Señor Buddha is a quirky restaurant; it's intimate and located just off Preston Circus. I can't quite put my finger on the environmental style but the quality of the food is outstanding. Their wines are also stunning and front of house extraordinaire, Chris Garcia Viera, is very knowledgeable about their carefully selected range.
We stared off simply with coconut and lychee oysters, with fresh and clean flavours to make the most of the oysters.
Next up was the sea bass ceviche, perfectly cured in lime and palm sugar, the texture was perfect - even for people like me who are not overly keen on raw fish. This dish had it all; sweet, sour, heat and pretty as a picture on the plate to boot.
Perfectly cooked scallops (oh those caramelised edges!) were given the classic Asian twist with peanut sauce, foamed coconut and slight spice with a European element of a salsa verde.
Next up was a healthy portion of fiduea, a Catalan dish similar to paella but with delicate, tubed pasta instead of rice. Full of clams and meaty prawns, any seafood lover would be in heaven with this dish alone. The pasta was nicely toasted on the edges and the dish had a soft, sweet spice to it. It was certainly unlike anything I have ever come across before but will try and hunt it out again.
The final course was a large portion of cod, given a decadent makeover with an unmistakable cava and miso sauce, matching the sweetness of the fish beautifully. I loved the shaved, raw sugar snap peas too.
We finished with a slice of Torta di Santiago, a meltingly soft almond cake which is exactly my sort of dessert. Not too sweet, but just enough of a hit to punctuate the meal and would be gorgeous with a good dessert wine too.
As I said, the wines were all fabulous and matched to the food. I particularly enjoyed the Maetierra Atlantis wine we started out with and I rarely go for whites. Hondarrabi Zuri is not a grape variety I have come across before but coming from Basque Country it was perfect with the food and a great choice - I'm treating myself to a case of this one! Unlike me, I strongly recommend you leave the car at home and get stuck into the wines here as you are bound to discover new varieties and favourites. I was so, so sad to miss out on the others on the night.
All in all a pretty faultless meal full of interesting ideas and exciting flavours. This is definitely one for the keen foodie that wants to discover food outside of their comfort zone. Some of the food here really shouldn't work when you read it but by heck do they smash it in practice.
Senor Buddha may seem quite humble in its current guise but plans are afoot for bigger and better things. Certainly one to keep a very close eye on in Brighton.
Señor Buddha
9 Preston Rd
Señor Buddha
9 Preston Rd
Brighton BN1 4QE
I dined as a guest of Señor Buddha. Words and thoughts, as always, are my own.
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