The Urchin Brewery & Shellfish Pub — Restaurant in Great Britain

Bear with me...Many moons ago there was an Aussie chef named EJ who produced the most fantastic vegan/veggie roast in Brighton & Hove week in, week out...Y'know, colours that aren't beige, textures, vegetables cooked al dente etc. In the intervening 10 years, it doesn't matter how many good restaurant/peer reviews of Sunday roasts I have trusted only to find that those roast potatoes have been prepped and dunked in water the night before, with too sweet purees and gravy granules producing a baby food-like consistency, the eating of which is only possible with muliple alcoholic drinks. I don't eat meat really, i accept I'm the wrong audience.

So it's Sunday, I want to eat lunch in a pub with some mates, who like to use their teeth to eat with, where do I go?

The Urchin. The Jay Raynor readers will be in the restaurant in their pearls & Chanel and their boat shoes and pressed polo shirts ordering fish and oaked Chardonnay too loudly (it's fine, they'll be given house brewed Larrikin beers, oysters and low intervention wine instead). At the bar and outside there will hipsters and kids and dogs and house painters and Guardian readers who left their heels at home. It's fun, and friendly and accommodating and oh my gosh. TODAY my friends and I demolished the best paella we have had in the 7 years The Urchin has been slinging shellfish and craft beer. This iteration created by exceptionally talented chefs Luka and Jim i believe.

The rice. Textured. Silky with paprika and oil. The mussel shells scrubbed within an inch of their lives. The softest of squid, the juiciest of prawns and a scattering of samphire.

Next Sunday, don't listen to peer pressure. You don't need a roast dinner. You need paella (veggie/vegan options often on the Specials Board, if not, just get fries, they are delicious).

Save me a seat outside, see...

The seafood here is excellent, it's fresh, it's creative and it tastes fantastic. The oysters were exactly as they should be - fresh and clean. The highlights were the specials with some nice touches like the scallops with a chilli miso butter and the king prawns in a brioche bun with remoulade sauce.

The whole (undressed) crab was good value but it's an effort to eat - as it is covered in a hot butter sauce making it a messy proposition, if you're experienced at breaking down a whole crab its not too bad but even I couldn't get it done before the rest went cold.

Value wise the prices are about average for seafood - not too expensive, not cheap either. I'd say the lobster was perhaps priced a tad high compared to everything else but it will depend on season and demand.

I would add the bar had an excellent selection of drinks to accompany the food, some unique craft beers paired particularly well with the seafood. While the clamato in the bloody / virgin Mary is a great choice.

The disappointment here though was the service. It wasn't a particularly busy Saturday afternoon and there were 3 or 4 running front of house but there were times when no one was at the bar or even in the restaurant. We were asked for our order but needed a few minutes, 10mins later no one had even looked our way. One of the wait staff in particular looked like they did not want to be there, rolling eyes, making odd comments and just being a bit moody. However the rest of the staff were very friendly and nice, it was just difficult to get their attention in the...

We came here on Fri night and were extremely lucky to get a table as this venue is extremely popular and we didn’t book in advance. (Party of 2) We came here because of the great reputation it has for the seafood and in majority this is absolutely justified hence the 4 stars. We ordered creole mussels to share and then my partner ordered scallops as Main Course and I had lobster. The mussels and lobster were great, no issues whatsoever and very much to my taste however it seemed there was a mix up with my partners main as for a main course he received 3 x tiny Scallops for a price of £17.50. We only mentioned this at the end when we asked for the bill and the lady dealing with us was extremely understanding and helpful. She explained they had problems currently sourcing good quality Scallops and it was being addressed. She couldn’t have been nicer. She changed us only for the starter portion of mussels in the end and removed the charge for the fries. Although it was a shame for my partner to be served this portion, the lady (maybe manager) dealt with our problem perfectly. She also offered him something in compensation like a another course, wine, dessert but we didn’t take up the kind offer. Overall I would definitely recommend this pub, lovely friendly service and great quality food. Perfect management style to deal with an issue. We really appreciated your help and understanding. We would...