Apiary is what I’d call a bit of a hidden gem of the city’s food and drink scene, writes Nick Mosley.
Standing proudly at the top of Norfolk Square, the facade of this all-day dining and drinking venue is unassuming but behind the door there is a veritable cornucopia of utterly bee-licious culinary and cocktail creativity with honey at its heart.
I visited with a Brighton tourism colleague for Friday brunch so not only had the opportunity to sample the menu but also had a good chinwag with owners Alistair and Noemi Bell who are without doubt two of the most passionate hospitality business owners I’ve met for a long time in the city.
My eye was immediately drawn to the honey inspired cocktail menu, in no small part because I knew the guys had been awarded ‘Best New Venue’ at the recent Brighton Bar Awards.
As a Mezcal obsessive, I opted for a smokey twist on a margarita with Sussex honey and cedar and vetiver liqueur. It was a very impressively crafted short drink served over a crystal clear rock of ice… and so good I had another.
“Winning the award after only six months of being open was a bit of a surprise to be honest,” said Alistair. “Especially given the calibre of the other places we were up against – the new Coal Shed, Alphabet and Voya. That said, we are really proud of our drink offering, and if people like it enough to vote for us and we come away as winner, then happy days”.
The menu is a bit of a mixed bag of breakfast and brunch dishes, small plates and an evening set tasting menu, all with an element of honey. I asked Alistair if there were challenges to incorporate the product into each and every dish and drink without clear reason.
“There are a few considerations that we thought about a lot when putting together the food menu,” said Alistair.
“Firstly, we were very conscious of not simply drizzling honey on a dish for the sake of it. The honey had to be an element that contributed positively to the dish”.
“Taking the Black Tiger Prawns dish as an example, we could have left the dish as it was but by tasting and comparing certain honeys with the dish we found one that really worked and it enhanced the dish as a whole”.
At that juncture a plate of the aforementioned juicy prawns landed on our table, beautifully plated and drizzled with a spicy sauce; the leatherwood honey adding a delicious depth to the dish.
The roasted hispi cabbage on a purée of nutty cannellini beans and miso with honey raisins did exactly what it said on the tin, however my highlight was undoubtably the smoked salmon. Slithers of oaky salmon off-set with chunks of sweet fresh orange and rounds of shallot with a sprinkling of chilli and crispy capers. Now in all my years of munching, I don’t think I’ve ever had deep fried capers before but they were a revelation and have become a firm addition to my culinary repertoire.
Alistair told me that its not just honey that is included in their dishes.
“We also wanted to incorporate other bee related products into the menu such as bee pollen and also mead. As this was new territory for both ourselves and our kitchen team, some initial testing was needed to work out how best to use the products and then how best to incorporate them into a dish. As a result we ended up with Bee Pollen Ice Cream, a Mead Mustard Dressing and Sussex honey Gremolata”.
The majority of the honey on the menu comes from Alistair and Noemi’s own hives in Peacehaven however as the supply is finite they also work with other Sussex beekeepers. Some of their unique flavoured honey come from further afield: heather honey from Scotland, acacia honey from Hungary, orange blossom honey from Spain and leatherwood honey from Tasmania.
Provenance is hugely important to the business so they buy from local businesses wherever possible including BNFS, Curing Rebels and Flour Pot Bakery.
“On the drinks front, just about all of our products are either organic, biodynamic, b-corp or carbon neutral/negative,” said Alistair. “Our extensive mead selection is 95% from the UK, and each and every one of those producers support beekeepers with either their own beekeeping operation or by purchasing honey from professional beekeepers”.
With Christmas just around the corner, Apiary have a selection of honey-inspired gifts including candles, cosmetics and meads. On New Year’s Eve they are offering a six course tasting menu for a very reasonable £50 per person. Meanwhile January will see a Dry January cocktail menu, which if the boozy margarita I sampled is anything to go by, will be a well-crafted taste sensation.
Alistair and Neomi’s vision for a meaningful hospitality business with a focus on sustainability and quality is impressive. Apiary is a unique addition to Brighton’s dining and drinking scene. I’d highly recommend you pop in and ‘give bees a chance’.
Apiary, 50 Norfolk Square, Brighton BN1 2PA
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