Since my my 2015 best pizza in Brighton round up (the most popular post on the blog ever) I've eaten a lot of pizza around these parts. Regular readers will be well versed about my passion for pizza, even featuring in Daniel Young's Where To Eat Pizza tome. Its craft and simplicity never gets old and well, it's just a comforting, lovely thing to eat with family, with friends, with dates, with just yourself. There's never a bad occasion for a pizza. 

Quite a few new players have stepped up in more recent years which has raised the dough game, but not always enough to knock the established pizzerias off their perch though. And although the original post listed some absolute howlers (and boy, were there some true horrors), I've got my positive pizza pants on, and sticking to only the good in this update.

A word on full reviews and images - some may be quite historic but pizzerias are typically my "night off" or family nights. Pizzerias are the restaurants I frequent the most, and I normally don't repost full blog reviews but I'm confident in knowing the ones I have linked to have remained consistent. 

1. Wild Flour 

(Full review)

Top spot goes to Wild Flour, tucked away in Ovingdean, the attention to detail is immense. Each element is crafted - they even roast the chilli flakes. This remains the only time I've ever willingly eaten a Hawaiian pizza - hams are baked in the wood oven and hand carved, the pineapple maple glazed and roasted.

The 36 hour dough is a Neapolitan with a croissant-like twist and cooked in their magnificent wood fired oven. 

Topping vary from the safe to the wild. Don't miss their wood fired doughnut shaped pizza for dessert. 

Price of a Napoletana: £12
Home Delivery? Collection and Delivery

Website: www.wildflourpizza.co.uk
Address: Greenways, Ovingdean Brighton BN2 7BA

2. Fatto a Mano 

(Full review)

Website: www.fattoamanopizza.com
Address: 
London Road: 77 London Road, Brighton BN1 4JF
North Laine: 25 Gloucester Road, Brighton BN1 4AQ
Hove: 65-67 Church Road, Hove BN3 2BD

3. Yamino

They are always playing around with flavours but don't miss the potato and onion one!

I think Nuposto remains one of the most underrated pizzerias in Brighton. For me the dough is exceptional. So good you'd almost never know their ovens were gas - the chew and the leoparding is consistently on point and the toppings on the more traditional options good quality and the perfect balance. 

They get lost for their tourist trap location, garish branding and too much diversity on their menu as they launched into offering pasta as well as a hefty starters list which masquerades them as an anglo-Italian rather than the real deal. 

Look past that, don't get distracted on the menu and you won't be disappointed. Particularly great for family dining. 

Price of a Napoletana: £8.50
Home Delivery? Delivery 
Website:  www.nuposto.com
Address: 14 West Street, Brighton, BN1 2RE

5. Purezza 

(Full review)

I'll hold my hands up and say I was more than skeptical about an exclusively vegan pizzeria. What is pizza if not meats and cheese? But they make their own "mozzarella" with Italian brown rice and have developed the best vegan cheeses I've tried.

Toppings are creative - inspired by their meat alternatives and clever use of vegetables. But at the heart of any good pizza is good dough and here it is pillowy and light, with the fattest cornicone in town - it's a delight to eat. You can also opt for hemp or gluten free bases so this place makes what can be an off limits food accessible to all. 

Price of a Napoletana: n/a prices around £13
Home Delivery? Delivery 

Website:  www.purezza.co.uk
Address: 
Brighton: 12 St James’s Street, BN2 1RE
Bristol: 79-81 Gloucester Road, BS7 8AS
Camden: 45-47 Parkway, NW1 7PN
Hove: 86-87 Western Road, BN3 1JB 

6. Nanninella 

(full review)

Although the oven is gas, Nanninella make a darn fine pizza. This adorable restaurant makes you feel like you're on holiday in Italy and the flavours remain traditional and authentic. 

Also good are the range of Neapolitan street food starters. 

Price of a Napoletana: £10
Home Delivery? Delivery 

Ingredients are used at their seasonal peak, so much so that by the time you read this, the chalkboard menu will have undoubtedly changed, but the style and tone of the classic dishes are consistent.

Simple dishes like unassuming pea and goat cheese toasts are sophisticated and surprising and sweetcorn soup was given a perfect partner in a salty and spicy nduja focaccia.

The Italian Wine is a new delivery service offering unique collection of limited production wines handpicked from small production vineyards in Italy. Often these come with a hefty price tag but because of TIW’s buying power direct from the vineyard, you get them at a much better cost. Based in Brighton, but with national coverage, the local/Italian link was a perfect fit for me to share with you.

Italian wine is brilliant (yes I would say that) but like everything you consume from this country it often comes with a story or passion behind it, be it the source of the ingredient or a multi-generational link. There are many niche grape varieties and small producers, Italian wine is really more than just Montepulciano or Prosecco. The wines come with a back story and technical information if you are interested, which you can use to impress/bore your mates with (limited to 5 as this goes live - thanks Boris) or just enjoy it, but the knowledge of provenance really adds to a product’s appeal to me. Yes I am that person that drives 126km for a particular truffle.

I tried a bottle of the Pinot Nero Brut Rosé from Conte Vistarino. Carlo Giorgi di Vistarino introduced the Pinot Nero grape from Burgundy to Oltreò Pavese, the north-west Italian region of Lombardy, between 19th/20th century. So successful, the region remains to this day Italy’s largest Pinot Noir cultivation area.

The Vistarino family have gone on to improve and hone their wines since the work of Carlo Giorgi di Vistarino in 1850, gaining well deserved awards and recognition. Leading the winery into the present day is refreshingly a woman from the family, impressively named Ottavia Giorgi Vimercati di Vistarino, a big plus for me and something I hope to read about more. 

Despite Covid, we have also had a large hole in our dining arsenal for simple, but elegant Mediterranean food. But Med has arrived with sunny small plates of holiday memories, which is what we all need right now, particularly those mourning the loss of their summer holibob abroad. 

Although I visited on the opening weekend and my rule of not reviewing until a few weeks have passed, due to common teething issues until a place beds in, plates and opinion have been pretty consistent from the off here. The people behind Med are by no means new kids on the block, having held up a pretty strong local presence with Wolfsmouth and their numerous pub popups, as well as  the slicker small plate operation at Paradiso Social. All of that is now concentrated into this new spot and their delivery seems rather faultless.

If you're an eye roller to the small plate format, this could well change your mind. Here it truly does work and you can mix and match to your heart's content without creating either a monstrosity of a meal nor a colossal bill. 

Grown up hummus was given a pop of flavour from the unquestionable flavours of crunchy dukkah sprinkled on top, and scooped up with their excellent focaccia is an easy way kick off to things here, washed down with one of their cocktails from the short and sweet menu -  a very good negroni sbagliato hit the spot for me. 

The main "big dish" option is a market fish of the day. A simple grilled fish to share is a thing of beauty and today the choice was plaice, one of my favourites. De-boning whole fish at the table is an enjoyable ritual, so glad we were left to our own devices with it. Add in the patatas bravas and charred artichokes and courgettes and that's a meal complete. 

Of course don't stop there though. Dish of the night for me were clams with chorizo in a fragrant wine broth, served with a spoon I imagine, not to serving the clams with but to ensure you drink up every last drop from the bowl. Do that.

Portuguese style chicken is worth the order, a gooey chourico croquette and piquant romesco.

Most surprising was the cantaloupe melon dish. I've had thousands before, mainly depressing fridge cold wedges at wedding receptions, but this was a head turner; dressed up with avocado and cured cucumbers, with a combination of gorgeous herbs making for a light, fresh, sweet and delicious dish.

Wines have been treated equally well with a carafe working out the same cost as half bottle so you can work your way around the list a little with your meal. The list is nicely curated and unpretentious too. 

Dining here was a true delight actually, and it wasn't just the thirst for returning back to restaurants. It really is good full stop; the attention to detail is everywhere. Crowd pleasing, simple food, which hits that sweet spot of being well executed but relaxed and priced honestly. 

https://www.medbrighton.co.uk/
2/3 Little East Street
Brighton. BN1 1HT

The Brighton dining scene is crazy, even I can't keep up at times. Openings, closings, pop ups, residencies, collabs, start-ups, non-starters, and often don't get to a place before they shut the doors. The night before this I was in a box fresh opening being assaulted by a 100 dish strong menu, service from the textbooks of Faulty Towers and a tongue curling sauce that featured in almost every dish (I can't vouch for the dessert, I wasn't going to find out). It was new and packed to the rafters with excited diners...for now. It's easy to be carried away with novelty, but where the truly good stuff is often found is in ones that have survived the years.

And OGs of Brighton restaurants will always be The Gingerman Group, flying their flag since 1998. The Ginger Dog may have taken time to stand tall next to the Man, Pig and Fox (and Flint House) as the more casual sibling of the bunch, but I think it's very much ready to stand on its own four feet.

Refurbed with a more moody tone; less quirk, more luxe, it speaks volumes about the quality of the evening and food you can expect.



Don't overlook the snacks, even if you're fully dining; A classic hummus is given a sultry souk make-over with ras el hanout spicing and a lively, grassy green olive puree. Absolutely delicious dunked with fat soldiers of fried gluten-free bread. As I'm building myself up to being the leading local authority on margaritas (hells, everyone needs a hobby) I had to order for research and can vouch for the fact it's a good one. Lip puckeringly sour and the ideal aperitif to gently browse menus with. If you, however, prefer your drink like any good woman; pretty, cute, yet stealthily dangerous as hell, then the raspberry and lychee martini is a good choice, like drinking a Jo Malone candle, in a very good way.

You can tell the group have worked hard on their drinks menus throughout the restaurants, particularly the cocktails. You won't find showy garnishes like clouds of candy floss to navigate your philtrum around, just a carefully curated list of drinks as good as their food, yet another art most miss the mark on.

Surprisingly good was a vegan starter of fried, spiced cauliflower. This often overlooked veg was amplified with a perfectly acidic and spicy cucumber kimchi, cooled with the smooth cashew and miso puree.


Whilst that dish may have screamed January 2020, my Duck yolk with gently spiced duck leg ragu sat on top of fried bread was the opposite end of the spectrum; unctuous, rich and decadent in a classic, yet modernised way.

Talking of classic, can you really beat a good steak and chips? The Salt-aged Delmonico steak, translated to rib-eye in this instance, juicy and flavour loaded with possibly the best chips in East Brighton, prob the whole city. Simple is wonderful, if it's the best it can possibly be and this really was.

Showcasing more of the Ginger Dog's creativity however, was the roast cod with a substantial cauliflower steak, clementine, fennel, hazelnut dressing. Whilst I found the dense puree a little murky, the fresh, clean flavours of fennel and clementine were enough to brighten the dish and bring back the balance.



However, don't dare leave without trying the salted caramel martini. They are well known for their drinking desserts, I'm sure they'd be a protest if they ever took this particular one off the menu, and after finally trying one, I'd be painting up a placard myself. It also reminded me, being in my 'hood, that I should use the bar here more for drinking and save myself a shlep into town every now and then.

The Gingerman Group touch everything with class. It's all rather relaxed but service, environment and touch points of the meal are always well considered and elegant. Their formula of running successful restaurants despite a challenging time for hospitality is testament to their experience and confidence to stick to what they do, yet evolve only when they need to, whilst resisting the fads and trends, in order to create a brand that diners can trust in. Whilst the Ginger Dog has been tweaked, it is still, if not even more so, very much part of the family brand.

This may not be the cheapest pub meal in town, but it will exceed your expectations in terms of quality and finesse, and is the standard of what premium modern pub gastronomy should be.

The Ginger Dog
12 College Place,
Brighton BN2 1HN