Starfish & Coffee: Where to Eat in Brighton (4.8★)

A brunch address on a Kemptown side street

Egremont Place is not a seafront address. It’s a residential street in Kemptown, east of the city centre, climbing between Edward Street and the green slopes of Queen’s Park. This is where Starfish & Coffee does its business, and only in daylight.

The name shares its title with Prince’s 1987 song from Sign o’ the Times. Whether that’s the intent or not, it tells you the tone before you arrive: playful, not formal. It works as a brunch restaurant: breakfast-to-lunch food, coffee, and a kitchen that has stopped for the day by mid-afternoon.

It’s also one of the better-reviewed brunch spots in Brighton, with well over a thousand reviews and consistently high marks. Prices are mid-range. It costs more than a takeaway bacon roll and less than a sit-down dinner in the Lanes.

The 3pm hard stop

The hours here shape the whole visit, so read them before you plan anything else.

• Monday–Friday: 8:30am–3pm
• Saturday–Sunday: 9am–3pm

There’s no evening service on any day, and weekends start half an hour later. If you wander over at 2:45pm hoping for a late lunch, you’re cutting it fine; aim to sit down by early afternoon at the latest.

Here’s the upside. The early opening makes it a good first stop for anyone who arrived in Brighton the night before. Eat, then walk downhill to the sea while most of the city is still waking up.

Getting to Egremont Place

Most visitors arrive on foot. From Brighton station it’s roughly a 25–30 minute walk: down Queen’s Road and North Street, past the Royal Pavilion, then east along Edward Street. The last stretch is uphill, which matters if you’re pushing a buggy or dragging luggage.

From the Royal Pavilion and Brighton Dome, it’s about a 10–15 minute walk east. From Brighton Palace Pier, head along Marine Parade or Eastern Road and turn inland.

Several bus routes run along Edward Street and Eastern Road toward the Royal Sussex County Hospital, which sits just south of the area. Check the Brighton & Hove Buses app for which one stops closest on the day. Parking in Kemptown is mostly residents’ permit bays with limited pay-and-display, so leaving the car elsewhere saves you a headache.

Getting a table and settling the bill

Weekend brunch in Brighton is a sport, and well-reviewed places draw queues. No booking policy is published for Starfish & Coffee, so check its own channels before assuming you can reserve. Brunch rooms like this are often walk-in, and that means getting there early.

Some reasoning on timing:

• Weekdays at 8:30am usually beat the brunch crowd. Commuters grab and go, and day-trippers haven’t arrived yet.
• Saturday and Sunday from 9am is when the city’s late-risers and visitors converge. Arriving right at opening beats the mid-morning wave.
• Groups of four or more will find it easier on a weekday.

Paying is simple by UK standards. Contactless card and phone payments are the norm across Brighton cafés, and many have gone fully cashless, so don’t count on paying in coins. Tipping is optional in the UK. Around 10% is customary where there’s table service, but check the bill first: if a service charge is already included, you don’t need to add more.

Prices and the current menu are best checked on the menu itself or the restaurant’s own pages. They change, and we’d rather send you there than guess.

Pairing it with Queen’s Park and Kemp Town

The best thing about the location is what’s around it. Queen’s Park is a few minutes’ walk north: a sloping Victorian park with a pond, a clock tower and a playground. It’s the obvious place to walk off a heavy brunch.

Head south instead and you reach St James’s Street and the Kemp Town village area. It’s lined with independent shops, bars and the city’s LGBTQ+ heart. Keep going and you hit Marine Parade, with its long Regency terraces looking over the Channel.

Here’s a route that fits inside the opening hours:

• Morning: brunch at Starfish & Coffee
• Late morning: loop through Queen’s Park
• Early afternoon: walk down to Marine Parade and west along the seafront to the Palace Pier
• Afternoon: the Royal Pavilion and the North Laine for browsing

Who it suits, and who it doesn’t

It’s right for you if brunch is the main event of your morning. It suits you if you’re staying in Kemptown, or if you want a sit-down breakfast away from the busy streets around the station and the pier.

It’s less suited if you only have one afternoon in Brighton. With the kitchen closed by 3pm, a mid-afternoon arrival means a locked door. It’s also a fair walk from the station, so if you’re in town for a few hours, factor in the trip there and back.

Before you set off

Run through three quick checks. Confirm the day’s hours, since weekends open at 9am rather than 8:30am. See whether there’s a booking option or whether it’s walk-in only. Look at the current menu if anyone in your group has dietary needs. Then bring an appetite and leave time for the park.