Friends and acquaintances in London are increasingly asking me where to dine in Brighton, and I always come up with two recommendations now. I say to them that if they want a buzzy atmosphere and cutting edge natural wines, within walking distance from Brighton station, then head to Plateau. If they want something slightly more sedate, head to Wild Flor, which is not in Brighton, but “Hove Actually” (as they say over there). The contrast between the two is perfect if you are down for the weekend.

Last time we were at Wild Flor, in fact our first visit to this relatively new restaurant, was back in June, and on a Sunday, when the menu is geared towards a more traditional approach, serving an all day Sunday Lunch. Having allowed the summer to zip past, we were back there on Saturday night to sample their à la carte menu.

The food at Wild Flor is excellent, but one of its draws, rather like Noble Rot in London, is the incredible wine list, put together by co-owner and passionate wine lover Rob Maynard. I’m not talking dull classics, but an adventurous list with a good number of wines with a bit of age. Of course, buying small batches means the list changes and evolves. As people get to know Wild Flor as a place geared towards wine lovers, then Rob can become even more adventurous, but there’s plenty for averyone, including a wide range by the glass thanks to a good supply of Coravin wine preservers.

As I sat down to write my monthly article about what we drank at home in August I thought I’d just put up a very short piece, mainly to give you a photographic taste of what Wild Flor has to offer, first. The wines were all drunk by the glass. Naturally, this does bump the price up considerably. You can dine here for about £35-£40 each for three courses, so our £170 bill (for two, including service) is a reflection of the number of glasses we consumed. You can have a great evening for less, but the temptations are there.

I’m not going to give any notes for the wines, but they were all very good.

We drank:

• Champagne Michel Gonet “Les 3 Terroirs” BdeB 2010 (£12/glass)
• Lustau Palo Cortado “Cayetano” £10
• Riesling Auslese Trocken Kallstadter-Saumagen 2014, Koehler-Ruprecht (Pfalz) £13
• Bourgogne Blanc “Les Chaplains” 2015, Simon Bize £8.50
• Marsannay “Clos du Roy” VV 2013, René Bouvier £12
• Grenache-Syrah “Classe” 2017, Jeff Coutelou (Languedoc) £7.50

Smoked chicken and duck terrine, plum and brioche (£9)

Roast partridge, caramelised celeriac, lentils, pickled pear and walnut pesto (£19). I ate this with a side of crushed new potatoes and “honey and cumin” roast carrots.

Comté and Stichelton. £12 for the two, or £20 for four cheeses.

I couldn’t resist the lovely rich Coutelou.

Wild Flor is at 42 Church Road, Hove (01273 329111) or check out their web site here.

Highly recommended on your weekend away in sunny Brighton (Hove Actually). They also do an excellent Vegan Menu.