Tutto brings a splash of Italian ‘La Dolce Vita’ to Marlborough Place in Brighton, writes Nick Mosley.
Back in autumn 2022, Razak Helalat and his Black Rock restaurant group team took a grand yet slightly austere 1930s former bank building directly opposite Victoria Gardens and turned it into a little bit of Italy right here in Brighton.
There’s nothing twee about the design as you still find in so many Italian eateries. The dining room hits a sweet spot between being glamorous but unpretentious, fashionable yet familiar. Elegantly retro with abstract artwork, comfy banquette seating and lush parlour palms, undoubtedly it’s the marble-topped bar that is the star of the show.
I was joined for a Monday lunch and natter by my darling friend the Queen aka Lyndsey from Connected Brighton, who knows more than a thing or two about venues in the city. We pulled up a stool at the bar and dived into crisp dry vodka martinis whilst we compared notes on Brighton tourism and eagerly scanned the menus – a lunch menu with some sandwich style options and the regular à la carte.
I had every intention of ordering from the lunch menu, thinking it would be a prix fixe set menu but that’s not the case. It’s essentially a reduced version of the main à la carte with a few additional sandwich and pizza-style plates thrown in. As the à la carte is available at lunchtime too, I strayed in that direction.
To start, for me, grilled calamari in a spicy sauce of ‘nduja and Romano peppers, topped with wafer-thin lardo and salty capers. I’m a squid obsessive whether grilled or fried; I love the texture when it’s done right and its clean seafood flavour. It’s also probably one of the more sustainable seafoods out there. This particular – somewhat rustic – dish had quite a lot to it combining the flesh with a wonderfully punchy spicy tomato sauce, and layer of pork fat adding a certain unctuousness. At £13.50 it represented excellent value for the quality.
Lyndsey opted for beef carpaccio. A beautifully plated dish, the slithers of raw beef piled high with peppery rocket leaves, Parmesan, scattering of pine nuts and an umami dressing of truffle and porcini mushrooms. Light but rich flavoured, it was declared ‘buonissimo’!
For her main, Lyndsey went for chicken parmigiana – an enormous escalope of breaded chicken with an Italian tricolore plating of ‘nduja, tomato, basil pesto and whipped ricotta. Lyndsey said it seemed a little over-seasoned but as always that is always down to personal preference. Nonetheless, it was substantial enough to be shared between two.
Much like with squid, I’m a sucker for a shrimp so I went for a pasta with tiger prawns, prawn head bisque and chilli. The homemade bisque was absolutely exquisite; a velvety sauce packed with flavour and a welcome hit of chilli. Available in two sizes – the smaller £14 was more than enough for lunch.
Although I’m a gluten-free diner, I’ve never felt short-changed by pasta at Tutto – their non-gluten pasta offering is delicious and cooked to al dente perfection which isn’t always the easiest thing to achieve with gluten-free pasta as it needs very precise cooking.
For research purposes, Lyndsey tried the panuozzo with yet more ‘nduja – it does seem to be a popular ingredient with the kitchen – mozzarella and rocket. Essentially a folded pizza bread sandwich stuffed with ingredients, it was the closest thing on the menu to a typically British weekday lunch although less inspiring than the other dishes. Lyndsey still said it was very good – in fact so tasty that she asked for the leftover to be wrapped so she could have it for her supper later.
A quick pick-me-up of an affogato of vanilla ice cream and espresso and we waddled on our merry ways: Lyndsey to a coaching session and me to the aquarium to plan an event.
If you choose well then I think you’d get a very decent lunch with a glass of wine for around £25. I can’t think of any Italian in the city that quite hits the quality of Tutto; the cooking is accomplished and the portion sizes are generous. The environment is very well conceptualised and gives a distinctly grown-up vibe. The service is also exceptional so a particular thanks to the assistant restaurant manager and cocktail bartender who looked after us so well.
To my mind, Black Rock are a remarkable example of a successful Brighton hospitality business. With five restaurants in the city – The Coalshed, The Salt Room, Burnt Orange, The Crazy Goose and Tutto – each with its own unique identity and offering, the group serves up different cuisines in stylish and atmospheric venues centred around a very slick model. And, if you like one, then I’d say you’re likely to enjoy them all. Make Tutto your first stop.
Tutto, 20-22 Marlborough Place, Brighton BN1 1UB
01273 031 595 • www.tutto-restaurant.co.uk
