Redroaster blessed the Brighton Dome with their new restaurant which opened back in May 2023 next to the newly refurbished Brighton Dome Corn Exchange. Both venues have been a great addition to New Road and Redroaster quickly became the go-to spot for pre-theatre meals. What better way to introduce the Redroaster at the Brighton Dome and all it offers than with a review?
With its spectacular interior, you can expect marble surfaces, geometric tiling, hand-painted wall art, and gold metal features, which although sounds similar to their other location in Kemptown, it’s totally different and unlike the other location establishment feels more like an al-fresco restaurant than a cafe.
I visited the establishment on a Saturday to grab some brunch. Upon arriving just before 12 pm, I was greeted by one of the waiters who asked for the name on the booking. I was quite surprised to see how busy the seating area was outside and after being asked to follow the waiter, who led me to my table inside, I quickly noticed that the seating situation on the inside was similar. I had the option of booking their outdoor heated terrace area which is covered but with the rainy days, I played it safe and booked an indoor table.
The friends I was dining with were running a little late so I looked around while I waited for them to arrive. The place was very cosy, with beautiful wall decor and many waiters were present to take orders and check in on guests. Once my friends arrived we were promptly approached by a waiter who brought us some menus. We opted for the all-day Brunch.
We chatted while having a look through the menu and eventually made up our minds on what drinks we wanted to get. My friends ordered some coffee and I asked for the Pumpkin Spice Bubble Tea. Drinks arrived quickly and I was impressed by the flavours of my drink. The pumpkin spice flavour was strong and very warming, along with the creamy milk, cream on top with a dash of cinnamon, and perfectly sweet and chewy tapioca (or maybe brown sugar) balls.
After receiving the drinks we made our food orders. One of my friends chose The Full Roaster with two organic eggs, Sussex bacon, herb roasted mushrooms, potato rosti, sauteed greens, melted tomatoes on buttered ‘flour pot’ toast (£13.90) while the other went for a sausage & egg royale which offered a homemade fennel sausage patty, melted mozzarella, and an organic fried egg in a warm brioche bun with wild garlic pesto (£9.70). Although I prefer to have a savoury meal as my first meal of the day (I was saving stomach capacity for this meal), I found that their brunch menu didn’t have many savoury vegetarian options other than the Berlin eggs (£11.70) or Baked eggs (£11.90), which I wasn’t big on.
The menu also featured some pasta options, salads and large plates which included some vegetarian dishes like Truffle Mushroom linguine (£13.9) and Wild Garlic rigatoni (£11.90). Other than that I had the choice of 5-grain granola (£8.90) or Salted Caramel Pancakes (£10.90 + £3.40 if you want bacon). I went with the Salted Caramel Pancakes, which I didn’t regret getting at all once they arrived!
My plate came with three soft and fluffy pancakes drizzled in some salted caramel sauce (with plenty of extra on the size), a dollop of sweet cream, a sprinkle of walnuts and blueberries and some pink edible flowers for decoration. I mean it when I say that the pancakes melted in my mouth and what followed was a peasant explosion of flavours, a mix of sweet and floral tones.
These pancakes were some of the best I’ve had in Brighton and all the flavours went perfectly together. The portion size was just right for me and I was able to clear the plate. For some the portion sizes may seem small but with a Michelin-starred chef running the kitchen, it truly is about the quality and flavours and this really shows in the meal. My friends also enjoyed their meals. The restaurant was extremely busy by the time our food arrived and the waitress brought us a potato rosti which was missing from my friend’s plate but we hadn’t even noticed (kudos for the attention to detail!).
Overall the visit was great, the drinks and food arrived quickly. The restaurant got extremely busy by the time we were finishing our meals (which I could have expected having tried to book a table for 11 am with all times before 12 pm saying “waiting list”. Waiters checked in on us regularly.
We ended up dining at the Redroaster at the Brighton Dome for about 2 hours and the only downside of the entire experience was waiting for the bill but this was understandable due to the business of the establishment. We eventually received the bill, which unfortunately for us was incorrect, but the waiter who served us promptly sorted this out for us and we were on our way. The staff were extremely helpful, attentive and friendly throughout our visit which made it a great experience on top of the truly delightful meals we were served.
Address: 29 New Road, Brighton, BN11UG
