If you are used to a quiet, slow start to your weekend, Embers is not that. Tucked into The Lanes at 42 Meeting House Lane, this wood-fired restaurant and cocktail bar opened in 2023 under chefs Dave Marrow and Isaac Bartlett-Copeland, and the whole place is built around a medieval-style fire cage in the centre of the room. Everything is cooked over a live wood fire, which gives the food a smoky edge you will not find at your usual cafe, and the concept, "Fire & Friendship", comes from the fifteen-year friendship between the two, with Dave having been Isaac's first kitchen mentor.
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Breakfast runs every Saturday and Sunday from 9:00am to 11:30am, so it is more of an early brunch than a late one. It is worth booking, especially between 10:15am and 11:30am when the place is at its busiest, though walk-ins are always welcome if you chance it. There are vegetarian, vegan and gluten-free options across the menu, so it is not just for the meat-eaters.
The headline dish is the Embers Breakfast, a proper spread with smoked sausage, black pudding, Embers bacon, Billington mushrooms, potato waffle, cowboy beans, tomato compote and shirred eggs. For something a bit more indulgent, there is Steak & Eggs with a 5oz Bavette steak, bacon jam, Billington mushrooms, tomato compote and shirred eggs, or Chicken & Waffles, which pairs barbecue chicken thigh with bacon jam, potato waffle, honey, jalapeño sauce, crispy skin, brioche crumb and a poached egg. If you want something lighter, the Svamptoast puts Billington oyster mushrooms and smashed avocado on sourdough, with a choice of poached egg or scrambled tofu, and the Embers Overnighter is soaked oats with seeds, nuts, berries and banana under a maple glaze. There is also Eggs Royale on a toasted muffin with smoked trout pâté, poached eggs and choron sauce, and a freshly baked croissant served with raspberry and vanilla jam and butter. A long list of optional extras lets you build your own plate, from smoked sausage and Embers bacon to black pudding, potato waffle, cowboy beans, shirred eggs, poached eggs, scrambled tofu, Billington mushroom and a portion of house toast.
On drink, the Embers Filter Coffee uses Skylark beans and comes with free refills, which is a nice touch if you are settling in. There is Bird & Blend loose leaf tea, freshly squeezed orange, grapefruit, apple or pineapple juice, and a couple of house specials: the House Citrus, an orange and citrus shrub with grapefruit, and a Virgin Mary made with smoked oyster mushroom, tomato and citrus. The restaurant is closed on Tuesdays and opens from 5pm the rest of the week, so the breakfast hours are the only time you can catch it early. It has picked up plenty of praise since opening, placing third best restaurant in Brighton in the 2026 BRAVO Awards and taking the Best Sunday Roast list that same year, and food writer Steffan Meyric Hughes described the space as dimly lit with open cooking stoves and a rustic chandelier. It holds a 4 rating from the Food Standards Agency as of 24 September 2025.
