Amari Restaurant

I used to come to this location regularly when the restaurant was called Semolina. It’s a small restaurant sits 20. It has been renovated lovely & has a really nice atmosphere. If I’m honest being in the Michelin guide I was expecting more from the food. The bread was delicious but felt more French. The beet salad was my favourite, delicious so much so that I ate it before I thought to take a photo ;) The mushroom croquettes were delicious in taste but the texture wasn’t quite right, a bit wet. For tapas we like to order a few things and then see how full we are then order more. We had ordered patatas bravas at the same time as above but they never materialised, we could see the service was taking a wee bit longer (and the server had mentioned that things such as the cauliflower took 30-40 mins) so we also ordered the tiny squid whilst waiting for the potatoes. Still nothing materialised, when we mention the patatas bravas we were told they were going to serve them with the squid... fine. Then 5 mins later they came, so I feel they were just forgotten about. The table next to us had sent their potatoes back because they were cold, and half of ours were hot and the rest barely warm. They were very tasty, but more like roast potatoes. The squid wasn't actually very nice, it was too salty & I like salt. It came with squid ink which is salty and was a puddle, rather than a dressing. It was also sever with samphire which is also salty but it was the squid coating itself that was extremely salty. I like salt so I ate it, but my husband couldn't. It wasn't a balanced dish. This apparently wasn't the only dish that was salty as the couple on the other side of us sent back their buttered greens because they were too salty. I don't eat meat but what I saw come out did look delicious. It was a lovely evening and the service is very personable but the food delivery is quite slow, I understand that the kitchen is small and so things would take longer but I've been in many a tiny tapas restaurant and not waited as long, especially for things such as bravas. The chef is obviously cooking to order, so well done for that, but 40 mins for some parts of the menu feels bit excessive. It is very reasonably priced, and the wine was nice, but we'd finished the bottle before the food had all arrived, which for me never happens, but we were drinking whilst waiting for each dish to arrive (nothing came together). I don't want this to sound too negative, we did enjoy it, but just expected a bit more being in The food guide.

Such a lovely place. Such excellent personable service from the very start incl anything to do with food intolerantes/allergies. So well handled. And so friendly. Every dish was well considered, interesting, traditional but with the chefs own take. Be prepared to wait for many dishes. But order some exceptional padrons, have a chat with the fantastic servers and enjoy the cool, intimate atmosphere whilst you wait. We loved every minute of the meal we had here. And that's a rare thing. Recomm the padrons (best I've had Inc in spain), the beef, pork loin and christ- that chocolate pudding!!!!

Cute, wholesome little venue. Beautiful simplistic decor without being pretentious. Menu is plentiful of choice. Service was superb, we managed to squeeze in on the day. Tina, Agatha, Ian, Em, Nazul set a wonderful atmosphere and experience - Welcoming through and through. The head chef joined us for a chat at the end of service. Cocktails were perfectly balanced, we had the Mezcalitas, which did not disappoint as fans of Halisco. Don't think, go - Fantastic service, beautiful fresh and light food, wonderfully seasoned with perfect texture. Half of the pictures were taken after we dug in - It was too tempting to wait.

Amari managed to squeeze us in for a 9pm walk-in table, and we were blown away by the food and service. Enjoyed a completely unhurried dinner despite the late hour, even as other customers finished up and left. Amari has a varied and interesting menu, backed up by top quality cooking, showing a lot of thought / passion has gone into this new spot. Service is warm and friendly. Nice choice of wine from across Iberia and Latin America (including by the glass and some more unusual options too). Prices are very very reasonable for the quality of the cooking!

One of the best dinners I had in my life! The cocktails are delicious and perfectly balanced and the food is exquisite. Tina, the host, is amazing front of house and chef Ian Swainson is just brilliant in his job. Every dish was stunning in looks and taste. Huge recommendation! You won't be disappointed.

Fabulous food and service. Some of the nicest croquestas I've ever had (and I used to live in Seville). Great house wine too. Will definitely be back. All the staff were so friendly and the chefs coming out to explain dishes was a very nice touch.

This place doesn't feel like Brighton. I'm not usually someone for flamboyant Michelin restaurants but this place was great. I found the service to be a bit over the top but everything else was amazing. The atmosphere is great, with really good decor and music choice. The food was easily the best part though, although quite expensive the dishes are worth it with the highlights being patatas bravas, the cod special, prawns and especially their croquettas. The chefs were also very personal, informing us on our food and asking how everything was - definitely someone who loves their work. 9.9/10 experience, phenomenal sharing plates.

We really enjoyed dining here! Huge compliments to the chefs, everything was packed with flavor and had lots of layers that kept coming with every bite. Our host was the loveliest person, made us feel so welcome - Good vibes all around... and the margarita is just unbeatable🥳