Brunch in Brighton brought to you beachside… It’s like the popular bridging meal and the iconic rainbow-hued city were made for each other.
But just where to find the best brunch in Brighton? In a place blessed with the most coffee shops per head in the UK – with 363 in total, which is one for every 800 people – it can be hard to narrow down your search for the best brunch into just one location.
Yep, there’s a lot of generic flat white and avos on toasts to be found here, but there are also some unique, delicious places to eat brunch. We’re here to help with your search; here are some of the best places to eat brunch in Brighton.
Mange Tout
Ideal for a French inspired bistro brunch…
Mange Tout might just be one of Brighton’s best-kept foodie secrets and one of the best French restaurants in the city. Just a two-minute walk from Brighton Station, this local gem is a humble, no-frills affair with a daily menu chalked up on a blackboard overlooking the room (pro-tip: take a photo). That menu details a keen selection of classic French bistro dishes that are low on fuss and high on flavour.
Meaning ‘eat all’ in French, the restaurant is considered one of the best spots to eat brunch in Brighton, opening in early the morning and doing a cracking Croque Madame (you’ll want to crack that egg) alongside a range of omelettes and other egg dishes including Royale, Benedict and anything else you’d see on a Masterchef: The Professionals skills test.
But best of all is Mange Tout’s Mediterranean version of a Full English, ‘The Full Mange Tout’, featuring Toulouse sausage, eggs two ways, tomato compote, and organic tartine (basically a slice of toast – but what toast it is!).
You’ll find both vegetarian and vegan versions of this cult classic brunch dish, which, seeing as Brighton is the UK’s most vegan friendly city, is sure to please Brighton’s many plant-based eaters.
Mange Tout is open daily for breakfast, brunch and lunch every day.
Website: mangetoutbrighton.co.uk
Address: 81 Trafalgar St, Brighton and Hove, Brighton BN1 4EB
Fika Hove
Ideal for an egg-cellent (sorry) brunch in Hove…
And the egg procession continues…
Fika in Hove is a celebration of the beloved Swedish pastime of taking a break to luxuriate in the simple pleasure of cake and coffee. A collaboration between Backyard Coffee and Cracked Brighton, who bring their famously extravagant fried egg sandwiches to the party plus a selection of exclusive ‘brunch buns’, Fika is the perfect place to lose yourself in a morning of indulgent feasting.
The must order here? It has to be The Breakfast Bird, which boasts fried buttermilk chicken, a fried egg, smoked bacon, smoked cheese, maple syrup mayo, pickles, Korean BBQ sauce and a few more treats besides. Yep, we did say it was indulgent, but that’s what fika – and Fika – is all about. On
From Monday to Thursday, they serve an ‘all day mega menu’ where you can grab one of their famous brunch sammies and a side of hefty hash browns for only £10.
Fika is open from 8am every day. They also have another spot on Madeira Drive with a larger menu.
Website: fikasussex.co.uk
Address: 1 Norton Rd, Brighton and Hove, Hove BN3 3BE
Lost In The Lanes
Ideal for a seasonal, Mediterranean-inspired brunch in the Lanes…
Tucked away (no, really; it’s bloody hard to find!) in the heart of Brighton’s historic tangle of streets that we’ll avoid saying by name right now for fear of repetition, Lost in the Lanes has long been heralded as one of Brighton’s best purveyors of brunch. And for good reason…
Founded by Natalie Demetriou and with chef Sophie Taverner at the stoves, this cafe embodies the charm of Brighton’s famous labyrinthine with its stylish though gently idiosyncratic interiors, warm welcomes, and fantastic food and drink.
A seasonal affair that pledges to feature the best of Sussex produce treated with a little Mediterranean flair, the brunch menu at Lost in the Lanes broadly delivers on that promise, both with its daily breakfast offering (served from 9am to midday, seven days a week) and for its more expansive all day brunch on Sundays, running from 9am to 3pm.
Available on both menus, the kedgeree is excellent, with big flakes of smoked haddock rather than a stingy smattering, beautifully perfumed basmati rice, and a properly jammy egg. Now that’s how you celebrate brunching by the sea.
A well put together Full English is also available, but if you prefer something in the same ballpark but significantly lighter, then our go-to order is the nduja eggs. It should be yours, too – perfectly fried eggs, a little garlic yoghurt, nduja spiced butter, all over sourdough… What’s not to love?
Pair it all with a Breakfast Mimosa (£9 a pop) and settle into one of Brighton’s best brunch experiences, and certainly the best in the Lanes. Just don’t get lost on the way out.
Website: lostinthelanes.com
Address: 10 Nile St, Brighton and Hove, Brighton BN1 1HW
Kenny’s Rock & Soul Cafe
Ideal for a gold-standard traditional Full English, with a side order of tunes…
Sometimes (always, when you’re hanging), all you want from your brunch, in Brighton or anywhere else for that matter, is a proper fry-up. You know what we mean; fried eggs that are perfectly round, with egg yolks existing under a strange translucent film. Sausages that are not rare breed or hand minced or whatever the fuck, but are just so satisfying to cut through in all their smooth, homogeneous glory. Toast arrived buttered and in triangles, not a thick door stop of sourdough.
There’s half a tomato, a little too blackened on its surface but raw below. A gorgeous puck of hash brown is ready to receive some baked beans, which are served in a ramekin. There are mushrooms that no one wants. The tea is builder’s and milky, the coffee instant. The only flourish on a stone cold classic that shouldn’t be messed with at Kenny’s are the tunes; Bowie, Prince and Zappa will be the soundtrack to your breakfast here. Yes, please.
This is Kenny’s, an absolute Brighton institution that’s been here in the North Laines for decades and is still as popular as ever for brekky, even as the city’s brunch options have expanded and diversified.
Open from 9am to 4:30pm, the Full English here is just £11, with a vegetarian version also available.
Address: 1A Kensington Gardens, Brighton and Hove, Brighton BN1 4AL
Starfish & Coffee
Ideal for a fine Full English bathed in natural light…
Put the chocolate starfish connotations to the back of your mind at once; Starfish and Coffee is a very different proposition. Opened in 2017 by former local DJ Tony Marks, and named after a 1987 Prince track (a second mention for the Purple One!), Starfish and Coffee has quickly racked up the awards in this sprightly corner of South East England, most recently winning Best Cafe and 3rd Best Brunch in Brighton at this year’s BRAVO Awards.
Sitting pretty near Queens Park, the café brings a unique blend of culinary excellence and distinctive architectural design to the table. The coffee shop and bar feature an open-air design that encourages a keen sense of space and flow, with an incredible amount of natural light streaming through a facade that’s wall-to-wall window. Talk about a morning pick-me-up…
But you’re here for a slap up brunch, not to consider some windows, right? S & F has got you covered for that, too. Full breakfasts, carefully sourced and properly appointed, are superb here, as are the pancakes (the rhubarb ones with whipped mascarpone are amazing), potato hashes and egg dishes. Pastries are bought in from the esteemed Flour Pot Bakery, who are also on our list, of course.
Keeping things local and sustainable, the coffee here is roasted by Coffee At 33, one of our favourite coffee places in Brighton. And to top it all off, Starfish and Coffee is fully licensed, with a range of brunch cocktails served with enthusiasm. It’s the kind of place you never want to leave.
Starfish and Coffee is open from 8:30am on weekdays and from 9am at the weekends.
Website: starfishandcoffee.cafe
Address: 32 Egremont Pl, Brighton and Hove, Brighton BN2 0GA
Oeuf Café
Ideal for eggs, eggs and more eggs…
Not to be outdone on the egg options, Oeuf (translating as…. Do we need to bother?) Café isn’t perhaps as egg-centric as you’d think from the name. That’s not to say oeuf-philes won’t be satisfied here; the café offers some superb twists on egg-based brunch classics. We particularly love the oeuf and surf, which features poached egg and crab. Just delicious.
Away from the eggs, the ‘frumpets’ (a three stack of French crumpets… Yep, that one did need explaining) section of menu brings both savoury and sweet options to the table whilst things get properly interesting under the banner of specials. On our last visit, a bacon and banana pain perdu was that perfect mix of salty and sweet which any great brunch should be. When combined with Oeuf’s creative, extensive cocktail menu – sadly not featuring a single egg – this is one of the best brunch places in Brighton, make no mistake.
Oeuf Café is open every day from 9am.
Website: oeuf.cafe
Address: 8 Third Ave, Brighton and Hove, Hove BN3 2PX
The Flour Pot Bakery
Ideal for sourdough by the sea…
If you’ve ever spent even a day in Brighton, you’ll already be familiar with the ubiquitous, ever-present but reliably delicious Flour Pot Bakery. With 8 outposts in the city and counting, including one on the beach, another in the North Laines, and many more dotted all over town, the bakery has become synonymous with a lazy, hazy day (or hangover) spent in Brighton.
Though brunch at the Flour Pot Bakery is perhaps a less decadent affair than the others on our list, if you’re after a freshly baked pastry, baguettes, handmade sourdough pizzas or wholesome, hearty brunch dishes, then you’ll find it here. Or there. Or there…
The Brighton beach outpost even does beers and wines on tap, if you’re seeking a brunch of the boozy kind.
The Flour Pot’s beach location is open daily from 7:30am. Others branches have different opening hours.
Website: theflourpot.co.uk
Address: Kings Road Arches, 85-90 BN1 2FN
The New Club
Ideal for a boozy brunch…
If you ask us, a good brunch requires great food, but a great brunch requires a boozy cocktail to wash it all down with. If you’re looking for the latter, it’s to the New Club you should go. Based on an American diner, this spot serves an Americana brunch-style menu and is known across Brighton for its house cocktails.
Foodwise, the menu includes the usual fare but with creative touches – American-style pancakes are topped with honey-glazed crispy streaky smoked bacon, melted maple butter, and a scattering of puffed pork pebbles. A jug of blueberries steeped in real-deal Canadian maple syrup is obligatory. There are waffles adorned with fried chicken and the New Club’s Mexican eggs have helped us through many a Saturday morning. Whichever way you play it here, pair your meal with cocktails like their New York Sour or horseradish margarita and last night’s ills will soon be forgotten.
Every day they serve a boozy brunch menu for £36 where you can have as much prosecco or mimosas as you can drink, and any standard item from the ‘Morning Glory’ menu. Then, it’s off to the beach for a lie down…
The New Club is open from 9am at the weekend, closed on Mondays and Tuesdays, and open from 10am on Wednesdays, Thursdays and Fridays.
Website: thenewclubbrighton.com
Address: 133-134 Kings Rd, Brighton and Hove, Brighton BN1 2HH
The Breakfast Club Brighton
Ideal for an always-reliable weekday and weekend brunch…
The Breakfast Club has ‘yello cafs’ in London, Brighton, Oxford and Chelmsford. Open from 8am every day, Brighton was the first venture outside of London and, unsurprisingly for such a well honed place, does excellent all-day breakfast plates.
The menu spans a trusty list of brunch classics from breakfast sandwiches to pancakes and brunch staples like huevos rancheros, shakshouka and eggs florentine. One would argue that you’ve haven’t really been to The Breakfast Club if you didn’t order ‘The All American’ – otherwise known as the dish that made the restaurant famous – think pancakes, bacon, a ‘not so’ American proper British
sausage, homestyle potatoes, fried eggs and maple syrup.
The vibrant space has lots of sink-worthy booths – ideal for getting down and comfy while sipping on one to five espresso martinis – because no one can survive on just one hit of caffeine in the morning, right?
It’s also a standout choice for bottomless boozy brunch when you can’t agree with your friends on a common wake-up time after last night’s antics. Every Saturday from 3pm you can enjoy two hours of unlimited prosecco, beer, Bloody Marys & Kentucky iced tea alongside a brunch dish, all for £40 per person.
Website: thebreakfastclubcafes.com
Address: 16-17 Market St, Brighton and Hove, Brighton BN1 1HH