» Life’s a beach
Andrew Kay dines in style with great views at The Beach House
In January I will be celebrating my 21st year living in Britain’s most exciting and truly cosmopolitan seaside resort. When I first arrived I was amazed at how run down and under-utilised the beach and seafront were. It still amazes me that buildings like the Kingswest were ever granted planning permission to construct huge almost windowless seafacing walls. Surely the beach and channel views are one of our most attractive assets? I only hope that, despite Luddite intervention, we eventually get our Marina tower, our Frank Gehry and the hilarious ‘dildo and donut’ erection at the West Pier. Surely the anti campaigners time would be better spent lobbying for the systematic removal of the ugly Marina ‘bunkers’ and the vile Odeon.
Brightonians had for too long seemed hell bent on ignoring the seafront, then suddenly, boom, renaissance, bars, cafés, clubs and restaurants – the lower promenade was reborn. It took a little longer for the upper levels of King’s Road and Marine Parade to join in the fun but finally we are seeing improvements there too.
‘‘The pier may well be a gaudy geegaw, a bastardised artifice with architectural Asperger’s, but it’s truly lovely’’
I recently enjoyed an evening at Number One, the new bar and Bistro at The Queen’s Hotel. Reclaiming a seafront space, used for years as a paint store, they have created a stylish new venue with great drinks and fabulous views. I haven’t eaten there but it gets top marks for location and style.
On the other side of the pier is The Beach House. Now for years, this venue has struggled to find a niche. To be frank, it’s not the prettiest of buildings, a bit utilitarian. It went from gimmicky telephone bar to gay bar but never really took off. But now as The Beach House someone has had the good sense to maximise on one of its greatest assets – the view. Previous incarnations have seemed hell bent on gimmicks and cabaret, all ignoring the obvious solution. Stop trying to lure in customers with drink deals and drag and start turning people round to see the spectacle that is the pier. It may well be a gaudy geegaw, a bastardised artifice with architectural Asperger’s, but it’s truly lovely, in all its tacky splendour. So what do you do, you refocus your view, no longer on the bar or the crossdressing comic, but on the fabulous spectacle across the road.
Downstairs the bar has been given a far more sophisticated look, cocktails above lager. Upstairs, the multi-platformed interior has every vista turned to the sea. New spaces have been created from old to add a sense of luxury, intimacy and of style.
I was rather shocked, I don’t know what I had expected but it certainly wasn’t this. I joined my old friend and publishing colleague Mr JL at the bar before dinner and had a swift G&T. It was the start of a slippery road to totally indulgent heaven. After one drink we climbed the stairs to our table on one of the balconies overlooking the pier. Here we tucked into great foccacia and olive oil and accepted a couple of Martinis, gin for me, vodka for him. JL had dined there a few times before so was happy to steer me through the menu. We both started with beef carpaccio. It looked pretty but skimpy when it arrived, but on closer inspection I discovered that the slices were rather thick. It turned out that the slicer was on the blink. Promised parmesan was missing but soon remedied and by this point we had moved on to a good red wine at a sensible price.
JL followed with a rack of lamb, a huge portion and cooked exactly as he liked it, pink and oozing. I chose slow roast pork belly with champ. The meat came in long, tender but crisp shreds on a bed of buttery mash dotted with scallions. It was comfort food presented as art, jolly nice. Out of the window the twinkling pier solicited attention, flashing and winking at every punter. JL finished with a cremé bruleé that didn’t even touch the sides. I chose a pavlova. It arrived in a wine glass, and was utterly delicious but not a pavlova by any stretch of the imagination, a shame really because it was a very nice dessert, but I do hate wrongly apportioned names.
After dinner we relaxed with a few more drinks and both agreed that we had enjoyed glamorous food in delicious surroundings with the best view in Brighton, and all without breaking the bank, a great addition to the city. I plan to return very soon to sample their Sunday lunch. I have to admit that I continued in my revellery that night, drinking far too much and ending up dancing at Revenge. Yippeee!
The Beach House, 5-7 Marine Parade, Brighton, 01273 608133.
