult to fit dessert in but I wanted to try one to review. Being a chocolate lover it was easy to choose the chocolate fondant but the other desserts of poached pear, sticky toffee pudding and cherry cashew cheesecake were just as tempting. Wow, what a dessert it was! Served with vanilla ice cream, caramel, berry coulis the chocolate fondant was delightful! The cost for this dessert is £7.50, again slightly more than I would usually pay but worth the cost.

Dessert: Sticky Toffee Pudding

Other than the food and its’ central location, the ambiance of the restaurant is calm and warm with neutral tones. I would have liked to see a bit more colour on the walls but, of course, that’s down to personal preference because I love colour! However, the focus in this restaurant is the food. Not only are the dishes creatively and beautifully arranged, they are truly delicious! If you’re looking for a diverse range of dishes which contain the finest and freshest vegetarian ingredients with influences from around the world, then this is the place to come! I’d love to return with Pip in the future to try out the kid’s menu, the Sunday roasts and maybe a cocktail or two!

Inside Food for Friends restaurant in Brighton

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* Many thanks to Food for Friends for inviting us in to review the restaurant. All words and opinions are my own. 

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Have you been to Food for Friends? What would you choose from the menu? I’d love to hear your thoughts ☺