Brighton Smokehouse

Considering that the Brighton Smokehouse has featured on Nigel Slater’s cooking show and has won Radio 4’s best take away award, I don’t know how I managed to miss this place for so long! I must have walked passed it hundreds of times as it is nestled under the arches on Brighton seafront right in the middle of the historic fishing quarter, and for some reason I have never ventured in.
Anyway, I broke my smokehouse virginity a few weeks ago when me and the boyf popped in after work on a sunny Friday evening and got a bite to eat on the beach. I went for a crab sandwich and he went for a kipper roll. Today I popped back to try their smoked mackerel pâté on toast. All the fish is caught locally in Brighton and is smoked by Jack in a small shed opposite the shop.
The food is by no means gastronomic but it is hearty, honest food. Yes, the bread could be better, but the fish is the key ingredient and you can’t beat eating a fresh meal on the beach just meters from where it was caught. The crab sandwich features entirely brown meat, the most flavoursome in my opinion, and is a steal at £3.50 — I paid three times this for a crab sandwich on a recent trip to Cornwall. The mackerel pâté is really delicious — creamy with a hint of warmth from the pepper.
On top of this, they sell fish to take home if you are not hungry at the time of your visit.
Jack and Linda have been running this smokehouse for what seems like an eternity. They are always happy to chat and obviously love what they do. This place should be top of the list for locals and tourists alike.

Brighton Smokehouse is an unassuming delight. We went there based on the reviews here and a Frommer’s description, and the place was exactly as billed: small, staffed by the friendly and helpful Jack and Linda Mills, and located right on the beachfront, just to the west of Brighton Pier. It offers a pleasant contrast to the garishness of the pier and many of the other businesses nearby. The food is simple, excellent, and a good value. We especially enjoyed the smoked mackerel pâté.

If you can’t be bothered to walk all the way down to the Shoreham docks to pick up some nice fresh fish, then I suggest popping along to these guys. They don’t have a huge selection but there’s enough to keep you happy and the mackerel is always top of my list.
As is their mackerel pâté, it is so un-​believably good on some nice crusty bread with a nice glass of white wine. They are increadibly friendly here too and will always give you the heads up on when to turn up for the best catches.

Fish and the seaside go hand in hand together.
Jack and Linda Mills understand this.
It’s one of the reasons they opened the Brighton Smokehouse on the sea-​front. A tiny shop nestled in Brighton’s fishing quarter, they offer fresh fish to take away and cook at home and daily specials to eat outside on the beach. There’s crab sandwiches, grilled kippers, smoked mackerel pâté, deep fried white bait and plaice goujons to choose from. I’ve sampled a few and they’ve all been lip-​smackingly good.
Endearingly, you can eat your lunch on the sea-​front, in front of the little black smokehouse they built when they moved in. If they’re smoking something that day, you might even smell the oak and applewood drifting out of the hut.