Arcobaleno in Brighton offers brilliant brunches in a chilled courtyard garden
and live on Freeview channel 276
LGBTQ+ café bar Arcobaleno has been open for less than a year, on the site of the Old Bank steak house on St George’s Road and is building on its growing popularity with a new brunch menu.
It’s a unique offering to the neighbourhood – a Maltese-Mediterranean-inspired menu created by Luciana - owner and founder of Arcobaleno, and her son Nick.
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Hide AdThe ingredients are locally-sourced, the bread is freshly baked, and an ABBA-themed cocktail which hints at the activities and fun to be had at Arcobaleno when the sun goes down…
When we visited on a bank holiday Saturday afternoon the old currant bun was very making its presence felt, so we passed straight through the airy bar and into a sun-trap courtyard garden.
There was plenty shade to be had but your reviewer likes to bask in the sun like a lizard, so we made a bee/gecko-line for an uncovered table.
A cocktail seemed the most sensible to do in the blazing sun (accompanied by plenty of glasses of water of course) and the choices were many.
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Hide AdThe drinks menu cover features pictures of a sun and a glitter ball which seems to cover two priorities at Arcobaleno.
Your scribe’s taste in cocktails is similar to his approach to skin-care in the sun and is distinctly ‘70s.
I like them big and blousy, long and creamy, and ideally with a liberal splosh of coconut.
As luck would have it the Take A Chance On Me, was all of the above, and compromises Cazcabel Coconut Tequila, lime juice, Coco Re’al Coconut purée, coconut syrup, Velvet
Falernum, and strawberry syrup.
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Hide AdThe resulting pink creation was a sweet boozy nectar with a cloudy, frothy head.
My brunch-time companion’s taste are a tad more sophisticated, and generally leads to smaller vessels and fewer fripperies.
Her glass of Does Your Mother Know? was a more adult affair featuring Mezcal and Triple Sec, offset by citrus, bitters and blood orange syrup.
Brunch for me was a superbly satisfying, and very substantial, plate of crispy belly pork.
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Hide AdGolden, dry-brined, rolled, pan-fried piggy perfection on a big old chunk of black pudding rosti, topped with a fried egg, and a crunchy chilli oil, with a salad of rocket and sweet pickles.
An all-round ace dish with a good combination of textures, and a feisty, but not too aggressive, chilli edge.
My brunch buddy’s eggs in purgatory was a nice looking Mediterranean favourite of eggs poached in a slightly spiced tomato sauce, flanked by big chunks of melting creamy feta.
Similar to the African dish Shakshuka, it was served in the skillet it was cooked in and with a big home-baked slice of focaccia, made Shipton Mill organic flour and extra-virgin olive oil, and ideal for mopping-up duty.
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Hide AdA number of hefty fry ups came past our table, and lodged themselves in my mind as future breakfast/brunch, and the Timpana, a Maltese pasta pie of beef and pork in tomato sauce and Parmesan, wrapped in puff pastry, sounds worth a return trip.
We shared a bowl of Italian ice cream made with a bevy of surprise little treats – who doesn’t want to find pistachios, Lotus biscoff and chocolate chunks in their pudding?
Last up, after a couple of lovely hours in the sun, with a sweet nip of Bajtra, a Maltese liqueur made from local prickly pears.
A glance at the Arcobaleno website reveals all sorts of live night-time entertainment, this month alone includes jazz, blues, country music open nights, Queer I am Podcast Live, and Dick Day's Hairy Fairies (an evening of fan-stache-tic drag).
The venue offers an awful lot and looks as if it’ll become a Kemptown favourite, daytime and night.