Pearly WOW!
Brighton & Hove News visited the recently launched Pearly Cow restaurant earlier this week to explore this new addition to the city’s eating scene. It’s located in an area which has been carefully developed on the seafront, tucked between the Hilton Brighton Metropole and Regency Square. Pearly Cow forms part of an independent collection of restaurants created by brothers, Tristan, James and Tom Guest. These are also in York, Margate in 2023, and now Brighton since November 2024.
The restaurant itself is set back slightly from the road with some stylish signage and a stone patio approach to the entrance. The location, whilst just off one of the most popular roads in Brighton, felt both cosy and intimate as we arrived. Low lighting, comfortable sofas built for relaxed eating, carefully curated art works on the walls, and a cheerful and down to earth front of house team enveloped us in their care and made us feel immediately welcome.
Pearly Cow sits directly opposite the West Pier on Brighton’s seafront and spreads across four pristinely renovated Georgian & Regency townhouses which also form a new hotel above the dining spot. The hotel, which is so well hidden it is only noticeable when visting the (very smart) conveniences. Named No.124 by GuestHouse, this is a companion newly opened 32-room boutique hotel through a wildflower adorned entrance. The delight of the hotel is that you can order meals direct from this restaurant and enjoy those in the quiet lux of the rooms.
Executive Chef of Pearly Cow is well-travelled Andrew MacKenzie who’s come home to roost with this new opening. The chef is from a family line of chefs, and has been in and out of the kitchen since he was a young lad. Learning his culinary craft through a three-year sojourn at Gleneagles, he’s developed his skills across the UK in a variety of eateries and in Australia, and Georgia also.
In Sussex, MacKenzie has worked as Head Chef at Goodwood, before moving sideways to Brighton & Hove where he curated his own kitchen at Gingerman restaurant. He’s be in and around the area for many years, having developed the Restaurant at Drakes, as well The Salt Room, and a stint as head chef at Brighton’s beachfront Soho House too.
Arriving on a particularly rainy and windswept night, we sank into the sofas flanked by paintings and objet d’art, and selected cocktails from the drinks menu to start. My companion requested a Sage Soiree comprising Olmeca Altos tequila, apricot, and sage which she kindly allowed me to sample.
We both enjoyed this dry but subtle mix of alcohol and herbs in a modern cocktail twist. I selected the Apricot Spritz combining our very own Brighton Gin, apricot and sparkling wine, which was garnished with a sprig of elderflower. I very much enjoyed this mix of fruit, spirits and fizz and spent more time than was necessary admiring it!
The staff talked us through the menu and the different plates and courses available. There are always two main specials alongside some seasonal changes. On Sundays too this changes, and the Pearly Cow roast comes with all the traditional trimmings, accompanied with modern touches. Of the variety available, we were recommended to start with the tacos of which there are four options available as taster bites. We shared the salted cod & crab with preserved lemon, and the other, a perfect pairing of lobster, apple and fennel.
The first really noticeable aspect of these, which arrived in their own bespoke stands, was that the corn tacos themselves were handmade in the kitchen and unbelievably tasty. I don’t think I’ve eaten tacos quite like this before. The corn was a key note in the mix and became a talking point between us. We enjoyed both the fillings we tried, though at a push, the salted cod version offered a wider variety of taste sensations, with the fresh brown crab meat pairing really well with the moist fish.
We accompanied this with a side order of nibbles – homemade pork scratchings and apple sauce. These were dynamite… we adored them. Crisp, freshly made, and a real sense of eating nose to tail with cooking which utilises all of its produce. This totally blew our calorie allowance before we’d even started dining proper, but this plate of nibbles with its accompaniment of apple sauce was a really great start to the dinner and absolutely worth the shifting waistline.
We moved on to the Starters menu following this positive beginning to the meal, sharing the staff-recommended Small Plates wood-fired scallops, with cauliflower and brown butter. Served in its shell, the brown butter sauce lifted the smoky wood cooked taste of the shellfish alongside accompanying greenery, and offered an explosive combination in the mouth. I highly recommend ordering this dish even though I was torn between ordering this and the pig cheeks with carrots and five spice.
We ordered a separate starter of Seabass tartare, lime, creme fraiche and caviar which came stylishly decorated on a bed of crushed ice. This was a money shot. It both looked and tasted sublime. The fish ceviche decorated with the creme fraiche, and edible flowers alongside the saltiness of the caviar was really special.
The ceramic dining platters from Churchill were specially created for the Pearly Cow and they formed an aesthetic accompaniment to each course too. In fact, the interior designers of the restaurant have done a great job on the look and feel of the place, with a mix of abstract, quirkily contemporary, and modern artwork, wallpaper, and colours inside.
Provenance is of utmost important to the restaurant, and they make this explicit by sharing their suppliers on the Pearly Cow website so you can see for yourself. Producers like Trenchmore Farm for beef, R&J a born-and-bred family farm and butcher earning loyalty since the 1850s, Hodgson Fish a 19th century smokehouse which is still going strong, Munnieries for local vegetables and fruit through small farms in Sussex and Kent, Orchard Farm for eggs and Beals farm for charcuterie, alongside Brighton’s own Real Patisserie. My dining companion praised the restaurant’s outstanding attention to detail and this varied list of proven suppliers shows that the team really know what they’re doing with their produce.
We moved on to sharing the slow-braised short rib of Sussex wagyu beef which came resting on an order of pommes mousseline and some crisped kale. This was the knock out dish of the night. The beef just falling apart in the mouth, and cooked to perfection. We asked the waiting staff about the production of this. It is a dish that is slow cooked by the chef over many hours, before being finished with the surface of the meat is crisped over a wood fire. The chef has said that he loves working with charcoal ovens, and this truly was a dish of wonder.
“Pearly Cow is about treating yourself. It’s a break from the everyday. It’s the feeling of finding a pearl in an oyster shell. It’s a bit of magic. Oh, and our chips will change your life.” Chef Andrew MacKenzie
We failed to realise how generous the portions would be (and they really are), and ordered an accompaniment of the best chips ever. These were beef fat chips, with dijonnaise and chives, but which looked to be created in extremely thin slices by mandolin and then compressed before being fried.
We were bursting at the sides by this point, but had also ordered a dish of the day whch was a lemon sole immersed in a buttery sauce, with freshly collected samphire and teeny weeny prawns (technical terminology there!). This was so fresh, it tasted as if it had been carried across from the sea on the other side of the road moments before. It was also extremely toothsome.
The sauce kept the sole moist and the samphire was fresh and al dente, even until the following day as I had asked to take a chunk of this home due to not being able to fit it in. The sommelier paired the main course with a portuguese vinho verde to complement these two dishes and it was a really enjoyable slightly frizzante fresh glass.
We asked for recommendations for a final flourish to this sensational mid-week feast, and were recommended the Mirabelle plum souffle. This is made in situ by the chef and was like mouthfuls of fluffy cloud with an autumnal plum jus to pour into the souffle, and a side of subtly flavoured ice cream.
My dining companion was too full for a final course, but womaned up and sampled the handmade Valrhona chocolate truffles finished in Brighton and Italy’s favourite liquor Tuaca, alongside a nightcap of coffee. We were in good company, despite the awful weather. The restaurant which seats 40, served a steady amount of diners of all ages throughout the evening, as well as being booked up at weekends.
If I had planned my stomach capacity slightly better, I would have finished with the selection of Sussex cheeses served with walnut & raisin bread and chutney, but as it was, we left with a takeaway box of sumptious food for the next day. The staff were most obliging about our culinary failings on that front. As they were in all things.
We were made to feel welcome, but the restaurant speaks for itself. There have been a number of new eateries opening in Brighton & Hove recently and here’s hoping that this heralds a new renaissance in dining in the city. Come out and support these talented endeavours and appreciate how lucky we are to have this talent and affordable luxury on our doorstep.
What actually is Pearly Cow though? The team behind the concept say that it’s the feeling of finding a pearl in an oyster shell. A bit of magic. Well this little beauty really is magic. I’ll definitely be back!
Opening Hours and Details
Pearly Cow, 123 Kings Road Brighton BN1 2FY
brighton@pearlycow.co.uk
T 0330 055 4531 pearlycow.co.uk
Pearly Cow Lunch:
Friday & Saturday 12 – 3.30pm
Sunday 12 – 5pm
Pearly Cow Dinner:
Monday – Saturday 5 – 9pm
Sunday 6 – 8.30pm
