The Meeting Place Kitchen — Restaurant in Great Britain

After a long-awaited upgrade, the newly redesigned Meeting Place Kitchen, complete with a striking copper exterior and subtle Art Deco cues to echo Embassy Court, showed promise at first glance. Situated right on the Brighton/Hove parish border, this part of town traditionally caters to locals, families, and dog walkers who appreciate a laid-back, familiar vibe (see Hove Lawns Cafe!). It rarely caters to tourists and does not benefit from the more central footfall.

Unfortunately, the shiny but anonymous aesthetic feels misplaced here. This cafe/restaurant could have been built in London or pretty much anywhere. It lacks the warmth and character you’d expect on our seaside promenade. The interior is dominated by synthetic materials, even the plants are plastic, which seems a bit cheap, especially given the premium pricing. The redesign appears incredibly optimistic and ambitious, but feels soulless in its disconnect from the location’s history and community. Who is this place for?

That said, the managers deserve credit for handling teething issues, like confused customers, new staff, systems, and workflows, with patience and composure. It’s clear they're trying something different. But their vision seems mismatched with the needs and expectations of the local audience's desires and purchasing power. A true beachfront hangout for all seasons and customers; cosy, authentic, and relaxed, hasn’t yet materialised.

On the positive side, we enjoyed the veggie sandwiches outside with stunning sea views—they were generously sized and tasted great, offering good value. However, without any shade or cover on the sun terrace, staying out there long on a sunny or windy day is tough. It feels like a major oversight for a seaside venue. A quick look at Mediterranean cafés or charming UK beachside spots shows how essential thoughtful outdoor design is.

There seems to be something missing here... Other cafés in the area offers more value, character, comfort, and authenticity along the seafront; something this one hasn’t captured, or seem to be aiming for. We sincerely hope it will fall into place with time and refocuses on what makes Brighton’s seaside experience special. For now though, it's giving Theme Park,...

The Meeting Place Kitchen is a great place for lunch on its seafront location alone but the food and service make it doubly so. The welcome is warm and friendly without being in your face and just about every window has a view of the sea. There’s a terrace for warm days and we’ve had breakfast out there that felt like being in the south of France. In this visit though it was a grey, windy day and our window gave us a wonderful view of the waves crashing in. The lunch menu is fantastic value, offering two courses for £17.90. I ordered a starter and a chicken burger (which was £17 on the main menu) expecting it to be smaller to take account of the lower price but it was not only enormous it was also beautifully presented and cooked. I can’t recommend this enough if you are visiting Hove or, like us, entertaining visitors and wanting to give them a...

Was very excited to try the newly refurbished local restaurant but sadly really let down by terrible service. Lots of staff but the manager ignored the huge queue waiting for tables & seemed begrudging that we were there. Our waitress was great but didn’t appear to have been trained & the waiters who brought our food and drinks didn’t know what they were serving (orange juice - could be pineapple) lots of little things all insignificant alone (manager banging my chair with another without comment, waiters rounding up bill more than we said etc) but added up to a poor experience. We will probably try again in a month or 2 as fabulous setting & food was nice. Just please train staff - including management and make customers want...