The food edition29 stories9 pages

Brighton's Halisco named the fifth best restaurant in the UK

Time Out ranks the Preston Street Mexican small-plates restaurant, where tacos start at £9.50 for two, fifth in its list of the 20 best in the UK.

The Shingle desk · 7am · 2 min read

RegencyHalisco, the Mexican-inspired restaurant at 64 Preston Street, has been ranked fifth in Time Out’s list of the 20 best restaurants in the UK for 2026, published on 8 September.

The four places above it are Gwen in Machynlleth, Wales, Queen of Cups in Glastonbury, Skof in Manchester and The Sportsman near Whitstable. Three of those four serve tasting menus. Halisco sells tacos.

Time Out’s review is clear about what kind of night out it is: “This is not the place for a formal evening dinner, but it most definitely is the place to take someone you’re trying to impress.” It singles out the “lip-smacking cocktails” and an “efficient, friendly, knowledgeable team of locals”.

From the editor

This is the first Shingle. We’ll be here every morning with the good, useful and interesting things happening in Brighton & Hove, and nothing designed to make you angry.

Sundays are for food, so today is mostly about eating: a Preston Street taco place now in Britain’s top five, a new festival’s last supper, and the Food Partnership at 20. There’s also a first look at the work going on along the seafront.

Every story links to where its facts came from. How we choose and check them, and how we use AI, is set out in How this paper is made.

The week ahead

Sun 4 Oct, 5pmBrightonFoodStory closing supper: seven Syrian courses, £35, Scotties Café
Tue 6 & Thu 8 OctDrop-ins on the future of Palmeira Square's Floral Clock
Fri 9 OctZoe Rahman plays her Hull Suite, The Verdict
Sat 10 – Sun 11 OctBARCO's free Black History Month weekend, The Wing, Brighton Centre
Sat 10 – Sun 25 OctOctoberBest festival menus at 38 restaurants
Until Sun 11 OctSussex Six: 200+ places selling more local food

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Food & Drink

All food & drink

Festivals

Brighton's new food festival ends tonight with a seven-course Syrian supper

Gilly Smith first had the idea for a Brighton food festival in 1998. BrightonFoodStory closes tonight with seven courses at Scotties Café, and she hopes it returns every October.

North LaineThe first BrightonFoodStory ends tonight with a seven-course Syrian dinner at Scotties Café, cooked by Chef Tony. Tickets are £35 and it starts at 5pm.

The festival has been running since Friday. It’s the work of Gilly Smith, a food writer, author and podcaster, who has wanted to put on a food festival in Brighton since 1998. That year she…

7:10am

Local produce

More than 200 Sussex businesses pledge to sell six more local foods

The Sussex Six campaign runs until 11 October. A map of who has signed up, and a directory of 750 producers, is online.

7:30am

Openings

Three new places to eat in Brighton and Hove this autumn

Mediterranean small plates on North Road, sharing plates in Hove at 30% off while the team settles in, and an Asian-inspired deli for the Open Market.

7:40am

Awards

Hove restaurant etch. wins the AA Wine Award for England, and overall

HoveThe Church Road tasting-menu restaurant took the England title and the overall prize at the AA Hospitality Awards in London on 21 September.

9am

Get involved

Food projects

The city's Food Partnership turns 20, with 5,000 people taught to cook

Formally set up in 2006 alongside the city's first food strategy, it has since helped create more than 50 community and school gardens and orchards.

9:40am

What's on

Events

Brighton waiters will race with loaded trays at the racecourse on 15 October

HanoverThe BITE Sussex Waiters Race returns to open the last Flat meeting of the year, with bets on the runners raising money for Justlife.

12:10pm

Get involved

Explainer

Where to find free and low-cost food in Brighton & Hove

Food banks, community fridges, affordable food clubs and free meals: how each one works, who can use it, and the number to call for help the same day.

12:50pm

In brief

Coming up

OctoberBest is back on 10 October with festival menus at 38 restaurants

The two-week restaurant festival from Brighton's Best Restaurants runs until 25 October. The line-up and booking details come first in its newsletter.

7:20am

People

Oysters

An English's shucker represented Brighton at the London Oyster Championships

The LanesAnnia Gawlik, winner of the Brighton Oyster Festival shucking contest in June, was the only woman in the field at Bentley's in Mayfair.

12:30pm

City

All city

Kemp Town

St James's Street could go traffic-free for a day next spring

Kemp Town councillors want a trial closure and a proper study of pedestrianising the street. The council's transport lead backed the idea.

St James’s Street in Kemp Town could close to traffic for a day next spring, as a first test of whether the street should be pedestrianised.

Gary Wilkinson, a Labour councillor for Kemptown ward, called for the community event at a full council meeting at Hove Town Hall on Thursday 1 October. He also asked for a feasibility study, “with…

8am

City at work

Valley Gardens

Old Steine lights and Victoria Fountain switched on as revamp nears end

The last phase of Valley Gardens swapped the Aquarium roundabout for a T-junction and added separate cycle lanes. Bollards, bins and planting still to come.

11am

City at work

Transport

Work on the Hove to Portslade seafront cycle lane is about to begin

The council is also asking for views on taking the two-way cycle lane further east, from Fourth Avenue to West Street in Brighton.

11:20am

City at work

Seafront

Work on the next stretch of King's Road seafront arches is about to start

RegencyThe Victorian arches between the Bandstand and the Seahorse restaurant are next. A compound is up west of the Bandstand and the area is fenced off.

11:40am

In brief

City at work

Buses

The £1 Whitehawk bus fare will now run until 31 March 2027

Almost 16,000 journeys have been made at the discounted fare on the 1 and 21 since it launched at the beginning of July.

1:50pm

Community

All community

Get involved

Five ways to get involved with Albion's charity this season

The Brighton & Hove Albion Foundation is looking for volunteers, runs free weekly sessions for 7 to 18-year-olds and has disability teams open to new players.

10:20am

Community spotlight

BARCO takes over the Brighton Centre for a free Black History Month weekend

Two days of talks, workshops, children's crafts, music and food at The Wing on 10 and 11 October. Tickets are free but you need to register.

12pm

People

Recovery service users show their own photographs for Photo Fringe

Three Frames opens on Saturday 10 October at the Brighton and Hove Recovery Service, with work by eight people, many of them new to photography.

1:40pm

Culture

All culture

What's on

Music

Zoe Rahman plays The Verdict with a suite about her parents' sea crossings

The Chichester-born jazz pianist plays the Brighton club on Friday 9 October, touring a live trio album about migration and family.

Zoe Rahman, the pianist who was nominated for the Mercury Prize 20 years ago, is playing The Verdict in Brighton on Friday 9 October with music from her new live album, Hull Suite Live.

The suite started as a commission from Hull Jazz Festival for World Piano Day 2024. It was meant to be a 20-minute solo piano piece, and…

10:40am

What's on

Early Music Festival's last three weekends, from Purcell to Stanmer Park

Bringers of Dreams runs until 25 October, with £5 standing tickets, half-price seats for under-30s and free entry for under-12s at most events.

12:20pm

What's on

Photo Fringe 2026: more than 100 photography shows and events this October

The biennial festival runs until 31 October in venues across Brighton & Hove and along the coast, and every exhibition can also be seen online.

1:10pm

In brief

Out and about

Story Trail visitors found 7,000 BookBenches in the first week

More than 30 book-themed benches are out around the city until 8 November, raising money for the SEND charity Amaze.

8:20am

Sea & Downs

All sea & downs

Green city

South Downs

Plans to restore Falmer Pond would dredge its silt and add reed beds

Falmer Pond is big enough to be registered as a freshwater lake. A planning application for the restoration is open for comments.

Lewes RoadA planning application to restore Falmer Pond is open for comments. The Brighton & Hove City Council project aims to improve the water quality and the wildlife living in the pond.

The application, reference SDNP/26/03102/FUL, is with the South Downs National Park Authority. It covers management of trees, protection of the pond bank, works to a pipe at the end…

12:40pm

Get involved

Have your say

Palmeira Square's Floral Clock: the three options and how to have your say

HoveThe 1953 clock is beyond repair. Drop-in sessions are on 6 and 8 October, and the online survey closes on 14 October.

1pm

Business

All business

City at work

Awards

Kemptown Bookshop named retailer of the year at the city's business awards

Young Friends Nursery won Company of the Year at the Brighton & Hove Business Awards, held at The Grand Brighton on 1 October.

Kemp TownKemptown Bookshop has been named Retailer of the Year at the Brighton & Hove Business Awards 2026. Winners in 18 categories were announced at The Grand Brighton on Thursday 1 October.

Company of the Year went to Young Friends Nursery. The other finalists were Babble, DMH Stallard, Shoreham Port and Woodhart Group. Shoreham Port won Large Business of the Year…

9:20am

City at work

Producers

Brighton's Halisco named the fifth best restaurant in the UK

Food & Drink

Brighton's new food festival ends tonight with a seven-course Syrian supper

More than 200 Sussex businesses pledge to sell six more local foods

Three new places to eat in Brighton and Hove this autumn

Hove restaurant etch. wins the AA Wine Award for England, and overall

The city's Food Partnership turns 20, with 5,000 people taught to cook

Brighton waiters will race with loaded trays at the racecourse on 15 October

Where to find free and low-cost food in Brighton & Hove

In brief

OctoberBest is back on 10 October with festival menus at 38 restaurants

An English's shucker represented Brighton at the London Oyster Championships

City

St James's Street could go traffic-free for a day next spring

Old Steine lights and Victoria Fountain switched on as revamp nears end

Work on the Hove to Portslade seafront cycle lane is about to begin

Work on the next stretch of King's Road seafront arches is about to start

In brief

The £1 Whitehawk bus fare will now run until 31 March 2027

Community

Five ways to get involved with Albion's charity this season

BARCO takes over the Brighton Centre for a free Black History Month weekend

Recovery service users show their own photographs for Photo Fringe

Culture

Zoe Rahman plays The Verdict with a suite about her parents' sea crossings

Early Music Festival's last three weekends, from Purcell to Stanmer Park

Photo Fringe 2026: more than 100 photography shows and events this October

In brief

Story Trail visitors found 7,000 BookBenches in the first week

Sea & Downs

Plans to restore Falmer Pond would dredge its silt and add reed beds

Palmeira Square's Floral Clock: the three options and how to have your say

Business

Kemptown Bookshop named retailer of the year at the city's business awards

Business at Sussex's last abattoir has more than tripled in a year

Green

Sussex kelp explained: what five years without trawling has done

Sport

Albion win all three Premier League awards for September