Cafe Motu is, in many ways, a typical greasy spoon, serving cooked breakfasts, sandwiches and coffee for under a fiver. However, combine that with a little North-Laine Brighton charm, and you end up with Motu's charming, friendly aesthetic, mixed in with tasty fry-ups. Not my fry-up joint of choice (a little out of the way for me), but a nice place nonetheless: well worth a meal, if you happen to be passing.
Where most greasy spoons suffer a bit aesthetically, Cafe Motu has the balance right between breakfast and wooden tables, blackboards and smiling service. The air isn't laden with grease, the food isn't dripping with oil, and vegetarian options are available: a must-have in most Brighton establishments these days. All in all, what's on offer is a set-up from the typical greasy-spoon, and that's only a good thing.
My only issue with Motu is that it's often closed, and right across the road from one of Brighton's best breakfast joints. I suppose I'm not often up and about first thing in the morning, but Motu rarely if ever seems to be open when I'm walking past. The times I've been, it's been relatively early in the morning, which is clearly the best time for a place like this: it just isn't quite what I need from a greasy spoon (there's nothing like a fry-up at 3 in the afternoon). Add on top of that that Motu is next door to Nia, one of my favourite breakfast/brunch places, and you can see why I rarely go.
Still, when I have gone, I've enjoyed Motu... it just isn't special enough or good enough to draw me from too far away. If I was walking past, I might consider it... as it is, I'd probably go to Nia over Motu, but that's just me. read more