The Ginger Pig Public House

In Hove, a “nice airy restaurant/pub with an interesting menu and lots of good specials” (including, as you might hope, “good pork dishes”), and which seems “even better now you can book”; it inspires almost as much feedback as Gingerman (same owner). read more

Harden's's profile     Other reviews by Harden's     Harden's likes    

I'd heard about a Gastro-Pub called The Ginger Pig located in Hove. Not realising it was over two miles away, we walked down the seemingly endless seafront and after an epic journey, on top of walking around all day from 8-30am we practically collapsed through the door when we arrived. But arrive we did - and wow. What a treat!

The interior decor is very nice, and the food is seriously good. Sadly I couldn't get any photos inside, as my camera phone takes awful pictures under 'intimate' lighting conditions, and turning the flash on appeared just a tad too obtrusive dazzling other diners as they ate. I'd be very interested to know how my fellow bloggers deal with this.

An initial nice touch was the carafe of tap water already on the table, to my mind - water is water and the age of diners being fleeced for some ludicrously overpackaged, alpine mountain spring water; that's been hand strained by virgins and then; flown 2000 miles to your table but, is inderscernible to the free stuff that comes out of your tap is so over dahlings.

Foregoing starters (hungry but not that hungry after Bills Breakfast) I ordered a Rabbit, Smoked Bacon and Mushroom Suet Pudding - it came with Champ, and I ordered some buttered leeks on the side.It was quite possibly, one of the best mains I ever eaten anywhere. The suet crust was gorgeous and thin, it was crammed with tender pieces of rabbit and bacon - sublime. I ate the lot and just about stopped short of licking the plate.

My girlfriend ordered the Chickpea and sweet potato curry, and she said it was also very good. (She refused to eat Rabbit, a much loved childhood pet and traumatic memories of Watership Down have seen to that.)

On to Desert - and I ordered from the specials board, Chocolate tart with quince sorbet. My Girlfriend ordered Peanut butter parfait with Praline and Marshmallows. Now, my desert was competent - good even. My girlfriends desert was amazing. Ice cold, smooth peanut butter parfait, with a square of warm spongy marshmallow and a thin slab of crunchy praline. The taste and texture combination was amazing. My partner declared it the best desert she'd ever tasted, and I'm inclined to agree - its up there.

Altogether a really great gastro-pub, intimate, warm and buzzing - fantastic food with an emphasis on local produce. Price wise - not bad at all, my main was £10.50 which is dirt cheap, especially considering it was possibly the best main course Ive eaten anywhere!

So, my gastro pre-planning prevailed once again....into the night we departed Brighton, and drove back home to Essex, smug, satisfied and with me smiling and belching contentedly in my partners direction with the question literally hanging in the air "Does that smell like 'Thumper' to you?"

Essex's profile     Other reviews by Essex     Essex likes    

The Ginger Pig was recommended to us by some local Brighton-ians (?) at dinner the previous night. They were pretty confident about it, so despite having a rather large full english breakfast at the lovely B & B we stayed at, we decided to go there for lunch before heading back to London.

The Ginger Pig is at the other end of Brighton from the Brighton Pier and is just past the lovely coloured huts, well a bit further past than you might think. We walked back and forth and back and forth, thinking we must have missed the street. So if you're going, keep going, it's further than you think.

I started with a glass of local Sussex English sparkling wine called Bloomsbury, which was excellent, reminiscent of champagne with a yeasty taste and plenty of bubbles. It wasn't cheap (6.50) a glass, but it was very good and it was great to see an English sparkling wine by the glass on the menu. Kyle had a Sussex Best ale, which he also enjoyed.

The Ginger Pig is classic gastro-pub. It is all very wooden and natural looking (although amazingly the chairs match, which is unusual for gastropubs) and has a pretty cool rotating door. There is a specific restaurant section, but as we got there so early, we had sat on the pub side. They were happy for us to stay there for lunch though, and as soon as we said we wanted to order, brought menus, bread (really good sourdough) and olive oil and set the table for lunch.

The menu was daily and seasonal and there was also quite a few specials on the blackboard in the restaurant (a bit of a pain when seated in the pub section).

We started with a chicken liver pate with pear chutney and toasted sourdough to share. The pate was rich and creamy and a lovely colour pink in the middle. The pear chutney cut through the richness perfectly, being sweet with just a hint of mustard at the back of the throat. It was a pretty significant serving of pate, but could have done with more toast and chutney. I love chicken liver pate anyway, but this was delicious.

We were still so full from breakfast, that we decided to order starters as mains as well. I chose the crayfish risotto, which was also quite a reasonable size portion. The risotto was so creamy, it was almost as if they had added cream or creme fraiche to it! The crayfish taste was subtle but very tasty. I really enjoyed this. Kyle chose from the specials board what was described as a salad of suckling pork, fennel, apple and black pudding. I think this description really undersold this dish as it was not really a salad. It was, however, a brilliant combination of ingredients - meltingly tender pork, crumbly, well-seasoned black pudding with an uncredited piece of roasted fig and the 'salad' part of fennel and apple. Really good and it looked beautiful on the plate. I also couldn't resist trying some of the dripping chips, which were excellent - thick, super-crispy coating and fluffy on the inside.

Despite being insanely full already, I had already spotted the rhubarb and custard tart on the dessert menu. I have already explained my fascination with rhubarb so I couldn't really pass this by. As it turns out, the rhubarb was a barely noticeable thin layer underneath the heavenly light custard filling. The pastry was a little soggy, but that just made it easier to leave behind. The filling was worth it.

We didn't actually see a full wine list, but just ordered a glass of Argentian Malbec-Shiraz from the blackboard. I would also rave about the service, which was friendly and efficient. Nothing was too much trouble and they had no problem with us ordering starters as mains.

All in all, this was a brilliant restaurant. For the quality of the food, it was very well-priced. We may have only had starters, but it was quite a lot of food in the end and cost less than 30 pounds including a decent tip (there was no service charge). Highly, highly recommended. So even though the previous night's dinner was pretty average, it was worth it to have had a recommendation to The Ginger Pig.

Food - 9.5/10
Service - 9.5/10
Wine - 8.5/10
Ambience - 8/10
Overall - 9.5/10

An's profile     Other reviews by An     An likes    

Initially my aunt introduced me to the restaurant. On my first visit, i decided to try the 8oz ribeye with handcut chips and veg, which did not dissapoint in the slightest. The food is beautifully cooked to perfection, plus the staff appear very attentive, in catering and adhering to or fufilling your every need. In all instants, it would be correct to state that it is a typical gastropub or 'pubgrub' public house establishment. The decor is neutral and very appealing, as is the extensive dessert menu on offer. I would however recommend the cheese selection with a designated port, as they compliment one another most tastefully. A somewhat eclectic vibe, worth a visit.

Lucy's profile     Other reviews by Lucy     Lucy likes    

I like mash potatoes, I like black pudding, never thought about mixing the two. The Ginger Pig does things like this. And if mash can be the best bit of a meal which included goat’s cheese, salt beef, poussin, roast beef, then you’re onto a winner. Of course the menu changes regularly, but I get the feeling the staff don’t. It’s really nice and for once to be served by staff who know what they are doing, and do it professionally. After a glass or two, my volume control tends to go, and I also have a propensity to eavesdrop. But the seating arrangements (not to squashed, not miles apart), ambience, careful not-interfering attendance of the waiting staff, meant I was only really concentrating on my food and dining companion. Only one complaint, the bar at the front of the house, has got the feel of a deserted Travelodge, I’m sure it even had the same sickly pastel coloured armchairs. We nearly stayed on for a drink, we didn’t.

Gavin's profile     Other reviews by Gavin     Gavin likes