Maré by Rafael Cagali

Da Terra chef Rafael Cagali has brought his acclaimed and distinctive cooking to the south coast with Maré. Opened in 2025, the Hove restaurant marks the chef's first venture outside London and has already attracted a Michelin star - the first awarded in the city of Brighton and Hove in around half a century.

Positioned somewhere between the hyper-creative tasting menus of Da Terra and the more relaxed neighbourhood style of Elis - Cagali's restaurants within Bethnal Green's Town Hall hotel - the kitchen is run day-to-day by former Da Terra sous chef Ewan Waller, with front-of-house led by Charlie Lee, Cagali's long-time partner and collaborator, alongside former Ynyshir and Restaurant Story team member Jake Garstang.

The restaurant takes its name from the Italian word for tide, a nod to both its coastal location and the Italian-Brazilian influences that run through the menu. Cooking is designed for sharing and moves comfortably between refined snacks, elegant small plates and larger centrepiece dishes. Examples include West Mersea fried oyster with hot sauce emulsion and pickled onions; native lobster claw tartlet with ginger and N25 caviar; aged sea bass crudo with tomato and ajo blanco; and lobster rice finished with ox tongue. Larger-format dishes such as BBQ brill with clams and pil pil or Freedown Hills picanha with chimichurri underline the restaurant's more relaxed, convivial style.

The drinks programme is overseen by Da Terra sommelier Maria Boumpa and mirrors the restaurant's positioning: polished but approachable. The concise wine list places the emphasis on premium English still and sparkling wines while also offering more spendy bottles aimed at destination diners. Maré is a restaurant that feels ambitious without becoming overly formal - a balance that has helped cement it as a major addition to the seaside city's increasingly serious dining scene.