6 days Ago
Lazy boys and lazy girls love a bit of a brunch. As a lifetime late-weekend riser, the concept has always appealed. More power to the park runners and those who like a swim in the cold and murky Brighton briny.
But I'll stick to a nice lay-in and a lunch-brekkie hybrid when I eventually shift my booty out of bed. Three o'clock seemed like a fairly civilised time to take up the invitation of the Golden Lion Group to try out the drinks and food at the recently reopened Tapestry bar in First Avenue, It's rapidly approaching its first birthday but of late was forced to shut up shop for a while, following an electrical fire. Fortunately, the doors are open again and the natty-looking venue is none-the-worse for the experience and has welcomed back its savvy Hove regulars.
The Golden Lion Group runs eight pubs across the city including the Cricketers in The Lanes, Hove Place, and the evergreen Ladies Mile in Patcham, but Tapestry is one of the more stylish beasts among the pride. Carefully selected modern art hangs on thoroughly on-trend dark green walls, and there's plenty of plush velvet and leather upholstery. A striking painting of Nina Simone surveys the warmly-lit interior of a well-planned and hugely inviting space.
I started off the afternoon off with a spicy margarita. Increasingly we seem to be living in a Spicy Marg world and I'm not one to rock the boat. I'd sheepishly suggested I couldn't cope with too spicy a drink but my idea of not too spicy didn't correspond with our host Michael's idea of not too spicy.
But I battled through the spicy rim (story of my life etc) and the zesty tequila cocktail banished any residual non-caffeinated Saturday sluggishness. A 'lively' group of ladies who were a long long way off sluggish, had presumably just come to the end of bottomless brunch, and before heading off into the bright spring afternoon, they made their presence felt and a made a few preliminary moves to the sounds of Brown Eyed Girl It was a lot quieter in their wake and as I waited for my brunch partner to arrive I enjoyed the aural comfort of bittersweet 70s disco (Young Hearts Run Free) and the not-to-be-sniffed-at physical comfort of a sofa which gave perfect lumbar support to my-wonky-before-its-time back. My brunch bud turned up soon enough and got busy with a refreshing watermelon margarita, i stayed on the spicy path with a Bloody Mary, which, mercifully, wasn't quite as brutal as its Mexican-grog based predecessor.
But, try as we might, we can't live entirely well-made fashionable cocktails. Luckily the food at Tapestry was as well made as the soft furnishings. The menu of small plates, Sunday roasts and brunch creations is overseen by Phil Bartley, the food guru for the entire Golden Lion Group, and as a result is a sound bet.
They take some pride in calling it a "grown-up" bar, and if that's what grown up is, I'm more than with that and will have another margarita. I went against type and ordered Tapestry's eggs royale, perfectly poached golden yolkers wih smoked salmon, atop a sourdough muffin heaving under the sheer weight of silky Hollandaise sauce. My chum chose the slightly less refined option of fried chicken waffles, drenched in maple syrup, and bacon so crispy it could balance across the whole indulgent edifice.
I cast more than a few envious glances and scavenged a good chunk of it' A sharing pudding platter was one of the smartest choices I've made in this relatively new year, generous slabs of rich choc brownie, sticky toffee pub and salted caramel doughnuts, with ice cream and assorted nuts and choccy sauces. We had one more for the road (and a bus back to Portslade), an espresso martini for me and a far far spicier spicy marg for her. We'd sipped and munched a few hours away without breaking a sweat (spicy chilli-flake encrusted rim excepted) in this swish but very comfortable and welcoming spot.
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