Amari

A Red Door in the North End

Baker Street, in the stretch of Brighton that sits between the Open Market and the train station, is not a destination in itself. It is a route, a shortcut, a side street that most visitors pass through rather than aim for. The bright-red exterior of Amari changes that calculation. On a block where shopfronts compete for attention in more muted registers, the colour functions as an editorial statement: something deliberate is happening here.

The interior follows the same logic of restraint that Brighton's better casual rooms have settled into over the past decade. Decorative porcelain wall tiles, tasteful framed prints, and a semi-open kitchen occupy a small dining room that keeps nothing between you and the food. This is not accidental minimalism; it is the design philosophy of operators who have worked at properties where the room supports the plate rather than competes with it. The kitchen here is headed by a chef whose CV includes The Samling, Pennyhill Park, and The Pass at South Lodge Hotel, while front-of-house draws on experience at The Little Fish Market in Hove. Those are not neighbourhood-restaurant credentials. They are the kind of formation that shows up in how a dish is plated and how a room is run, not in how it is marketed.

How to Order: The Small-Plates Argument

Spanish small-plates culture carries a specific social contract that distinguishes it from other sharing formats. The sequence is not set by the kitchen; it is negotiated at the table. Snacks arrive first, then starters blur into mains, and the rhythm of ordering becomes part of the evening rather than a preamble to it. Tapas in its coastal Andalusian form was always about this: the conversation between dishes, the decision of what to call next, the way a glass of fino sherry resets the palate between a salty bite and something richer.

At Amari, that philosophy holds. The documented approach involves ordering across snacks, starters, mains, and sides simultaneously, with crockery and cutlery replaced between each dish so that flavours do not bleed into each other. This is a detail worth noting, because it is not standard practice in every small-plates room: a dish of crispy chipirones with fideuà and squid-ink velouté deserves its own clean slate, and it gets one here. The kitchen treats the sharing format as a technical challenge rather than an excuse for informality.

The croquetas are the obvious place to take stock of a Spanish kitchen's technique. Creamy interiors, a casing that holds without being heavy, and in the cep version, enough earthiness to justify the fungi as the main event rather than a seasoning. Patatas bravas, a dish that collapses into mediocrity at half the Spanish restaurants in any British city, over-deliver on flavour and texture. The crudo is refreshing in the way that good raw fish should be, which is to say it is precise rather than aggressive. Suckling pig is prepared with skill. These are not small claims. They are the dishes that separate a kitchen in command from one running on genre familiarity.

The more technically composed plates hold the same level. A fillet of torched mackerel with pearlescent sorrel, Gordal olive dressing, and smoky cod's roe mousse is the kind of dish that reads as smart-casual on the menu and arrives looking as though it had a reason to be on a tasting menu at twice the price. A roasted skate wing pil pil follows the same discipline. At the ££ price point, this is where Amari places itself above its immediate peer set in the city.

The Drink Side of the Equation

Sherry remains the most underused aperitif in British dining, which makes Amari's documented commitment to it both correct and useful. The selection is described as the ideal way to begin the evening, and that framing reflects an understanding of how sherry actually works: fino and manzanilla at cellar temperature, drunk quickly, before anything heavy arrives on the table. The wine list is concise and Spanish in its focus, sourced from leading producers, and supported by well-made cocktails for the pre-dinner window. This is the kind of drinks program that reflects a clear point of view rather than a generic attempt to cover all bases.

Brighton's restaurant scene has expanded considerably at the ££ tier over the past several years. Mediterranean and southern European formats have multiplied; Burnt Orange occupies the broader Mediterranean category, Cin Cin holds the Italian register, and the city has developed a credible field of modern rooms including Dilsk, Embers, and etch. by Steven Edwards. Amari sits in a narrower niche within that field: Spanish-specific, technically grounded, operating at a price point that makes it accessible without the concessions in execution that accessibility often demands. It has, by the account of multiple documented reviews, raised the standard for Spanish food in Brighton significantly.

Further afield, the comparison set for serious Spanish cooking in the UK and internationally includes rooms like ZURRIOLA in Tokyo and Arco by Paco Pérez in Gdańsk, which represent the formal end of the Spanish dining spectrum internationally. Amari operates in a different register, but the discipline in the kitchen points toward the same culinary seriousness, expressed at neighbourhood scale. For context on what hospitality credentials at this level can look like in a full-service format, The Fat Duck in Bray, The Ledbury in London, L'Enclume in Cartmel, Moor Hall in Aughton, Gidleigh Park in Chagford, and Hand and Flowers in Marlow represent the tier from which Amari's kitchen leadership has drawn experience.

Planning a Visit

Amari is at 15 Baker Street, Brighton BN1 4JN, a short walk from Brighton train station and close to the Open Market. The small dining room and a Google rating of 4.9 across 55 reviews suggest demand that outpaces capacity, so advance booking is advised rather than assumed to be direct. The ££ price point makes it a strong option for a full shared spread across multiple rounds rather than a single main course. Arriving with a table of three or four allows the menu to open up across the full range of snacks, starters, and mains in the way the kitchen clearly intends it to be experienced.

For a broader picture of where Amari sits within Brighton's eating and drinking options, see our full Brighton and Hove restaurants guide, along with guides to hotels, bars, wineries, and experiences in the city.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is Amari child-friendly?

The small dining room and sharing-plates format are better suited to adults; this is a ££ neighbourhood restaurant in Brighton built around an ordered, convivial pace that works less well with young children in tow.

What is the atmosphere like at Amari?

If you are accustomed to Brighton's more casual dining rooms, Amari sits at the more composed end of the ££ tier: the room is lively and social, as a small-plates format encourages, but the documented awards commentary consistently notes a level of attention to detail that elevates the experience beyond the typical neighbourhood buzz. The red-painted exterior signals personality; the interior delivers focus.

What's the signature dish at Amari?

Spanish cuisine at this level rarely reduces to a single plate, and the kitchen's documented range covers everything from cep croquetas to torched mackerel with Gordal olive dressing and cod's roe mousse. The croquetas are the clearest test of technique in any Spanish kitchen, and at Amari they pass it.