insideKENT Magazine Issue 88 - July 2019 | Page 125

Under the lead of executive chef, Alan White, the passionate and inventive team
continue The Grand’s ethos of contemporary flourishes to a classic British theme
underpinned by a philosophy of quality and simplicity to provide a seasonally
changing menu that showcases the best locally caught seafood as well as inventive
vegetarian and meat dishes.
In fact the menu was gloriously simple beginning with fruits de mer, which my
guest ate with a side order of vodka and tomato juice rock oyster, and then split
into starters featuring fish soups, salmon, kedgeree scotch eggs and monkfish,
GB1 favourites including haddock and chips, bream and hake, local wagyu
burgers and rump of lamb from the grill, and finally market fish such as lemon
sole and lobster before the tasty additions of shellfish, sides and sauces.
My guest was swayed by our waiter’s recommendation of the crab starter and
was more than happy when presented with delicately shredded south coast crab
meat, creme fraiche, lime and black pepper with aioli on toasted sourdough. I
was equally impressed with my perfectly seared scallops with pea puree, black
pudding, bacon powder and apple crisps. So good was the dish that it influenced
my guest’s main course choice as his delicious hake fillet with artichoke risotto,
peas and lemon came with those very same scallops.
I decided to buck the seafood trend and instead opted for the Sussex fillet of beef.
What arrived was a sticky and flavoursome Asian-inspired dish of melt-in-the-
mouth heaven with added flavour from the crispy pak choi, pepper puree and
sesame. So good was the dish that for
the first time in history I actually left
half a side order of fries (and they were
damn good too). Dessert followed in
the form of a wonderfully executed
and totally tasty peanut butter panna
cotta with strawberry gel, chocolate
tart, cookie crumb and salted caramel,
and a bitter chocolate fondant pudding
with caramelised banana, honeycomb
and almond ice cream – thank
goodness we only had to retire upstairs!
Lured into a restful slumber by the
sea air, it was wonderfully refreshing
to awake to the sun across the sea and
the sound of the water on the pebbles.
Our blissful morning continued with
a laid-back breakfast on the Victorian
terrace before ending with a stress
relieving Indian head massage
courtesy of The Spa at The Grand,
which offers a range of ESPA, Carita,
Lycon, Jessica and Geleration
treatments to hotel residents and
spa guests.
All that was left was for that ever
helpful concierge team to retrieve our
bags, return our keys and for us to bid
a fond farewell to The Grand and her
equally superb team of staff.
The Grand Brighton
97-99 King’s Road
Brighton
East Sussex
BN1 2FW
01273 224300
[e-mail]
www.grandbrighton.co.uk
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