La Piazza Of Hove A Food Review

La Piazza Of Hove A Food Review

“ I can certainly see how La Piazza has such a great reputation. The food here is outstanding, with attention to detail that sets them apart.”


Family owned restaurant La Piazza is one establishment that have consistently delivered for us when it comes to  their Sunday Roast game, It is our number one choice for roast dinners in Brighton and Hove and we are frequent visitors most Sundays. Throughout lockdown I was a massive fan of the extremely popular midweek roast dinner Yorkshire wraps they were serving up from the makeshift serving area in the window. Yet it was heartbreaking to see what is usually such a busy and lively restaurant devoid of their happy customers. Now everything has opened up again we figured it high time we paid them a visit during the week to try out some dishes from their highly acclaimed menu.

Formerly Breeze Brasserie. The restaurant itself has been open for a few year now with no signs of wear and tear. Beautifully designed. Spacious, with lovely high ceilings and some grandiose artwork in the form of a giant clock on one side and a huge face on the other. The contemporary industrial style décor is given warmth by the dimly lit hanging bulbs, Italian style arches draped in vines and a solid oak floor and ceiling give it an authentic continental feel.

We arrive for lunch at around 2pm on a Monday and the restaurant is busy for what is a traditionally quiet period for restaurants. No Wonder, since thanks to its friendly service, great atmosphere and fabulous food, La Piazza has not only been rated as number three in the Brighton Eating Guide, the restaurant has also consistently receives a wealth of rave reviews on Trip Adviser and Facebook. I recognise some faces from our Sunday visits.  It  certainly seems La Piazza has quite the fan-base.

Our host Max shows us to our seats next to the huge bay windows overlooking beautiful Palmeira Square, and we comment on how lovely it is to see customers back enjoying his restaurant. Like many eateries in our wonderful city it has been a long and painful lockdown for La Piazza, and he is relieved to have the restaurant back to its former glory.

The mouth watering Italian inspired menu itself was nicely designed and consisted of starters and light meals, mains consisting of pizzas pastas and risotto’s, a la carte, and from the grill, and a selection of sides. Everything on the menu is home made on site. The drinks menu is impressive, with a lovely select wine and champagne list, a separate cocktail menu featuring reasonably priced classics, and some mocktails for the designated drivers, as well as a nice selection of draft and bottled beers and spirits.

I plump for Chicken Liver Pate to start, which is just heavenly. Silky smooth and decadently creamy with a rich but not too overpowering flavour. Caramelised onions serve to further bring out the essence of the pate and the toasted bread is warm, crisp and plentiful with a nice flavour of its own. My dining companion chooses a La Piazza classic, Prawn and Avocado Salad which is elegantly presented  and drizzled with a zingy mango chilli and coriander dressing which does well not to overwhelm the plump and juicy prawns.

On Max’s recommendation, for my main I go for one of their most popular dishes, Salmon Fish Stew, and my companion, Salmon and Asparagus Risotto. Both utterly delightful. The fish stew generously packed with perfectly cooked veg and seafood, including fresh king prawns, mussels and giant chunks of cod and salmon that flaked at the mere touch of my fork. The sauce, outstanding, I loved mopping it all up with the accompanying light and fluffy flat bread, perfect for soaking up every last bit of it. The risotto was equally as impressive, smooth and effete, packed with more delicious chunks of salmon and topped off with giant parmasan slices that slowly melt into the rice.

Now barely able to move, we felt it may be a little greedy to have pudding too, though we could not resist sharing a slice of homemade cheesecake before heading off, and I am glad we did as we were sent to dessert heaven. Possibly the finest cheesecake I have tasted, creamy yet light and fluffy with a wonderful subtle sweetness further enhanced by lashings of fresh fruit and compote.

I can certainly see how La Piazza has such a great reputation. The food here is outstanding, with attention to detail that sets them apart. The service we received was second to none. All of their produce is locally sourced from Sussex suppliers, and the high quality of the ingredients really is apparent in all their dishes. I have yet to find a Sunday Roast as delicious as La Piazza’s so I already had high expectations for our midweek visit, they were well and truly surpassed. An absolute must visit.

Tony Shattell

La Piazza: 79/80 Western Rd, Hove BN3 2JQ

Phone: 01273 772777