I hadn’t planned on having my first Sunday lunch of the year in Brighton, or in the UK for that matter, writes Nick Mosley.
I had every intention to be on a cruise ship in the Caribbean but, due to circumstances in Venezuela, my flight was cancelled the day before, so it was a return to Hove for another couple of nights and some last minute dot com holiday planning. Incidentally, I’m now writing this whilst sipping on vodka martinis somewhere in the Med between Sicily and Malta, so life isn’t bad.
But back to Blighty and – as you’ve probably read in my weekly dining deals line-up – there are some banging bargains out there at the moment.
Undoubtedly the one that has most caught my eye is Nostos on Holland Road with their astounding 2 for 1 on main course roasts which means – if you dine with a companion until the end of January – then you get a full plate of your preferred meat with all the trimmings for around a tenner a head, and in a proper restaurant to boot.
Yes, you read that right.
So we bundled into an Uber and headed to Hove via a quick vino at Cases Wine and Cheese on Western Road before wandering over to Nostos. By sheer coincidence, Little Miss Greedy Guts was in the house. She’d read my recommendation the previous week, and never one to miss a bargain, she’d got her regular Sunday Lunch Club posse together, the trio of D, J and P. Now these guys are out most – if not every – Sunday lunchtime, so know perfect potatoes and gourmet gravy when they see it.
With seven of us around the table, we had the menu covered. My sister went for a hearty roast chicken leg with my partner ordering lamb shank, which is one of his new-found favourites as lamb isn’t the easiest meat to get hold of in the Netherlands. Thankfully, J wanted the beef with the rest of the Sunday Lunch Club going veggie. This left me with the roast pork, which – hooray – is my go-to.
As we waited for dishes to arrive, we enjoyed a rather jolly Greek wine – Karamitros Lady of the Lake. A crisp and elegant wine blended from two Hellenic grape varieties, to my palate it had notes of honey and stone fruit. Sunshine in a glass.
It was now getting on toward 2:30 pm so tummies were beginning to rumble as the procession of loaded dishes arrived at our table. There’s no faulting the plating – with joint first place on aesthetic going to the beef and lamb dishes with generous helpings of meat topping carefully stacked vegetables.
When it comes to Sunday roasts, everyone has their own opinion and, no, I don’t want to hear them.
From personal experience, my preference is not to have a dozen types of vegetables that undoubtedly won’t be cooked properly, so it was good to see Nostos ticked my box with a well-considered quartet of slightly al dente veg – savoy cabbage, carrot, parsnips, and sprouts – plus what Greedy Guts said were some of the best roast potatoes she’d ever eaten; beautifully soft, fluffy centres and crispy, slightly caramelised outers. And yes, Mother, I did for once eat my sprouts like a good boy.
I absolutely loved my hearty roast pork. More of a roulade than I expected, the meat was beautifully cooked with just enough fat to keep it moist. At the heart of the cut was a moreish plum jelly stuffing that really complemented not only the pork but also the vegetal taste of the accompaniments.
The crowning glory of the dish was the gravy – I have to say this was utterly delicious and I can still taste it when I close my eyes. Richly umami with perfect viscosity, it literally needs bottling and selling to the world.
The vegetarian and vegan option was a beetroot and mushroom Wellington. More of a self-contained pithivier rather than sliceable Wellington, feedback from the Sunday Lunch Club posse further along the table was mixed.
Firstly, Greedy Guts thought the pastry was a little undercooked, whilst D regarded the combination of beetroot and mushroom as rather particular and overwhelming. I didn’t taste the dish so will have to take their word for it, although a very valid point made by Mr D was that increasingly restaurants are combining their vegetarian and vegan option much to the annoyance of vegetarians who live for cheese. By no means is Nostos alone in doing this with their Sunday lunch, but I can easily understand why pastry would be lacking in richness with the absence of butter.
There did seem to be a bit of an issue with the consistency of temperature. Both mine and my sister’s plates were piping hot, whereas Ron’s lamb wasn’t, perhaps pointing to our dishes having spent a few minutes on a heated pass. Plates should always be pre-warmed in restaurants and I suspect from dining at Nostos numerous times before that it was a one-off oversight in the kitchen.
Overall, I have to say my choice of pork was exceptional. In fact, Greedy Guts said it’s the first time she’s ever seen me finish a full plate of food, so I’d say that’s high praise indeed. With two roasts for a mere £20 until the end of the month, it really is unbeatable value for this level of cooking and service.
Remember to call and book ahead for the deal though – it’s not available for walk-ins so you have been warned!
Nostos, 63a Holland Road, Hove BN3 1BA
01273 713 059
Dining and Cooking