The Grand
A visit to the Grand is widely considered to be a rare treat for out-of-towners, and even those lucky enough to live in Sussex see it as a special occasion destination.
As a five star hotel that’s held pride of place on the seafront for more years than anyone’s been alive to remember, it has an un-obtainable quality about it in many people’s minds - in part down to the sheer size of this snow-white palace, complete with imposing gold lettering.
But after my latest visit, I’m pleased to say it is moving with the times and is now well within reach of all of us. The Grand is going through a modernisation programme, attracting new customers, while not forgetting its roots and keeping longstanding customers happy, surely making it the envy of the city’s hotel industry.
With a reputation has been built on the sheer grandeur of the place – beautiful architecture, marble columns and chandeliers – and extraordinary high service levels. Those who fear that modernising such an iconic Brighton landmark will have a detrimental effect on either could not be more wrong. Tradition remains very much the order of the day, with features such as afternoon tea still as important as ever.
However, a visit to the Kings Restaurant reveals a fresher look, more in keeping with the kind of dining experience people expect in the city today. Gone are the silver domes and overly dressed waiting staff, which together with an exciting new menu, opens the floodgates for an influx of new customers. It is now the kind of restaurant that locals would be happy to eat at on occasions other than your parents’ wedding anniversary or your auntie’s 60th.
It remains a formal dining restaurant but with a more relaxed atmosphere. We had a table looking out on to the seafront, which was just wonderful, but even that couldn’t match the excellence of the food we ate. The menu covers all bases and we spent a good 20 minutes deciding which dish we thought we couldn’t possible live without tasting. This was hard but we got there in the end.
The ample supply of freshly baked bread with balsamic and olive oil certainly helped us take our time. I went for the grand cocktail of crevettes, smoked salmon and crab with marie rose sauce (£7.25), which was among the best I’ve ever tasted. I speak with some authority as I have been eating this classic dish since the 70s and 80s when it was fashionable, and continued ordering it through the following decades when it had left most restaurant menus. So pleased to see it back and what justice the Kings restaurant did it.
My dining companion tucked into seared scallops with bacon, Stornaway black pudding and lobster dressing (£8.75), which he deemed magnificent. The main course was even more difficult to choose and I could have easily eaten any one of them. The fish pie yelled loudest to me – chunky cuts of white fish topped with creamy mashed potato and served with autumn greens (£12.50). The Casterbridge sirloin steak, fries, plum tomato, watercress and black pepper English butter (£14.50) really hit the spot across the table from me.
We ate the entire bread basket so pudding was definitely not on our agenda but our lovely waitress insisted we shared the Valrhona bitter chocolate fondant with pistachio ice cream (£7.25), telling us it was her favourite. Utterly delicious but we literally had to be shoe horned out of our chairs.
So it was just as well that we were staying at the Grand, in one of the refurbished rooms no less. The upgrade has been underway for a couple of years and it will continue for some time yet, which is no surprise in such a popular hotel when rooms are in such high demand.
Our sea view double room, number 216, affords the most amazing views. However, the greatest feature of the room was the massive bed, resplendent with Egyptian cotton sheets, and the sunken bath that sat behind it. How nice to be able to watch TV from the bath, while sipping a glass of wine. Not sure whether that ranks as civilised or decadent. Who cares which it is, we loved it
Gone are the traditional floral fabrics and some would say chintzy interior design that I personally thought was rather regal and fitted with such an historic hotel. However, I have to concede that the muted colour scheme and bright white walls and plain floor-to-ceiling curtains are says more about what the Grand, Brighton is today – resolutely classic, with a firm salute to the modern day.
And most importantly, you can book dinner, bed and breakfast for two people in a standard room for as little £149.00, which is not out of reach of most. In fact, it’s quite a bargain, not a word you would ever think associated with the Grand.