Drakes is a lovely cosy restaurant located in the basement of a boutique Brighton hotel which we stumbled over at the last minute when planning our Brighton itinerary. The hotel is very cute actually – and I love their exterior and interior decorations. I liked this particular piece which we encountered on the way down to the restaurant from the reception:

Cuisine at Drakes is best described as Modern European with a pleasingly rotating menu to take advantage of seasonal ingredients. For a very reasonable £55 Cathy and I sampled the Chef’s Tasting Menu and for the vegetarians out there they also have a very decent vegetarian Tasting Menu – which we could testify to as Jumana (more pescatorian really) took up this option. Along with our five courses we were also supplied with an amuse bouche and a pre-dessert – so great value indeed.

First up was our amuse of Duck Rillette and Fig Jam. I’m not normally one for pates but this was quite tasty and coming as an amuse bouche meant the portion size was just right! Fig really does impress me as an ingredient and it provided a nice balance to the rillette.

Combining two rich ingredients was our first official starter – Sauteed Fresh Cep Mushrooms on Toast with Poached Duck Egg. The duck egg was perfectly poached to runniness and I love the smear of mushroom on the plate to really lift this one. Yum. (Although I do have to admit I probably would have preferred a regular chicken egg as the duck was just a touch too rich for me.)

Arguably my favourite dish of the night was up next to the bat – a Squid Ink Risotto with Poached Lobster. Fantastic ingredients, risotto was cooked to perfection and the poached lobster on top just finished the dish off perfectly

Pan-roast Duck Breast with Sweet Potato Fondant, Baby Vegetables and Cherry Sauce is how I like duck served – tender and juicy with a crispy salty skin.

At this stage we were all fairly full – finishing the cheese and desserts was going to be a big ask but none of us backed away (okay – I didn’t quite finish my crackers from my cheese course. Heh heh). Four cheeses (blue, camembert with walnut, goat, and a mild cheddar) were accompanied by sultana and walnut rye bread, water biscuits and grapes. Grapes were so sweet and went very well with the blue and goat.

Our pre-dessert being a vanilla pannacotta, berry puree, and pistachio cream in a shot glass was very cute and thankfully not super rich.

This paved the way for a beautifully baked and risen Mirabelle Souffle with Poached Plums. Plums were a little on the tart side but the soufflé was incredibly light and fluffy and sweet so eaten together it was a lovely mouthful.

Service at Drakes was attentive without being overbearing. And very friendly too I must note. We girls had a lovely time and would recommend this restaurant for all.