Rafael Cagali’s Maré: Michelin stars without the stuffiness in Brighton

The chef owner says Maré came about “like a bit of a storm”, with investors approaching him to do something with the space. Head chef Ewan Waller had previously worked at Da Terra for two and a half years before moving to Brighton with his girlfriend Lauren Collings, who now works at Maré as a sous chef with her twin sister Beth.

“It was a tough choice to make,” Waller says. “But it worked out for the best in the end, as it gave me the chance to open Maré with Rafael and Charlie [Lee, Cagali’s partner].”

The menu, Waller says, has “a strong emphasis on simplicity, balance and execution.” The chefs try to use the best possible ingredients they can get our hands on and allow them to speak for themselves.

“If you were to come down into the kitchen at Maré, you’d also find a real sense of calm,” adds Waller. “It’s something we take a lot of pride in and try to carry through every aspect of the restaurant.”

The lobster rice is a star dish from the ‘to follow’ part of the menu – one designed to sit in the middle of the table and share. The team begin by making a lobster stock using the heads and shells, which is then used to cook the rice. During service, the rice is finished in a pan with lobster bisque, beef fat emulsion and lobster claw meat, before being seasoned and mixed with chunks of ox tongue. Meanwhile, the lobster is barbecued, carved and placed on top of the rice. The dish is finished with crispy leeks and a saffron and dendê aioli, made with Brazilian red palm oil.

With Maré meaning ‘tide’ in Portuguese, there’s ample seafood on the menu – even if Cagali doesn’t limit it to being a seafood restaurant – and Brighton’s coastal location brings local fish to the restaurant’s door. A fried West Mersea oyster is one of the snacks at the beginning of ‘A taste of Maré’. The oyster is gently cooked before cooling in preparation for service, when it is dunked in a tempura batter made using sparkling water to keep it crisp and airy. The oysters are fried until golden and crisp, then finished with a hot sauce emulsion and pickled shallots.

Cagali’s Brazilian heritage shines through on the menu, but he notes that it’s not a Brazilian restaurant in the same way it’s not a seafood restaurant – he keeps the cuisine open-ended and the dishes more casual than his and Lee’s two-Michelin-starred Da Terra in London.

“I didn’t want to do anything like Da Terra down in Brighton,” says Cagali. “I wanted to have a place that is more like a local restaurant – the flavours of Da Terra where you wouldn’t feel like you’re eating at Da Terra.”

“You’re not going to the Ritz,” says Cagali. “Unfortunately, because some people have never been to a Michelin-starred restaurant, their perception is that it’s going to be expensive. It’s a beautiful restaurant and we wanted to stand out from any other restaurants there. The food is reasonably priced and delicious, and the produce is amazing. Some people might take it wrong, but it is what it is – you can’t please everyone.”

It’s clear that Maré is pleasing people, and it is packed on the Wednesday evening The Caterer comes to visit. Not only has it added a new type of establishment to its Brighton and Hove home, it has laid the groundwork for other establishments to follow in its footsteps.

60 Church Road, Brighton and Hove BN3 2FP

www.marehove.com

From the menu

One bite (maybe two)

• Toasted brioche, liver parfait, preserved cherries, winter truffle £5.50
• Grilled octopus caponata tartlet, red pepper, basil £5.50
• Crumpet, Dorset crab, lovage, radish, dill £6
• Onion croustade, pickled walnut £4.50

Small plates

• Da Terra Iberico coppa slices £7
• Fowey mussels, white asparagus, mussel sauce, agretti £16
• Aged sea bass crudo, tomato, Ajo Blanco, cobnuts £20
• Oyster mushroom tortellini, tarragon, Parmesan £15 

To follow

• Freedown Hills picanha, chimichurri £48
• Veal chop cotoletta, pickled rhubarb £52     
• BBQ brill, clams, pil pil £44
• Lobster rice, ox tongue £52

To finish

• Baba au cachaca, chantilly £12
• Magnolia crème caramel, sobacha £12 
• Tirami-choux, mascarpone, coffee £12

Photography: David Charbit