Food For Friends Brighton
Food For Friends has been serving Brighton since 1981, making it one of the city’s longest standing vegetarian restaurants and a genuine pioneer of plant based dining long before it became fashionable. Set within the historic Lanes, this award winning kitchen continues to prove that vegetarian and vegan cooking can be every bit as inventive and satisfying as anything else on the plate.
Why you will like Food For Friends
There is a warmth to Food For Friends that keeps guests returning year after year. The dining room is relaxed and welcoming, the sort of place where a quick lunch easily turns into an unhurried afternoon. Its menus change with the seasons, drawing on organic and sustainably sourced produce, and everything is prepared in house with genuine care. It has earned recognition from The Sunday Times and The Good Food Guide, and remains proof that Brighton was championing vegetarian cuisine decades before it became mainstream.
What to order at Food For Friends
Start with the crispy tofu, marinated in tamari and finished with a chilli and ginger sauce that delivers plenty of heat. The harissa carrots are another highlight, maple and harissa roasted Chantenay carrots served alongside carrot hummus and tamari roasted seeds. For something more substantial, the house burger combines a kale and falafel patty with harissa aioli and caramelised tofu, while the aubergine parmigiana, layered with tomato, pine nut capanuta and a parmesan fondue, is a comforting favourite for anyone craving something rich.
Location and the surrounding Lanes
Food For Friends sits at Prince Albert Street, right in the heart of the Lanes, surrounded by some of Brighton’s most interesting independent venues. Lost In The Lanes is worth seeking out nearby for a similarly relaxed and characterful dining experience, while Terre a Terre, twice voted Brighton’s best restaurant in recent years, remains one of the city’s most celebrated vegetarian destinations and sits just a short walk away.
For those keen to continue exploring the plant based scene, Bonsai Plant Kitchen, a multi award winning vegan venue, is another excellent stop, and the bohemian streets of North Laine are close enough to Food For Friends for an easy wander before or after a meal.
A Brighton institution worth the visit
Few restaurants in the city can claim the heritage that Food For Friends holds, and fewer still manage to stay this consistently good over more than four decades. Whether it is a first visit or a returning favourite, this remains one of the definitive vegetarian dining experiences in Brighton.
Reviews
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Pretty poor for the price. Food decent enough but the place was freezing for brunch and the plates and food were cold a a result. Really overpriced for the quality of food/ environment. Would not recommend
A friend of mine was doing “Veganuary” so we decided to take up the Food For Friends “meat eaters dine for free” offer, where I, the committed herbivore, get to sit a friend down and explain how you’re really not missing out by not eating meat and we get 50% off the menu. A really great selection of exciting flavours and inventive plates followed. The friend stayed vegetarian, so enough said I think. Well done FFF!
My wife and I came here for our wedding anniversary, we are both meat eaters but I had never been here and always wanted to try it. It’s situated in a great location in the Laines and we were sat in the window seat with the big bay window looking out into the busy street on a Saturday night. Some people may find this table off putting as you have people walking pass you looking at you and your food. For us it wasn’t a problem as we found it funny some of the sights we were seeing.
The food tasted really good and was presented very well, the cocktails were great and the wine menu was fine to choose a bottle from (not expensive). The service was the great, really engaging and always check to see how our meals were. Would happily return.
I went to Food For Friends for lunch and had the vegan sharing platter which came with a G&T, it was superb. Lots of flavours to talk about and a beautifully presented Gin & Tonic.