Lunch 15 December 2016

I was so wowed by some of the dishes I had for dinner on the 3rd December, I wanted to go back in the hope of seeing some of the same dishes on the menu, and to try to judge the extent to which ones enjoyment of a dish/restaurant is influenced by ones mood and the company one is with. This time I was alone, so I had each dish all to myself.

I was sat at the counter and was delighted to see that chef/proprietor Michael Bremner was working on the plancha right in front of me. But I found it interesting that he was only working as chef de partie, under the instructions of his regular head chef Sam on the pass.  There were some frantic engineers behind me working to fix a couple of fridges which had broken down – including their white wine chiller.

After I placed my order for four of the dishes I enjoyed the previous time, I was presented with a slice of good crusty brown sourdough, with a whipped smoked butter topped with salt crystals. This was very nice; the home-smoked butter was terrific 8/10  A glass of Viognier was brought to me with an apology that it was not properly chilled, due to their technical problems. I was offered an ice cube for the glass, which I accepted, and which got the wine down to a proper temperature without diluting the flavours too much. My waiter later told me that I would not be charged for that glass, which was very professional of him.

The first dish proper was “Scallops, cinnamon, kale”, which I last scored at 10/10. Today there were only 4 scallops on the plate instead of the 6 previously. Was this because there were more of us sharing last time? They were still perfectly cooked, in a miso glaze, and the kale was crispy and scrumptious (both topped with powdered roe). This time I found the squid ink puree to be a bit heavy and clawing, and it seemed to be sweeter, with more cinnamon. My score today is 8/10

 

Next up was “Turbot, squid, chilli”, which last time was a ceviche which I scored 8/10. This time it was a cooked dish, with a lemon and olive oil dressing, but it was only tepid and was not as nice a dish as when it was raw. This was particularly disappointing as it was the most expensive dish on the menu (£14) 4/10

I then delved into the ‘Veg’ part of the menu and had “Beetroot, hazelnut, apple”. This was a vegan appropriate dish, featuring two types of beetroot cooked in different ways, compressed apple slices, pomegranate seeds and a few nasturtium leaves, with a hazelnut milk. The latter really added a lovely nutty flavour to the earthy beets, so everything held together as a lovely fresh and tasty dish. 6.5/10

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

My final order was another vegetable dish, for two reasons: I didn’t want to get too full at lunchtime and because I have always found 64 degrees’ veggie dishes to provide some of the best flavours and surprises. “January king, hollandaise, truffle” was, like a fortnight ago, a quarter of a cabbage, roasted and charred, topped with an aerated hollandaise and lashings of freshly grated black truffle. A more distinct taste of vinegar made the hollandaise much lighter, and I score the dish 9.5/10 which was the same as last time, but I actually think I enjoyed it more with the lighter hollandaise today.

I had chosen a glass of pinot noir to go with the veggie dishes, which was good, and at £6.95 well worth it.

I skipped desserts and coffee, but when I asked for my bill I was presented with a rocher of coconut, pineapple and ginger sorbet as a palate cleanser, which was very nice and did exactly what it was intended for 7/10

My final bill was £58.24 and overall I score my lunch 8/10, one point less than my previous dinner. So maybe dining with friends is worth an extra point.
I really do think 64 degrees offers up the best, most innovative and contemporary food in Brighton. It is a very relaxed and casual restaurant, but service standards are excellent. So often in Brighton a casual environment brings with it casual ‘couldn’t care less’ service standards, but that’s not the case here.

 

Dinner 03 December 2016

I have been a big fan of 64degrees since it opened: I believe it serves fantastic seasonal food which is bang on trend, and truly represents where British cuisine is right now. I’m delighted that, from this latest visit, standards are still sky high!

Six of us dined at their largest table (this restaurant is very small, seating less than 20). The ordering process for groups can be complicated. They describe their dishes as ‘small sharing plates’ but they are a decent size ideal for 2 to share, but entirely good enough for 1. If you share beyond that number someone isn’t going to get a decent taste of things, and will therefor be disappointed because everything demands more than one mouthful to be enjoyed.  So we ended up ordering 13 dishes, plus a few desserts, which was adequate.

The menu at 64degrees offers subsections titled ‘Fish’, ‘Veg’ and ‘Meat’, each with 4 dishes to choose from. I would urge you not to overlook or dismiss the ‘Veg’ options, as that is where you are most likely to discover new taste sensations in things you might not know of, or don’t usually try.
Dishes appear when they are ready, but tend to be in the Fish, Veg, Meat order.
The wine list is short, but decent and appropriate. We had two bottles of Viognier and one of Pinot Noir, but I can’t recall their names I’m afraid, though they were both very nice and each was £30/bottle.

We first had ‘Turbot, chilli, celery’ which turned out to be raw fish in a citrus marinade, like a ceviche, but not as much lime juice. It was lovely and refreshing and the chilli added warmth rather than high heat. But I think my fellow diners were surprised that the fish wasn’t cooked, so maybe the restaurant should make this clearer?? 8/10

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Then came a tranche of perfectly cooked cod in a deliciously rich brown butter sauce and almonds, which I forgot to photograph. 8/10

Our final fish dish was ‘Scallops, cinnamon, kale’. This was 6 plump pan fried scallops, a squid ink and cinnamon sauce and some torched kale. It was utterly divine, especially the kale. 10/10

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

For ‘Veg’ we first had ‘Artichoke, gruyere, caper’ which was a large plate of roasted Jerusalem artichokes, served with a light, whipped cheese mouse. I do think a menu should make it clear if it’s offering globe or Jerusalem artichokes; I had expected the former, but got the latter. It was however really delicious: rich and earthy, tasting almost bar-b-q like, it was a pleasure to eat this roasted comfort food. 8/10

Then came ‘Celeriac, chestnut, yolk’, which had roasted and grilled celeriac cubes, a lovely chestnut puree and a 64degrees egg yolk. It was again a lovely piece of seasonal comfort food, with delicious warm winter flavours. 8/10

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The final ‘Veg’ dish was ‘January king, hollandaise, truffle’. January king turns out to be a type of cabbage, and there was a quarter of one, roasted and torched, and smothered in a light hollandaise and lashings of grated black truffle. I absolutely loved it! It had multiple layers of intriguing flavours, from charred cabbage to creamy truffle. 9.5/10

‘Ox tongue, chickpea, carrot’ opened up for the ‘Meats’. This was a warm and hearty dish of slow cooked and wonderfully tender tongue in a rich and sweet multi-layered sauce. A pickled vegetable (maybe the carrot) cut through that sweetness beautifully. This proved to be my friends’ favourite dish of the night. 8/10

Next up was ‘Partridge, beetroot, dukkah’. I had no idea what ‘dukkah’ was, but what turned up was like a spiced granola. I love it when meat is served with the type of thing the animal might have eaten and it worked very well with the beautifully tender pieces of partridge breasts (I’m guessing they were brined to make them so moist and tender). The beetroot element was several pieces of dried beetroot which had the texture of dried apricots, in a stonking sweet and sharp beetroot sauce. 9/10

I only had a mouthful of ‘Beef rump, sauerkraut, shallot’ I found the meat to be tasty, nicely pink, but a little chewy. The sauerkraut was very pleasant; not too acidic, and the crispy fried shallot scraps were great. 7/10

For dessert I chose “Banana, coconut, walnut”; a whole dish for myself! I also ordered a Vin Santo to go with it. This was a lovely dessert featuring half a banana with caramel hardened onto one side, some deliciously fresh banana sorbet, a nicely firm chocolate truffle/ganache and a walnut and caramel crunch. 8/10 in spite of not being given a fork (in addition to a spoon) to eat it with. I get very irritated when I have to use a finger to scoop the last bits onto my spoon!

Some of my friends had a coffee. Our total bill, including service, worked out at £55/head. I think this was terrific value, for the excellent food we had, water and three bottles of wine.  And so, taking everything into account I am awarding 64degrees 9/10