Having made their name in Brighton, the owners opened a second branch here in Fitzrovia in 2021. It’s all about big Italian flavours and easy-to-eat dishes to share with family and friends – and it’s also less pasta-centric than many of its competitors. This corner restaurant is bright and welcoming.
The 10 best Brighton and Hove restaurants shortlisted for awards
The British Restaurant Awards (BRA) has named 10 Brighton and Hove restaurants among nominees to claim top titles as the best in the industry for 2022. It comes as nine of the city’s favourite eateries have made the shortlist in the ‘Best Restaurant Brighton’ category.
Among those to make the shortlist are Micheline Guide-rated Cin Cin.
The British Restaurant Awards marks the fourth year of its annual celebration of all good things food and drink. Categories in this year’s BRA will also choose from Gordon Ramsay, Jamie Oliver, Levi Roots, and Ainsley Harriot – among others – to find the ‘Best Chef’.
Young chefs, hospitality teams, takeaway restaurants, and delivery companies will also be highlighted alongside regional and national winners. The BRA said: “This year’s Best New Restaurant nominees feature some amazing new launches who are making waves across the country offering a unique experience in cuisine for their customers.”
We recently hosted a blind date from The guardian at Cin Cin Fitzrovia. The perfect place for an intimate first date, read more about it here.
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When it’s hot in London, the best thing to do is pretend you’re in Europe and Fitzrovia’s Cin Cin is one of the best places to do this. The terrace area is small but lovely, with a few choice seats that benefit from a Parisian-esque view of pretty Foley Street, where the restaurant is located. You could come here and have a full meal, of course, but you could also drop by at 3pm on a sunny day for a quick aperitivo to cool you down and a few choice snacks from the Italian menu. The arancini change all the time and are the best you’ll find for miles and fat, juicy prawns will whisk you away to somewhere more exotic.
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Cin Cin, Fitzrovia — for casual Italian using the best of British ingredients
The specials board captured our attention immediately: crudo with orange, fennel rabbit cacciatore, green olive and soft polenta; bigoli with anchovy, lemon, chilli and focaccia crumb; lemon meringue pie, blood orange sorbet. Cin Cin’s menu uses the best of British ingredients such as Blythburgh pork and south coast crab, Italian style, along with twists on classics including gnocchi cacio e pepe with Trombetta courgettes, burrata with truffled prosciutto and a Marinda tomato salad with lambrusco marinade that’s a must-order. Start with a glass of Franciacorta (Italy’s answer to champagne and a step up from prosecco) or the house negroni featuring Australian Regal red vermouth and rhubarb bitters, a nod to the owner’s Sydney heritage. Decor is relaxed and there are plenty of outdoor tables in this buzzy part of Fitzrovia, not far from Oxford Street. cincin.co.uk
Though you can’t walk for more than the length of a fettuccine in London without stumbling into a pasta bar, in Brighton & Hove you’ll be much harder pressed to find a place slinging freshly rolled strands of the good stuff.
In fact, to our mind, Cin Cin are the premier pasta purveyors here, and a more than capable match for any of London’s top pasta restaurants (in 2021, Cin Cin decided to test this theory, and their Fitzrovia branch opened to immediate national acclaim).
Though the restaurant’s original location in Brighton’s North Laines has now closed, the newer, larger branch on Western Road, just seconds before you reach Church Road, is just as delicious.
Here, a horseshoe counter and a handful of barstools overlook Cin Cin’s open kitchen, where seasonal small plates, fresh pasta dishes, and a couple of grilled bits are lovingly prepared in full view of the diners. This is dinner and a show, Hove style, and if your dinner starts with an order of the restaurant’s ever-changing, always-popular arancino (brown crab on our last visit), followed by a pasta dish from the special’s board, you’re sure to be calling for an encore.
Fortunately, Cin Cin’s desserts are respondent to the seasons and always stellar – whether it’s a festive panettone bread and butter pudding with marmalade ice cream or a summery Amalfi lemon tart, there’s no chance you’re leaving disappointed.
“Sometimes something comes along that is both compelling and comforting enough to lure mum and I away from the Drapers Arms; that thing is Cin Cin, a modern, aperitivo-style Italian in Fitzrovia. In summer, the al fresco terrace is worth the ticket price alone. The prices of the pasta plates are eye-widening, but the portion sizes are waist-widening enough to put parents’ minds and wallets at ease, and their quality is second to none. Besides, there’s no need to have pasta. Stick to the more reasonably priced starters and snacks, like the crispy polenta with caponata, arancino with brown crab aioli and burrata, and save space and money for a signature negroni and a boozy raisin affogato.”
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“Fitzrovia Italian restaurant Cin Cin has launched a bright and buzzy, south-facing summer terrace. Cin Cin’s Chef Patron, Jamie Halsall, has created a special terrace menu, with summery dishes including Courgette flower and truffled ricotta fritti; Crispy Calabrese chicken wings, garlic mayonnaise and Parmesan, and an Arancino of white crab with brown crab aioli.”
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“On a tranquil street in Fitzrovia, Italian bar and kitchen Cin Cin’s terrace is an ideal spot for some al fresco dining paired with people watching. The cafe-style street seating looks out over Great Titchfield Street and gets plenty of sunlight (although there are shadier tables if that’s what you’d prefer). And Cin Cin has launched a brand new menu of snacks and sharing plates exclusive to the terrace, including the likes of crispy calabrese chicken wings with garlic mayo & parmesan; courgette flower & truffled ricotta fritti; arancino of white crab with brown crab aioli; and a seafood crudo platter with cured trout, seabass, citrus marinated scallops & oysters. Of course, no summer dining terrace is complete without cocktails, and Cin Cin have plenty of those with Negronis and Australianos on the list.”
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Cin Cin Fitzrovia has been included in Infatuation London’s list of Where to eat pasta in London!
“This Italian bar and kitchen in Fitzrovia is a Brighton import that serves a bigoli with such perfect al dente bite that we have officially added ‘stop eating mediocre pasta’ to our five-year life plan. It comes in a Venetian duck ragu that is so deliciously rich, you won’t even be mad that it’ll set you back £17. Ideal for date night and aperitivo-fuelled four-hour catch-ups, the sophisticated dining room is a truly lovely place to be but when the sun is shining, you can’t beat the quintessentially London pavement seating. Affogato and limoncello shots encouraged.”