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The Set restaurant at the hotel, The Artist Residence Brighton, has recently redeveloped a new menu, so we at Vada Magazine decided to head down to the British south coast to see what visitors and locals should look out for.
The Set at The Artist Residence
The Set was founded by restauranteurs from The Gingerman, and The Ginger Pig and is now head up by Dan Kenny, so before we arrived we expected plenty of pig on the menu. Bacon and pig lovers should already be enticed. This new all-day dining menu is tapas-style, counterbalanced by aromatic and cleansing cocktails.
On the ground floor of The Artist Residence Brighton, the space of The Set is not vast given it is in a converted townhouse on Regency Square; however the front section directly overlooks the British Airways i360 Airways attraction. The restaurant is about a 15 minute walk from the station, and mere moments from the sea front.
The Menu
The all-day tapas style menu has a selection of reasonably priced hot and cold plates to enjoy together. We shared a selection of Sourdough and whipped butter (£2.50), Wild fennel saucisson with kimchi dip (£4), Crab croquette with squid ink taramasalata (£4), Suckling pig and cheese croquette (£4), Focaccia with bacon jam and sage (£4), Squid bun with roast garlic aioli (£5), Pig cheek with hummus (£5) and a Rhubarb cheesecake (£4) for a sweet finish.
Clearly the Gingerpig influence remains with bacon, saucisson and other pig plates on the menu – not that there are any complaints about this from us at Vada. Our highlights were the suckling pig and cheese croquette and pig cheek with hummus. And for those needing a dessert, topped with the seaside treat, cinder-toffee, the rhubarb cheese cake is a cheeky choice.
Our main observation however was that all the tasty items were the high-calorie and fried options. Which is where we found the cocktail menu comes into its own. There are a couple of aperitif, palate cleansing and digestif options, all containing aromatics and citrus to cut through the deep-fried flavour. Chief amongst these is the Fresh Colins (£7.50) made with cucumber, fill, citrus and gin. A selection of draught and bottled craft beers is offered, alongside wines, spirits and soft drinks.
Overall thoughts
The setting for The Set, with a summer view towards the beach and the new i360 attraction makes this an ideal venue for a lunch date for a gay couple visiting Brighton, or as a new venue for a local couple to try. We recommend requesting a window seat.
The menu, whilst heavy is date-worthy, curated from sharing pork plates flavoured in various ways (from being deep fried to kimchi dip, or being completed with a light hummus). The other dish of note is the Squid in charcoal bun, although we suggest that this is not one to share. We found 8 tapas plates sufficient for two people, our selection cost £32.50 plus drinks.
The Set Restaurant is open everyday, and is located in The Artist Residence Hotel 33-34 Regency Square, Brighton, BN1 2GG.
For more information or to book visit thesetrestaurant.com.
