The sun has finally arrived in Brighton, and your bird is on the wing, breathing in the smell of summer. The North Laine on a hot afternoon is every gull’s dream; shoppers from out of town just can’t keep their eyes on their ice creams as the delights of Gardner Street distract just long enough for a quick dive at a double scoop of Gelato Gusto. And what joy as they head up to the rooftop bar of Trading Post for a glass of Prosecco with a little nibble on the side. 

For the more discerning bird, it’s over to join the arty types flocking to Voya, a twice monthly pop up popular after a spot of culture at 35 North Gallery next door. Your bird has found a delightfully eclectic mix of wonton and birria, masala and habanero on the menu, with very few pickings after hours, such is the appetite of the cool crowd soaking up the vinyl and negronis. Even the cocktail straws had been sucked clean from the basho margarita, an oolong green tea tequila, lime, banana that your gull had her beady eye on. 

Hopping on a thermal, she breezed over to Blue Man, the Algerian café which has perched in Kemptown for the last 25 years, but has landed in Gloucester Road, replacing Neighbourhood with its delicious lamb sausages, vegan spiced aubergine stew and rosemary fries. With tables on the terrace shared with La Choza, it’s promising to be a summer of rich pickings for the gulls in Brighton’s coolest quarter.

Hovering over Jubilee Square has always been a delight for a bird of taste, with aromas of cardamon and cumin floating up from the Chilli Pickle kitchen into a summer evening sky. But news that the friendly family who’ve got a thing for pets and always save a couple of naans for the young gulls hanging out by the bins after hours, are moving on after 14 years on the MyHotel site, has hit the bird world hard. A flock of seagulls is already scouting for a new location for the beloved 115-seater which has appeared in Restaurant Magazine’s top 100 places to eat in the UK, and only this spring scooped a place yet again in Brighton Best’s Top 30. 

Gliding over to the beach for a spot of evening jazz at Drifter, your gull spots hyperlocal chef, Isaac Bartlett-Copeland setting up at East Street Tap. It seems he has reinvented himself yet again as a hot dog man. The once fine dining genius behind Isaac At who sourced every ingredient, including wines and soft drinks, from within 40 miles, went on to collaborate with fellow chef, Dave Marrow on Embers in The Lanes to much acclaim, not least among the peckish gull gang.   Now, he’s off to the pub to serve hot dogs – but not any old hot dog; keeping his commitment to sourcing locally, his pork will come from the pigs at West Sussex’s Calcot Farm where this bird has witnessed them larking around in open fields, happily playing with their siblings and pals until their time comes. Expect smoked pork dog with chunky ketchup, and even a serving of Ritz crackers and sage with stilton in the soon to be infamous Hugh Grant dog.