Oeuf - Café in Hove — Restaurant in England

18th August Cost: £75 for three

The thing I like about Oeuf is it really feels like someone’s brainchild come to life, like the product of someone with a dream and a vivid imagination in cahoots with their fairy godmother, the two of them starting small and then getting giddier and therefore more bold. “Okay, so definitely natural hardwood flooring…“ - and with a whoosh of fairy godmother’s wand there it is, all sanded and gleaming and lovely. “And let’s have velvet banquettes lining the two long walls - “ - whoosh - “no, how about a forest green?” - whoosh - “and Love Heart pink velvet dining chairs the other side of light pastel green tables” - whoosh - “and how about a Sistine Chapel-style mural in the middle of the ceiling, only lighter and pinker and with more clouds and fewer big naked men, and frame it with a gold trim - in fact let’s frame the entire ceiling in another gold trim, and then let’s hang pampasgrass and dried flowers from it - and more gold in the mirrors and light fittings please… and how about a couple of dark marble pillars, because why not?” - whoosh, whoosh, WHOOSH. And that’s just the main dining room.

Of course, that’s doing a huge disservice to what must have been hundreds of hours of work that have gone into building Oeuf into the beautiful space that it is; the point being it’s quite clearly been a labour of love, with the end result exactly as intended. It’s not necessarily what my fairy godmother and I would have come up with, but because it’s got so much personality Oeuf is set apart from lots of the many other brunchy offerings in the vicinity before you even get to the menu.

And it’s like the menu has been created in the same way! The Frumpets section is the creators at their giddiest - a concoction involving a stack of crumpets battered (somehow) in French toast that Oeuf have actually trademarked, which is brilliant, with toppings ranging from peach melba to fried chicken. There’s an entire egg (“oeufs”) section, including “oeuf & surf” which makes me mentally pronounce the French like a true Brit abroad, and then combinations and little details everywhere that make you want to interrupt whoever you’re dining with to point out - “yes I’ve seen the watermelon ceviche, thank you” - and subsequently give you huge decision anxiety: “oooooh, the Caesar salad comes with crispy chicken skin”.

The sad truth though is that I didn’t love my breakfast. It’s my fault really, as I asked for the hot honey chicken waffles when, it turns out, I don’t really like waffles. I had to ask Mich if that’s what they were meant to taste like - stodgy and almost a bit stale - but “yes Joe, that’s exactly what they’re meant to taste like.” The fried chicken was awesome - better than KFC, which is still sadly the standard-bearer in my eyes - although the honey could have been hotter for my taste. We got a side of the rarebit rosti bites and I wished the chicken was served on those instead.

Everything else was very well-received. I do find it really bizarre whenever Mich orders a burger (in this case a Hashinator: sausage and hash browns, combination of the Gods) and then immediately takes its hat off, deconstructs it and eats it with a knife and fork, but she said she really enjoyed doing so. And having seen Laura’s, I’d be happy to order the full English next time if in a less adventurous, exuberant mood.

A quick nod to the drinks menu, which was very on-brand, and I imagine delighted the several hen parties we saw while we were there. We weren’t drinking, but Mich’s rose and pistachio flat white may have been subject of the most vocal praise out of anything we ordered between. And another quick nod to the staff, who were also all on-brand: lovely and bright and full of personality, helping to make our experience, all-round, a...

WOW! Came here with 3 of my friends, on a sunny Thursday, for a birthday lunch as it was perfect!

Greeted with the dreamy pastel interiors, and smiling faces of staff and customers, the atmosphere was set for our lunch. We were taken out to see their secret, wild garden but decided on sitting inside where it was cooler, we took our seats and were given ice cucumber water straight away.

The menu has SO much to chose from and I was their for a while deciding between which Frumpets to go for, something I had heard they are locally famous for.

It was between The Melt In The Middle Cheesy Frumpets, or Caramelised Banana and Creme Fresh Frumpets. It was my birthday and I wanted to indulge so I went for the cheesy frumpets and added a sausage- because why not! My friends went for the crab roll after seeing someone else loving it, the Plant Full English and Eggs Troyal (locally caught and smoked trout rather than salmon).

It's worth mentioning that my friend has difficulty going to restaurants as she has complicated allergies, but the waitress was so knowledgeable and accommodating and offered my friend their "allergen matrix" to make her feel comfortable when choosing what to order.

The food definitely lived up to expectation and more and I cant wait go back and try it all - I've got my eye on the crab roll and bacon pancakes.

The hosting and waiting staff are friendly and professional and seemed to always be there when we wanted something (lots of cocktails) and gave spot on recommendations! They must really love their menu.

Thank you Oeuf cafe! see you sooner than next year for...

Had been wanting to go here for ages and it really didn’t disappoint!

-The food was amazing and so filling I had to take nearly half my pancakes home with me! Get the Nugs as a side to share! You won’t regret it! Really good drinks options, we all had very different iced coffee, there was a few matcha choices too. Service was really good, the waitress we got was really attentive and checked allergies 2 times. One of my friends has a stoma so can’t process seeds and she was really understanding and ensured nothing was accidentally brought to her. We went on Saturday for brunch and it was busy but seemed well staffed. Price was really reasonable and as you’d expect considering the portions and atmosphere. We each got a drink, main and shared 2 sides which came to £22 each. Could be somewhere you go for a really special occasion but also somewhere you go once a week, very versatile. Good Vegan and Vegetarian choices. Decor is stunning and Vibe is so nice very Parisian and chic! Can tell Ladurée was on their Pinterest board! Location is really random, if you’re walking down a residential road thinking is this the right way.. yes, yes it is! Just off from the seafront so it’s nice if you were planning a beach day too. Dog friendly, saw a few dogs there. I brought food and rest mat for mine and she was really chill as it’s a very relaxed atmosphere and was able to get a corner seat so she wasn’t affected by people walking by. Could offer some treats and a water bowl to improve...