Cocktails and tapas in Hove – Tapestry review

Mediterranean vibes with colourful plates in this cozy corner of Hove

Tapestry is situated in one of my favourite parts of Hove, and the venue has enjoyed a number of incarnations over the years. It’s part of the increasingly extensive Golden Lion portfolio, which means you know you’re in good hands before you start. And I do love a review that’s right on my doorstep.

There’s quite a glam feel about Tapestry that reminds me of something I can’t quite put my finger on. There’s more than a touch of the Mediterranean about the outdoor seating area. But the dark green tiles and red velvet furniture also put me in mind of beautiful old East End pubs in London. It sounds like an odd combination, but it really works. I really like the look and feel of the place. It feels sumptuous without being overbearing.

We sat outside, me and my friend Kirsten, and Alice the Pug (because Alice is the toughest judge I always try and take her along!). There was a nip in the air, but we plumped for the corner area, and were quite warm enough. There is outdoor heating if you need it, and blankets if you like that sort of thing. And dog water, which of course Alice knocked over almost immediately.

We kicked off with cocktails, obviously

A margarita for me, and an espresso martini for Kirsten – which was made with decaf coffee, for those who are interested. Both cocktails were delish (both £11.25); and my margarita was properly tart with a nice salt rim, which was offered as a choice. So those of you with dodgy tickers be reassured – low salt and no caffeine cocktails can be had. Drink with impunity! I had salt on my rim though, obviously. I mean, I’m not mad.

Can I make a bit of a fuss here about the glassware too? What you eat and drink out of has a huge impact, I feel. Look at these lovely glasses! Sitting outside sipping these in the late summer evening, snuggled in our cushiony corner… it felt like being on holiday and eating out at a fancy place in the Cote d’Azur.

So, to the food…

The food deal at Tapestry is small plates. There’s a brunch menu on Fridays and Saturdays with all the brunchy sort of stuff you’d expect. Eggs Benedict, croque monsieurs, pancakes etc. And on Sundays they offer a proper roast, which I’m keen on trying, actually. There’s a bottomless option with the roast that includes fizz and wine, as well as unlimited veg and roasties for the table. Sounds like a win to me.

But we were there to check out the small plates menu, which is sort of on during all the other times. There’s no food Monday or Tuesday, just so you know. All the various availabilities are on the menus themselves.

We had: Cornflake Chicken; Sticky Asian Pork; Roast Beetroot Hoummus; Mac & Cheese; Potato Croquettes with Bacon and Brie; Prawn on Toast; and finished off with the dessert plate which is a trio of brownies, churros, and macarons.

The plates are all around £7-£9 each. Some of those names aren’t quite right, because the menu on the website doesn’t reflect the menu we had on the night. But I’ve had a stab.

There’s a lot to cover here, so I’ll give you a quick rundown…

• The prawns on toast – nicely cooked and not all chewy, but a bit gentle on the palate. We both wished it had a bit more oomph in the garlic, salt, or chilli department.
• The sticky Asian pork – star of the show for both of us. Gooey but with crispy bits, lovely sweet flavour, rich belly pork chunks. I’d eat two plates of this, no trouble.
• Cornflake chicken – something I would never have ordered myself, but this was recommended by the lovely girl looking after us and was a good shout. Really crispy on the outside, lovely tender chicken inside – dare I say the word ‘moist’?
• Mac and cheese – despite it being called Mac & Cheese which is American and annoys the hell out of me, this ‘macaroni cheese’ was smashing. Really rich, with bacon on top to give it a lift. The sort of intense, buttery, cheesy hit that makes you keep spooning it in until you hit a cheese headache. Reader, I nearly did.
• Potato croquettes with bacon and Brie etc – bit meh, this one. Suspect ‘tater tot’ things are not homemade, which isn’t the end of the world. But it didn’t light our fires. The jam on it is quite sweet. It’s probably the sort of thing I’d shovel in after a big night at the pub, to get some carbs in, but it’s not a shining star.
• Beetroot hoummus – this was lovely. The vegan coconut yoghurt gives this a real lift, and I loved the chunky chickpeas and crusty bread.
• Dessert plate – we shared one of these and I have to say – not being a pudding sort of a girl – very impressed. The sticky brownies took the medal here, with the churros a close second. The macarons were okay – a bit soft, but tasty enough.

What about wine, I hear you cry…

There’s a decent enough wine list that we wanted to try a few things, and happily a lot of the wines are available by the glass, or as a 500ml carafe. I had a cold, crisp glass of Ultimate Provence (£9.10, 175ml), which was everything I’d hoped it would be, and Kirsten started with Ai Galera Poetico, Portugal (£7.10, 175ml) which she said was deeply spicy and a bit peppery and very good with the Asian pork. She moved on to try the Calusari Pinot Noir, Romania (£7.40, 175ml) which she said was excellent too, but she preferred the Poetico.

With dessert we couldn’t resist having a glass of fizz, particularly once we saw that the wine list included Ridgeview. We both had a glass of the Bloomsbury (£9.90, 125ml) which just about finished us off. And again I have to say, all wines served properly – in decent glassware, at the right temperature. This sort of thing makes me happy.

Any final words?

Very much enjoyed the Tapestry experience and based on the food and drink product I am keen to go back and try both the brunch and the Sunday lunch. The service was excellent – of a higher standard than expected, if I’m honest.

We observed that vegans would struggle. We couldn’t find a single thing on the brunch menu that was vegan, and even on the small plates menu, the only vegan option was the hummus.

Sitting outside is always a pleasure, watching the world go by, and this is especially nice here, with the canopy and the comfy seats. But the inside is lush too.

We whiled away a very happy two or three hours, and it’s the kind of place that you could spend some time in. For a bar that does small plates it’s got the swagger of a much bigger place. I’ll be going back soon.

Tapestry Hove

 

Try other bottomless brunches?