Sorry Canham and Sons, but there's a new 'best butcher' in town!…read more I'm so happy I decided to pop into this little shop on a whim, because the Village Butcher is exactly the kind of traditional experience I've been looking for. The owner is the jolliest butcher you'll ever meet, and made my husband and I feel more than welcome, even though it was nearly closing time. Chatting with him made me feel like I had accidentally walked into a day's filming of the BBC series 'The High Street', because it certainly appeared like I had gone back in time to the days when the butcher was an important member of the community, and treated you like family. But I digress - on to the review! :) The shop is small and very clean, and has a very large variety of locally sourced and organic meats, offal and homemade sausages. I know next to nothing about cooking meat but the owner was more than happy to discuss preparation techniques and recipes, and help us decide which cuts which might like best. Next to the meat counter is another display full of homemade pies and puddings, and we bought a Steak and Stilton pie to snack on while we walked home, and Steak and Kidney pudding for dinner. That Steak and Stilton pie was the BEST PIE I HAVE EVER EATEN IN MY LIFE. The meat was soft, tender and melt-in-your-mouth gorgeous, the gravy flavourful and sweet, the pastry buttery and delicious - seriously, the Best Pie EVER. I'd also never really liked boiled puddings before, but their Steak and Kidney one was amaaaaaaaaazing - again, the meat was gloriously tender and the suet was fluffy and SO TASTY, utterly unlike any other puddings I'd ever eaten. I cannot rave enough about how delicious their food is! And best of all - not only do you get all this incredible food and friendly, attentive personalized service - but they also DELIVER. Anywhere in Brighton! How could you possibly choose anyone else? :)

There's two cures for the clocks going forward and winter arriving:…read more The 1st - Hop on a plane to Australia or somewhere else where it's still warm and sunny. The 2nd - Pop into Brighton Sausage Co and pick up a bag full of their home-made, hearty bangers. If you go for option 2, take them home, fry them in a pan with a nob of butter and eat them with a large dollop of mash and red onion gravy. Honestly, you'll feel much better.

This shop is pretty cool. Obviously the focus is upon sausages and sell a wide range from classics…read morelike pork and apple to more exotic curry varieties. I have only popped in here once and was needing a quick bite to eat. They sold me an excellent beef and horseradish sausage roll and it was nice to see it served in the traditional way as sausage meat wrapped in a cone of pastry, rather than the packaged varieties that are more pastry than sausage. They also have a range of deli style ingredients, including quality olive oils and balsamic vinegars. The guy manning the shop was a good bloke and happy to recommend his top picks of the sausages available. I would certainly come here to get my snags if I was cooking up a sausage and mash and was looking to impress. You could almost class this as a movement bringing quality and care back to the humble sausage. Hurrah!

I walked into this sliver of a shop and was surrounded with beautiful cuts of raw lamb and beef, a…read morehappily chugging espresso machine, crispy rolls of mustard and sausage, and the fucking baddest Clotted Cream Strawberry Scone. I sat down on a bench in front of All Saints church with my heated mustard sausage roll, piping hot coffee, and the fucking baddest Clotted Cream Strawberry Scone. I opened the lid of my coffee and unwrapped the mustard sausage roll encased in buttery pastry leaves. I closed my eyes and guided the sausage roll into my mouth. Church bells tolled while I rolled the balls of mustard around my tongue, the sausage melting in my mouth. I couldn't wait any longer, I gently laid the bitten sausage roll aside, took a sip of hot coffee to clear my mouth and turned full attention to the fucking baddest Clotted Cream Strawberry Scone. Oh Sweet Lord, lord lord, lord lord!!! A round scone appx 3" in diameter had been delicately sliced in half. A plop of clotted cream had been slathered on one side, freshly sugared and corn starched strawberries had been put on the other side, then combined to make the baddest fucking sandwich type fucking goddamn fuck i love you thing in the world. I carefully separated one of the halves of scone, shook loose the strawberries, slathered clotted cream, then placed strawberries on top. I took a bite and the scone perfectly burst into crisps, my tongue swirled and spread the soul-satisfying clotted cream against the roof of my mouth, then the tang and sweet of the strawberries puckered my salivary glands into fruition. GOD DAMN!!!! This store is tiny and fucking earnest and I love Jesus and the UK for it.

Just awesome the quality of the meat is sublime. Whoever creates the wonderful dishes they sell…read moredeserves an Oscar. Really fantastic. If you like real food buy food there

This is the place to buy your meat if you want to impress your dinner guests. On my first encounter…read morewith Bramptons I needed to procure some mince meat to cook meatballs. When the mince was handed over, the butcher warned me, 'make sure you eat that in the next day or so or it'll go off - it aint got any preservatives in it'. We ate the meatballs that night and were pretty impressed. Following my initial success, I splashed out on some lamb chops. These, I was told, were reared on the Sussex Downs which can only add to the enjoyment of the food knowing the meat hasn't been festering in a lorry freezer for 24 hours. If your on a tight budget to feed a large household then you may find it difficult to buy here but if you have the money and love your local produce, I don't think you'll find a better butchers in the area.

Bramptons is a fantastic traditional butchers and cheese shop in Kemptown…read more The full array of meat products is available here - beef, lamb, pork - in various cuts, including their own sausages. It's a real pleasure to watch the butchers here at work - they clearly have a great pride and skill in their work. So different to picking up some pre-packaged factory farmed stuff from the supermarket shelf. The prices aren't cheap, but you know you are getting well sourced, humanely reared produce. The cheese shop also has a good range, including lots of local cheeses you won't find anywhere else.

Sitting directly opposite the road from M & B Meats, I'd recommend Principal Meats to anyone who…read morelikes a more traditional Butchers. Sitting somewhere between the Deli at a Sainsbury or Tesco and a more traditional food market, Principal offers decent quality meat at discounted prices, with friendly and approachable staff behind the till to help you with your order. A particularly good deal came in the form of three packs of 600g mince meat... They only cost a fiver. A bit on the fatty side undeniably, but better than Sainsbury's basics range and ideal for making burgers or curries, where the fat helps cook/flavour your meal. Alternatively you can always brown the mince, and poor the excess fat away... Enough random tips though! A good honest butcher awaits!

It's always nice to see independent butchers still surviving against the supermarket giants. They…read morealso supply a lot of the pubs with their stock. The shop is manned by a bunch of 'classic' butcher types who look like they have been in the meat trade for a long time. They have a good selection of cuts to buy at pretty cheap prices and make a lot of good sausages. I would have liked to see a bit more information about the origin of the meat, but the shop is clean and would certainly hold up to any FSA inspection. If you pop in near the end of business you can usually talk yourself into a cheeky discount. I have used better butchers in my time, but if I was in the area and needing something to knock up a meal I know I could do worse than shop at principal.

This shop has it all for me! Why can't there be more of them? As you walk in the smell of fresh…read morebread, pasties and cheese hits you like a warm gloved hand of hunger! I used to live around the corner from Choice Cuts and although its a little more expensive than the super markets, its worth every penny. The steaks are hung twice as long as you'd get in Tescos and taste ten times better (try the sirloin). When cooking your Saturday fry-up, its worth buying your sausages, bacon and eggs from here. The bacon doesn't have that watery stuff emulating from it when cooked and the sausages are so moreish. Its a nice place to buy some bits for lunch too. The bread and cold meats are great to share but my favourites are the Jamaican pasties they make.

Choice Cuts is a great little neighbourhood butchers, as their name implies. Select your meat and…read morethey'll cut it how you like it, with/without fat etc. What's really great is that all their meat is organic and tastes all the better for it! So, for those who, like me, like to know where their meat comes from and feel dubious and frankly fearful about prepackaged supermarket meat, this is the place for you! Not only about the meat, Choice Cuts is also a great place to pick up fresh bread and deli items- make sure to check out the cheeses...mmmm! In addition to this there are shelves packed with chocolate (Green and Blacks etc.), sauces, jams and lots more. They even do Ecover and Faith in Nature products, meaning you don't have to sacrifice your ethics and buy yucky corner shop alternatives, if you run out! Thank you, Choice Cuts, you are the kind of local shop that makes me smile!

This butchery is the best I have ever visited, anywhere I have ever lived. I used to live up the…read morehill from Westdene Butchers. Trevor and crew were always totally friendly and helpful and the place was always clean. Their chili sticks are the best on Earth and their biltong is great. Their cutlets were always choice and fresh. Their sausages are awesome, and were a perfect substitute for the Cajun sausage and Andouille that I grew up eating. I moved away from Brighton, but the reason I am looking this up now is to see if I can get chili sticks shipped to me, abroad.

Westdene Butchers is well worth a visit. I'm lucky enough to live close. The guys there are really…read morefriendly, very knowledgeable and care about their trade. My favourites are the chicken kebabs they make up for the summer: great value and really tasty. My sister always buys up their pies in bulk when she visits Brighton!

Muesli Mountain is great- if you haven't yet stumbled across it, I suggest you check it out pronto!…read moreHidden away in a yard behind Queen's Park Rd, it is essentially a mini open market, with stalls selling all sorts of yummy food and interesting arts and crafts produced locally. The ethos is basically local local local! It's a really lovely alternative place to pick up freshly made bread (from the Lighthouse bakery) and organic fruit and veg. At the moment there is a stall selling and renting (!) live Xmas trees in pots and there is also a great selection of Christmassy gift ideas. You can even pick up sustainably sourced logs and kindling for lovely winter open fires. The market is open every day except Sunday and if you live in the Hanover area it's a really great resource. Even if you live further afield, Muesli Mountain is worth a trek. It is an inspired project with a lovely atmosphere- one of those little gems that makes you so grateful you live in Brighton.

Think Local, Buy Local, BE Local…read more As straplines go, Museli Mountain Market's is short, sweet and spot on. Run by a team of Hanover residents, it's an open market that aims to provide other locals with a space to meet, chat and learn how to be more sustainable. There's fresh organic fruit, salad and vegetables from local farms and allotments, gorgeous bread from Lighthouse Bakery and store cupboard essentials like pasta, rice, flour and cereals. They also sell local seeds and plants, cleaning products and Ecover refills. As a girl with a sweet-tooth, my only grumble is the lack of fresh and tasty, locally baked cakes!