The Little Fish Market

Someone from this business manages this listing.

#13 of 228 Restaurants in HoveSeafood, European, ££££

What is Travellers’ Choice?

Tripadvisor gives a Travellers’ Choice award to accommodations, attractions and restaurants that consistently earn great reviews from travellers and are ranked within the top 10% of properties on Tripadvisor.

The Little Fish Market

Review

At a glance

Closed now

See all hours

Website

+44 1273 722213Improve this listing

About

MICHELIN

View more on MICHELIN Guide

'The Little Fish Market is a 20 cover Fish Restaurant. We serve solely a 5 course Taster menu of exciting modern fish dishes. The restaurant holds 3AA rosettes for culinary excellence the only restaurant in East Sussex to hold this sort after accolade.

MICHELIN Guide: Good cooking

As the name implies, fish is the focus at this unassuming restaurant, which is fittingly located in a converted fishmonger’s opposite the old Victorian fish market. For many years, passionate chef-owner Duncan Ray has been quietly cooking, refining and pushing his restaurant forward – and he is ever-present in the dining room, ensuring his guests are having a good time. The 6 course set menu is packed with skilful seafood cookery which demonstrates great balance and understanding of the ingredients.

Read more on MICHELIN Guide

Features

CUISINES

Seafood, European, British, Healthy

Meal types

Dinner

Special Diets

Gluten free options

FEATURES

Accepts Credit Cards

Reservations

Seating

Serves Alcohol

Table Service

Wheelchair Accessible

Location

10 Upper Market Street, Hove BN3 1AS England

Is this restaurant wheelchair accessible?

Yes

Unsure

Save this restaurant

Hours

Suggest an edit

Closed now

• Opens at 7:00 PM

Sunday

Closed

Monday

Closed

Tuesday

19:00 - 22:30

Wednesday

19:00 - 22:30

Thursday

19:00 - 22:30

Friday

19:00 - 22:30

Saturday

19:00 - 22:30

Contribute

Write a review

Upload a photo

Ask a question

We perform checks on reviews.

Tripadvisor’s approach to reviews

Before posting, each Tripadvisor review goes through an automated tracking system, which collects information, answering the following questions: how, what, where and when. If the system detects something that potentially contradicts our community guidelines, the review is not published.

When the system detects a problem, a review may be automatically rejected, sent to the reviewer for validation, or manually reviewed by our team of content specialists, who work 24/7 to maintain the quality of the reviews on our site.

Our team checks each review posted on the site disputed by our community as not meeting our community guidelines.

Learn more about our review moderation.

4.7

411 reviews

Excellent

344

Good

Average

Poor

Terrible

Will Howes

Brighton10 contributions

Amazing food. But service should be better given the price tag.

Jun 2024 • couples

Firstly the good stuff: the food was outstanding with several dishes having a genuine wow factor. Both the chef and the waitress were friendly and took the time to explain the dishes and the wine pairings. The wine was great too. The less good stuff: we don’t know if they were having an off night but having been asked to arrive 18.45 with everyone else, we waited ~45 mins for the first course to arrive. As we were having the wine pairing we thought we could skip having a drink while we wait as we didn’t think it would be that long. I think if we had been told to expect that long to wait we might have ordered a drink. We were surprised that there was only one front of house staff. She was very friendly and did a decent job in the circumstances but it really felt like she was doing a job for two people. She was so busy having to do the bare minimum of bringing everyone’s dishes and wine pairings that she would not have time to deal with any other requests the guests might have. This was especially an issue at the end of the evening when we waited again ~45 mins for the bill since she had to do all 9-10 tables one by one. Not helped by the fact that the bills were hand written. We also echo some of the other reviews on here that the restaurant lacked atmosphere. I can see what they are trying to do but it all felt a little too bright in there. In conclusion: amazing food, but, for the money we would expect better service. Not that the only waitress was bad but she had far too much to do.

Written 23 June 2024

This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Graham C

London528 contributions

Lovey food.

Mar 2024 • couples

We had lunch here during our stay in Brighton and the food was excellent. The chef gives a great deal of though to sauces and presentation and service was well paced and the waitress very helpful and knowledgeable especially about the wine. Decor is minimal but the fish paintings on the walls are clever. A little more fabric to deaden the noise would be a plus; there were a group of guests the other end of the restaurant who were noisy and they disturbed us even though we were as far away from them as possible. In that context the background music with a heavy bass beat did not help. We came for the food and went away content; we will return.

Written 21 March 2024

Rebecca P

1 contribution

Amazing place!

Dec 2023 • family

We had the best meal! Our first time visiting this beautiful restaurant, we were warmly invited in by the front of house staff and shown to our table. The taster menu was perfectly paired to create many explosions of different flavours in your mouth at any one time, loved every course. Such a lovely evening, very relaxing with great spacing in between dishes leaving you wanting to taste the next. It was a personal touch of chef Duncan coming out to introduce the entries at the start of the meal. Will definitely be going back.

Written 15 December 2023

Alan P

Brighton29 contributions

Slow service led to cold food

Jun 2022 • none

Having been to the LFM ourselves, my wife and I gave a voucher to friends to jointly celebrate their 70th birthdays. We loved the food and the service when we went, prior to the pandemic, and it seemed a nice gift for a couple that don't want for much else. Whilst our friends enjoyed the (albeit tiny portions of) food, their gripe was the slow service which led at times to the food being cold. Since our first visit, it would seem that now each course is brought up for the whole restaurant in one go. Some plates therefore sit for a period before being distributed, and if you happen to be the last to be served each time, yours is cooler than it should be by the time you get to eat.

Written 1 August 2022

Suseyq

14 contributions

Basic £95 menu - not sure …..

Feb 2023 • none

This restaurant is an expensive hobby, the best part of £300 for two with wine and service. I do sometimes wonder if we are paying to be there to please the chef or the chef is there to please us judging from the rules we should observe on the website. Luckily gone are the days of only taking cash, which sometimes necessitated a visit to the cash point at the end of the evening. However I digress, cards are obviously accepted now. The room is stark and soulless, more canteen than high end restaurant. On leaving, the feeling is more endurance rather than warmth, joy and money well spent. There is one menu, no choice, start time 7.00 p.m., arrive 6.45 p.m. be there or be square! Every one served the same course at the same time. To be honest I am not a massive fan of just warm food, which happens if your table is not first out of the kitchen. For me the big sin, no bread …….. Surely a restaurant like this should be able to present some sort of warm interesting bread. To be honest even just normal French bread would have been nice. Two amuse bouche were good and nicely presented as were the hake, and gilt edged bream dishes. The monkfish, a meaty fish, was rather tough with a green ravioli and green sauce which wasn’t for me. Perhaps a cerviche or grilled langustine as one of the courses would be a suggestion and also a change of texture. There were three puddings all very nice but perhaps a cheese course and two puddings may be preferable. To b honest, not a very relaxing experience!

Written 23 February 2023

brightonbeachboy

Brighton213 contributions

Nice food but not great value for money

Oct 2023 • friends

On arrival we felt the restaurant was cold so a few of us had to keep our coats on until it warmed up! The lighting was also very bright with bare wood tables, no candles so our initial feeling was that it was more of a cafe feel than a restaurant. Service was very friendly but we didn't feel it matched the £95/head price tag (asking for water, passing plates/cutlery around the table and having to ask for water). We had a wine flight which we would expect the bottle to be brought to the table and corked, introducing the wine rather than a tray of ready-made glasses. Most food dishes were good (one very good). Nice canapés but no bread which I feel should be served with every meal. Nice food and friendly service but at £95 a head we were expecting more.

Written 31 October 2023

Paul K

Potters Bar5 contributions

Foodie Experience

Feb 2022 • none

When researching this restaurant it was clear that it was going to be a gastronomic experience of some quality, I wasn't disappointed. Tasting menus are becoming more and more familiar in a large number of fine dining establishments showcasing the chefs' skills The Little Fish Market was no exception. Offering a great value wine pairing at £55 or making a selection from the wine list worked for me. The portion size was, in my opinion, just right. The inventiveness and delivery were superb. On the negative side, I felt a little overwhelmed by the overall richness of the food by the end of the meal. The establishment was very modern, clean, and was well serviced by the staff the personal serving by the chef was a nice touch also, and how he worked in such a tiny kitchen was beyond me. It was most enjoyable and I will visit again.

Written 27 February 2022

Michael H

Lancaster75 contributions

If you like fish, do not miss....

Jun 2023 • family

This chef owned, family operated restaurant provides a warm and friendly dinner experience. It is a set tasting menu and you should taker note of the name and you must really like fish. Duncan Ray, chef/owner, serves the first course personally and happily engages in conversation after the meal. A thoroughly enjoyable experience.

Written 22 June 2023

Tony P

Brighton15 contributions

Some really fine plates but all too slow.

Sept 2021 • couples

Our first visit here for a couple of years, we loved the exquisite fish ideas and delivery before, and the quality is still there. But at four-and-a-half hours, for a very small amount of food, this was tough going and laborious. We are regular tasting menu / wine flight diners, but this has to move faster (chef accepted the pace tonight was not good). The wine quantities were low by wine flight standards (we had to supplement to fill the wait time) and a little uninspiring. We would want an exit time guarantee to chance a return visit!

Written 12 September 2021

Seasoned traveller London

53 contributions

Enjoyable, with a few reservations

Feb 2022 • none

The Tasting menu is the only option, fine: at £85 however, I’d have expected a little more…..we thought the first two “nibbles” were an extra, and then realised no, they were the first course. That said, the fish cooking was delicious. Because of our confusion over had we started or not, we were late ordering the wine flight. Looking at the wines, that too comes out a bit mean at £55pp. The service was a bit up and down - sometimes a long wait, and other times not enough of a pause, maybe because they serve each table in the same order every dish round. The room itself is a bit bright. Other reviewers too commented on how bare it all feels. I always wonder why the chef serves - isn’t he needed in the kitchen? It was a treat for a special occasion, but all in all I have to say I wouldn’t shell out that sort of money to visit again.

Written 24 February 2022

Vegemightyuk

London73 contributions

Go For The Food

Jun 2024 • family

The food here is amazing and I think worth the money charged. But to echo other reviews the service whilst friendly is slow and not helped by only having one staff member on the night we were there to deal with all the customers. The room itself did lack ambience and the music choices don't seem to match the sophistication of the food on offer. Also not sure of the merits of a handwritten bill to be honest. But does that matter? probably not that much given the tasty dishes offered.

Written 30 June 2024

Suzy B

Portslade1 contribution

Lovely food but way too slow on service!

Aug 2021 • none

I was so looking forward to going here, had been waiting for a nice opportunity so had it booked for a celebratory birthday meal. We arrived promptly on time at 7 but ended up having to leave before the end of the meal due to childcare commitments. It took over 4 hours! The courses I did get I did enjoy very much but I cannot understand how they think a 4 hour service is acceptable. We have sampled many local tasting menu restaurants and this whole experience was tiring and gave me indigestion frankly. Such a shame they cannot refine the menu slightly and perhaps keep it to under 3 hours?... We were not the only people asking for the bill before the meal ended.

Written 29 September 2021

Phil H

Brighton360 contributions

Great experience

Jan 2022 • couples

I'm always a little sceptical about obligatory tasting menus, but that scepticism was completely unfounded in this case as we got course after course of stunning fish and seafood, followed up by delicious puddings. The setting is pleasantly informal, with a nice atmosphere and friendly staff, not at all pretentious, which on paper you might have expected. If you fancy going you'll need both patience - given the demand and small capacity you need to book well in advance - and deep pockets, but with the quality of the food you'll have no complaints about the value.

Written 27 March 2022

David M

1 contribution

Excellent eating experience

May 2022 • none

We went to the LFM last night. The food was exceptional and the service impeccable. It's great that the chef/owner brings a couple of courses out and chats to his guests. All the staff love talking about the food with you but are not at all over-bearing with it. The ambience is very quiet and low key and the restaurant has a Nordic, simple design. I took my wife and friends for a celebration and we all loved the restaurant. You get six courses with no options. So you have to like fish! The courses are small but you feel absolutely full up at the end. This is an expensive, adult restaurant. Its not for children or people that want choice or large courses. I loved it!

Written 5 May 2022

Edita B

Brighton324 contributions

Unique flavour combinations

Dec 2024 • couples

It is sooo great just to sit, have a great conversation and enjoy unique flavour combinations. We have visited this fine establishment some time ago now and it was great to come back. Not 100% sure if chef has changed or not since last time but it felt more experimental and explorative in terms of flavour matching that before. I would not say it was better or worse, just slightly different: 9 years ago it felt—> this is soooo good vs now —> okay, i am not sure if it works together but nonetheless enjoyable

Written 7 December 2024