When take-your-breath away interiors come hand in hand with lip-smackingly good coffee and banging brunch dishes, you know you’re on to a good thing and Red Roaster in Brighton is exactly one of those. It’s a good egg and an organic one at that!
I first heard about this newly renovated coffee spot through one of my good friends Olivia. She’s also the wickedly talented brains behind all my outfit photos so yeah, she does an awesome job at making sure my chins aren’t wagging too much when I’m hair flicking, chasing dogs and whatever else it is I do – and for that I’ll be eternally thankful. It also means we can never fall out ‘cos she has one hell of an archive of outtakes right there. Shall we get back to botanicalgasms and coffee chat already? YES LET’S.
Ok first thing’s first, if you’re gonna go to this place then prepare to want to splurge your life savings on house plants when you leave. I can’t be trusted with them tbh ‘cos I killed a hyacinth in a record time of 12 hours the other day, but that doesn’t stop me from dreaming of a thriving dragon plant when I’m meant to be replying to emails and planning vacay to-dos does it now? I could waffle on forever about how lovely the interior is at this place: leaf prints, gold accents, the monochrome mosaic and marble tables, oh OH the tables! But for once in my life, let me be concise: if Instagram were a cafe, it would look like this. It’s very clean, it’s very minimalist and it’s very white – only you needn’t apply the ol’ Clarendon filter to get it that way. Its beauty is all naturel bébé. If you stay in there for long enough (as some of us did and will continue to do, naming no names of course) then it’s almost like you’re not in England at all. It’s more Bali vibes than Brighton.
I hear your stomach rumbling, don’t you worry LC’s got you foodies covered, the first part of this blog was just whetting your appetite for the main event. Now, I’m not much of a breakfast fan (stay with me here). Don’t get me wrong, I’ll never pass up on a bacon roll when it’s wafted under my nose, but if we’re talking favourite meal of the day, I am all about lunch and dins. That said, I love trying new things and the brunch offering at Red Roaster, although smaller and a teeny bit pricier than your average greasy spoon, is perfect for anyone who’s simply over the classics. In food terms, you’re itching to be a little bit unfaithful.
Enter the taste sensation that is tea cured salmon (Newsflash! I’m not a big fan of fish either, I swear I’m not the fussy eater I’m making myself out to be), sun-dried tomatoes, yuzu cream cheese and calamari on a bed of fluffy matcha waffles. Do you need a minute alone? Totally understand if you do. It’s different, it’s new and it’s got food fling written all over it. I’m sure my usual avo on toast combo won’t mind me saying that it was entirely worth playing away for, ‘cos infidelity tastes so good when it’s basically calorie-free. Come on, a tower of salmon? Matcha? I am not Fitness Pal-ing that.
I thought being somewhere like this and banned from drinking coffee would be hell on earth, but turns out their flat white decaf is as good as any other caffeinated flat white I’ve ever tasted. Yes, really. I thought decaf was the worst swear word in the English language too until Red Roaster convinced me otherwise, and now I might even carry on this madness after lent. But let’s not get ahead of ourselves, a lot can change in 25 days.
You can check out the rest of their menu here to see if there’s anything else that tickles your tastebuds and fyi, all ye faithful foodies will be pleased to know eggs any style and bacon butties are young, single and very available. WINNING. The couple next to us had the breakfast board and even with a tower of matcha waffles on my plate, I felt like I’d been short changed. And I mean that in the best sense of the phrase: everything looked so good that whatever I had picked, would not have been enough to stop the sharp pangs of my food envy. I mean, what else can you expect from a team led by Brighton’s very own salt bae and Michelin Star holder, Matt Gillan eh?
Right, so what else do I need to tell you? The staff are really welcoming. The first time I went in there, I had to face the whole ‘I’ve given up coffee for lent’ conversation (of course I thought about folding) and I saw genuine pride in the waitress’s eyes. I knew she understood my pain and when she mentioned that I could still *technically* slurp on a decaf flat white, I wanted to swing with joy from the foresty vines hanging above my head like a human Mighty Joe Young. Shout out to Mela, you goddess you! Yes, that’s right, I’m on first name terms with the Red Roaster squad after 2 tiny visits. I dread to think how often I’ll be down there when they open their restaurant… oh yeah, so it’s a cafe by day and soon to be restaurant by night. Rumour has it they’ll be a 6 dish tasting menu for a very reasonable £50, but I’ll be the judge of that. Coffee tasting’s also on the horizon so ya know, they may as well build me a annex in my opinion. Or just fit a cat flap for me to come and go as I please.
PS the coffee is ethically sourced and the takeaway cups? BIODEGRADABLE. And nothing turns me on more than a biodegradable coffee cup let me tell you. Guilt free coffee, flirty brunch plates and interiors that’ll make Lawrence Llewelyn-Bown question every garish pink leopard print room he’s ever created – that’s how Red Roaster roll. If you want a backdrop of fit botanicals with your brunch and a setting that’ll light up your gram better than a Lumee phone case lights up Kim Kardashian’s hairless nostrils then this, my bloggy pals, must become your second home. I know it’ll be mine. Oh mama, I’m dreaming of those salted caramel churros already. Love you bye.
