etch. by Steven Edwards

At what point does the fact that Steven Edwards is a MasterChef: The Professionals winner (2013) cease to be the first thing one mentions? Not quite yet it seems. Etch is now well established as one of Brighton and Hove's high flyers (Hove, actually). Refurbishment in 2021 expanded the dining room and added a basement bar – and with its richly monochrome, Scandi-style minimalism, it feels every inch the contemporary venue. The kitchen remains open to the dining room, the chefs bringing some plates to the table in pristine whites. The fixed-price format deals in at five courses, raises you to seven, and sees you at nine, with a vegetarian version worthy of serious attention. There's indulgence from the off with a couple of amuse-bouches – mushroom truffle doughnut, maybe – and then the chef's Marmite brioche with seaweed butter, before your chosen number of courses (notified in advance; the booking process is...demanding). Jersey Royal and wild garlic soup is just perfect for a spring day, its flavours and textures making the menu's description as 'soup of the day' charmingly modest. Sea trout sees the centrepiece cured fish partnered with cockles (battered, ketchuped and ice creamed), while the starring feature of a dish of Dorset lamb loin is the slow-cooked tongue and dabs of Caesar salad emulsion. Regulars know all about the dippy egg course – 'still fun, and the soldiers cooked in duck fat were even better than I remembered'. Another canny combination sees blood orange and beetroot combine in a dessert as if blood brothers, forever bound together with the help of a white chocolate tuile and butterfly sorrel leaf. The wine list is arranged from highest price to lowest, so be warned your beating heart. The English sparkling wine section covers Sussex and Kent, with a map showing how blessed is the south east of England.

3 Rosette Award for Culinary Excellence