I can't remember any Brighton restaurant opening that has attracted so much hype as MEATliquor. It's literally been the talk of the town for months so I was keen to head down for the launch party on Saturday.

MEATliquor has progressed through the trends with roots in the early UK street food scene as the Meatwagon van in 2009, to the pop-up #meateasy above a pub in New Cross before opening the first permanent MEATliquor in London along with MEATmarket and MEATmission. Brighton is the first venture outside of the capital and happy we are that they are here too, hopefully leading the example for other decent names to follow.



If you like your burgers served up with a side order of rock and roll in an environment (designed by the superb ilovedust) that is a mash up between a nightclub, slaughterhouse, psychedelic dreamscape and fairground whilst music pumps bleedingly in your ears, then you'd be all over this. It doesn't make for the most comfortable dining experience but it does make it the coolest. Not one for Sunday lunch with granny for sure.

I've yet to see the final menu but expect the big hits from their London restaurant as well as the addition of local seafood and fish specials for this Brighton venue. As this was the launch party, I only sampled a slider sized version of the meat burger, the Monkey Fingers, (super soft pieces of marinated chicken in a holy-crap house hot sauce) and a taste of the fish and seafood dishes including prawns with a tequila salsa. Everything I tried food-wise was additively good and the cocktails to wash it all down with were pretty decent too.

The burgers are the squidgy soft American diner variety, the ones that form a single mass, with juices that run down your arm and chin when you bite into them. Filthy, filthy goodness right there.


Despite the location on York Place, this is a cult destination dining spot and expect it to be supremely busy in the next few weeks then just really flipping busy from then on. Groups of 6 or more can book, saving you from the inevitable queues that will snake around the corner for a while.

Whilst no doctor would ever recommend a visit to MEATliquor, I certainly would and my leather boots will forever carry the souvenir grease stains from the launch party. Don't wear your best T-shirt and go with it, I'll be heading down for a Dead Hippy, a bowl of chilli fries and the biggest onion rings on the planet soon.

Opening the 25th September at 5pm.

MEATliquor Brighton
York Place