Polpo Brighton – An Award Winning Venetian Restaurant
Polpo Brighton is a bàcaro. This is a Venetian word to describe a humble restaurant serving simple food and good, young Italian wines.
“A fun and lively Venetian bàcaro, with a stripped-down, faux-industrial look. The small plates, from arancini and prosciutto to fritto misto and Cotechino sausage, are so well priced that waiting for a table is worth it.”Michelin Guide 2016
Polpo Brighton – Rustic and Stripped Back
Located on a pretty pedestrianised street in the centre of Brighton, the restaurant is near to the famous Brighton Dome and the Theatre Royal. Polpo restaurant is modelled on the scruffy wine bars of Venice and feels urban, rustic and stripped back.
Polpo Brighton – Antique Venice
Guests enter through a heavy red velvet curtain to find a zinc topped bar and linen-draped lamps. The interiors feature a reclaimed timber floor, rusted tin ceiling and a huge 3-metre skylight that floods the restaurant with light. POLPO’s trademark deep red leather banquettes line the walls alongside old chemistry lab tables, classic bentwood chairs and antique maps of Venice.
Bacaro dining
Open all day, signatures on the menu are cicheti such as fried stuffed olives; arancini; and chopped chicken liver crostini (from £3). Small plates include fritto misto; pizzetta bianca; spicy pork and fennel meatballs; and sliced flank steak (from £4) while the dessert list features affogato al caffe; gelato cone; flourless chocolate and hazelnut cake; and Tiramisu pot (from £4).
Exclusively Italian Wine List
POLPO would not be complete without a spritz, and served with both Aperol and Campari, alongside Negronis and Bellinis. There’s also an exclusive All English Martini made with Blackdown’s Vermouth & Gin (both made in Sussex) and garnished with a bay leaf.
They run ‘Aperitivo Time’ daily from 3pm – 6pm which includes a house cocktail at £5 and truffle crisps, olives and selected cicheti at £1 per piece. The exclusively Italian wine list begins with POLPO’s own label Garganega, Corvina and Prosecco, from £18 per bottle.
POLPO Opening times:
Monday to Saturday: 11:30 am to 11:00pm
Sunday and Bank Holidays: 11:30 am to 10.30pm
Reservations are available between 12 noon and 5pm. After then tables are allocated on a first come, first served basis. Dining at the bar is always available unreserved to walk-ins.
“Brilliant” Jay Rayner, The Observer
