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Restaurant
Guide
Chillin' out
Abbie Jay gets laid-back at
The Sanctuary
 SanctuaryThe
Sanctuary is one of my favourite haunts. It isn’t just
a place to eat, it’s also a great place to relax and
chill, and one of the last bastions of the Brighton bohemian,
with art, music and the wickedest desserts.
My companion for the evening was the enigmatic Dave. Enigmatic,
because it was a mystery to me what he would make of it,
not being a particularly arty, bohemian type. Our visit
coincided with the opening of a new exhibition of local
artists, and music downstairs in the Cella, which we planned
to look in on after our meal.
Food is ordered at the counter and served to the table;
upstairs for smokers and downstairs for smoke-free. Very
civilised. You can order from the day’s set menu or
from the selection of fresh salads and quiches on display.
The menu is mostly vegetarian with vegan options but usually
includes a fish alternative. Homemade soups and patés
are a treat and vary from day to day. I chose a refreshing
Curried sweet potato and celeriac soup to start (£3.75),
whilst Dave’s sophisticated palate was tempted by the
Bean and cashew nut paté (£4.75).
Regular Sanctuary-goers will notice recent changes. An expanded
kitchen means service is much quicker and a new chef has
introduced a menu more influenced by Global cuisine, with
leanings toward his own blend of authentic Asian and African
dishes. The emphasis is on even more fresh, free range,
organic and fairtrade ingredients.
Our choices included Moroccan filo pie or roast tofu and
veg salad, but I can never resist prawns so for me it had
to be the exotic Sweet Vietnamese King Prawns on lemon couscous,
served on bok choy, with fresh mango slices and lime and
palm sugar dressing (£8.50). Sanctuary food has never
been so sophisticated! It looked and tasted wonderful and
went down very well with a lovely crisp vegan Pinot Grigio
(£3.00 a glass/ £12.00 a bottle). I could see
Dave was impressed as he tucked in to his Burritos (£6.25)!
Soft flour tortillas wrapped around a spicy red bean salsa
filling, liberally doused in sour cream with chives and
served with a crisp green salad.
So on to dessert... I insisted Dave try the Lumpy Bumpy
cake, and having offloaded some of the guilt I thoroughly
enjoyed a big slice of Passion cake with "just a little
cream on top then, thanks."
Another lovely laid-back Sanctuary evening, and they do
great breakfasts, lunches and Sunday roasts.
Essential Info
Food: Organic, veggie, fair trade, fair prices and fair
dinkum.
Drinks: Small but good selection of wines and beers. Lots
of everything else.
Atmosphere: Cool and cultured.
Open 9am – 11pm
The Sanctuary Café
51-55 Brunswick Street East, Hove.
Café: 01273 770002, Cella hire 01273 770006
www.sanctuarycafe.co.uk
copyright The Insight 2004
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