Brighton’s Best Restaurants is run by three people, who share a passion for restaurants and their hometown. They are: Andy Lynes (food writer), Patrick McGuigan (food writer and author) and Suzanne Lindfors (copywriter).

We set up Brighton’s Best Restaurants in 2016 because there were so many great restaurants in our city, but we felt they weren’t getting the attention they deserved. The idea was to champion independent restaurants and get the word out about what a great place Brighton & Hove was for eating out.

So, we asked people in the know to vote for their favourite restaurants, put on a big party and announced the Top 20 restaurants in the city. It got so much attention and was such good fun that we then decided to organise a restaurant festival called OctoberBEST, where the best restaurants put on special set-price menus for two weeks. Hundreds of people booked tables and ate out at restaurants they hadn’t tried before. 

We’re still doing the same today. Every spring we have a big party where we announce the best restaurants in the city as voted for by the city’s top foodies. And every autumn we run OctoberBEST. The difference now is that there are even more fantastic restaurants in the city than when we first started. Our Top 20 has been expanded to a Top 30. And OctoberBEST gets bigger and busier each year with thousands now booking tables.

We hope we’ve played a small part in helping to put Brighton on the food map, but there are still plenty more parties and meals to be had in the future. We still love championing the independent restaurants that make our city such a great place to live. 

If you want to know more about how we organise the awards and OctoberBEST then there’s a lot more detail in our Frequently Asked Questions.

Or drop us an email: brightonsbestrestaurants@gmail.com