Food by Howie Brighton | The Roundhill

Why you’ll like Food by Howie

Brighton and Hove has no shortage of talented chefs, but few have built the kind of devoted following that Howie has earned over more than three decades in the kitchen. Brighton-born and proudly independent, Food by Howie is the culinary force behind The Roundhill pub on Ditchling Road in Brighton. Two venues, two very different experiences, one unwavering commitment to bold flavours, honest cooking and food worth coming back for.

Food by Howie at The Roundhill, Brighton

A short drive up into the residential streets above Brighton station, The Roundhill has been a neighbourhood institution for years. Under Howie’s ownership and creative direction, it is being returned to what a great British local should be: a proper Brighton pub, first and foremost, where the beer is well kept, the welcome is genuine and everyone from the dog to the kids to the after-work crowd feels at home. The fact that the kitchen behind the bar happens to serve some of the most creative plant-based food in Brighton is almost a bonus, though it is a very good bonus indeed.

This is a pub with food, not a restaurant that also serves drinks. That distinction matters here and it shapes everything from the atmosphere to the menu to the rhythm of the place throughout the week.

A Neighbourhood Pub Reclaimed

The Roundhill sits on Ditchling Road in the heart of the Roundhill community, a densely residential pocket of Brighton that has long supported independent businesses and local venues. Howie, who grew up in Brighton with family connections to both the historic Jolly Brewers and Brighton Open Market, understands exactly what this neighbourhood needs and what it has been missing. His ambition is clear: to bring back the great British local, with the added dimension of a kitchen that is genuinely worth making the journey for.

The pub itself is warm, unpretentious and built for staying in. Tuesday through Thursday it opens from the early evening, filling up with after-work regulars, quiz night devotees and locals who know the beer list is worth paying attention to. Friday and Saturday it opens at midday, with kitchen lunches now available, and there are plans to expand into a six-day-a-week deli service during afternoon hours that will give the neighbourhood something genuinely useful and delicious in between meals. Sundays bring the kind of slow, unhurried pub afternoon that Brighton does so well.

Plant-Based Cooking That Does Not Ask You to Compromise

The Roundhill kitchen is entirely plant-based. The menu reads like modern British pub food because that is exactly what it is, it just happens to contain no meat or dairy. This is not food that apologises for itself or reaches for substitutes. It is confident, seasonal cooking built around great produce, bold seasoning and techniques that Howie has refined across thirty-plus years of professional kitchens.

Expect comforting pub classics that have been rethought with real skill. The plant-based burger is taken seriously here, as it should be in any kitchen that cares about what it serves. Panko cauliflower wings, tossed in gochujang and finished with garlic aioli, sesame and spring onion, have become one of the most-ordered dishes on the menu. Seasonal small plates and snacks change regularly, and the Sunday roast, available through winter months, has become one of the most talked-about plant-based roasts in the city. Whether you are vegan, vegetarian, flexitarian or simply someone who wants great pub food, the Roundhill kitchen has no interest in making you feel like a special case.

Community, Events and the Calendar of a Proper Local

Beyond the food and drink, The Roundhill has rebuilt its identity around the things that make neighbourhood pubs irreplaceable. Regular Burger Club nights, Pasta and Wine evenings, a weekly quiz, Bring Your Own Vinyl Fridays and live sport on the big screen keep the calendar full and the community engaged. Families are actively welcomed, with children eating free on Saturdays and family offers running through the school holidays. Dogs are welcome too.

This is the kind of venue that Brighton’s residential neighbourhoods have always needed more of, and under Howie’s stewardship it is becoming exactly that.

What to Drink at The Roundhill

The bar deserves its own attention. Seven rotating craft taps and two cask lines draw from some of Brighton’s best independent breweries, including Abyss, UnBarred and Beak, with the selection changing week by week. The wine list, supplied by Sustainable Wine Solutions, leans into natural, organic and orange wines alongside reliable classics, served from returnable, reusable bottles as part of a zero-waste network. Cocktails are made properly, with house-produced syrups, infused spirits and seasonal garnishes, and there is a strong alcohol-free selection for those who want to drink well without drinking alcohol.

The Roundhill Essentials

• Address: 100 Ditchling Road, Brighton, BN1 4SG
• Style: Neighbourhood pub with a 100% plant-based kitchen
• Best for: After-work drinks, family meals, Sunday afternoons, quiz nights, live sport
• Standout dishes: Plant-based smash burger, panko cauliflower wings, seasonal small plates, Sunday roast (winter)
• Family and pet friendly: Yes
• Atmosphere: Relaxed, community-driven, genuinely local

About Howie

Behind both venues is the same chef, the same standards and the same belief that great food and great hospitality are not mutually exclusive. Brighton-born Howie spent fifteen years working across London’s restaurant scene before returning to the city where his love of food began, building a reputation across Brighton’s pubs, restaurants and seafood kitchens that eventually led to Food by Howie becoming one of the most recognisable independent kitchen names in the city. His background spans everything from coastal seafood cooking to the kind of bold, globe-influenced pub food that The Roundhill has made its own, and across both venues he remains personally involved in every service. That consistency is what Food by Howie is built on, and it is what keeps both venues busy, week after week.