| Restaurant
Guide
An above-average
joint
Jerry Lebens discovers two sides to the newly-revamped Above
Audio
Maybe there’s
a bye-law in Brighton that says you can’t keep the
same name for more than a certain number of years. It’s
all to do with rebranding and being “cutting edge”.
Take Creation, or Sherry’s as was. Now, I ask you,
in the days of Brighton Rock there wasn’t much that
Sherry’s and the local youth didn’t know about
being cutting edge, was there? So why change the name? It’s
just confusing. It’s not as if the population of Brighton
doesn’t know that a night out on West Street has been
an A-list X-Treme sports venue for almost a century.
Anyway, that’s what the good old Royal Escape has
been and gone and done (again): changed its name, along
with a spiffing new makeover. Now the Escape Club (once
in the basement) is called Audio and the bar on the ground
floor is Above Audio. I’m just glad that I don’t
live in the flats above Above Audio – how do the poor
old posties cope?
Owing to a bit of a mix-up on the appointments front, I
ended up having to take two nibbles at Above Audio’s
cherry. Firstly on a Friday night to sample the booze and
ambiance, and secondly on a Sunday afternoon to check out
the food. On the Friday night I gave the Zimmer a quick
once over with Pledge and we hit town for cocktails: a Dry
Martini for me (£5.50) and a large Kir Royale for
she (£6.25). Now, if there’s one thing I hate
about cocktails, it’s all the waiting around (sometimes,
if you’re thirsty, it’s best to nip to the pub
across the road for something to do...). Not at Above Audio.
There are plenty of people operating behind the bar, and
they know their stuff. Drinks arrive fast, and they’re
good too. As the evening went on, the music grew louder
and the bar filled with silky youths looking for a good
time. Unfortunately, by 11pm Mr Zimmer had gone frightfully
wobbly, so we took him home for repairs.
That Sunday afternoon, once the unusually persistent headache
had cleared, I staggered in to try the food. The place was
strangely empty for a busy, but wet, afternoon. Seared Tuna
Salad Niciose (£5.95), which arrived with two chunks
of sizzling tuna on a bed of the appropriate not-quite-hard-boiled-eggs,
leaves, capers and beans, was followed by a Hand Made Beef
Burger in a Foccacia bun with Blue cheese and a Red Onion
Relish (£5.95). All the ingredients were fresh, well
prepared and the quality was good considering the price.
Either dish with a side order of bread or chips would have
made an acceptable light lunch. And, as for being empty,
I put this down to the fact that the designers have let
Audio down: without bodies sitting on the terrace, the entrance
is discouraging. Don’t let that put you off. Above
Audio is a good, reasonably-priced stop-off.
Essential info:
Drinks: Don’t mention alcohol, I’m
not feeling too good.
Food: Short, simple menu (veggies catered
for) good value.
Atmosphere: Becalmed by day; banging by
night.
Hours: Bar: Mon-Weds 12pm–1am, Thurs-Sat
12pm-2am, Sun 12pm–12.30am. Food: Mon-Sat 12pm-8pm,
Sun 12pm-3pm.
Above Audio, 10 Marine Parade, Brighton.
Tel: 01273 606906.
copyright The Insight 2004
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