Your intrepid gull is back from her spot of winter sun to fly high and sniff the latest flavours rising from the streets of her hometown. 

Gliding through Hove’s Church Road, the aroma of short rib with Mayan red chocolate and salsa criolla wafting from El Bolillo takes her straight back to the taquerias of Mexico City, the first stop on her winter break. Perching on the back fence to get a bird’s eye view of the kitchens, she spots none other than chef Greg Clarke searing some prawns in pimiento salsa, yuzu, sesame and sorrel. 

She immediately recognises his Michelin-starred hacks from his stellar work at Restaurant Tom Aikens, Midsummer House and The Ledbury. El Bolillo is his new venture with mate, Matty Salvetti, and has filled the boots of Hove’s much loved Mexican, Los Amigos where generations of gulls have tucked into tacos for 27 years until it closed in 2017. It was, according to the word on the wing, where the son of Mexico’s president once dined. Pecking at a large slice of tres leches flan with tepache caramel, lacto raspberries and herbs handily left by the compost, your gull suggests that a Michelin star may finally soon shine on Hove.

Catching a thermal on the seafront back to Brighton, your gull checks out the latest on the poor old i360 which went into administration last year, and finds plans being drawn up by big bar business, Nightcap. The owners, a Kemptown couple who starred in TV show The Dragon’s Den, have scooped it up into their portfolio of London bars, and will apparently share 1% of future revenues with Brighton and Hove City Council. 

Following the unmistakable aroma of Sussex Wagyu, your gull glides down the beach to Kings Road where Pearly Cow, the new in-house restaurant at GuestHouse, led by the Guest brothers, Tristan, James and Tom, has brought its locally sourced policy to Brighton from York and Margate.  Popping round the back, your gull eyes up a delicious choice of leftover bavette, fries, herb-crusted bone marrow and glazed onion; grilled cauliflower, miso butterbeans and pomegranate or rolled porchetta, crispy ratte potatoes, roast apples, fennel and cider sauce.

It seems to your gull that Sussex Wagyu is having its day, as she picks up the scent and soars over to Market Street, just off the Old Steine where London’s Burger & Lobster have opened its first UK restaurant outside the big city. Famed for its Rock Oysters with tabasco, fresh lemon, shallot vinaigrette and its Lobster Roll with lemon mayo, toasted brioche roll, lemon and garlic butter and fries, it’s a welcome addition to this buzzing new culinary quarter.

With a belly full of scraps and nibbles from the best of Brighton and Hove’s new eateries, she waddles back to West Hill to rest her head under her wing and dream of tomorrow’s rich pickings. It’s good to be home.