Monday 21 July 2014

Brighton Eats!


Brighton is one of my favourite places to visit in the UK. Not only is it a great seaside place but it is also fantastic for special diets. I doubt very much if anyone would go hungry in Brighton no matter what allergies or intolerance's you have. There is such a vast amount of restaurants, cafes and shops all with a huge array of different foods. I love picking up different treats to eat on the beach while watching the world go by.

Last weekend we got up early to make the 3.5 hour journey down there. We like to go at least once a year and if the weather is right it's like being abroad. Forecasts weren't great but our hotel was booked so there was no turning back. Luckily the thunder storms happened the night before so except for a little shower mid afternoon the weather was glorious.

I'd seen on twitter (@StreetDiner) that a small street food market takes place on a Friday & Saturday from 11am-3pm on Queens Road. I'd also noticed that some of the stalls catered for various diets. I decided to try Paella from Crocus (@CrocusPaella). Their sign stated that both the Veggie and Chicken Paellas were gluten free and the nice lady confirmed they were also dairy free. I had the small portion for £4 which was a generous size and filled me up. It was delicious. Really tasty and and chicken was very succulent. It was perfect and I really enjoyed it. 


Next stop was Infinity Foods. I visit the shop every time I go to Brighton as they have a great selection of free from foods. I like to get snacks from here to take to the beach. On this occasion I found the Ten Acre crisps (@10Acre) that people have been raving about, and for good reason. You don't often see dairy free cheese and onion crisps but this company has put an end to that. They are fantastic. Not only the flavour but also the type of crisp. I also picked up the chicken & hickory flavour. I also spotted a chocolate bar called Vego which is hazelnut chocolate with full hazelnuts. I am in love. I don't know how I've not tried one if these before. Amazing. Chunky, nutty, melt in the mouth Chocolate with crunchy hazelnuts mmmm. I popped a Seed & Bean Mint Choc bar in the basket too. I spotted their Smoked Garlic Vegan Mayonnaise on offer so I thought I'd try. I also had a snoop round the bakery and found a Raspberry & Almond GF DF muffin and GF DF Focaccia. Both were really nice. I did go back to the shop before leaving Brighton to get more crisps & Vego ;) 



After lunch and browsing round the shops we decided to pick up a bubble tea from Pearls and head down to the beach to relax. I've found my new flavour combo of Lychee fruit tea with Blueberry popping boba. I do love bubble tea :) We also stopped by a bar later on in the day for a nice Pimms & Lemonade. 


We planned to go to Pho Vietnamese restaurant (@PhoRestaurant) for our evening meal as it's one of my faves. Their menu has a huge amount of choice for Dairy, Egg & Gluten free. Their staff are always helpful and knowledgeable too. I normally have the Chicken Pho but I felt too warm to be eating a big bowl of steaming hot soup so I thought I'd try the Pho Xao wok fried rice noodles. I asked the server for them to be gluten free which wasn't a problem. We also ordered a side of the Cha gio crispy spring rolls which are made from rice paper. The server advised they'd be served with sweet chilli dip as the usual sauce wasn't gf. It showed that the server was thinking about ingredients. I loved the noodles but the vegetable spring rolls are still my ultimate favourite. Yum! I washed it all down with a lovely Phojito :) I wish I had a local Pho. 


As we'd gone to Pho pretty early we knew we could catch Boho Gelato (@bohogelato) before closing for some dessert. I love Boho Gelato and it's another place I always visit when in Brighton. They make amazing Dairy free Gelato. The server is always happy to point out which flavours are dairy free (they can vary day to day). I chose to have the Watermelon which was soooo nice. We also went the following day and I tried the cucumber & rose which was really really good. Nice and refreshing but creamy. Highly recommend if in the area. 


On our last day while visiting Infinity Foods (again) I picked up a few snacks to have for the journey home. I'd had a pretty good breakfast of grilled tomatoes, bacon and melon at the hotel so I didn't want a big lunch. I picked a falafel pack with a nice dressing and houmous which was tasty along with a nice elderflower green tea. We called at Cobham services on the way home where I found a pot of yummy Edamame to snack on from Cho Zen Noodle. 



All in all I had a fab weekend in Brighton and had some delicious food. I love Brighton lots and I hope that if you choose to visit you do too :) 




2 comments:

  1. I need to go back to Brighton, you picked up some of my favourites (Ten Acres, Daymer Tea) I also need to pick up a jar of Infinity Mayo as I really enjoyed that last time. I'm reading this at 8.22am but that doesn't stop me drooling over your Pho Vietnamese dinner :)

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  2. I am now a big fan of the mayo. It's yummy :) you should visit Pho if you haven't ever been as it's fab. They have branches around London too.

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