Carne, Hove. Superb steaks and the 'best roast' in the city

Some of those well-turned out and canny Hoverians have already cottoned on to the rather super new venue in their midst and after only few months the tables are filling.

And it couldn’t be any more Hove if it tried, situated at the fun end of Church Road, not too far from George Street and on the site of an old Hove favourite, Orsino’s, actually.

Carne, Hove, to give it’s full name, is the latest venture from the redoubtable Phil Bartley, a brilliant Brighton chef and Brighton and Hove Independent contributor, who opened up with the minimum of fuss in February.

As the founder of the Great British Charcuterie what Phil doesn’t know about sustainable locally sourced produce can be written on the back of a chipolata.

He’s playing to his strengths at Carne, and as the name suggest it’s a meat-focused menu.

The grass-fed beef is sourced from Sussex producers such as Trenchmore Farm, as well as Highland Wagyu, in Scotland and there’s a dry-ageing cabinet on site, to take the steaks to another level.

We rocked up on a sunny Sunday afternoon and had meat very much in mind.

The venue looks good, nice and stylish with a waft of post-industrial, lots of wood and dark colours but plenty of big windows to keep things bright.

And first impressions were helped by the restaurant’s very comfortable well-padded chairs, style is good but style and comfort is even better.

There’s also a groovy looking cocktail area dispensing the standards and many more besides, thanks to the man behind the L’Atelier cocktail bars Steve Pineau, who Phil has worked so successfully with at Curds and Whey on Western Road.

But we were ready for action and chose and a window seat, so the passers by would also have something nice to look at.

Starting where I meant to go on, I ordered a Bloody Mary made with bone-marrow vodka, and my dining partner chose the Corpse Reviver No.2, a heady little mix of gin, Lillet Blanc and Cointreau, which first made her twitch and grimace a little, but did she indeed perk her up a bit, before she declared she felt a bit ‘tipsy’. A roller coaster of emotions in a small glass.

For starters your carnivorous reviewer chose a steak tartare in memory of Genghis Khan’s fearsome warriors, who, as legend has it, would slip some horse meat under their saddle and tuck into it after a hard day’s riding and rampaging.

Genghis’s boys might not have been quite so fearsome if they’d had a few plates of Carne’s excellent 50-day aged beef tartar, served with a confit yolk and sourdough.

The tender meat was perfect for this uncooked dish, which was shaped with pickles and sang after a little splash of Tabasco.

On the other side of the table was a bowl of almost indecently attractive bowl of monkfish ceviche, with grapefruit, a gently pickled shallot and dill.

Our visit took a few weeks to arrange and I’d spent and I’d spent an excessive amount of time thinking/obsessing about the steaks we’d chose.

During that time Carne launched a Sunday lunch menu, so it we decided on one Sunday lunch and one huge steak which we’d (supposedly) share.

My partially-revived lunch partner chose the former, a garlic and rosemary roast leg of South Down’s lamb, served with roast spuds, spring veg, cauliflower cheese, gravy and Yorkshire pud.

The thick slices of local lamb were tender and all accompanying trimmings, including the golden and crispy roasties, and sweet carrots, were plentiful and served in cast iron pots.

By now the lunch partner was fully revived and gushed that it was the best roast in Brighton and Hove, this wasn’t faint praise because she’s had more than a few over the years.

It was very very good, and other than a little disappointment over the rosemary- flecked Yorkshire, she insisted she’d be back in a trice because it was worth paying a little more than a Sunday pub lunch (although not that much more, £18 for a veggie option, £24 for beef sirloin) considering the quality of ingredients.

The additional order of 1000g Porterhouse steak wasn’t exactly erring on the side of sensible portions but it was a dish the restaurant was understandably keen to show off.

It’s a best of both world’s cut, which gives you both sirloin and fillet on either side of the T-bone.

Cooked on Carne’s Synergy Grill, an award-winning high-tech beast of a machine, the exterior of the steak was an umami blitzkrieg, and a culmination of technique, fire, rock salt and quality, aged meat.

The superbly seared bark gave way to the most insanely tender rare meat, which it terms of texture has more in common than delicate sashimi, than a traditional taste response to a chunk of steak.

It was divine. And although I also chose a perfectly good peppercorn sauce, the accoutrements largely went begging in favour of the perfectly grilled meat.

Our waiter had wisely helped us to chose a relatively full-bodied but balanced and not too obtrusive Séptima Obra Malbec 2021 to accompany the meaty odyssey.

Thankfully mid-way fears that we wouldn’t manage a final course were banished with a final flourish of sweet wine and deserts.

For me the coconut lime parfait and lime sorbet was refreshing and slightly lighter end to proceedings, for her the Carne coffee, mascarpone and rum tiramisu was another satisfying entry to a lifetime of puddings.

Carne is perfect for downtown Hove. A smart venue with a stylish vibe, superb steaks, cocktails and fine wine aplenty, and not a small plate in sight.

To find out more go to www.carne-hove.co.uk/