The best restaurants serving French food in Central Hove Brighton and Hove South East

My wife and I have been fans of Stephen Edward’s food for many years. We have eaten his food previously at Cromwells in Small Dole, Whites in Steyning and the Camelia at South Lodge. I was therefore happy to book a table at Etch to celebrate our Wedding Anniversary. I did this via The Fork app and it was clearly stated that we wanted the ‘Michelin tasting menu’ in the restaurant. We paid the deposit and received confirmation. However, late morning on the day of the reservation, I was contacted by a restaurant employee to ‘confirm our booking in the cocktail bar’. I explained that we had booked the restaurant, but was told that they didn’t have that information and had no availability. The lady said that she would be contacting all diners to confirm their tables and would call me back if anybody cancelled, however I received a deposit refund as soon as I put the phone down and a message from ‘The Fork’ saying the restaurant couldn’t accommodate us! I’m sure the food is as great as ever, but it is the dismissive attitude of the staff over their mistake that leaves a bad taste in the mouth

Sad to say the cover over the rear garden has gone thanks to our useless council, but a planning request is in using the petition as proof the roof is needed. The menu is still expansive, from peppers du padron to fillet and giant prawns. Excellent quality and quantity.

We come here at least a couple of times each week. Favourites are the bread, sausage rolls, smoked salmon and scrambled egg croissants, and the ham and cheese baguettes, but everything is great. It's a really great place.