Pearly Cow Brighton — Restaurant in Great Britain

09/08/2025 £150 for two

If I haven’t already with these reviews, I’m almost certainly outing myself as a posh snob now by saying I’ve felt for ages Brighton seafront needs more places you can sit outside for a drink and maybe a little nibble by the sea, within earshot of the waves lapping against the pebbles but blissfully nothing of the increasingly ubiquitous ‘live entertainment’ also on offer. Don’t get me wrong, I love sitting topless on a picnic table puffing on an e-shisha drinking watered-down lager out of a plastic cup trying to work out how to put my name down for the karaoke only to realise “God, she’s actually getting paid for this” as much as the next person, but that can’t be all there is to life. Can it?

So when Mich and I found ourselves in need of rejuvenation after a first Primark trip in genuinely over a decade, preferring to chance our arm for a spot outside somewhere and so turning the corner at the bottom of Preston Street, I was like a kid outside a waterpark when I caught sight of the well-dressed chattering clientele seated at (not on) marbled-topped bistro tables out on the Terrace by Pearly Cow, in cast-iron garden chairs and benches made comfortable by tastefully-thematically-consistent-while-not-perfectly-matching Mediterranean-y soft furnishings, sheltered from the sun by the kind of hanging parasols you could only ever wistfully wish you could justify the price of for your own garden: “can we can we can we please please please!”

Like Primark was, the Terrace is sort of its own entirely discrete little world - like stepping into the wardrobe - only of course in a very different way: lavender troughs and Perspex panes at its border at once distinguishing itself from and lending a pleasant hue to the pavement outside and beyond. That the menu being described conceptually as “fire and ice” reminded me instantly of Pokémon on the Switch and just added to my relief/delight to be outside somewhere pleasant in the sunshine.

There were nibbles, oysters and tacos for just a little something to taste through to small plates and a lunch list and then fully-fledged main courses and huge sharers to feast on. I wanted it all. The olives were huge and juicy and drizzled with slithers of Lombardi green chillis - a nice touch - and the bread came out warm. The salted cod taco had more flavour than its lobster and fennel counterpart, and we were allowed to enjoy all of these at our own pace before returning to the menu for more. The long break suited us but not a neighbouring table who were getting increasingly visibly annoyed at their wait for their mains, indicative of a slight downturn in the quality of service to come.

I went for a fillet of John Dory from the specials with padron peppers and a green salsa advertised as spicy - it wasn’t, but the first few flakes of fish I ate before it went cold while I waited for the glass white wine I’d ordered, because that’s what you do with fish, were very good nonetheless. (I also didn’t realise vino verde is usually carbonated so had a sort of pineapple-juice-gone-off surprise at first sip - maybe not so posh after all.) Mich had a massive braised wagyu beef rib on a soup of mashed potato that she couldn’t finish despite the pause, so I ate that in the interim, deliciously tender at first, but fattier and more tendony the closer you got to the bone. The charcoaled parmesan broccoli was actually perhaps the pick of round two; along with the wine delay the salt I wanted for the peppers and my side of mega ‘chips’ (actually huge blocks of crispy layered potato with a nicely mustardy dip) never came.

That did little to diminish the whole experience: sitting outside by the sea, perusing a menu stacked full of exciting, enticing options and grazing leisurely on many of them (spending a fair bit of money in the process; Mich’s non-alcoholic options were more expensive than my boozy ones) was a perfect way to spend a few hours. As we walked back towards the pier past admittedly increasingly passable Adele impressions I felt pretty chuffed with our...

This was a disappointing experience food wise but the service and general atmosphere was excellent

My booking wasn't registered which could have been my fault but I remember entering my bank details, its fine though, they saved me a table

The staff were all 10/10, the restaurant is cool and the upstairs bar area was amazing, the food, for me, absolutely awful

My friend had an amazing evening with his family and highly recommended the venue, he said it was very expensive but an experience

Drinks wise, no champagne, just the English sparkling version which was the same price or more than champagne, I found it odd to taste and not very nice (for the money) so went back to safe prosecco, my wife liked her red wine, lots of body

The menu has no male orientated safe starter options, my favorite steak restaurant is not far away and they have calamari, chorizo al malbec, crockets with pulled port or Iberico ham and cheese, empanadas, gambas, the list goes on, we usually order two starters each as there are so many to chose from, in the pearly cow my wife had scallops, I say scallops when it was one scallop, for around £20.... it came really well dressed on a shell etc and she loved the taste until she tried the white bed the shell was sitting on, it was salt, there was a massive pile of salt and she ate a fork of it

I ordered steak tartar I think it was which basically came out like an uncooked burger, it was horrible, in fairness I've only had it a couple of times before and I don't really like it but it was the only meaty thing I could find, it came with an uncooked egg yoke on top and it was gross

The mains were mixed, my wife loved the rib on mash, it was pretty fatty and burnt so she didn't eat it all but she is crazy about mash so she was in a good place, the broccoli tasted like kale for some reason but was ok, the beef fat chips aren't chips, they are huge squares of potato in layers, its a nice idea but they aren't chips, they are wedges like the size of a pret carrot cake

The steak.... oh dear oh dear oh dear, I ordered a medium ribeye, it was red inside as medium should be but not a drop of moisture, it was the driest plainest piece of meat I have ever eaten, it was awful, absolutely awful, it shouldn't have been cooked that way or served, I ordered it with chimichurri which wasn't chimichurri, it was something else which was missing all the oil and tasted weird so I went for a second safe peppercorn option with a view to trying to make the meat edible, it did the job but honestly, it was terrible, I love steak and I mean love it, my favorite thing in life socially is a good restaurant and especially steak restaurants, the starter and drinks menu, the way the meat is cooked in the pearly cow is so poor, as a dining experience this was 1 star for us and we will never go back for dinner again, the bar place for sure as its super cool, they have games tables etc but honestly this restaurant needs an intervention food wise, I don't know if they are literally flame grilling the steak and I'm missing the point but chargrilled steak with no juice.... I don't think anyone who enjoys steak would enjoy that

I has asked the waitress about Wagyu and she didn't really know what it was, she told me the rib was Wagyu but I was looking for proper Japanese of Belgium Wagyu, this is not a criticism of her as a waitress, just the training and education the restaurant are giving the staff, she should have been able to talk confidently about what Wagyu is and explain that its not on the menu, she did say the rib was from a farm near me etc so she was knowledgeable in that aspect but it was just not what I was looking for

I would like to add that I did show her how dry the steak was and she immediately offered to get me another one but it was already 9pm I think by that point and I didn't fancy waiting any longer

So it is with a heavy heart that I say, my 20th Wedding anniversary dinner was awful, absolutely awful

All...

We had the most wonderful birthday dinner at The Pearly Cow earlier this month whilst guests at the hotel. From start to finish, it was the perfect experience - thoughtful service and an atmosphere that's perfectly balanced between refined and relaxed.

We started with tacos which were incredible, my husband particularly enjoyed the fish tacos. For mains, I had the slow braised rib of Sussex Wagyu and not only was the meat incredible but the potatoes were simply perfect. My husband went for the loin of cod and said the bacon absolutely made the dish. We ended the meal with the chocolate negus which was the perfect sweet treat to finish dinner.

Throughout the night the staff made us feel cared for without ever being intrusive. We were never rushed, and it made it feel like they wanted us to savour the evening. I cannot thank them enough.

Being guests at the hotel we came back the next morning for breakfast and once again The Pearly Cow succeeded! The breakfast was spot-on with high quality ingredients and the Greek yogurt was delicious as a starter from the Kick Things Off section of the menu.

Overall, this place is an absolute gem and a restaurant Brighton has needed for a long time! If you're looking for somewhere for anything from a nice breakfast with friends to a Special Occasion dinner be sure to book in as it will be...