Cook it!: This Little Piggy Went To Market
An exciting new dining experience for the city
I’m usually unhappy about reviewing openings of new restaurants because in a sense I will be telling you about an experience that I have had that is unlikely to be offered to you. Parties are what they are and in many ways are very different to a normal restaurant experience. I’m not saying that the food will be any better or worse for that matter, just a different experience.
Last week however I attended a rather good party that I want to share with you. For many years I have been a fan of a restaurant called Graze. It was in many ways pioneering, first to venture into tasting menus, small plate dishes and hot when it came, to new food trends like foraging and of course passionate about local produce.
Kate Alleston and partner Neil Mannings were the people behind Graze and I know that when they closed their doors a few weeks back there was concern that they had gone. Fear not, they had merely bitten the bullet and decided it was time to change what they were doing – hence Market. Market is a new concept for them, a more casual but no less exciting approach to food, as we were to discover.
Sharing is very much a theme at Market and there are a wide variety of small plates on offer, but if sharing is not for you then there will be Market Classics, Daily Specials, Sunday Roast and the weekend Big Market Brunch.
At the party I was blown away by crunchy polenta mushrooms, artichoke hearts with aioli, leeks with cheese, tempura olives and amazing venison carpaccio.
Part of the Market ethic is supporting local producers and we of course ate and drank local with Bedlam Brewery Pilsner, Blackdown gin cocktails and cheese from La Cave a Fromage.
Kate is passionate about her wine list too and I was delighted to see a good representation of sherry, a favourite of mine, on her new list.
The inspiration for the food may be sourcing local produce, some of which will be available to purchase for consumption at home, but the dishes are truly global with influences from the mediterranean, the Americas and of course traditional British fare.
I cannot wait to go back and see what their exciting new chef can do on a normal night when he is not under pressure to fill the mouths of an army of party goers fuelled on great wines, beers and spirits. I’m confident that it will be even better. Oh, and for those of us who have enjoyed the joys of the great private dining room at Graze, fear not, it’s still there but is now wittily branded Down Market. Kate loves a joke as much as she loves great food and drink. Good luck to them, I’m sure they will not need it!
www.market-restaurantbar.co.uk
Market Restaurant, 42 Western Road, Hove, BN3 1JD 01273 823707
