Casual elegance at Pascere, Brighton
The seaside town's newest offering in fine dining combines the best of land, sea and air
Fine dining is often an ordeal. With exorbitant prices, tiny courses and unnecessary formalities, it can often make a fun night out feel more like a chore, when all you really want is great food without the fuss.
With a touch of class and intuition, restaurateurs Amanda Menahem and Johnny Stanford have managed to avoid the usual pitfalls with their new restaurant Pascere, set among the cosy, winding streets of Brighton's Lanes district.
Menahem, former food and drink editor of Platinum Business Magazine, and Stanford, former head chef of Pass restaurant at South Lodge Hotel, have combined their wealth of knowledge to create what they describe as "a blend of comfort and luxury", pairing beautiful food, sleek interior design and a stunning wine list.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Within the tasteful teal-tinted walls, patrons can choose between large family tables and outdoor seating downstairs, while upstairs diners can sit at small intimate tables, or perch on high stools peering into the bustling kitchen to watch the team at work.
And work they do, serving up a small but complex a la carte menu, each dish jumping off the plate with bold colours and even bolder flavours.
To start, the rich but delicate beef's cheek tortellini, with a melt-in-your-mouth tenderness, strikes a perfect balance between fine dining and comfort food, topped with mushroom puree and resting gently in an aromatic beef consommé.
Meanwhile, the visually stunning baby squid is a delight, pan-fried to perfection and complimented by a bed of mushroom noodles, while a parsley cream brings out further subtle flavours from both.
The mains, however, are where Pascere really hits its stride and, realising the potential of their standalone ingredients, the kitchen team take a step back, giving the flavours room to breathe without constraint from overwrought ornamentation.
The Week Portfolio recommends the pan fried stone bass, plucked fresh from the ocean in nearby Newhaven and served up with wild mushrooms, sea vegetables and Johnny's trademark pressed potatoes - an austere yet nourishing take on dauphinois that is at once airy and light while also deviously indulgent.
The roast lamb rump and barbecue lamb shoulder with watercress puree and samphire is where meat lovers will get the best bang for their buck, with juicy, tender textures and barbecue flavours left to flourish under the subtle puree, taking the place of often heavy, stodgy sauces associated with similar cuts of meat.
For dessert, highlights include the strawberry and white chocolate cheesecake, a hearty, satisfying addendum with a refreshingly crisp strawberry sorbet, and the cheese board, a thoughtfully chosen selection of ripe, complex British cheeses to round off the meal.
As an avid wine aficionado, Menahem has compiled a comprehensive wine list too, with a fresh, citric Verdicchio pairing up nicely with the stone bass, and Menahem's own favourite - a bold Sangiovese - revealing deeper flavours hidden in the lamb.
Although Pascere is mere weeks old, it feels like an old friend in Brighton's Lanes, both homely and chic, providing patrons with excellent, daring food that never lets pretention get in the way of taste.
Pascere is a haute-cuisine-on-white plates kind of establishment, but with all the stuffiness stripped away, and with a stylish, vibrant interior and food of this quality, the first time you visit Pascere will almost certainly not be your last.
Pascere, 8 Duke St, Brighton, BN1 1AH
For reservations, call 01273 917949 or email info@pascere.co.uk
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
-
5 ladylike cartoons about women's role in the election
Cartoons Artists take on the political gender gap, Lady Liberty, and more
By The Week US Published
-
The right to die: what can we learn from other countries?
The Explainer A look at the world's assisted dying laws as MPs debate Kim Leadbeater's proposed bill
By The Week Published
-
Volkswagen on the ropes: a crisis of its own making
Talking Point The EV revolution has 'left VW in the proverbial dust'
By The Week UK Published
-
The Count of Monte Cristo review: 'indecently spectacular' adaptation
The Week Recommends Dumas's classic 19th-century novel is once again given new life in this 'fast-moving' film
By The Week UK Published
-
Death of England: Closing Time review – 'bold, brash reflection on racism'
The Week Recommends The final part of this trilogy deftly explores rising political tensions across the country
By The Week UK Published
-
Sing Sing review: prison drama bursts with 'charm, energy and optimism'
The Week Recommends Colman Domingo plays a real-life prisoner in a performance likely to be an Oscars shoo-in
By The Week UK Published
-
Kaos review: comic retelling of Greek mythology starring Jeff Goldblum
The Week Recommends The new series captures audiences as it 'never takes itself too seriously'
By The Week UK Published
-
Blink Twice review: a 'stylish and savage' black comedy thriller
The Week Recommends Channing Tatum and Naomi Ackie stun in this film on the hedonistic rich directed by Zoë Kravitz
By The Week UK Published
-
Shifters review: 'beautiful' new romantic comedy offers 'bittersweet tenderness'
The Week Recommends The 'inventive, emotionally astute writing' leaves audiences gripped throughout
By The Week UK Published
-
How to do F1: British Grand Prix 2025
The Week Recommends One of the biggest events of the motorsports calendar is back and better than ever
By Rebekah Evans, The Week UK Published
-
Twisters review: 'warm-blooded' film explores dangerous weather
The Week Recommends The film, focusing on 'tornado wranglers', stars Daisy Edgar-Jones and Glen Powell
By The Week UK Published