French Cuisine · The Lanes · Brighton
Petit Pois
A little French restaurant on Ship Street, a pebble’s throw from the sea — classic cooking, an all-French cellar, and a room that runs on warmth.
The navy frontage on Ship StreetQuietly part of the Lanes since 2017
01 — The House
Royan, by way of Ship Street.
Petit Pois opened its doors in 2017, when chef David Roy and his wife Ivana took a small dining room in the Lanes. David cooked his way through France — the three-Michelin-star kitchens of Marc Veyrat, then Domaine de Bournissac near Avignon — before running the pass at Riddle & Finns down the road, by the sea.
The room is small and stubbornly homely: white-painted brick, a gilt mirror that has seen it all, blue-and-white tile, and a leg of Bayonne ham keeping watch by the kitchen pass. Above the door, the navy fascia; inside, food that belongs to it.
The cooking stays close to the French classics — snails in garlic butter, bouillabaisse of local fish, duck with blood orange — cooked with the seasons, and priced for coming back.
“A romantic rendezvous, or an intimate little place to meet family and friends.” From the restaurant’s own words
02 — The Table
French classics, given a modern twist.
Well-known cooking, seasonal ingredients, and plates meant to be shared — or not. A short card, done properly, changes with the market.
03 — The Cellar
The whole list is French.
Burgundy, the Loire, Bordeaux, the Rhône, Languedoc and the South West — chosen, in the house’s own words, for “high quality yet affordable wines from different regions of France.” Most glasses are under £10, and bottles start at £35.
Start with a Kir, end with Armagnac. In between, the kitchen will happily point a glass at your plate.
BourgogneLoireBordeauxRhôneLanguedocSud-Ouest
Blancs
Rouges
Pour finir
04 — In Good Company
Ranked #38 of 1,115 restaurants in Brighton. Named in Brighton’s Best Top 20 Restaurants, 2018.
“Atmosphere and service always great, and food exceptional.”
Tripadvisor review
“Food was excellent, wine was great and well priced. A new regular haunt.”
Tripadvisor review
“Not completely faultless, but very close.”
The Argus, Brighton — four stars for food, service & atmosphere
05 — Visit
Ship Street, in the Lanes.
- Where
- 70 Ship Street, Brighton BN1 1AE — the South Lanes, a pebble’s throw from the sea
- Telephone
- 01273 911 211
- Hours
-
- Monday
- 12–3 · 6–9
- Tuesday
- Closed
- Wednesday
- Closed
- Thursday
- 12–3 · 6–9
- Friday
- 12–3 · 6–10
- Saturday
- 12–10
- Sunday
- 12–9
Book online any time, or call during opening hours. Tables are kept for up to two hours, and the house will ring on the day to confirm — small room, so it’s worth booking ahead for dinner and Sundays.
70 Ship Street, Brighton BN1 1AE
Open in Maps ↗An evening on Ship Street.
A small French dining room in the Lanes — lunch from noon, dinner from six.