Scrumptious Square

Andrew Kay catches up on the tasty food at Square restaurant and lounge bar in Hove

It had been some time since I sat down for dinner and a good gossip with my friend Mr C, so we had a lot to catch up on. Square in Hove provided an ideal meeting place as he lives close by and I happened to be at that end of town for meetings.
Inside and out, there is no denying that Square is smart. The décor is first class throughout. I do think, that as it is currently configured, you might mistake it for a bar rather than a restaurant which would be a pity, because our food was certainly good.

It did take us a while to order as we were in full catch-up mode, spurred on by a G&T for me and a rum and Coke for Mr C. But after a little prompting, we made our choices and relaxed.

So to start, after much debate, I had the scallops which came with crisp bacon and a green vegetable puree, which made a nice change from the usual cauliflower. They were good too, perfectly cooked, piping hot and plentiful.
Mr C chose calamari and was not to be swayed. “I’m having calamari because I always have calamari.” Fair enough, I thought and he seemed equally pleased with his starter as I was with mine. And to drink, a rather nice bottle of Verdicchio, always a good choice and so much less predictable than Pinot Grigio.

On to the mains then. I chose prawns with spinach and salad and I loved it. It was substantial but not heavy. The prawns were there in profusion, well cooked and well seasoned too. The salad was good, full of tasty ingredients and very fresh, and the spinach was superb – I throughly enjoyed it.

Mr C had a brief conversation with the owner and she steered him towards the homemade pumpkin ravioli. They arrived looking rather splendid and he thoroughly enjoyed them. I certainly envied the crisp courgette ribbons on top and the sliced scallops, that made a very extravagant garnish.

So on to dessert. With Mr R not in attendance I was able to have a sticky toffee pudding. It was good and not too dauntingly large, a good thing after my feast of scallops and prawns. Mr C had an individual banoffee pie that disappeared with almost alarming speed, so it must have been good. I finished with a piping hot double espresso which always pleases me, as so many places send out cold espressos in cold cups.

Square is a bit of a dark horse. It looks smart but it also has the look of a bar, a smart bar where you might spend a few hours drinking wine and cocktails and beers and finally get round to eating. But the food is far better than an easy option at the end of a long night of drinking when you cannot be bothered to move on. Really you should go there and try the food which is well cooked and sensibly priced and than stay on for a few drinks.

Perhaps the owners will re-configure Square so that passers-by can see the good food that they make rather than dismissing it as a drinking spot. There are plenty of things to choose from, we went a la carte but look out for specials and some very well priced pizzas and pasta dishes.

Square, 79–80 Western Road, Hove, BN3 2JQ
01273 772777, www.square-uk.com