With my boyfriend being off work last week and for once him not going anywhere, it left a trip we'd talking about for about a year open. Brighton is one of my favourite places to visit, not only can you live the most inclusive and vibrant lifestyle there. It's also on a beautiful coastline. Although when visiting in April, the sea is more like a wind generator and you lose feeling in your face if you stand by it for too long. All part of the British seaside fun though, getting blown away on a Pier!
With the knowledge of many different places to eat in Brighton, I had to choose one that I've been repeatedly hearing about. Purezza. I had thought it was a Pizza place that was really good at Vegan, so I convinced Chris that this would be the perfect place for both of us. Unbeknown to me that in fact it was a Plant Based restaurant.
To be honest, for once in my life I didn't do much research. It had all been word of mouth and I knew it was Becki Friendly so that's all I needed to know. Oops. Oh well, living a Plant Based life with me every now and then shouldn't break him. It might even help him eat a bit healthier!
Here is my adventure to one of Brighton's best, Purezza...
Staff:
We were greeted immediately with a smile, showed to our seats and had the menu explained to us. It's a well decorated quaint little restaurant which had about 10 tables so service was quick and friendly. After we had consulted the menu, the waitress came to take our order and asked us if we wanted part of our order as a starter.
She confirmed the choices I made as Gluten Free and made recommendations as well. When the food came, she once again confirmed that it was Gluten Free. Super helpful, friendly and quick service in a great place to eat. They even ensured that what ever food was left, I was able to take away with me in a box. Nothing worse than trying to eat all the food when you're already full!
Really small thing, when we left I said goodbye but nothing back, just a super small thing. I just like to have as good a parting as a greeting.
9/10
Food:
It was a tough decision about what to eat, there were literally endless possibilities with each one of them sounding more delicious than the last. I sat there for a good while looking over each part of the menu, making sure I made the right decision. I certainly didn't want to make the wrong one with the restaurant being so far away. Although thinking about it now, I'm not sure any choice I made would have been the wrong one.
In the end I chose to have the Gluten Free Garlic Bread as a starter and the Gluten Free based Fumosa Pizza. This Pizza is topped with Smoked Tofu pieces, with oven roasted Mushrooms and smoked Beetroot Carpaccio, finished with a drizzling of BBQ sauce. I mean, how could I not choose this option?
The Garlic Bread came first, and it was a lot bigger than I was expecting. A whole Pizza base worth of the glorious bread of the north! The Garlic Bread was pretty tasty, the texture was a bit hit and miss with the middle being a little too hard. At times it was difficult to chew, making my jaw click a few times... not a great sign I know. The texture around the outside was much fluffier and of the consistency you would expect. It would have been much tastier if the fluffy texture was throughout the whole piece of Garlic Bread.
The Fumosa Pizza came next, it was a picture of indulgence. The Pizza base was one of the least Gluten Free like bases I've seen with some brilliantly golden and crispy edges. (To be clear, I mean this as a compliment, not that they poisoned me. Gluten Free normally looks so colourless and boring.) The Smokey Tofu pieces were proper tasty, they were crispy on the outside with an intense smokey flavour. The Mushrooms and Beetroot were nicely softened, smokey and there were good amounts spread all over the Pizza. The BBQ Sauce was a perfect drizzle of fruity, smokey sauce that I've definitely missed. The Mozzarella was one of the best I've had. Altogether, the ingredients were proportioned well, making it packed but not overfilled.
By far the best Gluten Free Vegan Pizza I've ever had. It was all kinds of delicious, a BBQ flavoured Pizza which is something that has been missing from my life for far too long!
8/10
Allergies/Intolerances:
Purezza is a plant based restaurant so that is the first step to being safe and easy for me. They are very much about inclusive eating so ensuring that almost every option is available Gluten Free is important to them. They also cater for the raw food diet that so many people are trying as well. It's great to see a place without judgement and that caters for so many people.
As I said before, almost all Pizza options are Gluten Free bar the ones with Seitan on, though with those they can adapt anything to meet the Gluten Free requirements. The Pasta dishes are naturally Gluten Free, which was a hard thing to pass up. I didn't go to a Pizza place to fill up on Pasta though, which is sad because I would have loved to try the Mac n Cheese.
Plus a couple of their desserts were available to me, Tiramisu and some Gelato. One of which being a Salted Caramel Brownie Ice Cream, I so wish I had enough space to have eaten that too!
10/10
Purezza is a great place to eat, with so many options I could keep going for weeks and not be bored. Although I might start looking like a Pizza. I very much enjoyed my visit to Brighton and Purezza was a big part of that.
I highly recommend anyone to visit Brighton, plus check this place out while you're there. Or if you're ever in Camden, check out the branch there, I'm sure they'll be just as delicious.