L'Eglise is a French restaurant on Church Road in Hove. It'd been a long time since we'd been there so my husband suggested it as a nice way to start the weekend! How could I refuse?
L'Eglise has very comfortable, relaxed environment and the staff there is always welcoming. We usually see at least one of the owners when we're there, and it's great to see their commitment to the restaurant. The bread on the table was a delicious sourdough (and actually sour enough!) and gave us some extra bread for our starters. I went for the home-smoked mackerel rillette with beetroot compote.
I love mackerel in any form but the mild smokiness of the rillette went well with the earthy beetroot. And as I mentioned before, they used more of the sourdough bread which added a nice mild tang.
My husband went with the pate maison, which was actually more like a terrine.
The pate was quite firm but wonderfully savory, and it went well with the apricot compote.
For our main course we both couldn't resist the braised beef cheek with baby onions (although we were briefly tempted by the cote de beouf for two on the specials menu).
I was happy to see that it came with roasted sweet potatoes rather than the more predictable mash--they worked especially well with the intense flavor of the jus. The beef cheek was wrapped in spring onion and then bacon (anything with bacon is a good thing!) and they really added to the tastiness of the dish. Below you can see the beef cheek hiding inside, which was super tender. Delicious!
We decided to take a deep breath and go for dessert. My husband had the cheeseboard, where you were given the choice of 4 cheeses from an amazing list of 8 (you can also opt to try all of them)! All were lovely (sorry, I didn't get a good picture) but my favorite was the tete de moine - such a distinct flavor. Already thinking of when I can head to Le Cave au Fromage to see if they have some.....
I went for the healthy option--sorbet. L'Eglise offers a selection of homemade ice creams and sorbets (3 scoops in whatever flavor combination that you'd like), and I decided on the mango and raspberry.
The raspberry was very good but the mango sorbet was the star. So good, it was almost like eating fresh mango, and the texture was surprisingly creamy. I have a feeling I'll be craving it on a hot summer day (if we ever get one again)!
The total bill (which included sparkling water and 3 glasses of wine) came to £85. A bit more than for everyday but perfect for a special occasion, and the delicious food and good service made it well worth the money.
If you want quality food just a short trip away from the potential madness of Brighton, L'Eglise is definitely worth the trip!
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