Nick and I have been running Restaurants Brighton and The BRAVOS for a decade – give or take – and we love promoting the local hospitality community the way that we do. So, when David Toscano from Cin Cin – one of Hove’s finest – asked if we’d like to support the 2025 Hove Food Trail, we were delighted to get behind it and help spread the word.
Last Wednesday evening, we were lucky enough to be invited to try out the 2025 Hove Food Trail with a group of other food fans including @picantemeg, @brightonfoodguide, @brightonfoodfoliage, @brightonfoodstagram, @BrightonUpDaily, @rosieposiebtn and @foreverafoodie, and I need to tell you, we had the most excellent evening!
Hove Food Trail – the facts:
Dates: Thursday 10 – Saturday 12 July
Venues: The Coconut Island, The Little Fish Market, Cin Cin, Fourth and Church, Market, Wild Flor, Shoreline Cafe + Kitchen, Oeuf, Nostos, Fatto a Mano, Cafe Chilli, and Ginger Pig
How it works: Each venue is creating a one-off dish for the trail. Every £15 voucher you buy gets you that exclusive dish. Mix and match, spread it out, or do a mini-tour – it’s up to you.
Vouchers are £15 each and available to buy online now – grab yours and start planning your trail!
For our trial trail, we went from The Coconut Island, to Market, and finally to Cin Cin. I’ll admit, I couldn’t really picture how the evening was going to go. Three very different dishes in three very different venues? Would it feel too rushed? What about the chat between courses? Frankly, would it work? Turns out: we absolutely loved it.
Stop 1: The Coconut Island
A brilliant place to kick things off. Naveen is a great host and the whole place had a proper party feel. We ordered different Kothu dishes – beef, prawn, and veggie – and tried the lot between us. (The beef Kothu is the main dish on the list but The Coconut Island want everyone to feel welcome.) As soon as the first plate landed, we were off: “Have you been here before?” “What is that flavour?” “Have you been to Sri Lanka?” Lots to talk about, all sparked by the food.
Stop 2: Market
A completely different vibe – more of a wine bar feel. We sat at the bar with a platter of charcuterie, cheeses, a delicious croquette, and a very welcome padron pepper. I wasn’t sure about a sharing board mid-meal, but it worked brilliantly. It’s Market, after all – they know what they’re doing.
Stop 3: Cin Cin
That crab lasagne. Wow. Rich yet light (how?), and totally luxurious – definitely lasagne, definitely seafood, but not overwhelmingly so. Hands down one of the best pasta dishes I’ve had in Brighton & Hove. We finished with an espresso and wandered home with full and very happy bellies. Or, as my mum would say, we’d had an “ample sufficiency.”
Planning Your Own Food Trail
You don’t have to do it all in one evening – though you absolutely can! Your trail can be one dish and a catch-up with a friend, or a food-filled adventure with a group. I wasn’t sure what to expect, but it turned out to be one of the most fun and delicious ways to experience Hove’s independent food scene. It’s relaxed and it’s full of flavour (see the full list of exclusive Hove Food Trail dishes below).
Here’s my plan for the rest of the trail:
Thursday: Oeuf for brunch, The Little Fish Market, finishing at Wild Flor
Friday: Cafe Chilli, Fatto a Mano, and Fourth and Church
Saturday: Shoreline Coffee + Kitchen, Ginger Pig, then one last stop at Nostos
Doable? I think so. How will you do yours?
Full List Of Exclusive Hove Food Trail Dishes
- Crab lasagne, crab bisque, pangrattato crumb, giardiniera salad (Cin Cin)
- Prawn satay roti (Chilli Restaurant Hove)
- Calzoncino with ricotta, basil pesto, charred peppers, dried olives, mozzarella and parmesan (Fatto a Mano Hove)
- Tajin sweet potato, spring onion roll, strawberry Mezcal vinegar, jalapeño succotash (Fourth and Church)
- Sussex lamb ragout, potato gnocchi, Parmesan and fresh peas (Ginger Pig)
- Thai‑spiced monkfish, sui mai, carrot purée, pork and oyster sauce (The Little Fish Market)
- ‘A Taste of Market’ seasonal tapas selection (Market)
- Pastitsio of baked pasta layers, cinnamon‑spiced beef ragù, creamy béchamel top (Nostos)
- Coffee and chipotle‑braised short rib, peach and lime slaw, fried duck egg, jalapeño mayo (Oeuf)
- Kothu chopped roti with mixed veg and beef (The Coconut Island)
- Cowboy Sunrise – smoky baked beans, pink pickled onions, smashed avo, feta, herb oil and coriander on sourdough (Shoreline Coffee + Kitchen)
- Roast chicken, saffron and tomato butter sauce, French beans (Wild Flor)