CHAMPAGNE was the order of the day as a Brighton restaurant turned 25 in style.

Browns in Duke Street literally rolled out the red carpet for about 200 guests at last night's birthday bash. Big names at the party included ex-Neighbours Aussie Mark Little, Fast Show star Mark Williams, newsreader Carol Barnes, Carry On's Patsy Rowlands, author James Herbert and Surf 107 FM chief Simon Fanshawe. Manager Julia Clark said: "We could have got Boyzone or somebody like that down here, but we wanted to keep it to people who have visited the restaurant." Most of the guests are Browns regulars, including at least two who visited on its first day in April, 1973. Freelance consultant Paul Ziolkowski, 43, of Hampton Place, Brighton, said: "My friend Tony Glenville and I thought This place looks very nice' and had afternoon tea, not knowing it was the first day. "We've been back at least twice a week ever since. You sometimes think We can't go to Browns again' but you end up going back. The staff are great. "We went off it a little bit when they moved the bar, but they changed it back to the way it was. The decor is virtually the same as it was when it opened." Carole Rossell, 43, of Highcroft Villas, Brighton, said: "They cater for everybody from businessmen to the whole family. "I used to come here every Friday night when I was being a girl about town. Now I come here with my family for Sunday lunch and bring my three-year-old daughter, Georgia, for her birthdays." The restaurant was decorated for the party by Jean-Yves Aubin, of Generation Game and Streetwise fame, and jazz pianist Lenny Watz helped entertain the guests.

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