The Salt Room Brighton, a tasting menu

Who doesn't love a good Instagram competition? I often enter them not only for the chance to win but also to help promote Brighton businesses and other bloggers, and (FINALLY) I won. I was lucky enough to win a £100 voucher for two people to try the new Salt Room spring menu, specifically to try their 5-course tasting menu, so as the other fish lover in the family, mum and I headed down for a very sunny lunch date. 

Starters

For the first course, we had one of their starter options named Octopus. 

A dish of Octopus, white beans, bacon, seaweed and gremolata and it was delicious. The octopus was beautifully soft without the rubbery-ness you can often have. I loved the crunch of the spring onion and the gremolata sauce matched it all beautifully.

The second course was a monkfish dish. Usually served with almonds, grapes and sherry vinegar. I tend to steer away from a combination of fruit and savoury but I loved the sweetness of the grape with the sharp vinegar and the delicate monkfish. 

We had a different version due to my mum's nut allergy (which did take more than one attempt as it originally came out with the almonds) so had the croutons which added the crunch needed.

Mains 

For the main courses, we had one fish and one meat main. 

For the fish course, we had the Sussex stone bass which was served with kelp, roast onion, smoked garlic and preserved lemon. I loved the stone bass with the crispy skin and both of the sauces alongside were delicious. I wasn't a big fan of the onion but the crispy topping was a great additional texture. 

For the second main, and if I'm honest the point I started to get a bit too full, we had a lamb dish. It came alongside black garlic, basil, courgette and anchovy. My highlight on this course was definitely the pastry which was stuffed with a great mixture of meat and crunch. The courgette was a nice vegetable option and the sauces alongside were delicious; for me, the meat was a bit rich after all of the other courses being so delicate but a great option for non-fish eaters. 

Dessert

The dessert option for the tasting experience is normally a warm chocolate mousse which is served with a praline mousse, confit orange and a tonka bean ice cream. Again because of both mine and my mum's allergies the kitchen was kind enough to create another dessert for us instead. A take on a profiterole with a chocolate pastry, chocolate sauce and ice cream inside. 

A chocolate-heavy end to a delicious meal, mum and I really enjoyed it but struggled to finish it. 

Allergies

For allergies, it was a meal of two halves. The kitchen was very accommodating at making new dishes and altered versions for most courses throughout the experience. However, there was a dish brought out with almonds after we specified the allergy. We also chose to order cocktails (as an extra treat) and one came out filled with almonds. My main issue with that is the lack of transparency on the cocktail menu and it was just by chance that I spotted the almond on top before my mum began to drink!

Did you see my last post? I wrote up my thoughts on 
Brighton's Best; Top 20 restaurants 2019