Why Come Here? World-class vegetarian cooking
For New Yorkers unfamiliar with Brighton, think of it as the Hamptons meets the Jersey Shore with a good helping of Brooklyn on top. There are fancy old Georgian homes, a tacky pier, clubs pumping electronic beats and vintage clothing shops all somehow effortlessly coexisting. And a rocky beach. Yeah, don’t come to England to go to the beach. But the thing I was naturally most excited about was the food. This is where the “Brooklyn” aspect shines through with lots of fantastic bakeries and vegetarian restaurants. Terre a Terre falls into the latter category and deserves Must Try Status for foodies, vegetarian or not.
Terre a Terre is situated in a sleek space on a pedestrianized street near the pier and with an awesome garden in back. They’ve been in business for twenty years and when you think of the garbage that served as most vegetarian food back then, you realize these guys were true pioneers. The menu has none of the “tofurkey” fake meat nonsense carnivores despise and I legitimately wanted an order of everything. Look at this menu and tell me you disagree. Fortunately they practically give you that option with their “terre a tapas plate” that’s such a steal for £12 per person you almost feel bad about dumping that tea in Boston Harbor. While it is fairly substantial, it needs to be supplemented with an order of their signature fries, mostly because you need to try them. More on that below. They also have a big selection of homemade jams, curries and vegan baked goods. If this place were in New York, you would easily be waiting at least two weeks for a table. Fortunately such waits do not exist in Brighton, so you have no excuse for not coming here if you’re in town.
The Terre a Tapas Plate 
Described as a “selection of miniature dishes from around the menu” you don’t quite know what you’ll get. But as I said, it’s impossible to go wrong here. I honestly can’t remember a lot of what we got, but there’s definitely some fried haloumi, garlic potatos with harissa, hoison tofu, seasame churros and sweet corn arepas in there. Then there’s a little cheese fondue pot to dip it in all in the middle, as God intended.
Smokey Scrunch Chips If you’re familiar with the Brits and their culinary terms, you know what they call “chips” are in fact fries. These guys are puffy and potatoey inside and a crisp exterior. They’re also dusted with a pleasing smokey spice and covered in an “avocado hash” that’s basically guacamole. Because everything is better covered in guacamole.
Terre a Terre
71 East Street
Brighton, UK
