Andrew Kay enjoys a refreshingly unpretentious Sunday lunch at Legends

Gravy baby

At a party over the Christmas break, inevitably I was drawn into a discussion about Brighton’s restaurant scene. It was a lively group in which one man was rather damning about what was on offer in the city. His claim: there was not a lot of quality. I felt duty bound to jump to the defense of Brighton’s restaurateurs. In a very short time I suggested a number of restaurants of quality and waited for people to agree that indeed they were venues of merit. It took very little time to get way beyond the digits on both of my hands and it felt inappropriate to remove my shoes and socks to further the example. Brighton and Hove boasts an extraordinary number of places to eat and at every level in terms of price and, I suppose, quality. Having lived in and visited many other UK cities, I would suggest that we are rather spoilt for choice. Try living in some other regional cities, I suggested, and you’ll soon find out just how well provided for we really are.

When it comes to restaurants and places serving food, Kemp Town has plenty to offer, again at every level, from fine to fast. A week after the party on a particularly grim Sunday I found myself in Kemp Town with a friend in need of a comforting roast. Now, usually when asked where to find the best roast in Brighton I say at my place, and I firmly believe that a Sunday roast is often best at home. But with my life still in storage and my cooking on hold, we had headed into town.

I was not in the mood for a gastro-pub experience really, something far more relaxed was in order and, dare I say it, something to suit a January budget. I met Ms L on the seafront near her home and we allowed the gales to waft us rapidly into Legends. Now Legends is one of the city’s most friendly and open gay venues. There’s certainly no ageism or sexism there and it is always spotlessly clean, bustling and staffed by a polite and efficient team. The Sunday lunch offer was sensibly priced and the choices were traditional, exactly what we were looking for.

The wine list was equally attractive and very modestly priced; our bottle of red was delicious. Ms L went straight for the slow roast belly of pork. I was momentarily tempted to try the nut roast, only momentarily, before choosing the beef. We had arrived bang on 12.30pm but by 12.45pm the place was starting to fill up and, before long, the first orders of lunch were wafting past our table to earlier diners. But it wasn’t long before our lunches arrived.

Now, there are two things I dislike about Sunday roasts out. The first is the tendency to pile the plates high with a crazy number of different vegetables. In one pub I counted 12 on my plate and that didn’t include the potatoes. Just far too many really, an ugly site to my way of thinking. Equally, I hate the spartan Sunday roasts served in pubs with gastro-aspirations. Sunday lunch needs to be a solid but elegant meal and not some stacked up and drizzled affair.

So hoorah for chef Lisa at Legends who seems to agree and served a meal that was a delightful size, traditional and, dare I say it, homely.

Let’s start with the meats. Ms L’s pork was superbly well cooked and more than generous, the fat had been rendered away, the meat fell apart and the crackling crackled, top marks. My beef was tasty and tender and came in thick slices that cut like butter. It was medium rather than rare but it suited well the chosen cut of meat.

So the first hurdle was crossed with ease: good meat! On then to the gravy, which was indeed gravy and not a jus. It was good and had I been concentrating it could have been better, simply because I would normally ask for it to be served in a jug on the side which I forgot to do. Fortunately it was not a vile flood of brown wetness drenching my plate so I was not overly concerned. I’m sure that if I had asked for it to be served separately they would have willingly obliged.

Next the Yorkshire puddings. Now I like them with beef but not with anything else so I was happy to find two puddings sat atop of my plate.

They were a delight, light as a feather at the crisp edges with an appropriately puddingy middle – and clearly home-made. Lisa was doing us proud.

Finally the vegetables; excellent crisp roast potatoes with fluffy middles, oven cooked and not those terrible things that are clearly cooked in a deep fat fryer. Roast parsnips and carrots were deliciously basted with a glaze of honey, lemon and wholegrain mustard. Leeks came in a perfectly executed white sauce that had been properly cooked so there was no taste of uncooked flour. The only let down was the broccoli which was just a little too long in the hot water, not destroyed, but lacking a delicate crunch. So one tiny let down on a plate of food that had lots going for it, the main thing being an honest simplicity, no pretence here, just good old fashioned home style cooking.

To be honest I had little room for a full pudding but Lisa offered us a tasting plate of all three to share, an excellent idea. The meringue basket with fruit was okay, very fresh fruit and berry compote; the profiteroles were big and well filled and the chocolate sauce was great, and the cheesecake was surprisingly light and rather delicious. Matched with a latte and a cappuccino we were both very content.

There was no pressure to leave the table either and had we not both had further engagements we might well have had a second bottle of red and stayed on to watch the Sunday Cabaret. With two courses for £13.95 and one course for £9.95, it offers good food, good value and delightful staff and surroundings. Sunday lunch is served from 12pm to 3pm, food served from12pm–5pm the rest of the week.

Legends, 31-34 Marine Parade, BN2 1TR,
01273 624462
www.legendsbrighton.com

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