The neighbourhood venue in Hove everyone is looking for

Paul was head chef at Terre à Terre in East Street before moving into the management side, followed by a stint as general manager at Lewes’s Pelham House Hotel.

Sam began his career at Heston Blumenthal’s The Fat Duck, followed by a decade or so in food and drink consultancy before setting up Fourth and Church in September 2015.

At that time, probably the most exciting place to eat on their stretch of Church Road in Hove was Pizza Express.

Picture by Xavi Buendia

The bar scene wasn’t exactly memorable either so their wine bar and shop with deli and small plate evening dining was something of a revolution, offering Hovites a genuine dining and drinking destination without hoofing into the city centre.

Ever keen to adapt to changes in the market, the Fourth and Church concept has matured considerably and – at the end of 2019 following a refurbishment and re-aligning of the dining concept that saw a shift away from the daytime deli counter – the latest incarnation seems to be hitting the spot with dinners and wine lovers, and clearly not just those from the immediate neighbourhood.

The informal concept is that you can pop in for a wine and snack or a full meal, and – uniquely – you can also choose from their epic range of hand-picked wines to drink in-house or take home.

The restaurant is in Church Road, Hove

My visit was on a Saturday evening – it was my dad’s birthday and Fourth and Church is one of his favourite places in the city so that ticked two boxes already.

I should point out that on the weekends pre-booking is essential, every seat was taken at the early sitting so I can only assume that the later slot was packed too.

That said, you don’t feel that other guests are on top of you. There is decent spacing between tables to give a comfortable level of privacy surrounded by the bistro buzz.

At £50 per head for five courses and snacks, the weekend tasting menu is accessibly priced and delivers remarkable value for the quality of the dishes.

It’s hard to fault any of the courses so I’ll focus on the elements that were most memorable.

Some of the dishes - picture by Xavi Buendia

The first course of dashi winter tomato with seaweed jam and monk’s beard, a wild plant with a taste similar to chard, was like a slap in the face, in a very nice way. Dashi is an intense stock base that forms the backbone of many Japanese dishes and supplies a uniquely umami taste, so this dish with the right balance of acidity really got the tastebuds working.

We were initially somewhat split on the roast pigeon with beetroot and pickled walnut ketchup. My mother was insistent that she didn’t like pigeon and would be sliding it on to my father’s plate but after a forkful that position was rapidly reconsidered.

Pigeon is, of course, gamey but when cooked well it’s melt in the mouth and in this case perfectly offset by the other components of the dish.

Probably the stand-out course for me was the monkfish with pea puree and a smoked almond cream, beautifully balanced with a stand-out flavour kick provided by a crisp of bonito.

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Dessert of rhubarb and custard parfait with pink peppercorn rounded off the menu perfectly, rich but not overly sweet.

It would be demeaning to flippantly describe the plates as fusion dishes. Although Sam and his team are borrowing from the traditions of different world kitchens, the menu is very much their own. In terms of the Sussex restaurant scene, they have a clearly identifiable style of cooking and taste profile.

Although well-presented – and with a keen eye on seasonal produce from small UK and European producers – at the heart of every dish is the layering of flavours. Which is important as so many “modern European-style” restaurants focus on a flurry of pastiched culinary techniques to create Instagrammable plates but that are somewhat lacking on the palate.

As half of the Fourth and Church concept is around wine, its always fun to choose something off-piste from the wine list or buy a bottle directly off the shelf.

We settled for an aperitif of fino sherry, followed a zingy still unoaked English chardonnay from Tickerage Vineyard near Uckfield then Moment Of Silence, a South Africa white blend from the creative geniuses at Blank Bottle.

It’s clear that Paul and Sam’s professional experience is shared with their team.

Downstairs the kitchen brigade, while young, clearly understands Sam’s vision and are genuinely enjoying preparing the dishes. Upstairs the service team are polite and efficient with just the right level of personality so as to make you relaxed without being uncomfortably overfamiliar.

Fourth and Church is the neighbourhood restaurant, wine bar and shop that every lover of good food, drink and bonhomie is looking for.