Palmito Restaurant in Brighton and Hove

Palmito may be tiny but it packs a mighty punch. Small plates fusion via South America and Southeast Asia, we are some of the best dishes we’d had all year during our last visit. Particular highlights were the prawn and chorizo empanada, the coconut squash Dahl, and the Indian fried chicken. Booking is a must!

Our third visit to Palmito and very lucky to have it local to us. Food was delicious and service second to none. Yes it’s a small restaurant (reading other reviews on the seating) but that’s part of the charm. Can’t wait to return

We were beautifully welcomed-& looked after-as soon as we walked into this small, intimate restaurant, guided through a lovely menu & told the food was Equadorian with an Indian twist. Exciting! And the food was wonderful-plenty of choice for every kind of palate-preceded by glorious cocktails. And we were told the food came out when it was ready….which is all very well, but made the meal as a whole, a little disjointed. So a tiny bit disappointing, but the evening was still a fun one.

This was our first visit to Palmito and we loved it. There’s a great variety of interesting dishes and everything we had was delicious. Very good vegetarian selection too. The staff were lovely and service was great. We also really enjoyed the cocktails.

A truly tiny restaurant but the food has MASSIVE flavours. Fantastic range of eclectic dishes, all of which (the ones we had anyway) were delicious and full of flavour. The panna cotta for dessert was the best I’ve tasted outside of Italy, incredible. A must visit if you’re in Brighton.

The easiest place to enjoy yourself. Have been in a few times, most recently partner's birthday, great front of house and punchy, precised cooking.

Food was great and a wonderful Spanish white Rioja. The restaurant is tiny and you are in close quarters of your neighbours but it’s part of the experience! The food came out perfectly timed and the service was fantastic. We had a lovely meal.

Had a great evening with a friend at Palmito. Lovely caipirinha cocktails, delicious food. Would absolutely return. It’s a small space so tables are small and very close together and it does get noisy but the atmosphere, food and drinks were fab. We were lucky as the table next to us was empty so the waitress pushed it next to ours to give us more space. We would perhaps try and book the window table next time.

This is definitely one of the best restaurants I’ve been to in my 16 years living in Brighton. I will definitely be telling everyone about this great snug restaurant. Tasty food, great service and not silly prices!

We went with another couple of friends for an early dinner midweek (fully booked for later timings, which was a good sign of just how good this place is). The menu is a real global experience of taste sensations, all very unusual and satisfying. We picked around 6 dishes between us, on the advice that we should think of them like tapas to share. This was just a perfect amount and left space to try the two very tasty desserts. We could not fault the food, the wine, the very friendly service or the speed at which we were served. All in all the perfect dining experience. Much recommended and can't wait to go back to try the other dishes we didn't get to try!

The food was excellent. The scallops were my favourite, with the cauliflower and broccoli close seconds. However it is quite a small space. I don’t think I’ve ever sat so close to another table. We ended up chatting with our neighbours as they were so close. If you get a choice go for the table in the window - I think that’s the table with the most space around it. I will return and will try to make sure I get that window seat!

Have been to Palmito 4 times this year. it is without a doubt one of our favourite places to eat. Great food, amazing service!

On holiday, we’d booked for our wedding anniversary after reading the review by Giles Coren. Totally different from anything we’ve ever had, the four dishes plus a dessert were ample for us and the wine went well. Our favourite dish was the nectarine salad. Only drawbacks were the closeness of all the tables and shortly before we left, a very noisy group of 4 ladies came in. But a great experience with very friendly staff. We’ll be back next time we’re here on holiday!

We went on a Thursday evening at opening time and were the first ones in the restaurant. It’s a small building, a repurposed takeaway and we had the best spot! Window seat. We didn’t feel rushed when ordering. I really recommend reading the website when booking as it tells you about the place and also how long the booking is, which is fair and nothing new. This was a birthday trip out. The waitress recommended we order 5-6 dishes and spoke through which ones would come out faster and was really knowledgeable about the dishes. All in all, the food was fantastic quality and sustainably sourced as well as local. This makes sense for the price of dishes. Cocktails were great. We really enjoyed the meal and everyone in the restaurant, chefs and wait staff, were so lovely and really are a credit to the place. Please do check it out.

4 stars for the food but not the experience as a whole. Lots of veggie options & the food was delicious. Every detail had been carefully thought out, and there were so many great flavours. Highlight for me was the moong dhal (fresh flatbread was incredible) & the harissa cauliflower. The Mezcalita cocktail was also delicious & the server was very attentive and always making sure our water etc was topped up. We were however disappointed with the short sitting time (1.5 hours). We were advised to order 2-3 dishes each and went with 5, ordering quickly. The food comes out when ready but there was a huge gap between the first 4 dishes & the final dish coming out. Five mins after we got the last dish we were informed the table was needed back in 10 mins! This made us feel really rushed & the server still asked if we wanted anything else despite obviously no time for dessert. I really value the ambience in a place but the tables were packed in and we felt a bit too close to the people next to us. The food was incredible but unfortunately for me I wouldn’t come back as it wasn’t a relaxing experience.

I’ve been wanting to try this restaurant for awhile even more so when a few friends who’ve been back several times have praised them. We booked a table online for 6pm (2 hour slot) on a Saturday night as from then on it was fully...

The food was good, indeed some dishes were really good, however the service was less so. We ordered the recommended five to six dishes which was quite enough, yet the waitress kept returning to the table suggesting we might want more food, more drink, and...

Blooming marvellous food nice staff excellent cocktails. Menu is a bit deceptive as they recommend about 5-6 plates per couple (but better to have 4-5 and a pudding) everyone eating just looked so happy- hard not to when each mouthful is so good. Even my...

very cramped, so noisy it was difficult to here my wife talk across the table. £7.50 for one scallop is outrageous, very small wine glass measurements. Overall food good but very expensive for the portion size.

We were recommended this restaurant by friends who we trust. I looked at the menu before we went and could see that there was a whole list of dishes that I had not had before. We therefore went with the attitude that we were going...

The food here is very good albeit a bit pricey and there’s a nice atmosphere. Being a small venue they put a 1hr45 min limit on sittings which is understandable. However with that time limit the food needs to come out quickly and we were...

A friendly welcome from lovely staff, in this unique little restaurant on the Brighton/ Hove border. I started with a delicious South American cocktail flavoured with passionfruit and thyme. The food is tapas-style sharing plates, that come out as they are ready. Each one full...

Very small restaurant with lovely friendly helpful staff. We were lucky to get the window table. Food was absolutely delicious. Would have enjoyed slightly larger portions but will definitely return.

Loved everything about this place. It's cosy with a small amount of tables but had a great atmosphere. The service was really welcoming, we had great cocktails (beautifully made and not cloying) and the menu selection was fantastic. We thoroughly enjoyed every aspect of our...

My husband and I went to Palmito on Saturday evening. The restaurant is small but it adds to the atmosphere. The food we had (vegan and vegetarian dishes) were all delicious, well seasoned, with unusual combinations that worked. We loved it so much, we booked...

If you are seeking an alternative to the now closed Ciarans, look no further. Went to a one off Sri Lankan seafood night and was blown away. Fresh, insightful and very tasty indeed. Portions the right size, you won’t go hungry. Do try their excellent...

We have visited Palmito many time now, ever since they opened, and we have never been disappointed. Kanthi and Diego cook with heart and soul and bring an incredible mix of South American and Indian flavours to their imaginative dishes. Everything is prepared with care,...

The servings are tiny and on the bland side, I think they're trying to be edgy with a faux street food mentality when they're just ripping people off with less cost going into the actual food. Our encounter with an Indian chef there wasn't pleasant,...

This is a very special place indeed and must be protected at all costs! Some of the most delicious food I’ve ever had in Brighton - you can taste the love and passion of these two chefs in the food. Huge gluten free range too!

We were intrigued to try this new little restaurant on Western Road with its chefs of Ecuadorian and South Indian origin. We had 4 small plates - smoked aubergine spread, stuffed padron peppers, jerusalem artichokes and prawns - and 1 large plate of curried chicken,...

Just tried here for the first time. Absolutely incredible, every dish was so good. The chefs and waitress made a real effort to explain exactly what each dish was, as well as checking if we enjoyed them all. I love that the place only has...