Terre à Terre

71 East St, Brighton, East Sussex

Twenty years in business and a cookbook to boot proves vegetarian fine dining is more than a niche

To some, particularly those who embrace with fervour the meattastic ‘dude food’ of the moment, the phrase ‘vegetarian restaurant in Brighton’ might conjure up chills – or at least images of tie dye-clad hippies sauntering in between poetry readings to pick at sweaty stuffed peppers. Further from this image, Terre à Terre could not be. This is a restaurant for people who love to eat. Opened in 1993 by Amanda Powley and Philip Taylor, two chefs who felt the UK’s vegetarian fine dining scene was seriously ailing, Terre à Terre’s first incarnation was as a 28-seat BYOB café in the Pool Valley. Now it’s in the heart of East Street, drawing in everyone from loyal locals to tourists touring Brighton’s lanes. Its laidback dining room, awash with its signature aubergine hue, is frequently packed. To the extent, in fact, that even the most devoted carnivore must start to suspect…these diners, they surely can’t all be vegetarian? No, chest-banging, steakloving hungry people come here too because…well, anywhere that does truffle chips must know something about hedonistic fare.

And that’s just it – the food’s great. You don’t miss the meat. Flecked with international flavours, but not trying too hard, it’s rib-sticking food without the ribs. Cubes of springy tofu are enrobed in sticky sweet sesame hoisin sauce, served with pickled ginger and zingy wasabi. Green olives come stuffed with ricotta and garlic and deep fried in a Grana Padano crust. Two slabs of deep-fried (there’s that magical word again) spiced corn cakes are served with avocado, oregano and chilli jam. And that’s just for starters. A ‘pillow talk’ – Sussex slipcote sheep’s cheese stuffed ravioli, with a creamy cheese sauce and toasted hazelnuts – is rich and satisfying. And a clever take on fish and chips, swapping cod for God’s gift to vegetarians – halloumi – comes with vodka-spiked plum tomatoes, pickled quails eggs, tartar, chips and mint pea hash. A cauliflower and ginger bhjali is perfectly spiced; chickpeas add satisfying crunch. Rosti, one of the restaurant’s longest standing items, changes toppings regularly, but on our visit it was the canvas for a spread of glistening beets, sheep’s cheese, and the freshest green beans and peppery salad. And I haven’t even started on the desserts… AM. 01844 01273 729051