The Restaurant Guide for Wine Lovers
Riddle and Finns
We assessed Riddle and Finns in June 2026 and this review is based on the food menu and wine list at the time of the review. As menus and wine lists change, we name styles in order for the information to remain more useful as menus change. If things have slipped you can use the Vinealto Dining app including accessing an up to date reading using 'At the Table' from the wine list in front of you in the restaurant. How we assess
Riddle and Finns is a long-standing Brighton seafood house across two sites, serving everything from native oysters and caviar to boldly spiced crab and curry. The wine programme is built with the food in mind (strong on Sussex sparkling and Champagne, well-stocked with the crisp coastal whites that flatter shellfish, and accessible by the glass) though it stops short of a dry Sherry and the off-dry whites that the fiercest dishes really want. It will most reward the seafood lover who likes to drink sparkling and bright whites with their fish and is happy to order by the glass to match the table.
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Read the assessmentCin Cin
Hove, East Sussex
Modern Italian
Cin Cin is a modern Italian neighbourhood restaurant in Hove, cooking seasonal small plates and handmade pasta from a monthly-changing menu. The wine programme earns its standing on an all-Italian list that reads the country in real depth and reaches a serious fine-wine tier, much of it poured by the glass, let down only by a thin sparkling shelf and a wine list with no local or organic story to match the kitchen's. It will most reward the diner who comes to eat Italian and wants to drink seriously by the glass, trading up plate by plate with the floor to guide them.
Read the assessmentThe Union
Rye, East Sussex
Modern British small and large plates
The Union is a seasonal modern-British small-plates restaurant on the hill in Rye, cooking from Sussex and Kent produce and the local catch. Its wine programme earns its standing on provenance and integrity (a genuinely local-led English list, deep in nearby sparkling and still growers and honest on price, widened by a well-chosen low-intervention selection from further afield), let down only by a thin sweet-and-fortified corner. It will most reward the diner who wants to eat and drink a sense of place, and who is happy to let a list built next door lead the way.
Read the assessmentThe Flint House
Brighton, East Sussex
Modern small plates
The Flint House is a relaxed restaurant and bar in the Lanes that serves small plates and grill dishes made for grazing. Nearly all its wines come by the glass, among them Sussex sparkling wine, Champagne, Fino and Port. It suits diners who like to try a different wine with each plate.
Read the assessmentPoco
Alfriston, East Sussex
Italian osteria and bottle shop
Poco is an Italian osteria and bottle shop in Alfriston that prints a chosen wine, by the glass and the bottle, against every dish it serves. The wine programme earns its standing on that integration and on the honesty of pricing each pour in the open, an Italian regional list deepened by a bottle shop and a fine-wine Coravin selection, let down only by the gaps a fuller list would close, with no sparkling, no dessert wine, and a New World glass or two at odds with the Italian idea. It will most reward the diner who comes to eat Italian and let the menu choose the wine, and who treats the printed pairings as the genuinely useful tool they are.
Read the assessmentBurnt Orange
Brighton, East Sussex
Wood-fired small plates
Burnt Orange is a Brighton small plates restaurant cooking over fire, with smoky, spiced food made for sharing. Its wine list is short, curious and arranged by weight, with most wines by the glass or carafe. It suits groups who like to graze and try unfamiliar wines along the way.
Read the assessmentTerre a Terre
Brighton, East Sussex
Vegetarian and vegan
Terre a Terre is a vegetarian and vegan restaurant in Brighton's Lanes, cooking bold, spiced and fermented plates drawn from around the world. Its short organic list, strong on English wine and poured almost entirely by the glass, has a good answer for most of the menu, though you must find the right glass for the hottest dishes yourself. It suits adventurous eaters who like to drink a different glass with each plate.
Read the assessment