Pike & Pine restaurant review - Brighton, UK

Michelin-starred chef Matt Gillan has opened his long-awaited debut restaurant inside of the Brighton institution Kemptown’s Red Roaster coffee shop.

Investing £1m into the site has allowed for a stylish revamp of the space by Australian interior designer Hana Hakim, who chose to highlight the luxury of good health and sustainability with her rough-hewn linen cushions, glut of plantlife, and marble counter tops, adding tables and chairs by Hay throughout the one-floor space.

By day, coffee will remain the star, with beans roasted daily in a vintage Diedrich roaster – think six single origins in addition to house blends – and come nightfall will transform into Pike + Pine, the stage for Gillan’s tasting menu plates, a gastronomic take on locally-sourced, neighbourhood restaurant fare. 

Gillan’s restaurateur co-founder Mike Palmer describes the offering as ‘Michelin star for a tenner’, but Gillan himself prefers to be known for ‘food that you would be comfortable eating more than once a week, and which you would want to bring your friends back to share’.  An exciting, and attractive addition to Brighton’s already buzzing culinary scene.