Easy to miss but worth finding is Brighton's third
Japanese restaurant
(I'm discounting the sushi chains). It's a little delight inside,
low lights, low chairs, pretty efficient, just a few frills.. The
point is though that all the peripherals disappear from the mind
once the food arrives. I eat Japanese food continuously in London
and it's rarely better than OK. Here we get into the really quite
good territory. Every tofu dish was excellent, tempura was hot,
fresh and light. Sashimi was
carefully cut, well chosen and
beautifully presented. Noodles were not bad at all and even the
ubiquitous rice rolls were surprisingly satisfying. it's a
difficult balance to strike in Brighton but Murasaki has has a single
stroke of genius. By labelling itself as a tapas place, all
notions of big plates served simultaneously are vaporised and menu
selection between a large group is simplified. Just order what
you fancy. If you want more, just ask.
The wine list is a bit pants but really, you should probably be
ordering the sake if you want to get into the spirit of things.
After a good night had by all, we agreed to spread the word about the
best addition to the Dials international menu. Not that they need
our help, the place was packed on a Tuesday night and now I know why
Food 9/10
Service 8/10
Atmo 7/10
Vege 8/10
Alco 6/10
Total 76%