Coggings & Co: A recipe for success
Their quality food and ethical approach has made Coggings & Co Brighton’s best new burger restaurant
Coggings & Co is all about great burgers made with local ingredients which have been sourced with care, prepared with skill and served with warmth. Andrew Coggings is no stranger to the restaurant hospitality scene in Brighton, having originally moved here 10 years ago as general manager at The Grand. Two years later he left to set up his own gastro-pub company and over the following seven years he won several awards and gathered quite a following at The Preston Park Tavern and The Chimney House.
Whilst both pubs were recognised in many national guides, perhaps the greatest accolade was when The Preston Park Tavern was voted ‘The most sustainable pub in The UK, 2013’, which acknowledged the fantastic ethical working practices that Coggings had established over the years. When Andrew sold The Preston Park Tavern in January 2014, it didn’t take him long to find a new project. Last month, Coggings & Co opened at Seven Dials, with the specific aim of serving the best locally sourced burgers for miles around.
To help him, the whole management team from The Preston Park Tavern joined him, including the head chef and both assistant managers. This means the restaurant has been able to offer an unrivalled standard of food and service which has attracted rave reviews from the moment it opened.
The key is obviously the burgers, which are handmade daily from meat supplied by Redland Farm at Horam. The cut used is chuck, which is perfect due to its richness of flavour and balance of meat and fat. When presented in a brioche style bun, it is a perfect combination which has prompted many customers to boast it’s the best burger they’ve ever tasted.
But it is not only beef burgers which are a hit at Coggings & Co. The menu features free-range chicken breast burgers as well as vegetarian burgers, such as spiced cauliflower and sweetcorn fritters with cucumber raita, chilli jam and pickled carrots. All the burgers come with triple-cooked chips and you even have a choice of how you want them cooked! The option of beef dripping or organic vegetable oil has been a great talking point since opening.
Having made his previous operations so child-friendly, it is no surprise that the kids’ menu at Coggings & Co has proved so popular. The choice of a main course, local ice cream and a drink, all for £6.50, has led to families singing the praises of the new restaurant.
The drinks list has been given equally careful thought and the range of local beers, lagers, ciders, juices and wine is second to none. From draught Harveys and Hepworth Organic Blonde, to Wobblegate ciders and bottled beers from Harveys, Longman, Dark Star and Chapel Down, it all demonstrates the attention to sourcing from quality local suppliers which is consistent with the Coggings & Co ethos. Local wines from Bolney and Plumpton as well as organic wines from further afield also show the time and effort put in to the design of the wine list.
Even the refurbishment of the restaurant itself before opening was done in the most ethical, sustainable way possible. The restaurant tables were made out of recycled pine by The Brighton Woodstore and the decorating done by local eco painters Pure Decoration. Even the artwork is local, from Brighton based photographer Heather Buckley.
Coggings & Co may be new, but it has already established itself as being the best place to go for a burger in Brighton.
For more information take a look at www.coggingsandco.com
