Our food/drink business of the week is Monarch cocktail lounge and bistro, formerly Buddies, on Brighton seafront.

Nick Mosley asks director Steve Darby and general manager Ellis Cheesman the questions...

Tell us a little about your restaurant

Monarch restaurant and bar is on Brighton seafront, King’s Road. The site was formerly Buddies.

Tell us about the food you serve

It’s a fusion of fresh locally sourced seafood and meats with Asian accents – and of course vegetarian options – produced by our fantastic chefs Jerome and Prakash.

Jerome has worked as a head chef for over 20 years in the UK, 15 of which have been based here in Brighton. He was classically trained in France with experience of both Michelin and street food kitchens where he honed in his culinary skills.

Prakash has also worked as a head chef for over 15 years in the UK and he too brings with him a wealth of international experience.

The two having previously worked together in Brighton have come a long way and have now joined forces again in this new venture, bringing their talent in delivering exciting fusion cuisine for locals and tourists alike.

How many on your team and who are they?

There are 23 members of staff – they include Jerome and Prakash in the kitchen, front of house supervisors Daniel, Sebastian, and Fahri and Blanka on the bar.

How did the idea for your business come about?

The business idea started from buddies having to completely change its business plan because of all the late-night economy closing

During the coronavirus pandemic with all the venues having to close, it felt like the perfect time to take on a new direction – having previously tested out a different concept with Beach House.

Why did you think now, post lockdown, was a good time to launch the venue?

The landlords needed to renovate the outside foundations of the property so as we were forced to be closed and it was a ideal time to refurb the inside and modernise the area for the next 20 years.

Chefs were looking for a venue, Ellis was looking for night-time events venue and Steve was looking for an events venue for business breakfasts. The chance came for both to take on the venue and it was too good an opportunity to miss out on a multifunctional space. The opportunity arose for us to take it.

What would you like to tell people about your business?

We have a 24-hour licence, a seafront-facing terrace holding 70 seated, an inside holding 125 seated, a multifunctional space split into different areas. It’s great for groups and events. We serve breakfast, lunch, dinner, we have locally sourced food ingredients – and we have space for dancing.

What are your plans/hopes for the future?

We want to be an all-year-round asset by closing in and weatherproofing the outside terrace.

We want to develop our cellars downstairs – the same volume of space we have upstairs is the same space we have downstairs and we are looking at starting our own nightclub or bakery, private function rooms or wine cellars.

The possibilities are endless for the lower floor is endless.

Upstairs we’d have an all round-events programme, for example live music, DJs, comedy nights.

We want to develop the menu further too, perhaps to have Sunday lunches. We are working wit Bite Sussex and aim to make this a one-stop venue in the evenings.

Anything else you’d like to tell us?

We have only been open six weeks and we are still a work in progress, experimenting with our offer.

We will be running lots of special offers, promotions and different events over the next few months and testing the demand – so look out for these on our social media monarchbrighton

We are taking part in Bite Sussex Cocktail Week and Food Trail.

We offer a 20 per cent discount to all front line workers – NHS, the police etc.

As we hold a 24-hour licence we are opening late Monday to Thursday and staying open 24 hours Friday and Saturday

We are now taking Christmas bookings. All information can be found at www.monarchbrighton.com.And we’re looking forward to going in to 2022 with a fresh start.

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