ANOTHER five of the city’s restaurants have joined the ranks of those worthy to be listed in the Good Food Guide.

Waitrose’s annual publication of the country’s most superlative restaurants now includes Etch in Hove, and Cin Cin, Isaac At, Pike & Pine and Plateau, in Brighton.

That brings the number of Brighton and Hove food establishments included in the Guide’s 1,235-strong list to 21.

The upcoming edition, to be published next month, also features a change in its top-ranked restaurant for the first time in five years.

Vincent Lebon, 39, co-owner of Plateau in Bartholomews, learned the news from The Argus.

He said: “That’s so exciting, I’m thrilled, that’s made my evening.

“We’ve been going through the Good Food Guide for years, hoping we’ll be listed.”

Mr Lebon put the inclusion of his six-year-old business down to their very strict policy of stocking only natural wines, and organic local produce.

He said: “It hasn’t always been easy, with what we offer.

“With organic wine, once you leave the vineyard you can do anything to it but with natural wine, nothing is ever added and nothing is taken away.

“We have the same attitude with our food - what’s important is the ingredients. We work with local farms, biodynamic farmers who care about biodiversity, we work with High Weald for our dairy.

“And then it’s down to great chefs, and we’ve got a very good team and we try to make it fun, so people stay.”

The Guide also praises newly-opened Pike and Pine in St James’s Street, of which it notes: “Pike & Pine, is a vibrant restaurant operating as a cafe during the day, and restaurant in the evening.

“It serves coffee and trendy plates in the daytime café, Redroaster, and morphs into an evening restaurant, Pike & Pine, where Matt Gillan serves up contemporary tasting menus.”

Former Masterchef the Professionals winner Steven Edwards was also singled out for his restaurant Etch, in Church Street, Hove.

There are no Sussex restaurants in the Guide’s much-respected top 50 or top ten rankings.

This year’s top spot goes to Restaurant Nathan Outlaw in Port Isaac, Cornwall which achieved a perfect score of ten for the second year running.

The Good Food Guide is available on September 4 for £17.99. The 2018 edition is the fifth to be published by Waitrose.

21 RESTAURANTS LISTED

The 21 Brighton and Hove restaurants now featured in the upcoming edition of the Good Food Guide:

64 Degrees

Bincho Yakitori

Cin Cin

Curry Leaf Cafe

etch

Food For Friends

Isaac At

Pike and Pine

Plateau

Riddle and Finns

Semolina

Silo

Terre à Terre

The Chilli Pickle

The Coal Shed

The Ginger Pig

The Gingerman

The Little Fish Market

The Restaurant at Drakes

The Salt Room

The Set