The Coal Shed Brighton — Restaurant in Great Britain

Our Rating: 5 Star Plus!

My wife and I visited the Coal Shed Brighton last night to celebrate her birthday and wow, what a celebration it was!

We had decided to push the boat out and go for one of the Coal Shed’s premium steak options, but we were a little unsure on what precisely to order as we had never ordered steak by the 100g before!

Our server Toby was wonderful, welcoming, charming and incredibly knowledgeable. He guided us through the steak options, including his recommended sizes and cuts based on our appetite and preferences.

As I say, we really went for it and chose to share a 700g Chateaubriand (that’s about 24oz) and at £13/100g it cost an eye watering £91 without sides.

For us, this means a trip to the Coal Shed will be a very decadent (and rare) treat - but neither of us could describe the steak as anything less than perfect.

We had told Toby that we typically enjoy a filet steak cooked medium, and he told us how they recommend a large Chateaubriand be cooked medium-rare, but that if any of the pieces were too rare for us, they would happily put them back on their 500 degrees grill for us (we took Toby up on this for one of the slices).

We also ordered sides of Beef Fat Chips and Mac & Cheese.

The chips would be the only thing that we were slightly disappointed by, they were perfectly fine chips but they didn’t blow us away like the rest of our experience did.

The Coal Shed Mac & Cheese might just be the best Mac & Cheese we have ever had, it was completely scrumptious.

While we were waiting for our Steak to be cooked we were offered Bread and Butter, my wife was particularly impressed with how the Coal Shed managed her nut allergy - given that the bread on the menu typically is served with Dukkah which includes nuts.

In conclusion we loved our trip to the Coal Shed Brighton, we will definitely be visiting again - it really is a special place for special occasions.

Note: We sat in the Bar area, and this was lots of fun, comfortable bench to sit on and the opportunity to people watch as well as enjoy our meal, but the bar tables are small and circular, I would possibly recommend you request a table in the main restaurant if you are planning on ordering lots of side dishes.

Parking: Really easy, park in the Brighton Theatre NCP, walk out the back door of the car park, down past Barclays to the street, cross over at the traffic lights and you’re basically at the Coal...

Good food, sadly completely undermined by the service.

Booked a table for me, my wife and son who wanted "a decent roast lunch, Dad" to celebrate his 18th birthday.

The website demands all kind of detail from you before allowing you to book, including asking for a pic so that you can be greeted on arrival. Never seen that before, thought it might be a nice touch, so uploaded a pic. No idea why, as nothing happened on arrival.

Sat down, and we were presented with menus, then under a minute later asked what drinks we wanted. Asked for a couple of minutes to decide, that turned into 10 before anyone came back.

Ordered three roasts, one lamb, and a sirloin sharing roast. Also ordered a flatbread to nibble on in the meantime.

Over an hour later, flatbread aside, no sign of any food. No updates, no one asking if we wanted more drinks or anything.

Finally got someone's attention and asked where our food was. He scuttled off, and then a manager(?) came over, fumbled a half-hearted apology and said it would arrive shortly.

When it did, it was great. Quality meat, well cooked, good accompaniments and an excellent cauliflower cheese.

We were hoping to get a glass of wine to go with this, but alas, the waiting staff disappeared and catching their eye proved way too elusive for us. Shame, but OK, no big drama.

We finished, and full, just wanted the bill. Despite keeping an eagle eye, it took nearly 15 minutes to catch the eye of a server to ask for the bill.

When asked how it had been, we praised the food, but also mentioned the disappointing service that came with it.

The waitress, to her credit, and it was our first interaction with her, apologised profusely, and offered to take the service off the bill. We politely declined.

Despite this, again to her credit, she didn't put the service on the bill, so we left cash instead.

Such a shame, as the food really is good, but the service really lets it down. It's a strange one, as there didn't seem to be a lack of numbers, more a lack of observation, focus and supervision maybe?

A friend sat down at a neighbouring table just before we left, he messaged me just now to say they complained too, as it took them half an hour to get the bill... Maybe...

We visited The Coal Shed during a trip to Brighton, and from start to finish, our experience was absolutely exceptional. We popped in earlier in the day to make a booking for the evening and I asked if we could possibly be seated in a quiet corner to make our evening a bit more romantic. To my delight, when we arrived, we were warmly welcomed by the team and offered a choice of two cosy corner tables—such a thoughtful touch and a lovely start to the evening.

Our server Tris looked after us all night and genuinely made our visit unforgettable. He was attentive, friendly and he went above and beyond to make everything perfect. I asked if it would be possible to have a non-alcoholic mojito with extra sugar—even though it wasn’t on the menu, it arrived quickly and was exactly what I had hoped for and was absolutely delicious.

When it came to deciding on our food Tris answered all of our questions and guided us through the menu. We ended up going with the chateaubriand and he even talked us through the various cuts and weights to help us choose. I also got to try a sauce from another dish that wasn’t listed as an option because none of the other sauces really took my fancy.

The food itself was genuinely some of the best I’ve ever had—and I’m a serious foodie who dines out often. The steak was melt-in-your-mouth tender- we had it cooked to the chef’s recommendation. Every side was amazing (including the beef fat chips, espellete fries, and coal-fired greens), but the mashed potatoes were next level. They were so creamy and so good I wish I’d asked for the recipe!

To top it all off, Tris surprised us with some beautiful desserts—including a thoughtful birthday pudding that made the evening feel even more special. The Brûlée brioche was out of this world, easily the best dessert I’ve ever eaten.

A massive thank you to all the staff for their warmth and professionalism, and an extra special thank you to Tris—you’re a true asset to The Coal Shed. And of course, a huge thank you to the incredible chefs. The whole evening was worth every penny and we only wish we lived closer. We’ll...